Four Applications Of Mindfulness Retreat 2013 with B. Alan Wallace (part 10)

0:02 Any questions or comments, insights about anything we've covered thus far? Report an error in the passage at 0:02 Highlight the passage at 0:02

0:09 Yes, please. Report an error in the passage at 0:09 Highlight the passage at 0:09

0:14 Jennifer, yes, Jen, yes. Report an error in the passage at 0:14 Highlight the passage at 0:14

0:18 Sure. Report an error in the passage at 0:18 Highlight the passage at 0:18

0:28 It's simply a matter of not identifying with it. This is a subtlety, but there is, as we'll venture into further shamatha practices as foundations for later stages of vipassanā. So we're going to go... Brady. Can come into that? Report an error in the passage at 0:28 Highlight the passage at 0:28

0:41 From step to step in shamatha, as we go step to step in the bhashana, we're going to be cultivating kind of a stillness of awareness that later in a few days I will be calling just resting awareness in its own place. It's very simple. It's not really difficult to do. And it's simply resting without directing your attention to anything, just simply coming to rest and being aware that you're aware. Report an error in the passage at 0:41 Highlight the passage at 0:41

1:11 So it's very, very simple. And there's a natural stillness there. It's not a stillness that's crunched in like between a vice, but a stillness is there when the tentacles of grasping of desire and aversion have been released. And what's left over is a natural stillness. And so we can start cultivating that quality of stillness like an unflickering flame of a candle, a stillness of awareness. Report an error in the passage at 1:11 Highlight the passage at 1:11

1:40 And resting in that stillness, The light of awareness can illuminate the sensations of the breath, but without kind of becoming entangled in those sensations, grasping to identifying with or merged with those sensations, simply illuminating them, but without identification, or the big word here is grasping. Report an error in the passage at 1:40 Highlight the passage at 1:40

2:02 And when you have that sense, you really, as you cultivate that, and we'll cultivate that with respect to the breath, and eventually we'll cultivate it with respect to mental events, and so on. Report an error in the passage at 2:02 Highlight the passage at 2:02

2:13 There's a sense of simply being present with rather than any identification with or owning or a sense that this is my breath and so forth. And so likewise if you were lying just supine and I simply observe your breathing, obviously I don't know what it's like from the inside, I don't feel your tactile sensations, but I would sense well here's something over which I'm exerting no control, don't want to have any control and I have none. Report an error in the passage at 2:13 Highlight the passage at 2:13

2:36 And it's simply the rise and fall of your breathing. So it's like that. In that sense, it's kind of like having an out-of-body experience. Please do. Report an error in the passage at 2:36 Highlight the passage at 2:36

2:53 Yeah, I want to choose the words very carefully because it's not dissociation. I think it's a pretty heavily laden term in psychology and I'm no psychologist. Report an error in the passage at 2:53 Highlight the passage at 2:53

3:03 But I understand, so amateur, as I understand dissociation is really a withdrawal, a disengagement, a dissociation. And it may be rooted in aversion or anxiety or fear or something like that. So dissociation. It's not that. Nor is it association in the sense of clinging, identification, really grasping onto. The quality of awareness here is often likened to space, just open, totally present, luminous by nature, so luminous space. Report an error in the passage at 3:03 Highlight the passage at 3:03

3:36 So I'm looking for a better word, maybe I can just stop. But you're simply present with it, without pulling away or glomming onto, something in between. it's... Report an error in the passage at 3:36 Highlight the passage at 3:36

3:57 Sure Report an error in the passage at 3:57 Highlight the passage at 3:57

4:10 Well, as in the earlier question about the tapping sound, this really is, all of shamatha always entails selective attention. And for reasons that we have chosen as being sound, we choose to attend to one thing versus another, even if temporarily the other one is more interesting or attractive or what have you. Report an error in the passage at 4:10 Highlight the passage at 4:10

4:30 And so for this particular phase of shamatha practice, The emphasis is on stabilizing the tension, maintaining a continuity. So even if we're enticed by other things, we say, you know, maybe if you're really interesting, worthwhile, I'll get back to you later. I'll give you a rain check. But not now. Right now I'm busy. And then we just focus here to develop that stability. Report an error in the passage at 4:30 Highlight the passage at 4:30

4:55 Yes, please. Report an error in the passage at 4:55 Highlight the passage at 4:55

5:02 Principle of nonviolence. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 5:02 Highlight the passage at 5:02

5:13 Loved one. Just to clarify, nonviolence with respect to your loved ones? Report an error in the passage at 5:13 Highlight the passage at 5:13

5:21 Oh yeah, sure. Sure, sure. Report an error in the passage at 5:21 Highlight the passage at 5:21

5:31 For dignified death. Right. Report an error in the passage at 5:31 Highlight the passage at 5:31

5:43 Yeah, so very deep issues. The first one, there are many shades of gray. Buddhist ethics is not simply black and white. Just, you know, do the right thing. Because the other one's evil. You know, it would be very nice if life were so simple. But it never, it frequently isn't. Sometimes it is. Don't rob the bank. That's good not to rob the bank. Report an error in the passage at 5:43 Highlight the passage at 5:43

6:01 Bad to rob the bank. So, okay, we have some simple ones. But a lot of ones are not so simple. If another country invades your country, like communist China invading Tibet. I mean, there are many examples throughout history. This was an almost entirely Buddhist country. Did they roll over and say, oh sure, we'll just use this as a doormat, we don't mind if you destroy our culture and wipe out our monks and so forth? Report an error in the passage at 6:01 Highlight the passage at 6:01

6:22 No, there was a segment, a pretty significant segment of the Tibetans, who said, the hell with this. We're going to defend our families, our way of life, our culture, everything. And they were very fierce warriors. And they were not condemned by the Dalai Lama or by the government monks. They didn't say, oh, you're bad Buddhist, you're going to go to hell. Report an error in the passage at 6:22 Highlight the passage at 6:22

6:43 They didn't do that. Monks generally were simply, now it's very complex, because some of the monks actually became warriors. They stopped being monks, gave back their precepts, and they picked up guns and they were going to defend their monasteries. So I'm not speaking of an ideal world, but I am speaking of what actually happens in the world that we know. When it comes to a child molester or abuser or just some thug endangering one's family, and one is a parent, especially the... Report an error in the passage at 6:43 Highlight the passage at 6:43

7:11 The men were bigger, generally bigger. It's more of our responsibility. We're bigger. Bigger. Then do you have a moral obligation to defend your family? The answer is yes. Sure. They rely upon you. They're taking refuge in you. Your children are taking refuge in you, not in anybody else. And so certainly we have a moral obligation to protect our families from harm. Report an error in the passage at 7:11 Highlight the passage at 7:11

7:33 And then the Buddhist ideal would be do so as non-violently as possible. And I would just leave it at that, as non-violent as possible. So if a person is assaulting a child with a knife, punch him in the jaw. That's better than his getting to, you know, being able to kill somebody. Better knock the guy out, or throw him to the ground, or bind him. So there it is. It's looking very often where, you know, we really try to grow in ethical wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 7:33 Highlight the passage at 7:33

8:02 Because it's not just a set of rules, it's not a rule book. Oh, page 237, oh yeah, if, you know, it's not like that. It's developing wisdom. To see how can we apply skillful means to preventing as much harm as possible. And if that means some harm, maybe breaking the arm of a person who's going to assault your child, but then the child isn't harmed, and this person has a broken arm, broken arm's heel. Report an error in the passage at 8:02 Highlight the passage at 8:02

8:25 So that's better. If the person is just going to push your child, maybe it's a larger child, bullying your child, and you're going to push him to the ground, and you bring out your gun and shoot the bully, well, maybe that's a bit of overkill. so, know, So it's looking for the least violence. And in terms of the other one, there is a practice called transference of consciousness in Buddhism. Report an error in the passage at 8:25 Highlight the passage at 8:25

8:57 And it's sometimes practiced one person to another. I'll give an example, because it is interesting. I take this completely literally, but I'm not asking anybody to believe it literally. I'm just telling a story from recent times. But while I was living in India, this occurred, and I heard it from sources that I took to be reliable. Report an error in the passage at 8:57 Highlight the passage at 8:57

9:12 I just did facts. Whether it's true or not, I can't say. But the sources I found reliable. And the story is about a Tibetan Lama who is widely regarded as very accomplished, very deep inside, and has some real powers. And widely admired, very benevolent man, bodhisattva. His name was Kamthuramuche. And he was the head Lama of a largely contemplative community with lay people as well, but some very, very hardcore meditators. Report an error in the passage at 9:12 Highlight the passage at 9:12

9:37 There's renowned Daji Jong, not very far from Dharamsala in northern India. This was about 40 years ago. There are lay people living there and these really, really tough, they wear dreadlocks. These yogis, they're really like the marines. I mean, they're really tough. And he was their command, he was their colonel. He was in charge of them, as well as the benefactor, kind of the overseer, kind of the head of the community. Report an error in the passage at 9:37 Highlight the passage at 9:37

10:02 And so in this lay community, the lay and vanastic, contemplative and lay community, on one occasion, There was one dog that seemed like mortally ill, either injured or ill, and I don't know the details, but it was really in bad shape and in great pain. And so the lay people went to this Lama and said, this dog is going to die, and right now it's in so much pain, couldn't you just put it out of its misery, not by hitting it over there with a rock, but by practicing poa. Report an error in the passage at 10:02 Highlight the passage at 10:02

10:33 And this is where the Lama, again I'm just telling you what the tradition says, but I do, but I take it seriously, is the Lama goes into very deep meditation. And he actually expels the consciousness from the being that he's focusing on. And he kills it. But he's killing it specifically to send this consciousness off to a better place and to relieve suffering. Report an error in the passage at 10:33 Highlight the passage at 10:33

10:52 So it's all out of motivation of benevolence. It's never used violently. It's never used as retaliation. At least not in a very long time. So they asked him and he said, I'm sorry but the time is not ripe. And I'm very sorry. I know the dog is suffering but I can't do it right now. And so it's one of those classic cases, they asked the second time, they said, not yet, I can't do it yet. They asked the third time, they said, okay, now I can see the time is ripe. It happens a lot, three times, you know. Report an error in the passage at 10:52 Highlight the passage at 10:52

11:17 And so they said, okay, now I can do it, the time is ripe. And so what the people witnessed from outside is there's the dog and it's yowling, it's just crying all the time, it's yowling, yowling. The Lama sits down on the ground in meditation and he draws something of a diagram in front of him and he takes a ritual dagger. Report an error in the passage at 11:17 Highlight the passage at 11:17

11:36 It's not even a weapon. You couldn't cut anything with it. It's just a ritual dagger with four sides and a very ornate handle. But it's called a purbu, a kila. And so he takes this dagger, this ritual instrument, and he takes it, mine, and he's going clearly into samādhi. And he rolls this purbu, or this kila, between his arms and then brings it down. Report an error in the passage at 11:36 Highlight the passage at 11:36

12:00 So the point end goes right into the diagram that he's written on the ground. And it went, boom! In that moment the dog died. I mean, it was just boom, boom, like that. And then the dog was gone. And he explained that, yes, I've just transferred the dog's consciousness. The dog had to burn off some karma before I could do that. And that just is pain. And I know that. But finally enough was burned off that I could send this dog's consciousness to a better place. Report an error in the passage at 12:00 Highlight the passage at 12:00

12:28 And so there's a story. It's not at all uncommon, but that's one that occurred when I was in India. And so... Another case in which this has occurred, and it has occurred many, many times, is that if one is elderly and one is suffering maybe from some degenerate disease, where you know there's going to be a lot more pain coming and there's no way back, you're going to die, and it's going to get worse from now on. Report an error in the passage at 12:28 Highlight the passage at 12:28

12:49 It could be cognitive deterioration, it could be physical, it could just be, it's all going to get worse now, but right now my mind is clear. In which case, then a person may practice Poha with regards to himself, and that to go deeply into meditation. And then with a visualization, some mantra, then you, it's like a cannon, a cannon going straight up. You just shoot your consciousness. It's your prāṇa, your prāṇa associated with consciousness and your consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 12:49 Highlight the passage at 12:49

13:15 You shoot it right out the crown chakra, right out the top. And you do it, say like an archer shooting an arrow. And you direct, by the power of aspiration, volition and visualization, you direct your consciousness to a realm you would like to transmigrate to. And in so doing, you kill yourself. Because your consciousness separates irreversibly from your body. And to do that when you already know that you're mortally ill and there's no way back is legitimate and is ethical. Report an error in the passage at 13:15 Highlight the passage at 13:15

13:42 To do that with no one's self. If one is clumsy or inept, one might wind up doing that prematurely. Where you're just kind of practicing, doing dress rehearsal, and you get carried away and whoops. Report an error in the passage at 13:42 Highlight the passage at 13:42

13:57 That's a really bad idea. Be very careful. And they'll tell you how not to do that. Premature ejaculation. Report an error in the passage at 13:57 Highlight the passage at 13:57

14:07 With no union of going to a pure right, it's just kind of a mess. And so there is, in principle, there is a place for that. Report an error in the passage at 14:07 Highlight the passage at 14:07

14:18 But it's done by people who really know the score. They really can see their own karma and they're very deliberately focusing their attention so they're directing their consciousness or another being's consciousness to some better place. So it's done with a lot of knowledge, a lot of wisdom and then skillful means. We have this whole notion of euthanasia. Report an error in the passage at 14:18 Highlight the passage at 14:18

14:39 You know, as it comes up so frequently in the news, or with regard to pets. Oh, I think we'll put your dog to sleep. Well, we have all these kind of euphemisms. It's always suspicious, like placebo effect. That's a euphemism. It's deflecting our attention from what's real, because it's not an effect of a placebo. It's an effect of something else, which they don't want to acknowledge. Report an error in the passage at 14:39 Highlight the passage at 14:39

14:59 And likewise, you're putting your dog to sleep. No, that putting your dog to sleep is giving it some warm milk and a pat. That's putting the dog to sleep. You're putting your dog down. Let's say sit. No, you mean killing your dog. No, you mean killing your dog. That's what you're doing. So I really like to call a spade a spade. You're killing your dog. Report an error in the passage at 14:59 Highlight the passage at 14:59

15:14 You're killing your cat. And maybe you're doing it for your convenience. Maybe you're doing it because the dog is suffering. So whether it's human beings or whether it's one's pets, is there a role for that? In principle, yes. But in the Buddhist context, you do that when you're very confident that where that being's Where consciousness is going is going to be better than where they are right now. Now exactly on what basis do we have that confidence? And so there's a general principle, I learned this from Tibetan medicine where I had a lot of association, but I think it's just a general good life principle, it's broad application. Report an error in the passage at 15:14 Highlight the passage at 15:14

15:55 And that is, if you're about to make some major intervention, it's going to have a big impact, but you don't really know, you don't really have any idea, any clear idea about whether the outcome is going to be Good or bad. It's better not to do anything. You don't just say, well, let's hope for the best and just go banging in there and say, well, maybe it'll turn out well, let's see. Report an error in the passage at 15:55 Highlight the passage at 15:55

16:17 And so that's kind of the situation with regard to euthanasia as well. If you have very good reason to believe that where you're sending this person's consciousness or where this person's consciousness will go is going to be to a better place and good. But if you're completely drawing a blank, you don't have a clue, then it may be better just to let... Report an error in the passage at 16:17 Highlight the passage at 16:17

16:41 Now, there are one friend of mine, a rather good friend of mine, a number of years ago, died of bone cancer. It's a very gruesome way to go. It's just twigs, legs breaking like twigs. So both of his legs were broken and it's an incremental, slow and very painful death. This fellow is a Buddhist and he died very gracefully. His mind, there was no cognitive deterioration, but his body was a wreck. Report an error in the passage at 16:41 Highlight the passage at 16:41

17:11 I mean, just a wreck. Because it just goes right into the marrow of the bone, into the bone fiber itself, and they just tweak, they just break so easily. And it's irreversible. There's just no way. When he was that far gone, there was no way he was coming back. But what he did was, and this is where I really praise modern medicine, and that is he had a morphine drip, and he would control it. Report an error in the passage at 17:11 Highlight the passage at 17:11

17:32 And he wasn't trying to just dope himself out. He was a Buddhist. He wanted to die consciously. But it's hard to practice meditation when you're in the final phases if you're just overwhelmed by physical pain. That's just hard, unless you're a really accomplished adult. But it's also hard to have a meaningful death if you're just doped up to the gills and you can't think clearly at all. Report an error in the passage at 17:32 Highlight the passage at 17:32

17:51 So he was modulating that very carefully, just because he could control it. And he would knock it down enough so the pain was not overwhelming, but not so much that he loses clarity. And he died a good death. Died a good death. Very meaningful. And he had an image of Tara there, very much focused on compassion and so forth. So although it was in principle a tough way to go, he transformed into a meaningful departure. Report an error in the passage at 17:51 Highlight the passage at 17:51

18:16 And it was a good day. Report an error in the passage at 18:16 Highlight the passage at 18:16

18:22 Not the lighter topics. These are important. Yes, please. Report an error in the passage at 18:22 Highlight the passage at 18:22

18:32 Yes, good. Report an error in the passage at 18:32 Highlight the passage at 18:32

18:39 Yes. Yes, indeed. Report an error in the passage at 18:39 Highlight the passage at 18:39

· · · silence, 1 minute

19:12 I Report an error in the passage at 19:12 Highlight the passage at 19:12

19:27 understand. I think you're spot on. I think you're doing just fine. If I had something to add, I would be happy to you. I'm not shy. Report an error in the passage at 19:27 Highlight the passage at 19:27

19:38 No, I think your approach is exactly right. Very good. Very good. I wouldn't modify it. Report an error in the passage at 19:38 Highlight the passage at 19:38

19:48 Yes, please. Report an error in the passage at 19:48 Highlight the passage at 19:48

19:54 The last practice. Yes. Report an error in the passage at 19:54 Highlight the passage at 19:54

20:02 Oh, Report an error in the passage at 20:02 Highlight the passage at 20:02

20:06 yes, right. Internal multitasking. Right. Yeah, I call it humoring the practice. Report an error in the passage at 20:06 Highlight the passage at 20:06

20:18 Like breathing in, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Breathing in, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm busy, but yeah, I got my idea. Breathing in, yeah, yeah, whatever. You're boring. Report an error in the passage at 20:18 Highlight the passage at 20:18

20:28 I think you may not be the only one who's experienced that. You may have a bit of company. And so that's just part of the practice. It's kind of like house cleaning. It's like spring cleaning. There's just a lot of clutter there. But if we can approach it in a spirit of loving kindness, a bit of good cheer. Report an error in the passage at 20:28 Highlight the passage at 20:28

20:46 Thich Nhat Hanh is so beautiful in this regard when he speaks of mindfulness. Breathing in with a smile, breathing out with a smile. Not taking it too seriously. It is important. It's very transformative, very meaningful. But it doesn't have to be heavy, disciplined, like that. And so when we see that coming up, just a little bit of internal chuckle. Report an error in the passage at 20:46 Highlight the passage at 20:46

21:05 There I'm going again. But the way to do it is, again, the horse whisperer. Not cracking the whip or digging in with your spurs. Behave there. But just relaxing more. And so there it is. When it's kind of the chit-chat, the chit-chat. Report an error in the passage at 21:05 Highlight the passage at 21:05

21:26 So it's just kind of like little puffs of mist. And they disappear. You don't have to hit the mist with a hammer. Just release it and it disappears. But when you get a bit woozy, a bit vague, a bit nebulous like that, which is easy to do also, then a bit more sharp. Then you kind of pay closer attention. Brisk it up a little. It comes with practice. Report an error in the passage at 21:26 Highlight the passage at 21:26

21:54 Yes, please. Report an error in the passage at 21:54 Highlight the passage at 21:54

22:03 Yes. Report an error in the passage at 22:03 Highlight the passage at 22:03

22:08 It's very good. Report an error in the passage at 22:08 Highlight the passage at 22:08

22:15 First of all, it has to be in context. That is, teachings that are authentic for Buddhism will not be authentic for Christianity. They are different traditions. They have their own integrity. And I respect both. I'm following one, but I respect the other as well as other traditions. So then we can say, okay, what are these authentic Buddhist teachings? And that means, do they accord with really what are the central themes, the points made by the Buddha himself? Report an error in the passage at 22:15 Highlight the passage at 22:15

22:36 Or do they violate them? Or are they just totally different? So there's that. That's generically Buddhism. And then if you're following Theravāda Buddhism, there's certain themes and beliefs and so forth there that are differences between that and Mahāyāna Buddhism. And then among four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, you can say, well, this is within the Galupa context. And here's the Galupa version. And are these authentic Galupa teachings? Right? Report an error in the passage at 22:36 Highlight the passage at 22:36

23:01 Because some teachings from others will say, well, no, but that's more another tradition. So when we say authentic, it's not simply right or wrong. It's some kind of an absolute, you know. It's authentic in context. So as I was saying, for example, the definition of mindfulness is simply moment-to-moment non-judgmental awareness of whatever comes up. Report an error in the passage at 23:01 Highlight the passage at 23:01

23:21 That's completely authentic for what I would call the modern Vipassanā movement, or more specifically, mindfulness-based stress reduction. That's how it's defined in that context. There's nothing wrong with that. And it's very effective, very helpful. And so I'm going to stop right there. In that context, those are authentic teachings of MBSR as formulated by this very dear man, very bright, well-motivated, John Cabosin. Report an error in the passage at 23:21 Highlight the passage at 23:21

23:46 Is that an authentic definition in the Buddhist context? No, it's not. But he's not a Buddhist, doesn't claim to be Buddhist. And so then we see it by context. Now, what's an authentic definition of mindfulness? What are authentic practices of shamatha and vipassanā within the Buddhist tradition? Now we have another context. And we say, okay, is that what I'm getting at? I'm not just meandering here. But as you're seeking a path for yourself, if that's the case, then you see where your heart leads you. Report an error in the passage at 23:46 Highlight the passage at 23:46

24:13 Whether it's to Buddhism at all. If it's in Buddhism, there are different schools. There's Zen, which has its own nuances. It's art. The flavor, it's unique. There's Theravāda Buddhism, quite different, but has its own majesty, its integrity, it's grounded, it's solid, it's very clear. And then this multifaceted, very Baroque, wonderfully rich, ornate, elaborate Tibetan Buddhism, with all the Vajrayana and the many deities and all of that. Report an error in the passage at 24:13 Highlight the passage at 24:13

24:39 Very multifaceted. And so is it that. And so as you gravitate to maybe one, or myself, most of my training is Tibetan Buddhist, but I have a great respect, I've had a lot of exposure to Theravāda Buddhism, but not much to Chan or Zen Buddhism. It's not that I don't like it, it's just I would gravitate there so much and focus on what I'm most drawn to. So within context, then you look, okay, let's imagine that you're really drawn to, let's say the Galupa tradition, why not, just ini, mini, mini, mo. Report an error in the passage at 24:39 Highlight the passage at 24:39

25:08 Galupa tradition, one of the great, one of the four great traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. It goes back to a noble, incredible, sage, brilliant, genius Tsongkhapa from the 14th, 15th century. Then you can ask, okay, I think I really would like to follow this tradition. So within the Galukpa tradition, are there authentic teachers? What are the authentic teachings? Well, Tsongkhapa has 18 volumes. That's a good start. And some of them have been translated and well translated. Report an error in the passage at 25:08 Highlight the passage at 25:08

25:32 So, okay, we'll start there. For example, his great exposition of the stages of the path. Well, nobody can say that's not authentic galupa because that's Tsongkhapa's central message. Here's the stages of the path to enlightenment. So you know, okay, I have a good firm rock to start on here. This is the foundation. That's authentic. And the translation of it is very good. I was one of a large team that did it. The team was a very good team. And there are other texts by Tsongkhapa. Report an error in the passage at 25:32 Highlight the passage at 25:32

25:55 And you say, okay, well, that's a good solid start. And then are there any good galupa teachers out there? Well, how about the Dalai Lama? That's probably pretty solid. And he teaches a lot of galupa material. So now you've got texts, you have a teacher, and then you can start to say, okay, well, which teachers does the Dalai Lama show clear respect for? And then you start networking. Report an error in the passage at 25:55 Highlight the passage at 25:55

26:14 And then you start branching out, and you say, oh, well, there's quite a network of really qualified teachers. And there's not only the teachings of Tsongkhapa himself, but there are a lot of very good commentators. And then there are great teachers in his tradition, the Pensioner Mache and so many others after that, right to the present day. Report an error in the passage at 26:14 Highlight the passage at 26:14

26:32 Really formidable teachers. They say, well, okay, we have a whole family here. The teaching is the Tsongkhapa himself. He's rooted in Indian Buddhism and goes right back to the Buddha Shakyamun himself. He has his collective works. That's rock solid. These commentaries are really solid. And these are the teachers over history that are absolutely five-star. Report an error in the passage at 26:32 Highlight the passage at 26:32

26:50 And these are the teachers of the contemporary time or recent past by general acclaim. Everybody knows these are really good teachers and you can start listing them off. Tibetan teachers as well as Western teachers. There are some very good Western teachers now, including people who become Geshe's. Westerners become Geshe's. And so it's kind of networking, but on a very practical level, it's seeking out somebody you trust who really knows what's going on. Report an error in the passage at 26:50 Highlight the passage at 26:50

27:16 You're finding one person. So if you know one person, you think, I think this person probably knows that tradition. And it could be any tradition. It could be Zen, it could be Theravāda, whatever. I just gave the example of Galupa. But if you feel you know one person, But you have that confidence. I think this person, by all accounts, from what I hear and when I listen and so forth, this person is really authentic. Then you say, okay, who do you recommend? Report an error in the passage at 27:16 Highlight the passage at 27:16

27:40 And then it branches up very quickly. But what it really boils down to is, first of all, what are you really drawn to? Because to my mind, nobody in his right mind can say, well, after all, the glupa is just the best. Because it's not. It's not the best for everybody. The Theravāda tradition is outstanding, but not the best for everybody. Report an error in the passage at 27:40 Highlight the passage at 27:40

27:59 Buddhism is outstanding, but not the best for everybody. Some people will flourish much more deeply if they become a Christian, as the Dalai Lama himself has said. So part of this is very personal. It's kind of like falling in love. There are many people out there you might fall in love with, but you don't fall in love with all of them. You find a real connection, a sense of closeness, affinity, all of that. Report an error in the passage at 27:59 Highlight the passage at 27:59

28:17 With respect, maybe one person would be convenient. And then you cultivate a deep relationship there. So in my case, when I was 20, I just picked up a book that was left behind in a youth hostel in Switzerland. And it was on Dzogchen, The Great Perfection. And I read that and I didn't understand much at all. I just knew it was love at first sight. And I said, wherever that's going, that's where I want to go. Report an error in the passage at 28:17 Highlight the passage at 28:17

28:40 And then that just led me into a whole wonderful sequence of finding teachers and so forth. And 20 years later, I got to start studying Dzogchen. But I had 20 years of really very important, very necessary and enormously beneficial preparation, studying with other teachers and then encountering Dzogchen and then integrating because I'm not abandoned at all. Report an error in the passage at 28:40 Highlight the passage at 28:40

29:00 The training of the first 20 years, which is largely the Galupa and Theravāda and some Sakya, but integrating and say, oh, that's just like a symphony orchestra. All the parts fit together, they're complementary. And so then I'm really following the footsteps of my teacher, his Dalai Lama, who's largely Galupa, but has been trained extensively in Dzogchen, in the Nyingma tradition, and he sees them as completely compatible. Report an error in the passage at 29:00 Highlight the passage at 29:00

29:23 So I'm kind of being non-original here, but following those footsteps. But the more one gets kind of into the system, it's like an academia. When you really get into the system, you kind of understand the network there. Academics in the fields of literature, history, science, math and so forth, once you get into the system, you'll find people who know are the really good people and who know the really good books. Report an error in the passage at 29:23 Highlight the passage at 29:23

29:46 And once you're in the system, then it gets kind of easy. So there's enough networking, enough monasteries, institutions and people who are really quite public you can ask. One can sort oneself out. Sort it out in that way. But it starts from the heart to my mind. I mean, people start in different ways. Report an error in the passage at 29:46 Highlight the passage at 29:46

30:05 But for myself, it was sheer intuition. Because I read this book, the Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation, back in 1970. There weren't many books on Tibetan Buddhism. This was one of them. Report an error in the passage at 30:05 Highlight the passage at 30:05

30:15 But it wasn't an intellectual thing. Oh, this is very intriguing. I think they're very compelling. It was like, it was just really intuition. But it was very deep. This is the way. I give my whole life for this one. Alan, that's my whole life in this. This is it. This is the scent. And so there it was. For other people, it's finding a certain teacher. I mean, it's only the Dalai Lama or other really marvelous teachers who tremendously inspire. Report an error in the passage at 30:15 Highlight the passage at 30:15

30:39 So for some people, for me it wasn't. For me it was a book that triggered it. And then it led me to the Dalai Lama and then that was Guru at first sight. As soon as I met him personally, I knew this is my teacher. But for others, it's a teacher. It's, you know, a really resplendent, compassionate. benevolent, and wise teacher. They just say, okay, whatever that person has, that's where I want to go. And you start there, and then you ask around, is this an authentic teacher? Report an error in the passage at 30:39 Highlight the passage at 30:39

31:07 And there are ways of checking. And if it turns out yes, then you're So people start in different ways. For me it was intuition. Other people it's devotion to a teacher, other people it may be initially in an intellectual draw. Or they admire the benevolent activities of a certain Lama. There's one Lama in Nepal, he's a hundred years old, named Chajuramichi. Report an error in the passage at 31:07 Highlight the passage at 31:07

31:32 He hardly teaches anymore, just to a very small group of disciples who are close to him. One of the greatest Dzogchen masters alive today by general consensus. And he doesn't teach much, he doesn't teach publicly at all, he doesn't travel. He is a hundred years old after all. But I've read that one of the things he's been doing on a regular basis, because many, many Tibetans and others, Tremendously revere him, and people show that by making very generous offerings to him, which he needs about as much as a tiger needs grass. So the money comes in, he has no use for it whatsoever, because he lives very simply. Report an error in the passage at 31:32 Highlight the passage at 31:32

32:06 And so a lot of money comes in, he accepts it, and then what I've heard, and I think it's true, then like once a year, I don't think he goes down himself, but he'll send his close associates, his trusted companions, his students, with the money, sends them down to Calcutta, or Korkata. Report an error in the passage at 32:06 Highlight the passage at 32:06

32:23 He says, now buy up a whole bunch of live fish. Buy as many fish as you can, live fish. Buy them all up. Here's $100,000, whatever he's received. Buy up the fish and release them out into the ocean. And so that's one of the standard practices in Buddhism. So they're not going to be killed if they're out into the ocean. Report an error in the passage at 32:23 Highlight the passage at 32:23

32:45 And I thought about that myself. I'm rambling a little bit, but I'm about to stop. But I thought about that and I said, well, you know, I mean, thinking is a real pragmatist. So they won't be eaten by human beings. They've gone back into the ocean. Somebody can eat them. That's the raw deal about being an animal. Very few of them die of old age. And so it's very nice that they were saved from being killed very soon by human beings, but they're sent back into the ocean. Report an error in the passage at 32:45 Highlight the passage at 32:45

33:07 If those Indian fishermen are really smart, they're just going to be wading up there with their nets. Thank you, Chajar Mbache. Now we can get double profit. Report an error in the passage at 33:07 Highlight the passage at 33:07

33:17 But one way or another, they're going to be eaten by somebody. And so I kind of, for a while, I was a little bit... I wonder why he does that. Because he's going to die anyway. There are fish. Somebody can eat them. And then it occurred to me, something that was satisfying to my mind, is that this man is really, by all accounts, a very highly realized being. Report an error in the passage at 33:17 Highlight the passage at 33:17

33:39 A vidyadara, direct realization of rikpa. That's very deep, incredibly deep. Revered by so many great masters. So there's a lot of peer review here. And this man has to know the depth of his own realization. Who would know better than he? And what he's doing by this, here's my interpretation, but I don't think it's wild. As he's doing this, he's saving possibly hundreds of thousands of creatures. Report an error in the passage at 33:39 Highlight the passage at 33:39

34:02 He's saving them from death. And if they die other ways, well, he can't control destiny, but he can't control the long-term outcome. But for the time being, he's saving them from being killed very soon. And in so doing, here's this highly accomplished, really highly realized master, creating very benevolent karmic relationships with all those fish. Report an error in the passage at 34:02 Highlight the passage at 34:02

34:22 And he's praying for them, for sure. He's not just saving them, he's praying for all of them. I'm relieving you, I'm saving you from death, and then I'm sure, there's no question in my mind, he's praying for their future rebirth. So each one of those fish that he's now saved has a karmic connection with him. I would like to be one of those fish. Report an error in the passage at 34:22 Highlight the passage at 34:22

34:45 Anything else coming up? Report an error in the passage at 34:45 Highlight the passage at 34:45

34:55 Yes, please. Report an error in the passage at 34:55 Highlight the passage at 34:55

· · · silence, 1 minute

35:30 Sure, I am a visitor here and my experience in Australia, although I've come here once or twice a year for maybe seven years or so, or something like that. But it's always like for a week and it's almost always Sydney. I've been to Sydney and Brisbane, not even Melbourne, no place else at all. So I don't know much. Report an error in the passage at 35:30 Highlight the passage at 35:30

35:47 And I'm usually coming here just to participate in a conference or leave a week-long retreat and then, oh, gone again. So I'm really not a very knowledgeable, I'm not at all a knowledgeable person to answer that question. TL here, much more experienced. I think he could probably give you, certainly, without question, a much more informed answer. Report an error in the passage at 35:47 Highlight the passage at 35:47

36:06 I would add this, that it is possible to invite teachers here. If you can find them here already, that's great. Then there's no cultural barriers and nothing. I mean, it's home, which is very nice. But if one is looking for someone perhaps with deeper insight than one can find readily in this country, then it's quite possible to invite. Report an error in the passage at 36:06 Highlight the passage at 36:06

36:32 If you know who to ask, maybe invite somebody with a lot more experience. But there's more factors than that and there's Rhonda right back there. Rhonda is kind of a representative or taking a kind of a catalytic role with a group of something like 30 people, isn't it by now? How many? How many? 53, my goodness. This is getting to be critical mass. 53 people, all Aussies, who have been, they've probably been to, all of them have been to some shamatha retreats, right? Report an error in the passage at 36:32 Highlight the passage at 36:32

37:03 So I have some experience. I mean, they're not coming with nothing. These are people who have been inspired to really take shamatha seriously and not as an end in itself, as a launching pad to go into much more meaningful things like Vipassanā, bodhicitta and Vajrayana and so forth. But 53 people now here, I think they're scattered around Australia, are really holding in their hearts and minds a yearning to create a conducive environment where people for relatively low cost can go into long-term retreat and have some real group energy. Report an error in the passage at 37:03 Highlight the passage at 37:03

37:32 Not to socialize, not to diffuse each other's practice, but on the contrary, everybody coming there with a very sincere motivation to be very serious, very professional in their training, meditating many hours a day, but having some group energy, a bit of group support and your close associates, friends, kind of get what you're doing, you know, like many people will not. Report an error in the passage at 37:32 Highlight the passage at 37:32

37:51 And so there's that. So creating a peaceful, serene, inexpensive, healthy environment with people coming together with shared vision. And shared aspiration to really purify their minds, develop this quality of attentional balance. And then the cherry on the cake with a conducive environment and good Dharma friends or companions would be somebody with at least a bit more experience than the others who can be something of a guide. Report an error in the passage at 37:51 Highlight the passage at 37:51

38:16 And then you've really set up quite an optimal circumstance. So what I would encourage you is to collaborate with others because you're not alone. And I've been teaching really serious meditators in relatively long-term retreats. I mean, it's not really that long, but three months, eight weeks, for now about going on seven years. Report an error in the passage at 38:16 Highlight the passage at 38:16

38:34 And quite a number of people become inspired to do so. And what I found repeatedly is when we're in a conducive environment, seven years ago, six years ago, it was in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the United States. Conducive environment, I was there available all the time as a teacher. 35 people in retreat. Report an error in the passage at 38:34 Highlight the passage at 38:34

38:53 And people did very well. And the scientists were monitoring this big, the largest scientific study of meditation ever done. And people really flourished. A lot of very, very positive transformations taking place in those three months. And we did it twice. And I've led seven of the eight-week retreats in Phuket. I see the same thing happening. In eight weeks, people really transforming quickly and very meaningfully and becoming very inspired by that practice. Report an error in the passage at 38:53 Highlight the passage at 38:53

39:18 And so I've seen this now nine times. And I see it as prattitasamapada, dependent origination. And that is, it's this confluence of internal and external conducive circumstances. People coming in with strong, sincere motivation. We've had very good ethics, very good ethics, just quite homogenously. So that on everybody's part. Report an error in the passage at 39:18 Highlight the passage at 39:18

39:40 And then conducive environment, really supportive. And then lovely companions, shared vision. And then available to the teacher, who's there simply to help. Claims about I'm highly realized. None of that. Simply trying to help as much as I can. I have my limitations, but do my best. That's all. But with that confluence, then this wonderful transformation in a short time. Report an error in the passage at 39:40 Highlight the passage at 39:40

40:02 And out of these nine retreats now, dozens of people from these retreats have then gone off into longer term retreat. Many of them in solitude. Some, two, occasionally three people at once. Report an error in the passage at 40:02 Highlight the passage at 40:02

40:17 Often kind of wobbly environment that is not really sustainable. Changing, visa running out, this running out, this health problem, that problem. So kind of most of them not finding a very conducive environment. They're not easy to find. And they're not having ready access to a teacher. Any of my students who go off into a long-term retreat, they know that I'm happy to guide them. Report an error in the passage at 40:17 Highlight the passage at 40:17

40:38 And I don't want anything from them, money or anything else. So I offer freely. But they often live thousands of miles away. So we're talking about email. occasional Skype, it's not very intimate, I'm not right there, they know that I'm teaching a lot, so they're a bit shy about sending me lots and lots of emails. Report an error in the passage at 40:38 Highlight the passage at 40:38

40:55 What I found is that their sincerity, their motivation, enthusiasm really is quite robust. They don't just poop out after a couple of weeks or months. But what I have found is the rate of their maturation, their development. Hesitate to use the word progress, but one can use it. It slows down a lot. It slows down a lot. And I think it's largely two factors. Report an error in the passage at 40:55 Highlight the passage at 40:55

41:23 It's the same people and their motivation, discipline, ethics, all that's the same. But they don't have that group energy in most cases. They often don't have a really conducive environment. It's okay. And they don't have really ready access to a teacher who's right there who can help them in any way possible. And that's what's missing. Report an error in the passage at 41:23 Highlight the passage at 41:23

41:41 So I don't see any, there's no magic here. But since all of us would like to be as effective as we can, not waste time, not do things in ineffective ways, that if we're very sincere about really moving along that noble path of shamatha to its culmination and then moving on to much more meaningful endeavors on that basis, then I think every effort should be given, just because time is short, we don't have time to waste, to try to create the conducive environment, bring the critical mass of fellow travelers and have access to qualified teachers. Report an error in the passage at 41:41 Highlight the passage at 41:41

42:14 There are some. I know a couple of Westerners. I'm relatively qualified. Many people more qualified. But I know a few Western teachers are very, very good. Very, very good. And then Tibetans. But that's what I would suggest, is try to bring not just an environment, just a place, but think about the larger context. Report an error in the passage at 42:14 Highlight the passage at 42:14

42:36 Because that's where in the same period of time you may have much quicker development than just trying to strangle alone by yourself. Report an error in the passage at 42:36 Highlight the passage at 42:36

42:45 But you certainly have a lot of land here. You're not cramped. That's good. Report an error in the passage at 42:45 Highlight the passage at 42:45

42:56 Anything else? Not quite like Mongolia though. Mongolia is 600,000 square miles and has 2.5 million people. And 1.5 million of them are in one city. So if you want real elbow space, elbow room, Mongolia is the place. You just have to not mind winters that get down to 40 below. Report an error in the passage at 42:56 Highlight the passage at 42:56

43:19 You're welcome. Report an error in the passage at 43:19 Highlight the passage at 43:19

43:23 I love nerdy Tibetan language questions. Report an error in the passage at 43:23 Highlight the passage at 43:23

43:30 Temba, yes. Report an error in the passage at 43:30 Highlight the passage at 43:30

43:35 Exactly right. Report an error in the passage at 43:35 Highlight the passage at 43:35

43:39 Actually, in this case, I think it's the best one. And I'm not defending it. When I look at the Tibetan definition, the Buddhist definition, like Shantideva, at the end of the introspection chapter, fifth chapter, he says, in short, introspection is just this, the monitoring of one's own body and mind. Report an error in the passage at 43:39 Highlight the passage at 43:39

43:57 Then when you translate it, you've got to bring in that aspect. You can't just say alertness. I can be alert. I can be alert watching your behavior. I'm alert. I'm watching. I'm vigilant. I'm watching. I'm fully aware, I'm watching. It's too vague. So metacognition is okay. But metacognition a little bit misses the mark. Report an error in the passage at 43:57 Highlight the passage at 43:57

44:16 Because metacognition means you're monitoring cognition. It's really confined to monitoring the mind. Right? Whereas when it's for introspection, that's just intro. And intro can be monitoring your speech and monitoring your body. Therefore, metacognition was a runner-up. But the winner goes to introspection. Report an error in the passage at 44:16 Highlight the passage at 44:16

44:35 So that's right. Samparajanya in Sanskrit, Shijin in Tibetan. And if there's a better translation, I'm all ears, but I haven't heard of one yet. A translator contacted me a couple of weeks back and asking about something specific, but he just commented, oh, by the way, thanks for your translation of Shijin, we really appreciate that. Report an error in the passage at 44:35 Highlight the passage at 44:35

44:59 Don't mention it. I'll mention it, but you don't mention it. Anything else coming up? Yes, please. Oh, Report an error in the passage at 44:59 Highlight the passage at 44:59

45:12 yeah, that's not his translation. That's an old one. That's been translated by the... Theravāda translators for a long time. That's an earlier one. He's been around for decades. So he picked up that wave. And I understand it. I'm not going to say it's false, but I don't think it's very clear. And that is what, he's a very fine scholar. I know him. He's first rate. Like Bhikkhu Bodhi and a few others. Really, really good monks. We were together at a conference, that same one in Hamburg a couple of years back. Report an error in the passage at 45:12 Highlight the passage at 45:12

45:37 I'm very impressed by him. And so where's it coming from? Well, these very knowledgeable translator scholars like Analia Bhikkhu. They've looked at commentaries and unpacking, okay, what exactly are, what's the nature of introspection, how many different types of introspection or sampajanya are there? Report an error in the passage at 45:37 Highlight the passage at 45:37

45:54 And we see they do have a common characteristic, and that is they entail comprehension. So coming back to a nerdy issue, this term shijin, I'll translate continually as introspection, there's a general consensus that it's a derivative of prajna, which is intelligence. It's a type of intelligence. It's discerning. If it's not discerning, it's not Sambhajanya or Shijin. So that factors in in the Pāli as well. Sambhajanya is a derivative Panya, which is the Pāli for wisdom and intelligence. Report an error in the passage at 45:54 Highlight the passage at 45:54

46:27 And so it always has that discerning quality of recognizing what type of behavior is appropriate in which context and so forth. So they looked at that and said, what's the common denominator? Well, it is a type of comprehension. That's true. It's discerning. It's intelligent. And it is clear rather than muddled. That's true too. So it's not wrong. But then I have a clear comprehension of Tibetan grammar. That's not Shajin. Report an error in the passage at 46:27 Highlight the passage at 46:27

46:52 I have a clear comprehension of a lot of things. The feeling in my kneecap or a lot of things. But clear comprehension to my mind is way too vast, way too large an umbrella. Because this is very specific. It's reflexive. It's monitoring with clear comprehension your own body and your own mind. And to my mind that is a really principal factor. Report an error in the passage at 46:52 Highlight the passage at 46:52

47:12 Of what distinguishes introspection from a myriad of other kinds of clear comprehension. Clear comprehension of Australian history, of koala bears, of the barrier reef. I mean, there's clear comprehension of a wide variety that have nothing whatsoever to do with introspection. So that's why I don't go for it. And another Bhikkhu Bodhi, he's really right there at the top. Report an error in the passage at 47:12 Highlight the passage at 47:12

47:32 He's really, really good. I think he translates it as full awareness. It just doesn't cut it for me. Way too vague. So these are... These are scholarly debates. I respect all of these people very deeply. And this is a scholarly debate. This is why I think that one's less accurate, less revealing, less indicative of the meaning of the term. Report an error in the passage at 47:32 Highlight the passage at 47:32

47:50 And introspection is about as close as we get. That's my sense. Report an error in the passage at 47:50 Highlight the passage at 47:50

48:01 Anything else coming up? Report an error in the passage at 48:01 Highlight the passage at 48:01

48:05 Yes, please. Report an error in the passage at 48:05 Highlight the passage at 48:05

48:12 Yeah. I Report an error in the passage at 48:12 Highlight the passage at 48:12

· · · silence, 1 minute

48:46 missed the verb. What's the breath? Affects the breath. Yes. Oh, yes, indeed. Yeah, sure. Report an error in the passage at 48:46 Highlight the passage at 48:46

49:15 Exactly right. It's egoless breathing. Report an error in the passage at 49:15 Highlight the passage at 49:15

49:32 Frequently said. I'll give you another interesting caveat to introspection now that we're on the topic. Because we'll be moving into the main body of the teaching for this retreat, which is insight practice. We're still warming up the engines here with the technology of shamatha to prepare the mind, to develop the mindfulness so that we can apply it closely to the body and so on. Report an error in the passage at 49:32 Highlight the passage at 49:32

49:53 But in this refinement of the attention, by way of shamatha, we have these two faculties, mindfulness and introspection. And again, mindfulness is always focused on the meditative object. So again, if it's Degila, so she's the object, but then to make this geometrically, geometric, then my mindfulness is directed to her, but introspection is coming orthogonally. Report an error in the passage at 49:53 Highlight the passage at 49:53

50:15 If introspection is not monitoring her, then it's not introspection, right? She's not me. So it's coming in orthogonally at an angle. While I'm attending to her, introspection is attending to the process of attending, right? It's monitoring the flow of attention. To see whether it's wobbling and falling into the extreme of either laxity or excitation. But what this means, if we micro-analyze this, is that on the one hand the ideal is to maintain an unbroken flow of mindfulness. Report an error in the passage at 50:15 Highlight the passage at 50:15

50:43 So for example in Dikida, just unbroken, just flow. No breaks, no discontinuities. Flow, right? That's the ideal. But then we're mucking up that flow by going peppering it, spiking it with introspection, poking its nose in. How you doing? How you doing? How you doing? You know? And then, so wait a minute, isn't introspection more of a hassle? Isn't that a nuisance? Aren't you kind of lousing things up? Report an error in the passage at 50:43 Highlight the passage at 50:43

51:07 Why don't you just let mindfulness do its business? You know, buzz off. Mindfulness is keeping the flow. Well, the problem is if your mindfulness lasts only three seconds and then you get caught up in rumination for ten seconds, then you can say, oh, maybe there's a cost-benefit analysis here. I'm going to spike, I'm going to interrupt the flow of mindfulness periodically with introspection. Report an error in the passage at 51:07 Highlight the passage at 51:07

51:28 And there's going to be a certain cost to that. But if the benefit is that I don't wander off for 10 seconds or 20 seconds at a time, that I pick that up pretty quickly, relax, release, return, and then restore the integrity of the mindfulness, okay, that was a little interruption, but that prevented a much longer lapse of mindfulness. Report an error in the passage at 51:28 Highlight the passage at 51:28

51:46 But now we see it's a cost-benefit analysis here. At what point does the insertion or the intervention of introspection, which temporarily, briefly, breaks the flow of mindfulness, Because in the Buddhist view, I cannot in a single instant, now this is really micro, so we're going a bit nerdy again, but in a single instant, I cannot simultaneously be attending to Dikila, Jigila, Jigila, and attending to my awareness. Report an error in the passage at 51:46 Highlight the passage at 51:46

52:16 One is there, one is here. So it has to be flip-flip, like flipping a switch, like that. It can take place within a fraction of a second, but there is an interruption there. Because it's standing there and then it's standing here. Buddhist view, you can't attend to multiple domains of experience, the visual, auditory, mental and so forth, in the same instant. But within a second, well, you can attend to multiple ones, because we can skip from one another within a matter of milliseconds. Report an error in the passage at 52:16 Highlight the passage at 52:16

52:44 So the point being here, that in the early phases of development of shamatha, the cost-benefit analysis is clearly on the side of the benefit. So you're interrupting it for a fourth of a second, but you're preventing a five-second lapse. So it's good investment. But as one proceeds along the path of shamatha and goes deeper and deeper and you're overcoming coarse excitation, laxity, medium excitation, laxity, getting more and more into the flow, you're really fine-tuning, fine-tuning. Report an error in the passage at 52:44 Highlight the passage at 52:44

53:12 There comes a point at which that you're in such a flow, even for a couple of hours on end, without the interruption of even subtle excitation or subtle laxity. You're really in a very smooth, very fine, finely knit. Report an error in the passage at 53:12 Highlight the passage at 53:12

53:31 In which these interruptions of laxity and excitation are not occurring even on a subtle level. At that point, if you break the flow with introspection, there's a cost there, but no benefit. In which case, you give your faculty of introspection a gold watch and say you can retire now. And then you just maintain the flow. Because it's outlived its usefulness. Report an error in the passage at 53:31 Highlight the passage at 53:31

53:56 Now it's tremendously useful. But there comes a point when you're so deeply into the flow of your samādhi. That is no longer necessary. You have to recognize that internally and you release the introspection and now you just have uninterrupted mindfulness. So I'm not a performing artist at all. I do a lot of public speaking and I'm not a performing art. But if I imagine, I imagine that if you have a consummate actor, for example, it could be a dancer, it could be an actor, whatever the performing art is, and the person is just so, so, so good, so... Report an error in the passage at 53:56 Highlight the passage at 53:56

54:30 Like Meryl Streep, somebody like that. That I would imagine, and I'm talking about something I don't know anything about, but that doesn't stop me. At least I'm doing it consciously, and I'm being very public about it. But I'm just imagining that she's such a superb actress, that when she's in the flow, I would imagine she can just get so into the character that she's not monitoring her acting job in the flow of it. Report an error in the passage at 54:30 Highlight the passage at 54:30

54:58 And dancer, I'll bet you. I've done some music, I'm not very gifted musically, but I... I played it well enough that I enjoyed my own music. It was classical piano. And I know that. That when there was a piece I knew how to play well, I would lose myself in it. I wouldn't be thinking about fingering. I would not be monitoring. I would just be in the flow of it. And there would be no monitoring outside. I would just be drinking it. Report an error in the passage at 54:58 Highlight the passage at 54:58

55:22 And so I suspect there may be some parallels. What do you think? Because you have the experience and I don't. Report an error in the passage at 55:22 Highlight the passage at 55:22

55:52 It's very interesting and I know it occurs to some extent, I'm not an athlete but I spend, I've been spending a lot of time every year in Phuket, Thailand where there's a 70 million dollar sports facility and some pretty serious athletes come there. Apparently the most accomplished triathlon athlete in the world, he's now one of the trainers there. And for that kind of thing, Ironman, the distance running, swimming, bicycling and so forth, my sense is once again there. Report an error in the passage at 55:52 Highlight the passage at 55:52

56:17 For these people who are just in superb shape and they know, they know their sport. extremely well, I think the same thing happens, like in swimming, like in running or bicycling, is they get so into the flow of it, they're not monitoring it, it's kind of like just this on, I think it's quite Report an error in the passage at 56:17 Highlight the passage at 56:17

56:36 it's kind of like, very conscious. They're not zombies. They're not in a trance. But there's no peppering. There's no interruption. Am I breathing correctly? Am I doing this correctly? No, they got it down so pat. The professional long-distance swimmer, the cyclist, the runner. Report an error in the passage at 56:36 Highlight the passage at 56:36

56:55 The same kind of thing happens. I strongly suspect so. And the beauty of this is, within meditation, here's one thing I know a little bit about, and I mentioned it before, but it's so important, and that is, as we hone our skills in mindfulness and introspection, it's like a muscle. You can use it. If you've really become an accomplished meditator and you're a performing artist, watch how it filters over, how it flows right into the other. Report an error in the passage at 56:55 Highlight the passage at 56:55

57:20 If you're an athlete as well, watch how that flows over. And so this is quite a wonderful thing. That is not encapsulated just within a certain technique. And that's the whole scope or the boundary of your skill. But develop it here and it can be applied elsewhere. And that's quite a wonderful thing. Yes, please. First year, please. Report an error in the passage at 57:20 Highlight the passage at 57:20

57:44 Oh, yeah. Send me high. Flow. The Flow Man. Yeah, absolutely. Report an error in the passage at 57:44 Highlight the passage at 57:44

57:56 Yeah, he's famous for that. He's the Flow Man. And he wrote brilliantly about it. It's very, very good. Yes, please. Report an error in the passage at 57:56 Highlight the passage at 57:56

58:06 Yes. It's Report an error in the passage at 58:06 Highlight the passage at 58:06

58:20 very good. There are different translations. I know a lot of Pāli words, but I'm not a Pāli scholar. No pretense there. I've studied Sanskrit for three years. I'm not a Sanskrit scholar either. Tibetan I'm pretty proficient in. I'm saying that because I can't translate that brief sutta from the Pāli. I don't have that ability. But I know who the really good people are. They're really, really accomplished translators. I know a number of them. And what I found interesting... Report an error in the passage at 58:20 Highlight the passage at 58:20

58:49 Yes, I've checked out one translation after another because this is a rather famous sutta. It's very brief and to the point. The translation is quite different by very accomplished translators. And so this one, I like all of them. I think they all are highlighting certain elements of the original discourse. But when it says there's no thing here, I resonated with that because I'm pretty sure I think I know it's true. Report an error in the passage at 58:49 Highlight the passage at 58:49

59:12 But when it says no thing here, it doesn't mean... That there's no one speaking. Like right now, there's no one speaking. There's no person here at all. That's silly. Is there somebody speaking? Yeah. The person's name is Alan Wallace. There he is. We're not going to refute that. In this conversation, there's somebody right now listening who a moment ago was speaking. Report an error in the passage at 59:12 Highlight the passage at 59:12

59:32 Yeah, sure there is. So it's not when to say there's no thing here. It's not to say there's no one here or there's no one there and there's no one in between. But there's no thing here. And the thing, the implication of the thing, It's a reified, independent, separate entity of me. Somebody really inherently, existing entirely from my own side, by my own characteristics, autonomous, me, having my mind and my body, like the head of corporation, with two branches of corporation. Report an error in the passage at 59:32 Highlight the passage at 59:32

1:00:02 This is corporation number one, corporation number two is my mind, I've got both and I'm in charge. I'm the CEO of Alan Wallace Incorporated. Boom. That's what doesn't exist. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:02 Highlight the passage at 1:00:02

1:00:12 But the fact that, and if I don't exist in that way, And then I attend to others and realize you don't exist in that way either. And there's no such independent ego, a self, an ego entity somewhere in between either. Not there, not here, not in between. Nowhere to be found. This is enormously liberating. It's refreshing. It's a tremendous relief. But what it does not imply is that I don't exist at all. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:12 Highlight the passage at 1:00:12

1:00:36 You don't exist at all. Because that's your sheer nihilism. And that would radically undermine, totally undermine any type of empathy or compassion or benevolence. Because if you don't exist, why should I care about you? And if I don't exist, why would I care about myself? So it's refuting a delusional, reified sense of self as absolutely autonomous and separate, which means, and I guess this is the mudrā, and then a reified other over there, and then a reified absolute bifurcation between subject and object, me and them, or you and me. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:36 Highlight the passage at 1:00:36

1:01:07 That's what's being challenged and overthrown for sheer lack of evidence. Even though we have a lot of habitual... Projection of that. But in refuting that, again, we're not throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We're not saying, because I don't exist in that way, therefore I don't exist at all. Because that's where we completely slip off the middle way. Having seen how we don't exist as these separate, autonomous, independent agents, having seen that, it opens our eyes, I don't exist in that way, how do I exist? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:07 Highlight the passage at 1:01:07

1:01:40 Because there's a person here, it's a sentient being, it's a human being. How are we going to refute that? That's silly. You're going to be over there. To refute that is silly. How do we exist? How do you exist? And then the answer is, pratita samadbata. We arise in dependent relationship and we're always arising and arising in relationship to others. I meet my grandson, a grandfather is coming out. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:40 Highlight the passage at 1:01:40

1:02:03 I meet my wife, a husband is coming out. I meet students, a teacher comes out. I meet the Dalai Lama, a student comes out. I'm a customer, I'm a this, I'm a that. I'm a tourist, I'm a hiker. And all is arising in relationship, in relationship, all interdependent, interwoven, with no absolute demarcations between self and other, subject and object. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:03 Highlight the passage at 1:02:03

1:02:23 So then out of that comes a sense of kinship, a sense of common ground, natural empathy, and a fluid, an ongoing sense of becoming, becoming and coming. But no hardened core that's taking on this role and taking on that role and taking on this role, but rather its ongoing flow. Totally fluid. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:23 Highlight the passage at 1:02:23

1:02:49 Non-dualism is part and parcel of that. Non-dualism has multiple meanings, interpretations depending on context, but non-duality of course doesn't mean, so let's just knock off the easy one first, it doesn't mean you and I are the same, because we're not. It doesn't mean subject and object are the same, because they're not. It does mean when non-dualism, it's the same kind of thing. Non-duality means no absolute demarcation between subject and object, between I and you, conventionally, relatively. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:49 Highlight the passage at 1:02:49

1:03:18 Yes. As a lasting note, it's not 9 o 'clock, but let's just end on a nice, very powerful analogy. And that is a lucid dream. The Buddha gave 10 analogies. A dream, a mirror reflection, reflection of the moon and water and so forth. But I think the one that's, to my mind, is most powerful and has just tremendously rich implications is the dream. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:18 Highlight the passage at 1:03:18

1:03:41 And it's an analogy. Are we dreaming right now? No, we're not. But is it like a dream? Okay, in what manner is this like a dream? Report an error in the passage at 1:03:41 Highlight the passage at 1:03:41

1:03:48 And from an enlightened perspective, in what way is that analogous to a lucid dream? And so in a lucid dream, you probably know the meaning. It means that you're dreaming and you know you're dreaming. And there are many gradations. How thoroughly, how well do you know? How thoroughly do you understand the nature of the dream that you've recognized as a dream? Report an error in the passage at 1:03:48 Highlight the passage at 1:03:48

1:04:08 So it's not binary. That is, one can develop a richer and richer insight into the nature of the dream. But there is something of a binary, and that is, do you know it's a dream or not? But if you know you're dreaming, quite lucid, quite clear, and you continue to act in the dream. I've had lucid dreams many, many people have. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:08 Highlight the passage at 1:04:08

1:04:28 And many of them are much more accomplished than I am. I'm not particularly accomplished. But I know them. I've tasted them. You're in the midst of a lucid dream. And it's incredibly fascinating, as well as very euphoric, generally speaking. One of the most fascinating things about a lucid dream is that if Angela... Report an error in the passage at 1:04:28 Highlight the passage at 1:04:28

1:04:47 Angela? yes? So if Angela appeared in my dream, and so I'm right now, hypothetical of course, but right now let's imagine I'm dreaming and she appears in my dream. And I ask Angela, would you, what shall I ask? Report an error in the passage at 1:04:47 Highlight the passage at 1:04:47

1:05:04 Would you like my water? Just anything. But would you like my water? Because I won't be drinking this, I have plenty of water and I think you don't have any water there. Would you like my water? So a little tiny act of generosity. And I know I'm dreaming, right? What's so fascinating is I don't know how she's going to respond. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:04 Highlight the passage at 1:05:04

1:05:26 I don't have a clue. Are you coming on to me? Or why do you want your water? Is it spoiled? Or yes, I would like your water. Or can I have two bottles? I have no idea what she's going to say. It's so weird. It's my dream. But I don't know what she's going to do. The second lucid dream I had, it was so cool. I was so excited that I knew I was dreaming and we came to a diner and I saw all these people hunched over their hamburgers and I came in as an evangelist. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:26 Highlight the passage at 1:05:26

1:05:54 I wanted everybody to wake up and I was asking people, do you know this is a dream? Do you know this is a dream? And they looked at me with total boredom. They were not interested in the question and would not give an answer. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:54 Highlight the passage at 1:05:54

1:06:09 I couldn't get a single person to answer the question. Whereas what's fascinating, a lot of people who come to my retreats, including the last one, have a lucid dream. One reported, I hadn't heard this before, but he was in a dream and he met somebody. In the dream, he said, do you know this is a dream? And he became lucid. I thought that was very cool. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:09 Highlight the passage at 1:06:09

1:06:40 And so, but now if you're lucid in a dream, you're very clear. This is a dream, you know that. So I'm dreaming, there is the appearance of Angelina, which I know then she's not, that isn't Angelina my dream. She's asleep in her bed someplace. It's the middle of the night. So I know it's not Angelina. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:40 Highlight the passage at 1:06:40

1:06:56 It's an appearance of Angelina. I know that perfectly well, that she's a free creation of my subconscious or the substrate consciousness. I know that, right? At the same time, I don't know how she's going to behave, but now as I engage with Angelina, maybe we have a conversation, in my dream, I know that she's not really separate from me. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:56 Highlight the passage at 1:06:56

1:07:17 The persona that I'm identifying with, nominally, lightly, the persona of me within the dream, and the persona of the appearance of Angelina in the dream, I know they're not the same. Because number one, If I'm about to speak, I know what I'm about to say. But when she's about to speak, I don't have a clue. So we can't be the same. But on the other hand, if she does something rude or something, I can't be really angry at her. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:17 Highlight the passage at 1:07:17

1:07:45 Why are you flipping me the bird, Angelina? That's not very polite. Why are you doing that? I can't say, I hate you, I hate you. You know, come on. She appears to be separate, but she isn't really. It's all coming out of the same ground. So we're not the same, but we're not really different. And she's unpredictable. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:45 Highlight the passage at 1:07:45

1:08:06 So there it is in waking life. The Buddha, at the end of a lovely short story, there was this wandering ascetic named Drona. Drona. And he saw the footprints of the Buddha in the sand. And the Buddha had very remarkable footprints. Dharma chakra. Dharma chakra on his soul. So it was one of the marks of a Buddha. And he saw these remarkable footprints. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:06 Highlight the passage at 1:08:06

1:08:26 And he thought, you know, who made these footprints? And he tracked him, just like a hunter tracking a deer. He tracked him. And then he comes upon him and there's the Buddha. this the track Tracks to their source. And he's blown away. This is a very impressive figure. And he's looking and he's dazzled. And many people were. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:26 Highlight the passage at 1:08:26

1:08:47 He's dazzled by him. And he says, Who are you? Are you a god? And the Buddha said, No, I'm not. Well, are you some kind of a celestial being, like an angel or something like that? Report an error in the passage at 1:08:47 Highlight the passage at 1:08:47

1:09:00 Well, are you some terrestrial spirit, some elemental spirit? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:00 Highlight the passage at 1:09:00

1:09:07 Well, are you human? And the Buddha said, No, I'm not. Who are you? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:07 Highlight the passage at 1:09:07

1:09:22 I find it a fascinating story. Really fascinating. Because his dad was a human being. His mom was a human being. He married a woman who was a human being. And his son was a human being. That's gotten pretty well bracketed. And yet, he said, no. So, he's eating, he has a human body, he has, you know, what human beings do. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:22 Highlight the passage at 1:09:22

1:09:53 But imagine you're in the midst of a lucid dream. Once again, back to the lucid dream. And being lucid, you can do very cool things. One of the easiest things to do is fly. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:53 Highlight the passage at 1:09:53

1:10:05 You can fly on a list. Very easy to do. And you get a little bit of depth, you can start walking through walls. You can walk on water. You can breathe underwater. That's not difficult to do. You can multiply loaves. You can do all kinds of things. You can turn water into wine or vice versa, as you wish. You can do a lot of really quite stunning things. It's a dream, after all. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:05 Highlight the passage at 1:10:05

1:10:23 You can play with it. You can start transforming it at will. If there are other people in the dream that saw you just having walked across water, and somebody else in the dream, an Angelina, comes to you and says, I saw you walk on water. And before that you were flying. Are you a god? Report an error in the passage at 1:10:23 Highlight the passage at 1:10:23

1:10:43 Better say no. And then they run through the litany. And then they say, are you a human being? Now you're lucid, right? And you know this person is behaving as if not lucid. So we're going to assume this person doesn't know it's a dream. And when this person thinks, are you human? That means within this dream, do you have a mother and a father? Do you have relatives? You were born someplace? Report an error in the passage at 1:10:43 Highlight the passage at 1:10:43

1:11:03 Do you have a personal history? That's what they mean by human. That's what we mean by human. Human parents, personal history, mother that gave birth to you and so forth. If you're not, that's human, right? But you're lucid. And the person says, are you human, in brackets, like me? You have to ask me no. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:03 Highlight the passage at 1:11:03

1:11:23 What would you say? Report an error in the passage at 1:11:23 Highlight the passage at 1:11:23

1:11:35 Have a good night's sleep? Most important, sleep well. Get caught up and have a good night's sleep. That's our food, the food of sleep. As the days go by, I may introduce some little simple techniques for lucid dreaming because it's just so interesting. But sleep well, and I'll see you tomorrow morning. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:35 Highlight the passage at 1:11:35

1:11:55 You're welcome. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:55 Highlight the passage at 1:11:55