BP: Mind and Cognition (25 August 2014)

0:06 Welcome back. Report an error in the passage at 0:06 Highlight the passage at 0:06

0:12 How Report an error in the passage at 0:12 Highlight the passage at 0:12

0:18 is everybody? Report an error in the passage at 0:18 Highlight the passage at 0:18

0:33 Really? You better now? Report an error in the passage at 0:33 Highlight the passage at 0:33

0:46 I don't know. What do you think? Any ideas? Report an error in the passage at 0:46 Highlight the passage at 0:46

1:03 I thought I'd Report an error in the passage at 1:03 Highlight the passage at 1:03

1:35 read this probably several times in the past. Report an error in the passage at 1:35 Highlight the passage at 1:35

1:44 Autobiography in five parts. I'd like to explore it. If we can, if you're willing to, Report an error in the passage at 1:44 Highlight the passage at 1:44

1:57 see what we can come up with. Report an error in the passage at 1:57 Highlight the passage at 1:57

2:02 I think it's quite nice in that it's very succinct, but it shows just in a very short space a transformation, some kind of change. Report an error in the passage at 2:02 Highlight the passage at 2:02

2:19 But it leaves it open for us to identify according to each of ourselves. So it's not overly prescriptive. I was just telling this person's particular story. So the autobiography in five parts. First part. I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost. It isn't my fault. It takes forever to find a way out. Report an error in the passage at 2:19 Highlight the passage at 2:19

2:51 Part two. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretended I do not see it. I fall in again. I can't believe I'm in the same place, but it isn't my fault. It still takes a long time to get out. Part 3 I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it there. I still fall in. It's a habit. My eyes are open. Report an error in the passage at 2:51 Highlight the passage at 2:51

3:25 I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately. Part 4 I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it, part five. I walk down another street. So I think it's following some individual's inner transformation and how it expresses itself in their daily life and some kind of insight. Report an error in the passage at 3:25 Highlight the passage at 3:25

3:54 And I was curious, and I'd like to explore with you, I don't have any answers, about when he talks about walking down the same street and falling in the same holes. What do you suppose he... If maybe you want to look at it in terms of your own life, what are some of the streets that you seem to keep walking down, which maybe aren't working all that well, and what are some of the holes? Report an error in the passage at 3:54 Highlight the passage at 3:54

4:27 Anybody? It doesn't have to be terribly. Yeah, please. Report an error in the passage at 4:27 Highlight the passage at 4:27

4:41 So you're saying what patterns of behavior, and we keep making the same mistakes. Report an error in the passage at 4:41 Highlight the passage at 4:41

4:56 I mean, I don't want to put you on the spot. What would be some examples of holes in people's lives? I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 4:56 Highlight the passage at 4:56

5:09 Substance abuse. Oh, that's a big one, isn't it? So how would that work? It creates Report an error in the passage at 5:09 Highlight the passage at 5:09

5:31 a little hole for you. What was that response to? So what? Some kind of coping strategy. Report an error in the passage at 5:31 Highlight the passage at 5:31

5:59 So things are going, something's maybe not going right in your life. And how am I going to deal with it? Well, I can maybe avoid it or distract myself or numb out in some way or another. Report an error in the passage at 5:59 Highlight the passage at 5:59

6:12 But how do we, can we bring that, can we personalize? Maybe it is personal, I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 6:12 Highlight the passage at 6:12

6:21 Yeah, okay. And then he begins to recognize. I mean, it's not my fault. It seems to be that that plays out. At least three-fifths of this autobiography. It's not my fault. What do you suppose is going on there? It's Report an error in the passage at 6:21 Highlight the passage at 6:21

6:51 a victim. Report an error in the passage at 6:51 Highlight the passage at 6:51

6:56 You're ignorant. What do you suppose you're ignorant of? Report an error in the passage at 6:56 Highlight the passage at 6:56

7:17 Would you repeat that? Report an error in the passage at 7:17 Highlight the passage at 7:17

7:26 We keep walking down the same street. Report an error in the passage at 7:26 Highlight the passage at 7:26

7:42 Same thinking. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 7:42 Highlight the passage at 7:42

7:55 So what are some of the forces that are holding this thinking in place? Habit. Report an error in the passage at 7:55 Highlight the passage at 7:55

8:07 Attachment. Attachment to what? Report an error in the passage at 8:07 Highlight the passage at 8:07

· · · silence, 1 minute

9:05 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 9:05 Highlight the passage at 9:05

9:13 I walk down the street. I fall in. I am lost. It isn't my fault. It takes forever to find a way out. Report an error in the passage at 9:13 Highlight the passage at 9:13

9:30 Is that positive? Report an error in the passage at 9:30 Highlight the passage at 9:30

9:40 It can get worse if you're in the hole. Report an error in the passage at 9:40 Highlight the passage at 9:40

9:51 Okay. What do you mean by that? It's interesting. Report an error in the passage at 9:51 Highlight the passage at 9:51

10:22 Laziness. We take the easiest way out. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 10:22 Highlight the passage at 10:22

10:51 So you have to hit bottom. Report an error in the passage at 10:51 Highlight the passage at 10:51

10:59 Okay. Use your intelligence. Yeah. And there was an element of eventually taking responsibility. Report an error in the passage at 10:59 Highlight the passage at 10:59

11:11 So what seems like that was an important transforming factor, overcoming that sense of victimhood that we were talking about. Report an error in the passage at 11:11 Highlight the passage at 11:11

11:31 I don't know, does anybody identify with that? Yeah, please. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 11:31 Highlight the passage at 11:31

11:51 So there must be an option to these holes? Is there something other than holes? Report an error in the passage at 11:51 Highlight the passage at 11:51

11:59 Know your hole. Report an error in the passage at 11:59 Highlight the passage at 11:59

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12:31 You think they get comfortable in the holes? Report an error in the passage at 12:31 Highlight the passage at 12:31

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13:11 What would that entail? The Report an error in the passage at 13:11 Highlight the passage at 13:11

13:36 devil you know. Yeah, it could be worse. Report an error in the passage at 13:36 Highlight the passage at 13:36

14:07 So they begin to recognize where they're at. The point, I think that's quite true. How about this laziness? I thought that was interesting. I mean, just can't be bothered. How do you overcome that? Or do you? I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 14:07 Highlight the passage at 14:07

14:30 But they don't want to suffer, do they? What's holding them there? Report an error in the passage at 14:30 Highlight the passage at 14:30

15:05 So there's all these, it seems like we've listed quite a number of forces which kind of holding us in areas that maybe aren't working for ourselves very well. What would... Some of the positive forces that could help us to begin to find out the possibilities and actually walk down those other streets. Report an error in the passage at 15:05 Highlight the passage at 15:05

15:36 How do you get there? I'm going to give it a go. Report an error in the passage at 15:36 Highlight the passage at 15:36

15:45 The reality of suffering. Can you tease that out? Report an error in the passage at 15:45 Highlight the passage at 15:45

16:16 What would it mean to know suffering? For you. Well, okay. What is that? What would that mean? Report an error in the passage at 16:16 Highlight the passage at 16:16

16:33 I mean, if I hit my finger with that hammer, there's no question I know I'm suffering. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 16:33 Highlight the passage at 16:33

16:46 Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Good Report an error in the passage at 16:46 Highlight the passage at 16:46

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17:20 framework, isn't it? Report an error in the passage at 17:20 Highlight the passage at 17:20

17:31 Life is whole. Yes, it is, isn't it? Report an error in the passage at 17:31 Highlight the passage at 17:31

17:42 I'm sorry. It sucks. Report an error in the passage at 17:42 Highlight the passage at 17:42

17:53 No, no, that's quite good. That's quite good. You Report an error in the passage at 17:53 Highlight the passage at 17:53

18:02 get sick and tired of being sick and tired. Report an error in the passage at 18:02 Highlight the passage at 18:02

18:10 Is that enough? Report an error in the passage at 18:10 Highlight the passage at 18:10

18:34 So it's possible to be suffering, but you don't know you're suffering. Report an error in the passage at 18:34 Highlight the passage at 18:34

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19:22 Awareness seems crucial, doesn't it? How Report an error in the passage at 19:22 Highlight the passage at 19:22

19:37 do you change that? Report an error in the passage at 19:37 Highlight the passage at 19:37

19:42 No, I appreciate that. Report an error in the passage at 19:42 Highlight the passage at 19:42

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20:27 Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 20:27 Highlight the passage at 20:27

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21:23 So would you agree to hypothesize this possible Report an error in the passage at 21:23 Highlight the passage at 21:23

21:35 person that's in this predicament that in one way or another we... Are very much involved in the same predicament, just in our particular unique ways. I noticed that too, did you? Report an error in the passage at 21:35 Highlight the passage at 21:35

21:52 No, Report an error in the passage at 21:52 Highlight the passage at 21:52

21:56 not there. Report an error in the passage at 21:56 Highlight the passage at 21:56

22:04 What would be another thing? The Report an error in the passage at 22:04 Highlight the passage at 22:04

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22:39 changes, I think, if we're honest, Report an error in the passage at 22:39 Highlight the passage at 22:39

22:49 the basis of Buddhism and I think the basis of therapy and the caring professions is that we can change. And there are many instances where people do. Report an error in the passage at 22:49 Highlight the passage at 22:49

23:01 You know, there's a... I've told you there's a sequel to that story about this individual who keeps falling into these holes. Report an error in the passage at 23:01 Highlight the passage at 23:01

23:16 This person, whatever the hole might be for each of us, this person's falling into their particular hole. Report an error in the passage at 23:16 Highlight the passage at 23:16

23:29 They're at the bottom of their hole and they're yelling up for help. and light is something else. Report an error in the passage at 23:29 Highlight the passage at 23:29

23:34 They recognize they're in the hole. And all these people are walking by. And a doctor walks by. And he hears the man yelling, help, help, help. And he walks up and he peers down the hole. And the man's, help me, help me. And the doctor takes out a pad and writes out a prescription for antidepressants. And he throws it down in the hole. And he walks on. Report an error in the passage at 23:34 Highlight the passage at 23:34

24:06 And the man is still down in his hall and he's still yelling out for help. And eventually a clergyman walks by and he hears the man yelling out for help and he looks down at the man and yells, help me, help me, help me out. And the clergyman, he has some plastic prayers, you know, little prayers which are... Report an error in the passage at 24:06 Highlight the passage at 24:06

24:36 Involved in plastic. Report an error in the passage at 24:36 Highlight the passage at 24:36

24:40 And then he just walks off. And finally, there's this woman walks by. A man, I'm going to get pretty correct here. And he hears the man yelling and walks to the edge of the hole. And the man yells, help me, help me. And immediately, spontaneously, the man jumps down in the hole. Report an error in the passage at 24:40 Highlight the passage at 24:40

25:04 And the man says, you know, I really appreciate you. Jumping down in this hole and sharing my experience with me. But now we're both lost. Now we're both at the bottom of the hole. And the man said, well, I've been here before and I know a way out. So, you know, if the more that we know, you know, it's a matter of, there's probably a long chain from the Buddhas and each holding the hand of someone else behind them and kind of pulling them up this way. Report an error in the passage at 25:04 Highlight the passage at 25:04

25:35 This mountain of understanding and pulling us out of the holes of ignorance. And it works us all the way down to ourselves and each of ourselves in our various ways. And the more that we have worked out some of our problems, the more that we are able to, in a very practical and realistic way, share that understanding and caring and whatever it takes to help someone out. Report an error in the passage at 25:35 Highlight the passage at 25:35

26:03 of their holes, you know, as best we can. So the more we are, the more that we have to give. And I think this is kind of a very kind of toned down way, the whole notion of a bodhisattva. Someone who's dedicated in a very powerful way to benefiting others. But realizing that they have to develop themselves. Report an error in the passage at 26:03 Highlight the passage at 26:03

26:34 Otherwise it's a matter of The blind leading the blind. Many of us want to create a better world. But unless we create a better mind within ourselves, our contribution to the world might be further chaos with the best of intentions. So it becomes incumbent upon ourselves. It becomes not only do we have to be benefit of this, but in the course of... Report an error in the passage at 26:34 Highlight the passage at 26:34

27:10 Expressing that really positive motivation, compassion and love. We have to develop wisdom ourselves. We have to help ourselves in order to help others. So I think that's the whole motivation behind all of what we do. These two aspects of ourselves. The affective aspect are compassion and love. But also wisdom, cognitive aspect of ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 27:10 Highlight the passage at 27:10

27:39 So we're studying... Something which sometimes seems rather abstract or maybe overly cognitive or overly intellectual. But I think that has its place. It can be quite useful. We can gain some insights. So hopefully, I hope that you, you know, it was brought out at the very beginning, you know, the numbers have dropped. Report an error in the passage at 27:39 Highlight the passage at 27:39

28:05 And that's understandable. I think we have to anticipate that. But I hope we can make these studies as relevant as possible, keeping in mind that we're as if Report an error in the passage at 28:05 Highlight the passage at 28:05

28:25 creating both an intellectual understanding can be of tremendous benefit as a framework in order to understand, to bring our insights and see how they fit in. Report an error in the passage at 28:25 Highlight the passage at 28:25

28:46 you know, the... To Buddhism as a whole. And maybe not just Buddhism. Just to be able to develop all the various capacities of ourselves to be able to benefit others. The intellect can be a powerful instrument. Information can be a powerful means of helping ourselves. And in that way, helping others. Report an error in the passage at 28:46 Highlight the passage at 28:46

29:16 So I think it's useful. We just have to try to make it as relevant as possible. Report an error in the passage at 29:16 Highlight the passage at 29:16

29:27 So if you'd like to recite the verse of refuge together. We're looking at other possible avenues to travel down, other options. I Report an error in the passage at 29:27 Highlight the passage at 29:27

29:49 go for refuge until I'm 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, may I become a Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 29:49 Highlight the passage at 29:49

30:17 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. May all sentient beings have 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 30:17 Highlight the passage at 30:17

30:40 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. So Report an error in the passage at 30:40 Highlight the passage at 30:40

31:00 if you'd like to stand and stretch and then we'll sit together. Report an error in the passage at 31:00 Highlight the passage at 31:00

· · · silence, 1 minute

32:03 Sometimes I think it's useful to reflect upon the fact of what we're doing. that, you know, the... Sometimes we take ourselves and our efforts for granted, but coming here and doing what we do together, our discussions and meditation and our studies, I think it's really Report an error in the passage at 32:03 Highlight the passage at 32:03

32:35 quite inspiring. It's a very humbling experience, I think, that we're really taking responsibility. It shows a tremendous degree of wisdom and compassion as well. Report an error in the passage at 32:35 Highlight the passage at 32:35

32:49 Maybe sometimes we don't appreciate ourselves in that way, how Report an error in the passage at 32:49 Highlight the passage at 32:49

32:56 far we have come. Report an error in the passage at 32:56 Highlight the passage at 32:56

33:08 So taking a firm, comfortable posture by Report an error in the passage at 33:08 Highlight the passage at 33:08

33:16 bringing your awareness to the crown of your head, your scalp, and imagining or actually feeling the wrinkles in your brow and your forehead, smoothing out the Report an error in the passage at 33:16 Highlight the passage at 33:16

33:40 pressure in and around your eyes, diminishing the Report an error in the passage at 33:40 Highlight the passage at 33:40

33:56 face, softening, relaxing, Report an error in the passage at 33:56 Highlight the passage at 33:56

34:11 softening jaw, relax. Report an error in the passage at 34:11 Highlight the passage at 34:11

34:19 And bringing your awareness to the back of your neck and perhaps gently turning your head to each side a few times, very gently loosening, stretching the muscles of the back of the neck and Report an error in the passage at 34:19 Highlight the passage at 34:19

34:38 bringing your awareness to your upper back and shoulders and perhaps drawing your shoulders up toward your ears and circling them to the back and Report an error in the passage at 34:38 Highlight the passage at 34:38

34:54 to the front and just rotating your shoulders a few times and Report an error in the passage at 34:54 Highlight the passage at 34:54

35:06 eventually returning your shoulders back up toward your ears. And 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 back over the course of the day, moving down and through your body into the ground. Report an error in the passage at 35:06 Highlight the passage at 35:06

35:32 A feeling of relief, as if some weight's been lifted from your shoulder. Your Report an error in the passage at 35:32 Highlight the passage at 35:32

35:46 awareness all the way down to your hands. Your hands are soft and loose. Report an error in the passage at 35:46 Highlight the passage at 35:46

36:17 Your chest. Report an error in the passage at 36:17 Highlight the passage at 36:17

36:30 Relaxing throughout the heart area, the central space of the chest, Report an error in the passage at 36:30 Highlight the passage at 36:30

36:57 releasing the tension that we often hold in our stomach muscles, just allowing the belly to go soft. Report an error in the passage at 36:57 Highlight the passage at 36:57

37:25 Relax your lower back muscles of Report an error in the passage at 37:25 Highlight the passage at 37:25

37:44 the pelvic region. Report an error in the passage at 37:44 Highlight the passage at 37:44

· · · silence, 1 minute

38:45 Scanning through the body once again from the crown downward through the central portion of the body. As you move down from the crown, take your attention to any tightnesses and tension. Which may remain in the body. Report an error in the passage at 38:45 Highlight the passage at 38:45

39:06 Cross an area where there's some discomfort, some tension or tightness. Breathing in and following that breath with your awareness to wherever that tightness is being held in the body. Report an error in the passage at 39:06 Highlight the passage at 39:06

39:22 Suffusing that area with awareness of breath. Report an error in the passage at 39:22 Highlight the passage at 39:22

39:29 As if breathing out from that same area. And with that out breath, imagine or actually feel some release. Report an error in the passage at 39:29 Highlight the passage at 39:29

39:41 This loosens so that the tension diminishes. Report an error in the passage at 39:41 Highlight the passage at 39:41

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41:19 Staying with your body. Report an error in the passage at 41:19 Highlight the passage at 41:19

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42:25 Become aware of. The fact that you're breathing, the Report an error in the passage at 42:25 Highlight the passage at 42:25

42:35 sensation of the body, which indicates to you that you're a Report an error in the passage at 42:35 Highlight the passage at 42:35

42:52 sensation. And if it's helpful, you can supplement this with a counting of the breaths, breathing in, breathing out. I Report an error in the passage at 42:52 Highlight the passage at 42:52

· · · silence, 6 minutes

49:11 invite you to become a sensation of the body other than the breath. The pressure of your buttocks on the chair, your hands on your lap, whatever is predominant. Report an error in the passage at 49:11 Highlight the passage at 49:11

49:27 Focus your awareness on the sensation of the body other than that of the breath. Report an error in the passage at 49:27 Highlight the passage at 49:27

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50:21 Shift our attention again, this time to the sounds around us. We're simply going to observe, listen to, focus upon sound. Report an error in the passage at 50:21 Highlight the passage at 50:21

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52:01 And again, shifting our, this time to the mind itself. Turn inward and we're going to observe the mind. Report an error in the passage at 52:01 Highlight the passage at 52:01

52:22 Restless. Report an error in the passage at 52:22 Highlight the passage at 52:22

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54:16 And then finally, we're just going to allow the mind to move where it wants. We're not going to try to control the mind. Report an error in the passage at 54:16 Highlight the passage at 54:16

54:26 Just wherever it Report an error in the passage at 54:26 Highlight the passage at 54:26

54:33 can relax. Easy manner, just maintain a degree of awareness, a sense of watchfulness, observing your Report an error in the passage at 54:33 Highlight the passage at 54:33

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55:51 breath. Report an error in the passage at 55:51 Highlight the passage at 55:51

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57:07 So we're going to take just a few minutes to reflect upon what are some of the holes in my life, some of the areas where I fall into dysfunctional states of mind, where things don't work. Report an error in the passage at 57:07 Highlight the passage at 57:07

57:27 What are some of the circumstances, what are some of the behaviors, the streets that lead? What Report an error in the passage at 57:27 Highlight the passage at 57:27

57:47 are some of the holes I keep falling into? And what leads up to them. Report an error in the passage at 57:47 Highlight the passage at 57:47

· · · silence, 3 minutes

1:00:25 So I got together a few notes. Maybe we can go through them so you have something to look at and that we can begin to unravel some of these mysteries of the mind and work through our text. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:25 Highlight the passage at 1:00:25

1:00:58 Maybe before we start, do you have any questions before we begin? Report an error in the passage at 1:00:58 Highlight the passage at 1:00:58

1:01:06 Or you can bring them up as we go along. You're welcome to do that. But if you have something... Report an error in the passage at 1:01:06 Highlight the passage at 1:01:06

1:01:19 If we kind of go along with the notes, but in terms of our text, we can begin to look at page 10. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:19 Highlight the passage at 1:01:19

1:01:33 So we divide existences into objects and object possessors. And amongst object possessors, there are persons, awarenesses and expressive sounds. So first they take up persons and they give a definition of a person. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:33 Highlight the passage at 1:01:33

1:01:56 And here a person refers, it just doesn't mean people. It can be applied to any sentient being, whether it's an insect or a Buddha, everything in between, that they are all object possessors. And what is meant by that is that all individual beings without exception were always apprehending an object. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:56 Highlight the passage at 1:01:56

1:02:27 We're apprehending a sound or a sight or a thought. So we, as well as awarenesses, are object possessors. We are a subject and we are always apprehending an object. I don't know how profound that is, but anyway, it's presented in the text. And there are certain synonyms. Self, I, person and being are synonymous. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:27 Highlight the passage at 1:02:27

1:02:58 So sometimes people misuse the term, you know, self and I and person and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:58 Highlight the passage at 1:02:58

1:03:11 There's a lot of mystification around some of these terms, I think, like the word ego and so forth, when it comes to an understanding of selflessness and so forth. So it needs to be kind of, some kind of baseline needs to be worked out. What is the definition of a person? Being imputed independence upon any of the five aggregates. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:11 Highlight the passage at 1:03:11

1:03:38 We could sum up the five aggregates into mind and body. There are four mental aggregates, feelings, discriminations, what is called compositional factors and consciousnesses. We could categorize them or we could assume them into mind. And then there's body. So independence upon body and mind. we have five advocates. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:38 Highlight the passage at 1:03:38

1:04:02 We impute, we designate person. So a person exists. I exist. The self exists. It exists what? Independence upon body and mind. My body is sitting, therefore I say I'm sitting. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:02 Highlight the passage at 1:04:02

1:04:24 My body is talking, therefore I can legitimately say I'm talking. My mind is thinking. I can say I'm thinking. So the I, the self, the person is designated, just like we talked about the example last week, a newborn baby. There's a body and mind. Let's call that baby Mary. And subsequently, it's thought of as Mary. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:24 Highlight the passage at 1:04:24

1:04:53 So Mary exists. Mary is a person. She exists in dependence upon that body and mind. She's imputed. She's designated. Okay? That's all we mean by a person. I, a self. I, self, person, Jampa, you, we all exist. There's no problem. The problem begins when we begin to conceive of that I, that self, that person, to exist independent of the body and mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:53 Highlight the passage at 1:04:53

1:05:31 That's the factor of ignorance. The belief. The misconception that the I, the self, the person exists independent, does not depend upon the body and mind. There's something other than the body and the mind, which is the self. I could remove my body and mind, and there would be a self sitting on this cushion. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:31 Highlight the passage at 1:05:31

1:05:56 I, we have that sense. That's ignorance, and that's the basis of our problems. It's useful to begin to develop that kind of... Notion, that kind of understanding, even at this kind of elementary level. Okay? Then we went over the definition of consciousness, that which is clear and knowing. So, you know, that was clear Report an error in the passage at 1:05:56 Highlight the passage at 1:05:56

1:06:29 can mean, it can be, in the word clarity, it can be interpreted in various fashions. One of the most straightforward fashions is that it simply means non-physical. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:29 Highlight the passage at 1:06:29

1:06:42 So consciousness is not the brain. The brain is physical. It's made of matter. The mind is not matter. It's a different category of phenomena. It also has an interpretation, the connotation that the mind is pure, which I think can be useful at times when all we see is garbage. And we think, oh, this garbage is intrinsic to my mind. Well, it may feel like that at times, but that's not the case. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:42 Highlight the passage at 1:06:42

1:07:17 If the afflictive emotions and so forth, the negative emotions such as hatred and attachment, if they were in the very fabric of the mind, if they were in the very nature of the mind, then if we were to remove hatred, if we were going to eliminate hatred, we'd have to eliminate the mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:17 Highlight the passage at 1:07:17

1:07:35 Maybe it sounds preposterous, but we're rather sophisticated in our understanding of psychology, and we take that for granted. I mean, in not, you know, 1500, and we're . 150 years ago, people would have thought that people had certain intrinsic character. There are certain qualities about individuals which were in the very nature of them. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:35 Highlight the passage at 1:07:35

1:08:04 That was a notion that was predominant in thinking around. But now we no longer think of that. The mind is... It can sometimes be seen analogously to a wet lump of clay. It feels like it sometimes. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:04 Highlight the passage at 1:08:04

1:08:25 According to our understanding, our skill and our efforts, we can shape of that wet lump of clay. We can make a beautiful Madonna and child of Michelangelo. And that's something that is really inspiring and wonderful. that, you Report an error in the passage at 1:08:25 Highlight the passage at 1:08:25

1:08:44 We can make of our mind an ashtray. What it's called nowadays is plasticity of the mind. It can be shaped simply through training. It's becoming more and more evident in neurobiology that that's the case. The mind is not fixed. It's not set. There was some notion that even not until quite recently, maybe 20, 25 years ago, that certain characteristics were In grain, after the age of five, they couldn't be changed. Certain capacities of mind and so forth. But they no longer think that's the case. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:44 Highlight the passage at 1:08:44

1:09:24 The mind can grow, it can change, even certain injuries can be compensated for. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:24 Highlight the passage at 1:09:24

1:09:33 No, we have mind, which is another category. Mind is non-physical, brain is physical matter. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:33 Highlight the passage at 1:09:33

1:09:42 Yeah, okay, yeah, that's a good point. Good one. That's the plasticity of the brain, yeah. Clear and knowing. Then we come across a division of awareness into valid cognizers and non-valid cognizers. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:42 Highlight the passage at 1:09:42

1:10:01 And the definition of a valid cognizer is a Report an error in the passage at 1:10:01 Highlight the passage at 1:10:01

1:10:14 new incontrovertible knower. That's on page 12. The word valid cognizer is not a very interesting word, is it? It's not a very good translation, I don't think. But anyway. It's the vices. What we're trying to... A valid cognizer is like a model consciousness. It's like an idea of a standard. It's something which is extremely stable. Let's go through the definition. It'll become clear. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:14 Highlight the passage at 1:10:14

1:10:47 The definition of a valid cognizer is a new incontrovertible knower. A new incontrovertible knower. So each of these terms are being explained here. New refers to the very first moment of a cognition. So I turn my mind to, I turn my attention to the flower. I generate an eye consciousness apprehending flower. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:47 Highlight the passage at 1:10:47

1:11:15 Okay? Eye consciousness apprehending flower. The very first moment. My moments are continually arising momentarily. know, the... Report an error in the passage at 1:11:15 Highlight the passage at 1:11:15

1:11:26 But they create a continuum. So I can behold that flower, that eye-consciously apprehended flower. It could last for 15 seconds, a minute. If I was really spaced out, it could last for, you know, maybe it was something really intriguing, and it really just caught my attention. Oh, my God. And I might just, might that continuum of that eye-consciously apprehended flower could last for minutes. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:26 Highlight the passage at 1:11:26

1:11:52 But only that first moment of that is considered a valid cognizer. And what's happening? Why is that? Report an error in the passage at 1:11:52 Highlight the passage at 1:11:52

1:12:03 They're trying to place a great deal of emphasis on how this is all leading to something. It's all pragmatic. It's all utilitarian. It's trying to help us to develop a sense of... they're Report an error in the passage at 1:12:03 Highlight the passage at 1:12:03

1:12:19 Overcoming some of the afflictions and most basically ignorance. We can have a correct understanding of something, but it doesn't necessarily act as an antidote, as a countermeasure to another belief which is holding the opposite position. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:19 Highlight the passage at 1:12:19

1:12:43 A valid cognizer is a very powerful type of consciousness. It is able to act as an antidote. Ultimately, in terms of one area, at least, of working with our minds, we want to develop the wisdom, understanding, selflessness. A very powerful realization. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:43 Highlight the passage at 1:12:43

1:13:12 The first moment is empowered by the object itself. The second moment, what's happening? There's a number of things happening. The second moment in the continuum, when I turn my attention to that flower, I consciously apprehend the flower, the second moment I begin to think about the flower. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:12 Highlight the passage at 1:13:12

1:13:36 Conceptuality begins to be introduced. I'm beginning to, and it's not apparent to myself, I'm still looking at the flower. But parallel to that, I'm beginning to develop associations with other flowers I've seen. Or I'm beginning to think, oh, isn't that a nice flower? That flower reminds me of when I was a little kid and we have likes and dislikes. So we're beginning to infiltrate that consciousness as being, in a way, adulterated or becoming associated with lots of mental proliferations. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:36 Highlight the passage at 1:13:36

1:14:11 So that consciousness is not quite as potent, as powerful as the very first moment, which was... Empowered by the object itself. The second moment becomes what's called, and we're going to come into this, it's called subsequent cognition. All the remaining moments, let's say I look at that flower for one minute. The very first moment is new. The second moment, and we're going to come to the conditions which give rise to consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:11 Highlight the passage at 1:14:11

1:14:52 There are three conditions. One of them is the observed object condition. That is the object itself. My mind is not creating that object. It's there. I turn my attention to it. Something's coming from the side of the object. It's casting its image toward my mind. My mind arises in that aspect. The very first moment of my cognition of that flower is empowered by the object itself. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:52 Highlight the passage at 1:14:52

1:15:21 The second moment... It arises independence upon the first moment, not the object, but by my memory of the object. That's what we call subsequent cognition. It's not fresh. It's not new. It's not as powerful as that very first moment. It's not arising independence upon the actual object, but it's arising on the previous moment. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:21 Highlight the passage at 1:15:21

1:15:48 So the second moment arises independence upon the first moment of apprehending a flower. The third moment arising depends upon the second moment of apprehending the flower. It doesn't have the same force, the same potency. I'm still apprehending the flower, but it's no longer as vivid. It's no longer as transformative. I'm apprehending flowers. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:48 Highlight the passage at 1:15:48

1:16:11 I don't know if that's going to transform me or not. But what happens if you're meditating, say, on selflessness? A penny drops. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:11 Highlight the passage at 1:16:11

1:16:22 That ah, that ha-ha moment is the first moment of a continuum of some kind of realization of understanding. I'm just giving an example. This is where this is all going. That is able to act as an antidote. It's a very powerful antidote to what? Hot and cold water cannot exist simultaneously at the same place. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:22 Highlight the passage at 1:16:22

1:16:47 Two contradictory emotions cannot exist simultaneously in the mind. You cannot be both loving and hating the same object simultaneously. There are two opposing modes of relating with the same object. You can't love your partner and hate them at the same time. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:47 Highlight the passage at 1:16:47

1:17:09 You may think, well, overall I love my husband, but sometimes I hate him. You're angry. Maybe you don't hate. Use the word anger. So they act in opposition. So we're trying to appreciate the fact of developing a countermeasure to most basic ultimately where we're going with all this is developing a countermeasure to ignorance. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:09 Highlight the passage at 1:17:09

1:17:36 And that is wisdom. And the most powerful is the wisdom which is a valid cognizer. That very first aha moment. Okay? So it's neither... It arises independent upon the object itself. And moreover, it's realizing selflessness. And moreover, it's not being adulterated or corrupted or being under the influence of other associations, conceptuality coming in. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:36 Highlight the passage at 1:17:36

1:18:09 And we'll talk more about that. But I just want to kind of give you a say, well, you know, what is all this? What's the purpose of all this? Where are we going with all this? So, new. New refers to the first moment in a continuum. I turn my mind, my attention to the flower, and I might look at the flower for one minute. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:09 Highlight the passage at 1:18:09

1:18:30 That's a continuum of a flow of eye consciousness apprehending the flower arising. Only that very first moment is new. The rest are what we're going to call subsequent cognition. The word subsequent means they come after that. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:30 Highlight the passage at 1:18:30

1:18:53 The other part of the definition is incontrovertible. I know that's a strange word, isn't it? It refers to that we're actually getting at the object. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:53 Highlight the passage at 1:18:53

1:19:07 That is a realization. And here it says realization. It's able to eliminate superposition. I know this is really the language, the terminology can be off-putting. Let's say, okay, yeah, you're walking. We're going to use this example a lot. You're going to hear this over and over again, especially when we talk about selflessness and emptiness and so forth. You're walking along an evening along a path, and there's a coiled striped rope. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:07 Highlight the passage at 1:19:07

1:19:49 And you just read in the paper today, there's a lot of snakes coming out and sunning themselves. There was an article in the paper about somebody got bit by a snake. So you read that in your mind. And you're walking along and it's coming toward evening and there's a coil-striped rope along the path. And you look over and you see a snake. You see a snake. You can see the snake. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:49 Highlight the passage at 1:19:49

1:20:19 so. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:19 Highlight the passage at 1:20:19

1:20:23 What do you do? You might run away. Or you might be curious. You might be willing to confront that appearance and investigate it. Is that really a snake? Maybe you get a stick and you begin to poke around. Maybe it's a dead snake. It's not moving. It doesn't have a head. And you will go through a movement of mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:23 Highlight the passage at 1:20:23

1:20:55 First there was a wrong consciousness. Then you move into doubt. Doubt is a two-pronged consciousness. It's indecisive, wavering between two different positions. First, oh, it's a snake. Well, maybe it isn't. I don't know. And then finally, what have you done? You've superimposed snake upon something which wasn't snake, right? A striped rope is not a snake. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:55 Highlight the passage at 1:20:55

1:21:25 You've projected it. That's the way to superimpose. You've projected upon that rope an existence which wasn't there. It's purely a fabrication of your mind. It's a hallucination. So a realization is simply removing that projection, removing that superimposition of being a snake. The penny draw, ah, okay? So that's what it means. It's like if you go down to the... Report an error in the passage at 1:21:25 Highlight the passage at 1:21:25

1:22:03 You are driving through the, what are the mountains in Victoria called? Pardon? Okay, you're driving through the snow, okay? And you're wearing sunglasses. And you see green snow. The snow's not really green. You're overlaying something on that, that white appearance of the snow, aren't you? And realization is taking off the sunglasses and seeing. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:03 Highlight the passage at 1:22:03

1:22:34 The object for what it really is in its true nature. That's a realization. That's what it means to eliminate superimposition. So that's what we're trying to do. So what is it? The word incontrovertible means it's actually getting at the real nature of its object. It's getting at the real nature of the snow in terms of its color. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:34 Highlight the passage at 1:22:34

1:22:53 It's getting at the real nature of that coiled striped rope. It's removing the superimposition. The penny drops. It's a very... This is opposed to correct. Another type of consciousness that we're going to look at later is called correct assumption. I think they call it correct assumption. Okay? Most of our, you know, if you look at your knowledge, your understanding of the world, most of it's simply assumptions. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:53 Highlight the passage at 1:22:53

1:23:29 Correct assumptions. They're correct. you know, that, you know, that Report an error in the passage at 1:23:29 Highlight the passage at 1:23:29

1:23:46 The earth goes around the sun. Pardon? The sun. Okay. Yeah, that's true. Earth goes around the sun. Or that the capital of, or that Santa Fe is in New Mexico, in the United States. Most of our knowledge is simply correct assumptions. It's correct. It's correct. Yeah? But it's not based upon either experience or valid reasoning. It's something that you've heard, that you're taught, that you've read, and you have no reason not to accept it. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:46 Highlight the passage at 1:23:46

1:24:28 It's correct, and you just take it on. Most of all of our knowledge is simply correct assumption. That type of correct assumption, though it's correct, it's not incontrovertible. It's not particularly stable. It's not firm. It can be controverted. Somebody can say, oh. What are you talking about? The capital of New Mexico is not Santa Fe. Oh, no, I've been there. I know what I'm talking about. Oh, okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:28 Highlight the passage at 1:24:28

1:24:53 What is it? So it can be easily overturned. Somebody that's a very forceful speaker. And that happens all the time. Somebody, the loudest person in argument usually is the most convincing. So we're operating most of our way that... Information that we're making use of are simply correct assumptions. And it works perfectly well most of the time. But it's not very stable. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:53 Highlight the passage at 1:24:53

1:25:26 It can be controverted. It can be overturned quite easily. We really haven't gotten at the object. We really don't know it for ourselves. And this is what we're going for. It doesn't do any good for you to look in a textbook on Buddhism and it says, Report an error in the passage at 1:25:26 Highlight the passage at 1:25:26

1:25:45 Often the self is selfless. Okay? The I, the person is selfless. Oh, okay. Ignorance laughs at you. It's a beginning, or everything is empty of true existence. That's just an assumption. You're going along, okay, my teacher said that. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:45 Highlight the passage at 1:25:45

1:26:10 So we want to develop a consciousness which is actually getting at the object and removing the superimposition of a self or true existence or that snake with regard to the rope or removing the sunglasses, that overlay of green with regard to snow. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:10 Highlight the passage at 1:26:10

1:26:29 We're trying to work toward those consciousnesses which are based in experience and reasoning in order to remove these misconceptions that we have. And that can only be done by a valid cognizer, something which is fresh, new, and that is incontrovertible, which is really the measure of what we're trying to understand, which has removed the superposition. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:29 Highlight the passage at 1:26:29

1:27:03 And then it's also a knower. that's, you I've talked about the fact that there are four tenant systems within Buddhism. The lowest system is called Vaiveshika, or a great exposition school. And they say that the I sense power is a knower. And in this school that we're making use of here, this tenant system called the Sūtra school or the Sautantric school, they say, no, the I sense power is not a knower. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:03 Highlight the passage at 1:27:03

1:27:38 So this eliminates my sense powers and so forth as being knowers. So a valid cognizer is authoritative. It is the most powerful of the types of consciousnesses. Once you've experienced something, you know it for yourself. It's hard for somebody to say, oh, maybe it's not. Maybe you should read this book. I saw what I saw. I know what I know. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:38 Highlight the passage at 1:27:38

1:28:11 And that has the power, the ability to counteract. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:11 Highlight the passage at 1:28:11

1:28:21 It's like a balanced beam. Now ignorance has the most weight, is the greatest influence on our worldview and the way that we approach things, the way we understand the world. By ignorance here, I'm talking about... Ignorance, understanding, selflessness. But as we develop in our wisdom, then there are greater numbers of occasions when we actually operate. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:21 Highlight the passage at 1:28:21

1:28:56 That comes into play in various ways. And the balance beams begin to shift. And we'll reach a point when ignorance can no longer arise in the mind. The wisdom is so predominant. and so stable, it is incontrovertible. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:56 Highlight the passage at 1:28:56

1:29:16 The nature of truth is that the closer that you approach it, the more obvious it becomes. It is as if it couldn't be any other way. The nature of falsity, on the other hand, is that the closer you approach it, the more ephemeral, the more transparent. The more fragile and subtle until you can't find what it is that you thought was there. So that's what we're trying to approach. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:16 Highlight the passage at 1:29:16

1:29:48 Am I making a bit of sense? So there is a kind of a purpose in what we're doing here. We're trying to appreciate this fact of where we're trying to develop our minds because there is a movement of mind from wrong consciousnesses all the way through doubt, through correct assumptions. Through inferential understandings and to direct perception, direct perceivers. And that's what we really arrive at. We don't want to take it. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:48 Highlight the passage at 1:29:48

1:30:21 Correct assumptions are very useful. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:21 Highlight the passage at 1:30:21

1:30:37 Initially, we are gathering together information. Our study of Buddhism, for example. We read books, we listen to teachings and so forth. You know, there are... Report an error in the passage at 1:30:37 Highlight the passage at 1:30:37

1:30:48 So this is at the listening stage. And then we begin to take what we've come to know. So these are all just the correct assumptions. They aren't ours. And we have to digest them. We have to process them. And this requires we have to examine, investigate. Is it true? Is it according to my experience? Is it internally consistent? Then we reflect. And then we actually... Report an error in the passage at 1:30:48 Highlight the passage at 1:30:48

1:31:02 me just... Report an error in the passage at 1:31:02 Highlight the passage at 1:31:02

1:31:19 We meditate on it. We integrate it. We see the validity. The penny drops and it transforms our mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:19 Highlight the passage at 1:31:19

1:31:30 Okay, so that's valid cognizers. Then it goes on to say there are two types of valid cognizers. We'll look at the first. The two types of valid cognizers are direct-to-valid cognizers and inferential valid cognizers. So there are two. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:30 Highlight the passage at 1:31:30

1:31:55 This is, you know, we're working with what I called an epistemological model of the mind. That is to say, we're interested in how the mind comes to know. What are the stages of knowing and misknowing for that matter? So this model doesn't include all states of consciousnesses. We're just, at this point, we're interested in How do we come to know? What does it mean to know? So Buddhism recognizes two valid ways of knowing. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:55 Highlight the passage at 1:31:55

1:32:36 One is called direct perceivers and the other is called inferential valid cognizers. Direct perceivers and inferential valid cognizers. These are the two ways to validly know. So first we're looking at the first of these, a direct perceiver. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:36 Highlight the passage at 1:32:36

1:33:02 Direct? Yeah. Okay. So it gives us a definition. A knower that is free from conceptuality and non-mistaken. A knower that is free from conceptuality and non-mistaken. So this sounds like a technical point, and I hope it won't be overly confusing. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:02 Highlight the passage at 1:33:02

1:33:38 All conceptual consciousnesses are mistaken. All of them. It doesn't mean they're wrong. It just means they're mistaken. Why is that? They are mistaken with respect to their appearing object. Give me an example of a conceptual consciousness. Here's an example. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:38 Highlight the passage at 1:33:38

1:34:13 So the conception of yourself as a woman, conceptual consciousness, thinking I am a woman. Okay. Yeah, why not? Okay. What is conceptual consciousness conceiving a woman? Okay. Thinking of yourself as a woman. It's more complicated. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:13 Highlight the passage at 1:34:13

1:34:44 Okay. Conceptual consciousness apprehending a woman. Okay. What is the appearing object? We talked about this before. The appearing object of the thought consciousness apprehending woman is what? Report an error in the passage at 1:34:44 Highlight the passage at 1:34:44

1:35:04 The mental image of a woman. My idea of a woman. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:04 Highlight the passage at 1:35:04

1:35:12 Pardon? The thought consciousness which is thinking woman. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:12 Highlight the passage at 1:35:12

1:35:25 We can have an eye consciousness apprehending flower. or maybe Report an error in the passage at 1:35:25 Highlight the passage at 1:35:25

1:35:30 That's a direct perceiver. I can think about a flower. I can have a thought conscious apprehending a flower. Okay? I'm thinking, oh, I think I better buy some flowers for my partner. I'm thinking there's an eye conscious apprehending flower. Now, the appearing object of that thought conscious apprehending flower is what? The appearing object. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:30 Highlight the passage at 1:35:30

1:36:03 There's a thought conscious apprehending flower. What is the appearing object? Report an error in the passage at 1:36:03 Highlight the passage at 1:36:03

1:36:11 Mental image of flower. My ideal. It's complete. There's nothing coming from the outside. It's a fabrication of my own mind. My idea of flower. That's what's appearing to me when I think flower. I think I've got to get some flowers. I'm using an idea within my mind in order to think about a flower. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:11 Highlight the passage at 1:36:11

1:36:40 Now, what happens is... When we say that all thought consciousness, does that make sense? Let's stop there. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:40 Highlight the passage at 1:36:40

1:37:14 Do you see this flower? Report an error in the passage at 1:37:14 Highlight the passage at 1:37:14

1:37:27 Yeah, maybe I'm making it. Okay, so we have two valid ways of knowing. One is called a direct perceiver. A direct perceiver, for example, an eye consciousness apprehending a flower. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:27 Highlight the passage at 1:37:27

1:37:46 It knows the flower by the power of the object. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:46 Highlight the passage at 1:37:46

1:37:54 The object casts its image toward the consciousness, and the consciousness knows the flower by means of the object. So there's an object as the observed condition, and by the power of that object casting its image toward the consciousness, the eye consciousness knows the flower. object, the mind here. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:54 Highlight the passage at 1:37:54

1:38:16 I can think about a flower. There, there's nothing coming. I can think about my computer on my desk at home, sitting here. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:16 Highlight the passage at 1:38:16

1:38:27 That, coming to know that computer, I know it by way of an idea in my mind at present. It's simply a fabrication of my mind, which is referring to something in my house right now. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:27 Highlight the passage at 1:38:27

1:38:45 I'm knowing, so the thought consciousness apprehending my computer, the appearing object in my mind, what I'm using to understand computer is my mental image of the computer. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:45 Highlight the passage at 1:38:45

1:39:03 There's nothing, the object isn't even here. So a direct perceiver comes to know the object by the power of the object, casting itself toward the subject. The thought consciousness. There's nothing coming from the side of the object. It is completely coming from the side of the subject. My idea that I'm fabricating, that I make up. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:03 Highlight the passage at 1:39:03

1:39:26 That snake that I saw, was that coming from the side of the object or the subject? I Report an error in the passage at 1:39:26 Highlight the passage at 1:39:26

1:39:50 think as we go along, hopefully, we get used to some of this language. We're using a mental image. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:50 Highlight the passage at 1:39:50

1:40:07 Now the reason we said a thought consciousness is mistaken. Why? Because it takes a mental image of a flower to be the flower itself. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:07 Highlight the passage at 1:40:07

1:40:22 The mental image of a flower appears to be a flower, but it's only my idea of the flower. It's only a mental image. So it's mistaken with regard to it. takes, it's taking. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:22 Highlight the passage at 1:40:22

1:40:37 What we call the appearing object. It appears to be a flower, but it's not. It is my conception, my idea, my representation of a flower. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:37 Highlight the passage at 1:40:37

1:40:53 So in this way, all thought consciousnesses are mistaken. And here I give the definition of a mental image. If you're reading in the notes. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:53 Highlight the passage at 1:40:53

1:41:13 Maybe it's like Report an error in the passage at 1:41:13 Highlight the passage at 1:41:13

1:41:19 a photograph of an object. It can give us a lot of information. A photograph of a person, it can tell us a lot, but it's not the person, is it? But it can give us correct information about that person. So it's as if we're using a photograph. This is an analogy, all right? Report an error in the passage at 1:41:19 Highlight the passage at 1:41:19

1:41:53 But we can come to understand the person through that photograph. But we shouldn't mistake the photograph for the person. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:53 Highlight the passage at 1:41:53

1:42:02 So we shouldn't mistake our ideas about a person for the person. We do that a lot. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:02 Highlight the passage at 1:42:02

1:42:12 That's right. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:12 Highlight the passage at 1:42:12

1:42:25 Good. Excellent. So we do that all the time. We're using images and representations, photographs. And they can tell us about the real world. Cognitive systems are model builders, and we understand our world through our models that we build up within our minds. We come to know, to a large extent, our world through these models that we have about how the world works and how to operate in the world. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:25 Highlight the passage at 1:42:25

1:42:57 But the map is not the territory or idea of that, but we take it to be. At least thought consciousness takes our mental image of a flower to be an actual flower, our mental image of a person to be the actual person. And we relate with it on the basis. It's only in that way that we say a thought consciousness is mistaken. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:57 Highlight the passage at 1:42:57

1:43:29 Okay, this is too much. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:29 Highlight the passage at 1:43:29

1:43:59 In fact, there's no other cat there. So that's a wrong consciousness. Yeah, that's right. I'd like to... Okay, any more questions? Report an error in the passage at 1:43:59 Highlight the passage at 1:43:59

1:44:31 Would I like to... Report an error in the passage at 1:44:31 Highlight the passage at 1:44:31

1:44:42 So it says the definition of a direct receiver is a knower that is free from conceptuality and is not mistaken. Free from conceptuality and not mistaken. So conception... A conceptuality or a thought consciousness can understand an object, but it understands it by way of a mental image of the object. It doesn't understand the object directly. So this word direct. Thought consciousness understands objects by way of our idea, our mental image of the object through our idea about the object. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:42 Highlight the passage at 1:44:42

1:45:29 Like understanding a person through a photograph of the person. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:29 Highlight the passage at 1:45:29

1:45:35 It can understand them correctly, but it doesn't understand them directly. An eye consciousness, for example, a direct perceiver understands it by the power of the object. It understands the object directly, not through an idea of the object, but directly. So it's non-conceptual and it's non-mistaken. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:35 Highlight the passage at 1:45:35

1:46:04 There are four types of direct perceivers. Sense direct perceivers, mental direct perceivers, self-knowing direct perceivers. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:04 Highlight the passage at 1:46:04

1:46:15 And yogic direct perceivers. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:15 Highlight the passage at 1:46:15

1:46:34 Those are sense direct perceivers. So the first division is of direct perceivers into four, four categories of direct perceivers. And again, this is, if you look on the bottom of page three, four types according to the subtlety of their appearing objects. So first off, there's sense direct perceivers. So we'll give an overall rough picture. There are five types of sense direct perceivers according to the five types of physical sense objects. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:34 Highlight the passage at 1:46:34

1:47:25 There are forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and things. Tangibles, tangible objects. So we have what? We have an eye, direct perceiver, apprehending flower. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:25 Highlight the passage at 1:47:25

1:47:48 An ear, direct perceiver, apprehending sound, the sound of the fan. We have a nose, direct perceiver, apprehending smells. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:48 Highlight the passage at 1:47:48

1:47:59 We have a tongue, direct perceiver, apprehending taste. And we have a, what do they call it, a body sense? Touch, sense perceiver, apprehending tangibles or objects of touch, tangible objects, smooth, rough, hard, soft, those kinds of objects. The Report an error in the passage at 1:47:59 Highlight the passage at 1:47:59

1:48:36 mental direct perceivers. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:36 Highlight the passage at 1:48:36

1:48:42 There are two types of mental direct perceivers. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:42 Highlight the passage at 1:48:42

1:48:57 I talked about the continuum of... An eye consciousness apprehending a flower, for example. It could last an instant or it could last for seconds. It could last for minutes. Eye consciousness apprehending a flower. That's a sense direct perceiver. At the end of that continuum. Is it okay when I say this word continuum? It's like what would be another example of continuum? Report an error in the passage at 1:48:57 Highlight the passage at 1:48:57

1:49:41 It's like a string of A string of connected moments of a particular type of consciousness. At the very end of that continuum of an unconsciousness apprehending flower arises a moment of a mental direct perceiver. So this is still a direct perceiver, but it's called a mental direct perceiver. And normally it's... Report an error in the passage at 1:49:41 Highlight the passage at 1:49:41

1:50:18 It is said to be ordinary individual cannot perceive it. It's too brief. In some ways it's posited. Okay, a mental direct perceiver. There is a mental, it's no longer the eye conscious is apprehending the flower, but the direct mental perceiver apprehending flower arises. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:18 Highlight the passage at 1:50:18

1:50:48 It is said to be posited. As an interface between direct perception and thought consciousness. It's like a Report an error in the passage at 1:50:48 Highlight the passage at 1:50:48

1:51:07 link. Yeah, good. A link between a direct perception. We see the flower and then we begin to think about the flower. Well, between that eye consciousness apprehending the flower and the thought consciousness apprehending the flower, thinking about the flower, there is this brief... Briefness of moments of a mental direct perceiver of flower, which acts as a link or an interface between those two, a direct perceiver and a thought consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:07 Highlight the passage at 1:51:07

1:51:43 That's one type. The other is through mental training, we can have mental direct perceivers of objects which aren't objects of our physical senses. An example would be clairvoyances. Whether they exist or not, I don't know. I've never experienced them, but they said to exist. That is, knowing other people's minds, being able to read other people's thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:43 Highlight the passage at 1:51:43

1:52:13 That would be an example of a mental direct perceiver that requires training of the mind in order to develop that. Or some people would say clairvoyance, able to see the future or the past and things like that. Those, you know, I'm just giving you examples. Those are classified as mental direct perceives. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:13 Highlight the passage at 1:52:13

1:52:39 One directly is able to apprehend someone else's mind. Or another, which is probably more substantial, would be being able to see subtle objects which aren't Report an error in the passage at 1:52:39 Highlight the passage at 1:52:39

1:52:57 able to be seen by our sense direct perceives. For example, Report an error in the passage at 1:52:57 Highlight the passage at 1:52:57

1:53:04 A single atom. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:04 Highlight the passage at 1:53:04

1:53:08 A single atom exists. It is a form. It exists. But it's too subtle to be seen by our eye-sense consciousness. It is said that through training, it can be the object of a mental direct receiver. So objects which are too subtle or which are not the object of our physical sense. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:08 Highlight the passage at 1:53:08

1:53:34 Direct perceivers, our physical consciousness, aren't able to be apprehended by our physical senses, can be apprehended by our mental sense perceiver. Those are some of the examples. Does that make any sense? Report an error in the passage at 1:53:34 Highlight the passage at 1:53:34

1:53:54 Second type. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:54 Highlight the passage at 1:53:54

1:54:06 That's right. It could be spontaneously. So that consciousness which is apprehending that past life would be a mental direct perceiver. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:06 Highlight the passage at 1:54:06

1:54:17 So we can't see it, we can't taste it, we can't smell it, but we can still know it directly. And that consciousness, which is knowing it directly, is called a mental direct perceiver. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:17 Highlight the passage at 1:54:17

1:54:31 The third type is called a self-knower, a self-knowing direct perceiver. This is simply, it allows for self-awareness. For example, I have... Report an error in the passage at 1:54:31 Highlight the passage at 1:54:31

1:54:51 I have an eye conscious apprehending a flower. I can remember. I look away. I can remember. I was just looking at a flower. How do I know I was looking at a flower? Report an error in the passage at 1:54:51 Highlight the passage at 1:54:51

1:55:08 So they're positing, well, there must have been another awareness which was aware that you were apprehending a flower. Otherwise, how could you remember that you were apprehending a flower? There must have been another awareness which was watching your... Your eye sense, direct perceiver, apprehending flower, which knew that you were apprehending the flower. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:08 Highlight the passage at 1:55:08

1:55:41 Okay, yeah. So, but, okay. How, you know, if there wasn't this factor of self-awareness, I see a flower and I turn away. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:41 Highlight the passage at 1:55:41

1:55:55 There must be something which is aware that I saw a flower. Otherwise, I couldn't remember that I saw a flower. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:55 Highlight the passage at 1:55:55

1:56:10 There must be another consciousness which is aware of, it's called, it's turning inward. It's aware of the consciousness which is apprehending the flower. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:10 Highlight the passage at 1:56:10

1:56:24 It's like, Report an error in the passage at 1:56:24 Highlight the passage at 1:56:24

1:56:33 I heard you cough. Just now, I heard you cough. How do I recall you? I heard you cough. Well, there must have been a self-knowing awareness which knew that I heard you when you coughed. There was something which, an awareness of the ear consciousness apprehending your cough. There was another awareness. That is a self-knowing direct perceiver. Pardon? Memory. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:33 Highlight the passage at 1:56:33

1:57:12 How does that memory arise? How does that memory arise? Report an error in the passage at 1:57:12 Highlight the passage at 1:57:12

1:57:31 You know, I could, I could, if I could. I could see a flower, I could see that, I could see that, I could see that. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:31 Highlight the passage at 1:57:31

1:57:46 But some way I can recall, oh, before that I saw a flower. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:46 Highlight the passage at 1:57:46

1:57:55 How do I remember that I saw a flower? Report an error in the passage at 1:57:55 Highlight the passage at 1:57:55

1:58:06 Yeah, so, but, yeah, how do I, we have to, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:06 Highlight the passage at 1:58:06

1:58:16 Sure, sure. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:16 Highlight the passage at 1:58:16

1:58:43 There was an awareness that you had just thought that thought. Otherwise the thought would just go and it would never – well, Report an error in the passage at 1:58:43 Highlight the passage at 1:58:43

1:58:57 maybe that – Report an error in the passage at 1:58:57 Highlight the passage at 1:58:57

1:59:10 we're getting maybe a little more complicated. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:10 Highlight the passage at 1:59:10

1:59:19 Okay. I had – what did I have for lunch? I had – I had rice for lunch. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:19 Highlight the passage at 1:59:19

1:59:36 So the object of this, of a self-knowing direct perceiver, the object of that is another consciousness, not the object. It's watching my eye consciousness apprehend that flower. Therefore, it's aware that my eye consciousness apprehended a flower. Thereby, I can remember that my eye consciousness apprehended a flower without that awareness. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:36 Highlight the passage at 1:59:36

2:00:04 Which is standing apart and which is observing my eye consciousness. I wouldn't have that memory. There would be an eye consciousness apprehended a flower and then it would be gone. There had to be something which knew at the same time that I was observing a flower. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:04 Highlight the passage at 2:00:04

2:00:35 Not the memory, no. It's the same time. As my eye consciousness apprehended a flower, there's another awareness. Which is aware of, it apprehends my eye consciousness. And therefore, it's aware of the eye consciousness apprehending the flower. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:35 Highlight the passage at 2:00:35

2:01:00 So they're positing what they call a self-knower. Anyway, we'll talk more about it in terms of its definition. I wanted to give you an overall view. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:00 Highlight the passage at 2:01:00

2:01:16 Okay. Does that make it? Anyway, try to wrap your mind around these. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:16 Highlight the passage at 2:01:16

2:01:26 Metacognition. I think that's a stepping back. That which is aware of your own thoughts would be an example of a self-knower. Yeah. But also aware of all my cognitions. Eye-consciously apprehending my flower. There's an awareness which knows that. That's this self-knowing direct perceiver. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:26 Highlight the passage at 2:01:26

2:01:55 And then there's a fourth one, the yogic protectors, but we'll come to that next week. So I hope this is not too baffling. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:55 Highlight the passage at 2:01:55

2:02:10 Hang in there and don't Report an error in the passage at 2:02:10 Highlight the passage at 2:02:10

2:02:21 fall into any holes this week. Watch those holes. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:21 Highlight the passage at 2:02:21

2:02:30 Can I make this easier somehow for you? Report an error in the passage at 2:02:30 Highlight the passage at 2:02:30

2:02:36 Huh? Red pills. Also, you know, when... got that. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:36 Highlight the passage at 2:02:36

2:02:44 I was thinking if you have any – we begin our evenings together normally with some adjustment of our motivation and so forth, using quotations. If you have anything that you'd like to share, I'd like for you to participate in that segment of our time together. If you have a story that you feel would be inspirational or something that you'd like to share with others, I would like to invite you to do that. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:44 Highlight the passage at 2:02:44

2:03:32 Whatever you'd like to contribute. So we can dedicate the positive energy we've created together. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:32 Highlight the passage at 2:03:32

2:03:44 May all beings everywhere plagued by sufferings of body and mind. Okay, so... Report an error in the passage at 2:03:44 Highlight the passage at 2:03:44

2:03:49 attain an ocean of happiness and joy by virtue of my merits. May no living creatures suffer, commit evil, or fall May the blind see forms and deaf hear sounds. May those whose bodies are worn with toil be restored on finding repose. May the naked find clothing, the hungry find food. May the thirsty find water and delicious drink. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:49 Highlight the passage at 2:03:49

2:04:19 May the poor find wealth, those weak with sorrow find joy. May the forlorn find hope, constant happiness and prosperity. May there be timely rains and bountiful harvests. May all medicines be effective and wholesome prayers bear fruit. May all who are sick and ill quickly be freed from their ailments. Report an error in the passage at 2:04:19 Highlight the passage at 2:04:19

2:04:40 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. 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. Report an error in the passage at 2:04:40 Highlight the passage at 2:04:40

2:05:04 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 jewels of the awakened heart and mind that have not arisen arise and grow, and may those that have arisen never diminish but increase more and more. Report an error in the passage at 2:05:04 Highlight the passage at 2:05:04

2:05:25 In the land encircled by slow mountains, you are the source of all happiness and well-being. Powerful Chenrizi, Tenzin Gyatso, please remain to the end of cyclic existence. Report an error in the passage at 2:05:25 Highlight the passage at 2:05:25