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Key passages
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- 1:37
It's a rationale. It puts things in perspective. Why are we doing what we're doing? To understand the mind. It has the idea of the notion of going for refuge. What it is that we go for refuge to. Where it is that we are willing to... Dedicate a great deal of our energies and time and our attention and so forth.
- 3:34
obvious. Some people go for refuge to their family, to their partner perhaps, to their friends, to their work, to education, to money, to material things. Some people go for refuge to romantic love.
- 15:53
And the sacred is not reducible to anything else. So I don't think we're ever going to find our ultimate refuge in any particular person, in any particular thing, in any particular position or place. I think it's going to be something we're going to have to look inside ourselves for. If in our lived experience we are ever to know, ever to have enough, then we really have to know what it is to have enough and what it is that we're really looking for and where it can truly be found.
- 19:17
And the essential mind training begins with deeply seeing the necessity to changing our own minds. We can't change the world. That's beyond our control. If we ever define some degree of what it is that we want in this life, we're going to have to look where the possibility of finding it can actually be found, and that is with our own mind.
- 1:15:12
And we're going to divide them up into two. We're going to say whether there's objects and object processors, objects and subjects, subjects and objects. Subjects know objects. Objects are known by subjects. So this kind of points up the fact that mind is central in very much a principal subject of our concern. We're looking at it from the point we're going to look at the world in terms of mind. And beginning with the definition of object, that which is known by an awareness, and we're going to look at awareness, what we mean by awareness.
Transcript
0:00 Do you think it will snow? It's cold out, isn't it? Report an error in the passage at 0:00
0:34 It Report an error in the passage at 0:34
0:53 was Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher, who said that we can bear almost any what if we have a why. We can bear almost any what if we have a why. So I think this kind of ties in with our, hopefully, it ties in with our looking at why we're doing what we're doing. So that we can bear even mind and mental factor or mind and cognition. It makes sense of what we're doing. Report an error in the passage at 0:53
1:37 It's a rationale. It puts things in perspective. Why are we doing what we're doing? To understand the mind. It has the idea of the notion of going for refuge. What it is that we go for refuge to. Where it is that we are willing to... Report an error in the passage at 1:37
2:00 Dedicate a great deal of our energies and time and our attention and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 2:00
2:08 You know, the notion of Report an error in the passage at 2:08
2:15 going for refuge. I know it sounds something of an Eastern concept or a Buddhist concept, but Report an error in the passage at 2:15
2:31 nonetheless, whether we call it that or not, whether we think of it in that way or not, we are all going for refuge in one way or another. And we all have worked out our various objects of refuge for ourselves, even perhaps if they aren't working particularly well for ourselves. Nonetheless, there's someone or something that we can prevail upon, something that we can do, that we can take advantage of, that we can belong to, that we can be a part of to help us to find the happiness that we're all looking for, to help us to. Report an error in the passage at 2:31
3:13 To solve the problems that we're all trying to work through. Report an error in the passage at 3:13
3:20 So the notion of going for refuge isn't particularly Buddhist, it's not particularly Eastern. We all are refugees, Report an error in the passage at 3:20
3:34 obvious. Some Report an error in the passage at 3:34
3:46 people go for refuge to their family, to their partner perhaps, to their friends, to their work, to education, to money, to material things. Some people go for refuge to romantic love. To science, the arts, to, what was that one? Report an error in the passage at 3:46
4:10 Surfing, good one, good one. I live in the northern beaches, there's a lot of refugees going for refuge to surfing. Sports in general, politics, hobbies, physical fitness, TV, food, lots of food shows, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 4:10
4:30 Maybe that's an indication of where people are going for refuge. Report an error in the passage at 4:30
4:36 Sex, drugs and rock and roll. So the possibilities are as varied as there are individuals which have worked out our particular refuges. We're all refugees from that particular point of view. So I guess what Buddhism is asking us, and I guess trying to lead our lives perhaps in a more sane and rational fashion, is to begin to question whether our particular refuges are actually working or not. Report an error in the passage at 4:36
5:11 They are fulfilling our expectations, whether they're delivering the goods, whether we are finding what it is that we want. Report an error in the passage at 5:11
5:29 Where do we usually go for refuge to? Where do we habitually go for refuge to when things become difficult, when we are faced with some problems, some uncomfortable feelings? Report an error in the passage at 5:29
5:44 I guess kind of take that for ourselves. You know, all the things that we listed, you know, surfing, but friends and family. Material things, work that you find fulfilling, a nice home, clothing, they all are various elements which go into making up a good life, a successful life. But are they sufficient? They have Report an error in the passage at 5:44
6:26 certain limitations perhaps that we haven't identified. Can we honestly say, in spite of all the blood, sweat and tears that we've expended over the course of our life, All the worrying, the figuring out Report an error in the passage at 6:26
6:45 to that place where we feel that we have arrived, that this is it. I feel I have enough. This is the good life. I feel content. We Report an error in the passage at 6:45
7:06 find a new partner, a new wife, a new husband, maybe a therapist, a new guru. Report an error in the passage at 7:06
7:18 We change our course of study. We change our job. We find a new house or a new flat, maybe in the city, in the country and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 7:18
7:34 What I'm looking for is just around that next bend. There's always these auspicious beginnings, another roadside attraction, which kind of keeps us going in some way or another. The allure of finding is what it is that we're most... then it's... Report an error in the passage at 7:34
7:59 Deeply looking for in our heart of hearts. Another project. Report an error in the passage at 7:59
8:09 You know, the life, I think, is continually throwing up questions to ourselves, dilemmas, as it were, as part of the nature of the human condition. Report an error in the passage at 8:09
8:24 And, you know, there's almost a hierarchy of possibilities. There's the trivial everyday questions that we are confronted with that we have to answer, which perhaps don't. We present all that much of a predicament for ourselves, you know, what to cook for dinner, maybe which movie to go to, and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 8:24
8:48 But then there are more profound and far-reaching questions which have greater ramifications in our life. You know, maybe, what should I study? What kind of job should I work at? Should I have another child or should I have a first child at all? Should I marry this person? Where should I live? Report an error in the passage at 8:48
9:10 So a lot of our time and energy is dedicated or is consumed by answering this kind of level of hierarchy of questions. But finally, there are the big questions that hang over us in one way or another, kind of leaning over our shoulder somewhere in the background. The kind of questions that maybe Socrates asked or stated when he said, That the unexamined life is not worth living when we're asked to examine our life, when we're confronted with, you know, through it all, how far have I gotten in this project of finding the good life, something that I feel fulfilled and enriched, that I find a sense of contentment and meaning, purpose. Report an error in the passage at 9:10
10:15 In answering this question, James Hillman, you know, I'm repeating myself to some degree. James Hillman is a Jungian analyst in the United States. He asks the question, you know, tell me what you yearn and I shall tell you who you are. What is it that drives our wandering? This idealized image which we keep reaching for in the back of our minds somewhere. Some compelling image that arises in your mind telling us who you would be and what you would do with your life. Report an error in the passage at 10:15
10:54 You know, this one wild, precious life that we all have, which is... Inevitably going to come to an end, and we don't know when. Report an error in the passage at 10:54
11:06 So if we address these deeper questions, then some of the lesser questions we are able to resolve them of themselves, or we find a perspective where the answers come much more readily. Report an error in the passage at 11:06
11:25 We tend to avoid the larger questions regarding meaning in our lives and so forth. And therefore we find these second level questions that address our practical concerns, you know, whom to marry or where to live, what kind of work to do and so forth, confusing. And oftentimes we can't resolve them. It seems like they're too perplexing. We feel a certain bewilderment or confusion about what to do next, where to go. Report an error in the passage at 11:25
11:55 And we feel a bit overwhelmed by life sometimes. We can't get a handle on it. Report an error in the passage at 11:55
12:05 But I think if we begin to really search and we stay with the question, what am I really yearning for? What is it that our hearts are longing for, ultimately searching for in our lives? It almost sounds like a romantic notion in a way. Report an error in the passage at 12:05
12:33 I think I've mentioned this. Maybe I'll read it again. I think it's worth it. I appreciate this quote. I've read it a number of times to many of you. Report an error in the passage at 12:33
12:49 It's a quote by Robert Johnson. Again, Robert Johnson is a union analyst in the United States and American, trying to help us to find an answer to this most difficult of questions. Report an error in the passage at 12:49
13:02 Help us to find in our way the process of individualization, of finding what works for me, and answers something which is able to address these most deepest of questions and yearnings that we have. If we're willing to live with them, if we're willing to confront them. So much of our life is spent in longing and a search for what we do not know. Report an error in the passage at 13:02
13:36 So many of the obstensible goals, so many of the things we think we want, turn out to be the masks behind which our real desires hide. Report an error in the passage at 13:36
13:46 They are symbols for the actual values and qualities for which we hunger. They are not reducible to physical or material things, not even to a physical person. There are psychological qualities, love, truth, honesty, loyalty, purpose. Something we can feel is noble, precious and worthy of our devotion. Report an error in the passage at 13:46
14:11 We try to reduce all this to something physical, a house, a car, a better job or a human being, but it doesn't work. Without realizing it, we are searching for the sacred, and the sacred is not reducible to anything else. Report an error in the passage at 14:11
14:32 Sacredness is, in a sense, a feeling, but a feeling that goes to the very heart of life. It is a feeling of recognition directed toward what is great and high enough to give our small lives meaning, to put our personal journeys in a greater perspective. It is a feeling of reverence. What we call the sacred is ultimately a universe of meaning against which we can measure our personal efforts, our personal lives. Report an error in the passage at 14:32
15:03 To see whether they too have meaning. So I'd like to suggest that over and above all the possible roles that we could assume in the course of our daily lives, all the activities that we could possibly engage in, all that we could possibly own or control or simply possess in one way or another, over and above all of that, beneath all of that. Report an error in the passage at 15:03
15:32 We each in our own way. And what that way is, you have to begin to sense for yourself, I think. But each of us in our own way, without even being aware of it, is searching for what I think Robert Johnson is here calling the sacred. Report an error in the passage at 15:32
15:53 And the sacred is not reducible to anything else. So I don't think we're ever going to find our ultimate refuge in any particular person, in any particular thing, in any particular position or place. I think it's going to be something we're going to have to look inside ourselves for. Report an error in the passage at 15:53
16:13 If in our lived experience we are ever to know, ever to have enough, then we really have to know what it is to have enough and what it is that we're really looking for and where it can truly be found. Report an error in the passage at 16:13
16:42 So I think, you know, ultimately... I gave a talk about a few months ago and during the course of this talk I said something to the effect, Report an error in the passage at 16:42
16:57 I just recently, only in the past few years, have I felt deeply the necessity to look to my own mind for what it is I most deeply want in my life. And someone took me to task for that and they said, well, you know, you've been a monk. For many years, you've been a Buddhist for even more years. I would have thought you would have come to that conclusion a long, long time ago. Perhaps that's true. Report an error in the passage at 16:57
17:30 Perhaps I'm a slower learner. But perhaps it's a lesson that we need continually to be relearning or that we have learned once and we lose sight of. Report an error in the passage at 17:30
17:42 You know, our ultimate refuge is our own mind. Don't look for anything but this. If you point your cart north, When you want to go south, how will you ever arrive? Buddha is our mind. And Buddha, as I tried to emphasize, I'm not quite sure what a Buddha is. Report an error in the passage at 17:42
18:05 I have a sense, you know, it's a model of something that we're all reaching for. I'm not saying a religious model or something from the East or something that the Tibetans have a monopoly on. Any of that nature. It doesn't matter, regardless of religion. Report an error in the passage at 18:05
18:26 Regardless of the institutions which have been built around the religions and so forth, but to unfold within us the possibilities of our human potential, to become a happy, healthy, loving, sane human being, to be able to touch that vision of who we can become, I think is our deepest journey. I think that's the sacred. Perhaps I'm speaking only for myself, but maybe some of you might share that with me. Report an error in the passage at 18:26
18:57 And I have to keep, in a very practical way, I have to keep coming back to that. Report an error in the passage at 18:57
19:06 You know, that's what we, in the last few years, the last two, almost three years, I guess, we've been having some talks around what is called mind training. Report an error in the passage at 19:06
19:17 And the essential mind training begins with deeply seeing the necessity to changing our own minds. We can't change the world. That's beyond our control. If we ever define some degree of what it is that we want in this life, we're going to have to look where the possibility of finding it can actually be found, and that is with our own mind. Report an error in the passage at 19:17
19:48 And again, just to emphasize, this isn't a matter of rejection of the world. It's just the way of looking at the world in terms of what it's actually able to bring us, Report an error in the passage at 19:48
20:12 What we can rationally and reasonably expect from it and thereby finds our Report an error in the passage at 20:12
20:21 expectation and we can have deep and meaningful relationships with the world rather than finding it in conflict with the world. Report an error in the passage at 20:21
20:33 Finding some kind of peace with the world by finding peace within our own mind. Finding being content with what it is that we have by finding contentment within our own mind. Report an error in the passage at 20:33
20:46 Finding that the world is a sacred place. By finding the sacred within our own minds. Finding love in the world by finding love with our own minds. So I think it all comes back to our own minds. I think that's what it means to go for refuge to the Buddha, the Buddha with inside of ourselves. But simply wishing it were so, and I think wishing it were so is helping us to supply the why. Report an error in the passage at 20:46
21:18 And it's a very important task, a very important element in the making itself. But just that is not sufficient. We actually have to do something. We have to change our mind. And the ways that we change our mind are the Dharma, the text Report an error in the passage at 21:18
21:40 on mind and cognition, if you like, but also all the various methods of meditation and training, but ultimately the truth of things. Report an error in the passage at 21:40
21:55 We're studying, there's one notion here called the valid cognition. The type of mind which is able to touch the way things actually are. The truth. And it's the truth which will liberate us. The means by which we find what it is that we're looking for. And this occurs within ourselves. Mental health is a social phenomenon. Report an error in the passage at 21:55
22:24 It doesn't occur in isolation or rejection of the world. We are social beings. We have to find... Not only peace within, but find some skillful way of being in this world with others. So mental health occurs within the context of us all. It's coming together as a community of fellow travelers and trying to work out a path for ourselves and sharing and assisting and sympathizing and doing whatever we have to offer. Report an error in the passage at 22:24
23:04 It is in that offering that we receive from others. That we become this saṅgha, this community of spiritual travelers and fellow journeyers along the path. And we try to raise the level of our motivation. You know, one of our perhaps most fundamental problems is that we're so caught up in our own problems at the expense and exclusion of others. Report an error in the passage at 23:04
23:31 How can we find some perspective? How can we deal with our problems but at the same time be aware that others are like myself? They too are having problems. Report an error in the passage at 23:31
23:42 There's a saying Report an error in the passage at 23:42
23:54 that comes from Iran. I felt sorry for myself because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet. And it does hurt to have no shoes, especially on a night like this. And something practically needs to be done to address that problem. But at the same time we're addressing our own individual problems. We need to maintain some perspective and understand that... Report an error in the passage at 23:54
24:27 There are others who have no feet. And make that kind of mindfulness the way that we approach, the way that we lead our daily lives. Report an error in the passage at 24:27
24:40 Things will change for us. Report an error in the passage at 24:40
24:50 Everything is a dependent arising. I mean, it's a very basic principle to Buddhism. And it has many and varied applications. Report an error in the passage at 24:50
25:02 But what I'd like to just suggest here is if we simply create... Continually are creating the causes. The results will come forth by themselves. We don't have to be overly concerned, overly ambitious, worry about how far am I getting, am I doing okay. Report an error in the passage at 25:02
25:29 Our main task in self-development is to create the causes. The result will take care of itself. We don't have to oversee the process. That's an extra additive. Which simply complicates, which simply burdens ourselves, which in fact can act as a hindrance. So we study, we meditate, we think, we reflect, we do what we can very practically in benefiting ourselves and others. Report an error in the passage at 25:29
25:59 And life will take care of itself because we're taking care of our own minds. Shit will happen, but we'll be able to deal with it in far better ways than perhaps we were able to in the past. Report an error in the passage at 25:59
26:15 We will have moved to a... Some higher order of being, perhaps without even being aware of it, except on reflection, looking at how we once were. Report an error in the passage at 26:15
26:30 So if you'd like to formalize a little of what we've been talking about, we can recite the verse of Going for Refuge. Report an error in the passage at 26:30
26:41 Okay, there's a little change. Refuge remains the same, but there's a little change in the way we word it. I Report an error in the passage at 26:41
· · · silence, 1 minute
27:29 think I have the right one. Report an error in the passage at 27:29
27:46 Okay. So the inner focus of our life is Buddha Report an error in the passage at 27:46
28:00 with inside of ourselves. This person that we are the final transformation, happy, healthy, loving, sane human being, which we realize, actualize by means of the Dharma in the social context of a spiritual community in continually trying to raise the level of motivation, the why behind and the purpose for what it is that we're doing. Report an error in the passage at 28:00
28:25 to include in every widening circle of others. I go for refuge until I am awakened to the Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha through the collections of merit and wisdom created out of generosity and the other practices. May I become a Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings. I go for refuge until I am awakened to the Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha through the collections of merit and wisdom created out of generosity and the other practices. Report an error in the passage at 28:25
28:56 May I become a Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings. I go for refuge until I am awakened to the Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha. Through the collections of merit and wisdom created out of its generosity and the other practices, may I become a Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings. May all sentient beings of happiness and the causes of happiness, may all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. Report an error in the passage at 28:56
29:23 May all sentient beings be inseparable from the joy that is without sorrow. May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment for some and aversion toward others. Report an error in the passage at 29:23
29:42 Okay, would you like to stand up for a moment and then we'll go sit in meditation together? Report an error in the passage at 29:42
29:54 So as usual, you're welcome to sit on a cushion or a chair. You're welcome to lie down. Report an error in the passage at 29:54
30:07 Whatever works best for yourself. You're the authority. So Report an error in the passage at 30:07
· · · silence, 1 minute
31:24 we're going to begin. By getting in touch and relaxing our bodies, I invite you to bring your awareness to the crown of your head, your scalp, and start by perhaps imagining or actually feeling the wrinkles in your brow and your forehead beginning to smooth out the Report an error in the passage at 31:24
31:53 pressure in and around your eyes, diminishing the Report an error in the passage at 31:53
32:10 muscles of the face, softening, relaxing. Report an error in the passage at 32:10
32:27 Tongue is soft and jaw relaxed. Report an error in the passage at 32:27
32:37 And bringing your awareness to the back of your neck and perhaps gently turning your head to each side a few times. Just very gently loosening, stretching the muscles of the back of the neck, bringing Report an error in the passage at 32:37
33:00 your awareness down to your upper back and shoulders and perhaps drawing your shoulders up towards your ears and circling them to the back, to Report an error in the passage at 33:00
33:20 the front and just rotating your shoulders a few times. Report an error in the passage at 33:20
33:36 And eventually returning your shoulders back up toward your ears and then just allowing them to drop comfortably to the sides. And with that, the feeling of some kind of burden or weight that you may have unknowingly been carrying around on your shoulders over the course of the day, moving down and through your body into the ground, a feeling of relief, a burden that's been lifted from your back. Report an error in the passage at 33:36
34:20 And bringing your awareness all the way down to your hands. Your hands are soft and loose. Report an error in the passage at 34:20
34:35 Your lower arms, Report an error in the passage at 34:35
34:54 your chest is at ease. Report an error in the passage at 34:54
35:06 You're relaxing throughout the heart area, the central space of the chest. Report an error in the passage at 35:06
35:32 And releasing the tension that we often hold in our stomach muscles. Just allow your belly to go soft. Report an error in the passage at 35:32
35:49 And Report an error in the passage at 35:49
35:58 keeping your trunk erect, relax your lower back muscles. And Report an error in the passage at 35:58
36:22 throughout the pelvic region, the Report an error in the passage at 36:22
36:48 upper legs. Report an error in the passage at 36:48
· · · silence, 1 minute
37:23 So we'll scan through our body once again, from the crown down through the central portion of the body. And as you move through with awareness, paying particular attention to any tightnesses, any tensions across Report an error in the passage at 37:23
37:48 an area where you feel some tightness or tension, perhaps in the back of the neck, maybe the shoulders, upper back, wherever it might be in your body. Report an error in the passage at 37:48
38:01 Breathing in and following that breath. With your awareness to wherever the tension, the tightness is being held, even if in fact the breath doesn't go there, just imagine it does, suffusing that area with the breath of awareness. Report an error in the passage at 38:01
38:17 And then as if breathing out from that same area and with that out-breath, Report an error in the passage at 38:17
38:26 there's some kind of release, Report an error in the passage at 38:26
38:37 only just a little bit. Report an error in the passage at 38:37
38:43 Areas of tension, of tightness, breathing out from those areas again and again. With Report an error in the passage at 38:43
38:53 each out-breath, Report an error in the passage at 38:53
· · · silence, 1 minute
40:22 comfortable and at ease. Report an error in the passage at 40:22
· · · silence, 1 minute
41:22 I invite you to become aware of the fact that you're breathing. And where did your mind go to just now? What bodily sensation indicates to you that you're breathing in and that you're breathing out? Wherever it's most clear and obvious. Report an error in the passage at 41:22
41:44 Just lightly rest your attention. Focus your awareness on that bodily sensation associated with the natural in and out of the breath. Report an error in the passage at 41:44
41:59 One, two. Additionally supplement it with counting the breaths, breathing in, breathing out, counting one, and out two, and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 41:59
· · · silence, 3 minutes
44:45 Line back, Report an error in the passage at 44:45
· · · silence, 3 minutes
47:48 and we're going to shift our attention to a sensation of the body other than the sensation of the breath. It might be the pressure of your buttocks on the chair, on the cushion, lying down, or your hands in your lap. Whatever is a predominant physical sensation. Other than the breath. Just focus your awareness on that sensation. Report an error in the passage at 47:48
· · · silence, 1 minute
49:42 And again, we'll shift our attention this time to the sounds around us. We're going to listen to sound. So it's very quiet. You have to listen very carefully. Listen to the sounds around us. Focusing on sound. Report an error in the passage at 49:42
· · · silence, 1 minute
50:43 Listening to sound. And Report an error in the passage at 50:43
· · · silence, 1 minute
51:16 again, we'll shift our attention. This time we're going to turn our attention inward to the mind itself. Looking at the objects of mind, the thoughts, the words passing through our mind, pictures, images, but also the various states of mind. Maybe you're sleepy, maybe you're restless, maybe you have pleasurable feelings, unpleasurable feelings, emotions, all the objects and states of mind, watching the mind itself. Report an error in the passage at 51:16
· · · silence, 1 minute
52:49 And then finally we're going to allow... The mind to become involved in any object that it naturally tends toward, whether it might be the breath or a bodily sensation, thinking, sound, whatever it might be, but in a relaxed and gentle way, maintains a degree of awareness, a watchfulness. Report an error in the passage at 52:49
· · · silence, 1 minute
54:01 Stay awake, stay aware, Report an error in the passage at 54:01
· · · silence, 1 minute
54:41 bring your mind back to the breath, easy, gentle, in and outflow of the natural breath. Report an error in the passage at 54:41
· · · silence, 1 minute
55:39 I'd like to put a question to you for you to investigate. What is consciousness, awareness, knowing? Report an error in the passage at 55:39
55:53 What is consciousness? How do you experience it? Report an error in the passage at 55:53
· · · silence, 1 minute
56:42 What is it that's knowing, Report an error in the passage at 56:42
56:49 the object possessor? Report an error in the passage at 56:49
· · · silence, 1 minute
57:58 Stand up and stretch if you like. Report an error in the passage at 57:58
· · · silence, 1 minute
58:55 So normally we'll have a breakup into small groups, but I was a bit talkative tonight, so we're not going to have small groups tonight. But I would like to ask you... What you came up with in answer to the question that we put to ourselves, it's not an easy question, at least for myself. What do we mean by consciousness, knowing, awareness? Did anyone come up with an idea of their experience? Report an error in the passage at 58:55
59:35 Please, yeah. That which can perceive a thought. Report an error in the passage at 59:35
59:45 Can it perceive? A flower as well. Report an error in the passage at 59:45
59:57 So what does it mean to perceive? Report an error in the passage at 59:57
1:00:21 Yeah, it's not easy. I'll go along with you on that. So to recognize, understand within a particular experience what it is that we're knowing or something. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:21
1:00:36 No, I'm just trying to reflect back what you said. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:36
1:00:44 Anybody else want to give it a go? Awake. No. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:44
· · · silence, 1 minute
1:00:50 Okay, so we're awake Report an error in the passage at 1:00:50
1:00:59 too? Awake? You are awake. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:59
1:01:09 Consciousness is what? To be awake? To be awake. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:09
1:01:24 To be receptive. What happens when you're not awake? Is there no consciousness? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:24
1:01:36 There's semi-consciousness. Komotos. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:36
1:01:45 Good, good. Listen, please. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:45
1:02:01 Consciousness is experience. To Report an error in the passage at 1:02:01
1:02:16 be able to, so it's a potential, an ability. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:16
1:02:28 Why do you think worms have consciousness? Report an error in the passage at 1:02:28
1:02:34 Is this flower alive? Report an error in the passage at 1:02:34
1:02:38 How do you know? Report an error in the passage at 1:02:38
1:02:47 Does the Buddha have a consciousness? It has a touch of water. It's hydrophilic. ha, ha. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:47
1:03:07 Okay, so that's the question. It's a good answer. What do we mean by knowing? What does it mean to know? What is it knowing? I mean, Report an error in the passage at 1:03:07
1:03:32 it's knowing all those characteristics. What does it mean to know? To be conscious. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:32
1:03:52 great, great, great. comfort? Huh. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:52
· · · silence, 1 minute
1:05:03 Consciousness is like a repository. It's a receptacle, a container. Is Report an error in the passage at 1:05:03
1:05:20 that memory? It says conscious memory. So Report an error in the passage at 1:05:20
1:05:46 feeling, thinking. Are these examples of knowing? Yeah. Feeling is an example of a type of knowing. We know pleasure. We know pain. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:46
1:06:05 So what does it mean to know, whether it's pleasurable? Report an error in the passage at 1:06:05
1:06:15 You know when you don't know. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:15
1:06:21 mean, it's extremely... Yeah, please. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:21
1:06:26 Our basic response to experience, so it's something different than experience. So first there's an experience, and then you respond to that experience. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:26
1:06:41 So we have knowing and experience, but they're not the same, but they happen together. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:41
1:06:59 Have we decided what knowing is? We know it. Is there – okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:59
1:07:05 It occurs with experience, Report an error in the passage at 1:07:05
1:07:11 response, Report an error in the passage at 1:07:11
1:07:40 a potential, when it's Report an error in the passage at 1:07:40
1:07:47 a potential, it's not an actual. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:47
1:07:56 So what does it mean to be aware, like I'm aware of that flower? Report an error in the passage at 1:07:56
1:08:07 A different awareness, but there's an awareness. A capacity. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:07
1:08:19 It's pardon? Report an error in the passage at 1:08:19
1:08:29 To be. Or not to be. To be. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:29
1:08:52 To be. It just is. Is this flower just is? It's not. How Report an error in the passage at 1:08:52
1:09:16 do you know? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:16
1:09:30 Have you asked? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:30
1:09:37 Okay. Anybody? Any other? That Report an error in the passage at 1:09:37
1:09:47 which can perceive it beyond its form. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:47
1:09:52 That's intriguing. What does it mean beyond its form? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:52
· · · silence, 1 minute
1:10:39 So there's something that can be trained. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:39
1:11:06 Does the eye consciousness perceive the flower? Then Report an error in the passage at 1:11:06
1:11:17 eyeball this EYE. So the eye consciousness sees the colors and shapes of the flower. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:17
1:11:32 So the mind is something other than the eye consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:32
1:11:39 Different types of consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:39
· · · silence, 1 minute
1:12:13 You've obviously been studying Buddhism. Good job. Good job. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:13
1:12:24 Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:24
1:12:34 All those ways. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:34
· · · silence, 1 minute
1:13:33 That's right. Yeah. Good. Yeah. We'll be going through that. That's right. You had a comment? Report an error in the passage at 1:13:33
1:13:46 I know that I don't know. Okay. How do you know that you don't know? Report an error in the passage at 1:13:46
1:14:16 So here we're talking about the actual, just to find what, I mean, it's quite difficult. And we're going to try to answer it. I mean, we'll discuss it. Simply what it means to know. What does it mean to know? And then, you know, this is, I think, a difficult question. to answer, but we're going to look at it. I just want to kind of stimulate some thinking around it. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:16
1:14:44 Thank you for that. Let's look at page 7 of our text. We're beginning with existence. Other terms for existence are phenomena, established base. Okay. So we... Report an error in the passage at 1:14:44
1:15:12 And we're going to divide them up into two. We're going to say whether there's objects and object processors, objects and subjects, subjects and objects. Subjects know objects. Objects are known by subjects. So this kind of points up the fact that mind is central in very much a principal subject of our concern. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:12
1:15:42 We're looking at it from the point we're going to look at the world in terms of mind. And beginning with the definition of object, that which is known by an awareness, and we're going to look at awareness, what we mean by awareness. But simply that which is an object of awareness, that which is known by awareness is an object. So this flower is, is this flower an object? Report an error in the passage at 1:15:42
1:16:07 Why? Because it's that which is known by an awareness. The table is an object. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:07
1:16:23 This building is an object and so forth. But we're going to look at objects in terms of the mind, how the mind is relating with them. So we're going to divide objects into three, but not from the side of the object, but we're going to divide it in terms of how the mind is relating to those objects. is my... Report an error in the passage at 1:16:23
1:16:48 And the first of these is called the appearing object. So this is what is actually appearing to the mind. And we'll bring out the significance of what this means. It makes the appearing object what is actually appearing to the consciousness. So there's going to be three terms which are synonymous, awareness, knower and consciousness. So we can use those interchangeably. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:48
1:17:17 It's going to be mentioned next. That which is actually appearing to the consciousness. If it's an eye consciousness apprehending a flower, what is the appearing object? Eye consciousness apprehending a flower. What is the appearing object of that consciousness? Report an error in the passage at 1:17:17
1:17:45 Your consciousness hearing a sound. What is the appearing object? By appearing, don't get hung up on visual sound. What is the – on the – Nose consciousness smelling an odor. Ear, nose, tongue. Tongue consciousness tasting a flavor, the appearing object. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:45
1:18:16 So that's what's actually appearing to the mind. And this is going to become important as we go along. The determined object. Now this is what determined object only applies. To conceptual consciousness. We're going to go through various divisions of consciousness. One way of dividing consciousness is into conceptual consciousnesses and non-conceptual consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:16
1:18:49 Another word for conceptual consciousness is thought, thought consciousness. And this is quite an interesting area that we're going to explore. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:49
1:19:03 Determined object is the there are one way of Report an error in the passage at 1:19:03
· · · silence, 1 minute
1:19:09 That which the mind is thinking, this is this, that is that. So it only applies to a thought consciousness. It is what the mind, what the consciousness is actually getting at, what it actually is analyzing. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:09
1:19:27 This term, determined object, is only used for a thought consciousness. only so Report an error in the passage at 1:19:27
1:19:36 is the determined object of the conceptual or the thought consciousness apprehending book. What is the determined object of the thought consciousness apprehending book? When I'm thinking about book, what is the determined object? The book. The thought consciousness thinking about the flower. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:36
1:20:04 Thought consciousness thinking about the flower. The thought consciousness apprehending flower. What is the determined object? Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:04
1:20:16 It is what the mind is actually determining, what it's distinguishing. That's right. So the flower is the determined object of the thought consciousness apprehending flower. It's what it's actually getting at. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:16
1:20:35 The object of engagement is what the mind... So it's not, it's, okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:35
1:20:21 this becomes... Report an error in the passage at 1:20:21
1:20:42 It's actually getting at again. We're going to divide mind into two in the following pages. One of them is bare perception and the other is conceptual thought, thought conception. I want to develop these ideas. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:42
1:21:12 The appearing object we can use... Report an error in the passage at 1:21:12
· · · silence, 1 minute
1:21:16 of thought consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:16
1:21:31 What is the appearing object of an eye consciousness apprehending flower? Report an error in the passage at 1:21:31
1:21:42 What is the object of engagement of an eye consciousness apprehending flower? Okay, it's the same. What is appearing to the eye consciousness and what the eye consciousness is getting at, what it is actually involved in. are the same. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:42
1:22:05 That's for a bare perception. It's quite different in the case of a thought consciousness. Thought consciousness, Report an error in the passage at 1:22:05
1:22:24 at no time will my hands leave my wrists. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:24
1:22:33 We're looking at the nature of the mind and reality from a particular tenet. I mentioned this last week. don't you go this way? consciousness. See, the... Report an error in the passage at 1:22:33
1:22:42 It's called Sotantrika, or the Sūtra School. Their way of, and it's more or less accepted by all the schools, except there's some subtle distinctions which are made, but more or less it is accepted. Their notion is that things exist independent of mind. This flower exists independent of my mind. It casts its image toward my mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:42
1:23:09 The mind, in this way of looking at mind, An understanding mind and so forth, consciousness. The mind is viewed as a passive observer, just like a mirror. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:09
1:23:24 The object casts its image and the mind simply reflects what has been directed at it from the outside. There's something independently existing, truly existing out there. And this casts its image toward the mind. And the mind simply... Like a mirror reflects what is there. That's the way we call bare perception. It's simply directly knowing the image of the flower in that manner. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:24
1:23:58 Now thought consciousness is quite different. It's more that the object is coming from the side of the mind. When I say the appearing object of an eye consciousness apprehending flower, Report an error in the passage at 1:23:58
1:24:17 The appearing object of a thought consciousness apprehending a flower. I can think about a flower, can't I? I can think about a rose. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:17
1:24:27 I don't have to actually directly perceive it. I can think about it. That's one of the advantages of conceptual thought. The object doesn't have to be present. I think about it. But what is the appearing object? The appearing object is my idea. About the flower. It's not the flower. It is called a mental image, or sometimes more technically a generic image. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:27
1:24:57 So the appearing object of thought consciousness apprehending a flower is coming from the side of the subject, from the side of the mind, from the side of the subject, the consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:57
1:25:14 Okay? But did you follow me so far? So what is the appearing object of a thought consciousness apprehending book? The idea of a book, exactly. Just to use the settled terminology, we'll just use the term mental image. It is an idea. And it's very interesting how this builds up. I think it's quite a fascinating area, thought consciousness. But we'll develop this as we go along. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:14
1:25:47 What is the appearing object? Object of a thought consciousness apprehending sound. I can think about sound, right? I can think about this song I just heard. What is the appearing object to that thought consciousness apprehending sound? Report an error in the passage at 1:25:47
1:26:13 What's the appearing object? Mental image of sound. Okay, we'll just use the term, but you're right. Concept, the idea, generic image. Mental image. We're just going to use the term mental image, okay? Mental image of sound. It's not actually sound. Mental image of sound. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:13
1:26:37 Memory. Yeah, great. I remember this song I heard last night. That's a thought consciousness apprehending the song you heard last night. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:37
1:26:47 How is it remembering? It's using our ideas, our mental images. Mental images. We're going to discuss how we develop. How we build up these mental images because it becomes quite important in general. What is the appearing object of a thought consciousness apprehending an odor, the Report an error in the passage at 1:26:47
1:27:18 image of an odor? I can say, oh, there was that smell last night. I couldn't stand it. And you're thinking about an odor and what is the appearing object to the mind. The object which is appearing to the mind is not an actual odor, is it? It is a mental image of that odor. And we'll discuss how these mental images are formed. Now, what is the determined object of an eye? Report an error in the passage at 1:27:18
1:27:40 It's your Report an error in the passage at 1:27:40
1:27:56 A thought consciousness apprehending a flower. I'm thinking about flower. What is the appearing object? The appearing object? Report an error in the passage at 1:27:56
1:28:09 Mental image of a flower. Now what is the determined object? Flower. That's what my mind is actually getting at. I can understand flower by understanding flower. That's the determined object. That's what I'm distinguishing by way of my idea, by way of my mental image about the flower. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:09
1:28:32 While we sit here, we can think about our house. So what is the appearing object of that mental consciousness, that thought consciousness apprehending your house? Report an error in the passage at 1:28:32
1:28:50 You have a mental image of your house. What is the determined object? What are you actually distinguishing? Your house. So we can understand things validly. We can make use of our thought consciousness to understand things. That is a valid way of knowing, and we're going to come to what it means to validly know. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:50
1:29:13 But we're not understanding things by way of the object itself, by the power of the object itself, casting its image upon the consciousness, but by way of our idea about the object. There's a difference, quite a big difference, isn't there? So bare perception, that is, say, direct perception, Perception and, for example, the eye consciousness apprehending the flower. It understands, it apprehends the flower by the force of the flower casting its image toward the eye consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:13
1:29:49 My thought consciousness apprehending the flower understands the flower, but by means of my mental image of the flower. Okay? Makes a difference. We're going to work with these various ways of how we come to know. Remember I said the first half of this term, we're using an epistemological model of consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:49
1:30:18 And epistemology is the study of how we know. So we're knowing. Here we're pointing out two different ways that we know. They're both valid ways of knowing. And they're both very useful ways of knowing, but they're very different ways of knowing. I can know the object directly. My eye consciousness knows the flower directly. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:18
1:30:40 Or I can know it by way of my mental image, my idea, my concept, my understanding of the flower. I'm understanding the same object, but I'm understanding it in two very different ways. I'm knowing it in two different ways. Does that make sense? Report an error in the passage at 1:30:40
1:30:59 So we're going to make use of it. This is going to come up quite often, quite a lot. But we're kind of laying the groundwork here. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:59
1:31:13 The appearing object, here it says in our text, Report an error in the passage at 1:31:13
1:31:21 whatever is an established base, an established base is a synonym for an existent or a phenomena, is necessarily an appearing object. So everything, if it... Tables, chairs, houses, people, Buddhas, they're all necessarily appearing objects. But they appear in objects for two very different types of consciousnesses. This is because whatever is a thing, that's a technical term, believe it or not, a thing, a functional thing, that is an impermanent phenomenon, an impermanent phenomenon. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:21
1:32:11 This table, this house, Consciousness, anything which arises independent upon causes and conditions is a thing. This is because whatever is a thing is necessarily the appearing object of a direct perceiver. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:11
1:32:29 So as John mentioned, and it's going to be, it's interesting, this book, anyway, we won't go into that. There are six types of direct perceivers, and this is going to be going into in a couple pages subsequently. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mental direct perceivers. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mental direct perceivers. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:29
1:33:00 These are six ways, six direct perceivers. They directly know their object. By the force of the object, they come to know. And we're going to talk about what it means to know. That's what this previous question was all about. All impermanent phenomena are appearing objects. To a direct perceiver, either an eye direct perceiver, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mental direct perceiver. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:00
1:33:35 Direct perceivers are going to be divided into six. Any and every impermanent phenomena, every thing is necessarily an appearing object of one of these direct perceivers. That takes care of impermanent phenomena. But there's another type of phenomena called are, Report an error in the passage at 1:33:35
1:33:54 Permanent phenomena. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:54
1:33:59 All permanent phenomena are the appearing object of thought consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:59
1:34:12 Remember what I said last week. In the present context, in our studies of Buddhism, when we use the term permanent and impermanent, we're talking about a subtle impermanence. Okay, what are some? Report an error in the passage at 1:34:12
1:34:28 A subtle impermanence. And this means momentary. In a permanent phenomenon, it could last forever. That's not the qualification. But it means it's momentary. It's dynamic. It's changing from moment to moment. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:28
1:34:49 It's in flux. That's what we mean by impermanent. Not how long it lasts. This constant change of arising, abiding, ceasing, arising, abiding, ceasing from moment to moment. That's what we mean by impermanent. Permanent phenomena, they may last for a very short period of time. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:49
1:35:09 So we're not talking about how long they last, but whether they're changing or whether they're static. Permanent phenomena are unchanging, are static. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:09
1:35:29 Okay, good. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:29
1:35:35 The non-existence of elephants in this room, that exists. It doesn't change from moment to moment. It's simply a mental construct. So they're saying real things, tables, chairs, flowers, smells, odors, that which arises from causes and conditions, they're constantly changing. There we can directly perceive them. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:35
1:36:06 But there are another type of phenomena which exist. We can't say they don't exist. But they are simply constructs of the mind. They're only fabrications of mind. For example, unconditioned space. Unconditioned space means the absence of obstructive contact. There's an absence due to which I'm able to move my hand. If that space didn't exist, I couldn't. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:06
1:36:36 I couldn't move my hat. But it's just an idea. It's just a construct of my mind. Now, a very important permanent phenomenon is mental images. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:36
1:36:51 Our ideas are concepts. They're fixed. They're static. They don't change from moment to moment. They're permanent. This is what is appearing to a thought consciousness. This is the appearing object of a thought consciousness, the mental image of a flower. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:51
1:37:09 Like you can have the mental image of your mother. That mental image of your mother doesn't age from day to day, from time to time. It's fixed static. You may drop it and pick up another mental image of your mother. But that mental image is fixed. It's unchanging. It's static. It's simply a construction of your mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:09
1:37:40 And we'll go through how the mind constructs these. So it is permanent. Not in the sense it's going to last forever. That's not what permanent means. It means it's unchanging. It's static. Okay? Report an error in the passage at 1:37:40
1:37:58 You're doing very well. Okay. So let's go back. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:58
1:38:12 We're going to make use. So all existences. let's just... Report an error in the passage at 1:38:12
1:38:23 Not the perceivers, but the appearing object of a direct perceiver. The appearing object. A direct perceiver is a consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:23
1:38:38 Everything, every impermanent phenomena is necessarily the appearing object of one of the six types of direct perceivers. It's either an appearing object, Of an eye direct perceiver, nose, ear, tongue, body or mental direct perceiver. Every permanent thing is necessarily the appearing object of a thought consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:38
1:39:11 And the most important of these permanent phenomena are our mental images. They are permanent. The thought consciousness, which is apprehending the sound, thinking about the people talking outside. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:11
1:39:27 I'm using a mental image. It's a permanent phenomenon. It's static. It's not changing. Thought consciousness is thinking about a triangle. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:27
1:39:39 A triangle is just an abstraction. It's just a fabrication of my mind. It's useful information. I can think about it. I can make use of it in understanding the world. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:39
1:39:51 And I'd like to talk about how we go about building up and how they play into the way that we understand our world. We see our world through these mental images that we have and we associate with these various objects. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:51
1:40:14 Yeah, please. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:14
1:40:20 A thought consciousness? Yeah, okay, good question. That's going to come up in the next few pages. Direct perceivers, they apprehend their object by the force of the object. Thought consciousness apprehends their object by means of our... Mental image. So I can understand things directly with my mental consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:20
1:40:48 Directly. I'm not using... The word direct means I'm not using... If I use a mental image, I'm understanding the object indirectly. I'm understanding it by way of my idea, my mental image of the object. So it's not direct. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:48
1:41:09 I'm understanding the object. I can understand things. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:09
1:41:36 Things are necessarily the permanent phenomena. Tell Report an error in the passage at 1:41:36
1:41:46 me what you mean. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:46
1:42:06 The mental image is a permanent phenomena. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:06
1:42:14 I think it Report an error in the passage at 1:42:14
1:42:21 is thought consciousness. It, it, the, the... Report an error in the passage at 1:42:21
· · · silence, 1 minute
1:42:23 Okay, this is a good question. When we think about something, when I think about my computer at home, something is appearing to me. What is appearing to me? My Report an error in the passage at 1:42:23
1:42:41 computer. But what am I using? I'm using my mental image in order for that computer to appear. A computer does appear, but I... This is why we're jumping ahead here. All thought consciousnesses are mistaken. Why? Because they take what is a mental image of the object for the object itself. We take our idea of the object for the object itself. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:41
1:43:18 So we are seeing what is actually that mental, the appearing object of my computer is... Taken as the actual computer itself. A computer appears, but the appearing object is my idea or the mental image of my computer. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:18
1:43:50 Pardon? Report an error in the passage at 1:43:50
1:43:58 That's great. How do we build up these mental images? Through a process of learning. Explanations. Okay? So that's what we're doing right now. We're building up a mental image about what an appearing object is. We're building up a mental image about what a direct receiver is. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:58
1:44:28 Right, right. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:28
1:44:32 Okay, so permanent does not mean everlasting. It simply means that it's not changing from moment to moment in that particular frame of time. A permanent phenomenon could last an instant. It could last forever. But during that period of time, it's not changing from moment to moment. So during that time that we're... Report an error in the passage at 1:44:32
1:44:17 Let's read it. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:17
· · · silence, 1 minute
1:44:54 We have a particular mental image. It's fixed, unchanging, static. And that's the way, you know, I don't want to, you know, we're going to see how this enters into the perceptual process. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:54
1:45:07 How our idea about an object begins to filter into how we perceive the world. And it's fixed. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:07
1:45:20 Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:20
1:45:37 I think it'd be useful to... It'd be useful if we could... These terms are going to come up in many of our explanations. So tonight I'd like for you to be able to, what is the appearing object of an eye consciousness apprehending the stick? The appearing object of an eye consciousness apprehending the stick. What is the object of engagement of the eye consciousness apprehending the stick? Report an error in the passage at 1:45:37
1:46:13 Okay, now what is the period? What is the object of engagement of the eye-conscious apprehending stick? Report an error in the passage at 1:46:13
1:46:25 Same. What my mind is actually getting at and the appearing object are the same for a direct perceiver. Now, I put the stick back. I'm thinking about the stick. I have a thought-conscious apprehending stick. What is the appearing object? Report an error in the passage at 1:46:25
1:46:47 Mental image of stick. What is the determined object? Report an error in the passage at 1:46:47
1:46:58 What is the object of engagement? It's Report an error in the passage at 1:46:58
1:47:04 a stick. That's what my mind is actually getting at. But we only use the term determined object because it's only used with conceptual consciousness. It means that it's distinguished and determined through the process of analysis. I hope we're going to use these terms again and again and again. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:04
1:47:31 Is it, it? Yeah, please. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:31
1:47:45 We're going to have to be really careful with our terminology here. Okay. Repeat your question. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:45
1:47:58 A mental perceiver. There are six types of direct perceivers. This is going to come later, about four pages in. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mental direct perceivers. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:58
1:48:11 Don't use the word mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:11
1:48:17 Six types of direct perceivers. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:17
1:48:32 We're going to come up. The first division is into direct receivers and thought consciousness, and there will be six types of direct receivers. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:32
1:48:45 Okay? Report an error in the passage at 1:48:45
1:48:50 I was going to talk about... Report an error in the passage at 1:48:50
1:48:56 Really? I feel like I'm... Yeah, well, that's not too difficult. couple of them. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:56
1:49:16 Okay, so maybe let's recap. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:16
1:49:30 We're trying to, we're breaking down existences, phenomena, and we're going to divide them into two. And by phenomena, I mean tables, chairs, people, houses, universes, consciousnesses. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:30
1:49:54 From the point of view, there are objects, that which is known by an awareness, that's our definition. That which is known by an awareness, that's an object. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:54
1:50:08 And then there's the awareness which knows objects, the subject. So we've divided all the various phenomena of the universe into these two divisions. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:08
1:50:24 Objects, that which is known by an awareness. And object possessors, that is say subjects, that which knows objects. So now we're going to look at objects. And we're looking at objects from a particular point of view. That is to say in their relationship to consciousnesses. We said that there are three types of objects. Appearing objects, determined objects, and objects of engagement. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:24
1:51:02 The appearing object is that which is actually appearing to the consciousness. So we're relating objects in terms of how they're actually appearing to consciousness. What is appearing to consciousness? What is the appearing object of an eye consciousness apprehending flower? Report an error in the passage at 1:51:02
1:51:25 So what is appearing to consciousness? Flower. We can also talk about... The object of engagement of that consciousness, what is the flower actually getting at? I don't want to use the word understand because sometimes it may not understand. But what is it actually involved in? What is it actually getting at? A consciousness is apprehending a flower. What is it actually getting at? Report an error in the passage at 1:51:25
1:51:53 A flower. So what is it engaging in? It's engaging in a flower. It's getting at a flower. There's a flower appearing. That's the appearing object. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:53
1:52:05 A flower, that's the engaged object. Okay, so those are direct perceivers. Now in the case of a conceptual consciousness, a thought consciousness, we can talk about the appearing object and the object of engagement or another word for an object of engagement, synonym for object of engagement is determined object. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:05
1:52:30 The thought consciousness apprehending a flower. Okay, I'm thinking about a flower. I'm thinking about it. I'm not seeing the flower. I'm thinking about a flower. What is the appearing object of that consciousness? Exactly. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:30
1:52:47 What is that thought consciousness apprehending flower actually getting at? Flower. So its determined object is what? Its object of engagement is what? Okay? So we're just getting used to some terminology here. I hope it's not snowing, overwhelming you. I hope it doesn't sound overly academic, but Report an error in the passage at 1:52:47
1:53:19 we're getting it. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:19
1:53:28 So, yeah, a Report an error in the passage at 1:53:28
1:53:37 direct perceiver, a mental consciousness, a thought consciousness is a thought, it's just that, a thought consciousness is thinking this is this, that is that. So we can use the term, and the text is using this term, to determine. What is it determining? The thought consciousness is the apprehended flower. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:37
1:54:01 It's a determined object. What is it distinguishing? It's distinguishing a flower. We could also call that the object of engagement. That's the object that it's actually engaging in, that it's involved in, that it's getting at. But we can also use this word, determined object, because it's distinguishing. It's this is this, that is that. This is a flower. It's thinking in that way. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:01
1:54:26 Direct receivers don't do that. They don't think this. They don't distinguish in that. They don't think this is this, that. Eye consciousness doesn't think this. It doesn't think. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:26
1:54:41 Exactly. Good. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:41
1:54:49 So the determined object is the object that's distinguished, that's judged. By that thought consciousness. Sense consciousness, eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, direct perceivers, they don't operate in that fashion. They don't distinguish. They don't judge. They don't think this is this, that is that. Only thought consciousness do that. That's their nature. So we only use this term, determine. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:49
1:55:18 That is just the technicality. Okay? Report an error in the passage at 1:55:18
1:55:35 Really? Report an error in the passage at 1:55:35
1:55:39 Sympathize. So the motive, we can also, there are many, in different contexts, different terms are used. And another synonymous term, it's just a synonymous term, is we can use the word object of engagement or object of the motive ascertainment. I know it's a big word. They're the same, synonymous. The engaged object. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:39
1:56:10 And the object and the mode of apprehension are exactly the same. The mode of apprehension simply means, mode means the way, the way in which the consciousness is apprehending. It could be a direct perceiver. It could be a thought consciousness. That's its mode. That's the way it's going about apprehending. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:10
1:56:33 What is this object? It's the object of engagement. It could be a flower. So the object of motive apprehension and object of engagement are synonymous terms, just used in different contexts, different ways of discussion. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:33
1:56:54 We won't, you know, yeah, just to satisfy your, yeah, that's right, yeah. It's synonymous with object of engagement. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:54
1:57:10 Different contexts can use different terms. We probably will never use that term, object of the mode of apprehension. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:10
1:57:20 But anyway, it's mentioned in the book. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:20
1:57:28 Yeah, please. Then we'll have to stop. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:28
1:57:33 Direct perceivers? Report an error in the passage at 1:57:33
1:57:41 I direct perceiver? Report an error in the passage at 1:57:41
1:57:58 Mental direct perceivers? Page 14? Are divided into three valid cognizers that are mental direct perceivers? So we're going to come to that. Sometimes the book presents material which is going to come later. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:58
1:58:24 So I was going to... I'm sorry, I'm keeping you late. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:24
1:58:35 So we'll keep the... No new... it it becomes Report an error in the passage at 1:58:35
1:58:47 Last week you were asked to look at pages 7, 10, 12 and 13. 7, 10, 12 and 13. If you could look at those again. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:47
1:59:05 And see if you can answer quiz number one. We'll go over those and then we'll go from there. It's not going to be as... Report an error in the passage at 1:59:05
1:59:22 As simple, I was going to say as simple as it is today. I think you'll find it quite interesting once we get over some of the terminology and wrap our minds around some of the ideas, the way it's being presented. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:22
1:59:40 Okay? Report an error in the passage at 1:59:40
1:59:45 But please take a look at the text and see what you can make of it. And try to do quiz. Number one, I think you'll be able to do that now. Since you've got the answers tonight, that's a good point. And we'll dedicate all the positive energy we created together this evening. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:45
2:00:11 I think you'll find it quite interesting. May all Report an error in the passage at 2:00:11
2:00:20 beings everywhere, plagued by suffering of body and mind, attain an ocean of happiness and joy by virtue of my merits. May no living creature suffer, commit evil or fall ill. may no one be afraid or belittled with a mind weighed down by depression. May the poor find wealth, those weak with sorrow, find joy. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:20
2:00:55 May the forlorn find hope, constant happiness and prosperity. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:55
2:01:03 May all medicines be effective and wholesome prayers bear fruit. May all who are sick and ill quickly be freed from their ailments. Whatever diseases there are in the world, may they never occur again. May the frightened cease to be afraid and those bound be freed. May the powerless find power and may people think of benefiting each other. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:03
2:01:23 For as long as space remains, for as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain to dispel the miseries of the world. Through these skillful actions, may I quickly become an awakened spiritual master and lead each and every living being to that awakened realm. May the supreme jewel of the awakened heart and mind that have not arisen arise and grow, and may that which has arisen never diminish but increase more and more. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:23
2:01:51 In the land encircled by snow mountains, you're the source of all happiness and well-being. Powerful Chanrizi Tenzin Gyatso. Please remain to the end of cyclic existence. You Report an error in the passage at 2:01:51
2:02:11 have to be a bit patient. And I thank you for your patience. Have a good day. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:11
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Talk by Jampa Jaffe, recorded 11 August 2014. Original at Vajrayana Institute via Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/Mindcognition. Licensed CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Transcript generated automatically and may contain errors; the audio is the authoritative version.
Recorded at Vajrayana Institute, Sydney, and archived by the institute on Internet Archive. More from Vajrayana Institute