Good afternoon. Welcome to class three in the Diamond Sutra. So I was telling some people, but I didn't say this in the last class, reading the sutra, chanting the sutra, studying these various commentaries, the feeling for me It's written and translated from Sanskrit and Chinese into English by various people. As I said before, I have many translations. It seems so straightforward and matter of fact. It seems like such a reasonable, reasonable language. Like, yeah, take this up.

[01:03]

What about this? See it like this. And my experience has been like the ringer up in the laundry area. Taking my conceptual mind, the normal mind that creates concepts and creates... what we call conventional reality moment by moment. And the sutra is the ringer. Just like, stop it. Stop it. I'm like, ow, it hurts. After a while, I'm reading it. I'm like, wait, ow, it hurts, it hurts. And stop it. Stop conceptualizing. Stop believing your thoughts. I don't know how But it's effective. And then in the last series of half-day sittings, I said, maybe it's a little less like the ringer in the laundry area.

[02:14]

Maybe it's more like the Buddha is a very skilled body worker doing an extremely deep tissue massage on conceptualizing mind. Or the sutra. is a very skilled body worker doing a deep tissue, deep tissue, letting go, letting go on a very deep level over and over. So the first five chapters we covered in the last class, this is possibly one ending of the sutra. There are some... speculation, it can always only be speculation that maybe this was a version of the sutra. Once upon a time, you know, way back when. We don't know.

[03:15]

I will talk more about this later, because Dr. Kanze has plenty to say about it. And then the next six chapters, which I have the ambition to cover, in this class, we'll see how we do, is kind of consolidating what the Buddha and Siburi have been discussing and putting it into effect. Belief and practice. Putting the sutra into effect and just approaching these as different facets of the diamond. I think the diamond is a really good image here, because from now on, the rest of the sutra, and even more so as we get past chapter 13, the chapters kind of bounce around, and it's like different facets. Okay, now we're here.

[04:17]

Well, wait a minute. The Buddha was talking about that way back in chapter four. Yeah, but we're going to talk about it again. Have you got it now, Sabuti? And just kind of over and over, deep tissue massage, just like, do you get it? Do you get it? Will anybody get it? Which is Sibuti's question in Chapter 6. So, without further ado, because we're just going to go through it. Boy, could you please shut those doors? That would be so great, I think. If anyone else comes, hopefully they just let themselves in. Today's class is probably going to be a bit of a smorgasbord. I think I should just read the sutra. Chapter 6. This having been said, the Venerable Sabuti asked the Buddha, Bhagavan, will there be any beings in the future, in the final epoch, in the final period, in the final 500 years of the Dharma-ending age, who give birth to a perception of the truth of the words of a sutra, such as that spoken here?

[05:31]

The Buddha said, Subuti, do not ask, will there be any beings in the future, in the final epoch, in the final period, in the final 500 years of the Dharma-ending age, who give birth to a perception of the truth of the words of a sutra, such as that spoken here? Surely, Subuti, in the future, in the final epoch, in the final period, in the final 500 years of the Dharma-ending age, there will be fearless bodhisattvas who are capable, virtuous, and wise. who give birth to a perception of the truth of the words of a sutra, such as that spoken here. Yeah, that's all of you, by the way. Indeed, Subuti, such fearless bodhisattvas will have honored not just one Buddha, and they will have planted auspicious roots before not just one Buddha. Surely, Subuti, such fearless bodhisattvas will have honored countless hundreds and thousands of Buddhas, and they will have planted auspicious roots before countless hundreds and thousands of Buddhas.

[06:31]

In the words of a sutra, such as that spoken here, they are sure to gain perfect clarity of mind. The Tathagata knows them, Subuddhi, by means of his Buddha knowledge, and the Tathagata sees them, Subuddhi, by means of his Buddha vision. The Tathagata is aware of them, Subuddhi, for they all produce and receive a measureless, infinite body of merit. And how so? Because Subuddhi... These fearless bodhisattvas do not create the perception of a self, nor do they create the perception of a being, a life, or a soul. Nor, Subuddhi, do these fearless bodhisattvas create the perception of a dharma, much less the perception of no dharma. Subuddhi, they do not create a perception nor no perception. And why not? Because, Subuddhi, if these fearless bodhisattvas created the perception of a dharma, they would be attached to a self, a being, a life, and a soul. Likewise, if they created the perception of no dharma, they would be attached to a self, a being, a life, and a soul.

[07:32]

And why not? Because surely, Subuddhi, fearless bodhisattvas do not cling to a dharma, much less to no dharma. This is the meaning behind the Tathagata's saying, a dharma teaching is like a raft. If you should let go of dharmas, how much more so no dharmas? Okay, that's one of the longer chapters. And what's going on here? Right away, Subuddhi is asking about beings. The Buddha does not go there. The Buddha responds talking about bodhisattvas. So this is plunging headlong into the Mahayana. The Buddha is not talking about beings at all. He's talking about bodhisattvas. This is... This is the thrust of the sutra. In an earlier chapter, the Subhuti praises the Buddha for looking out for the bodhisattvas.

[08:43]

Thich Nhat Hanh says, we want to be careful about where we put our energy and who we're supporting, what kind of practices we're supporting. So the Buddha is like, Right there, bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas. And this honoring not just one Buddha, but planting auspicious roots before many, many, many Buddhas is the characteristic of the devotional aspect of the Prajnaparamita literature, the beginnings of the Mahayana. I mean, it gets much, much wilder in other Mahayana sutras, but this is a taste of it. very, very devotional in nature. So what is this last 500 years about? Does anybody know about that? Can tell me about the last 500 years? Yes, please.

[09:45]

One is that length of time for a flourishing community was given a thousand years of that community and then cut in half once women became members of the community. So that's number one. Number two is more a practice around this feeling that we're living at the end of the Dharma's age, which is that in the Tibetan tradition, but also in other shamanistic traditions, people will leave sort of dharmic time capsules in the form of books and writings under stones and rocks. and the language around that is that in 500 years, should someone come along who is ready, the general will be there to meet them.

[10:58]

Which, in fact, the scriptures found in the Dunhuang caves is an example of. They hid them from the Mongols. They were found much, much, much later, amazingly. Yeah, so there's a... different ways of understanding it. It was a commonly held belief. It was very current at this time in ancient India, as well as in China. But there's some disagreement about what the time periods are. Bill Porter says, in the Mahasamnipata Sutra, there's up to five periods in which the purity of Buddhist practice is expected degenerate every 500 years. If we begin with the Buddha's nirvana in 383, before the common era, then we're in the Dharma ending age right now, actually. And this Dharma ending age will end somewhere around the 22nd century.

[12:02]

That's exciting. In which case, I totally go along with the Buddha's answer to Subuddhi, because I feel like practice is strong. The Dharma is very vital in this time and place. That's my sense of it. But there are other ways of understanding it. It could also be the last 500 years of the disappearance of the Dharma spans three periods, the first two of which last 1,000 years apiece, and the third of which last 10,000 years. Therefore, the last 500 years of that longer period, which is quite a long ways off. So who knows? The point is, are there people who will take this up and believe it, who will practice it? So he's acting like, and, you know, not the only place in the sutra, Sibuddhi's talking like the sutra's already finished.

[13:08]

So what will the practice be like? Okay. He's expressing some doubts. So many commentators suggest that Sibhuti is underestimating the power of the Bodhisattva's vow all through the sutra. Sibhuti kind of, he's on board, he's really listening, he's really listening to the Buddha, but he keeps reverting to this kind of Shravaka point of view. So he's expressing some doubts, and then this happens all through the sutra. So he has some misgivings about the power of the Bodhisattva's vow. So what is this raft about? Do you know? Yes, Jack Lee knows. Do you want to tell me? Tell us, rather?

[14:11]

where the Buddha says, you know, you use a rock to get from one shore to the other, but then once you're on the other shore, you don't pick the rock and put it on your head and walk around with it. You let go of the rock, and it's up for the teachings that are there to help get you to the other shore, but then you let go of the teachings. And of course, in my hand, we don't even have it on the shore, so. What should we do? We just don't cling to a belief in it. Yeah, so I could read it to you, but I think we're still on chapter 6, so we should probably keep moving. But Mejima Nikaya, number 22, for those of you taking notes, is beautiful. It's beautiful. And the other shore is right here. Not just Tazara, but wherever you are. I was... I've told this story many times, teaching a class in San Quentin.

[15:15]

I asked the guys in San Quentin, I was talking about the Paramitas. Paramitas is the other shore. And I said, what's the other shore? And they said, two guys, but like pointing at the floor. And I said, oh, the cement floor of San Quentin State Prison, that's the other shore? And they're like, whoa, strong practice. So I'm going to leave that for all y'all to check out. if you care to. I'm not going to read you the parable of the raft this afternoon. Just to, as I mentioned, Red Pine read 53 Chinese commentaries. Studied 53 different Chinese commentaries. And he quotes them to great effect here and there.

[16:18]

So I have no idea who these people are. But Tang Li says, get this, the dharmas the Buddha wants us to let go of are the dharma of self, the dharma of dharma, and the dharma of emptiness. The Buddha first teaches people that the self is empty and to keep them from clinging to the self. He then teaches them that dharmas are empty to keep them from clinging to dharmas. Finally, he teaches them that emptiness is empty to keep them from clinging to emptiness. And speaking of the other shore, Fu Shi says, if you drown in the middle of the river, what good is it to talk about either shore? If you cling to existence or non-existence, you are mired in the mud of the mind. So this is the non-abiding that we're talking about. We'll be talking about more. Yes?

[17:19]

So that comment on first seeing your non-self, then you see the dharma, then you see the intimacy, then you see the intimacy. Do you think that in our practice that occurs linearly like that? That first, you know, or I mean, because the way that... the teachings in this school are almost as if everything is seen at the same, you know, form is as empty as this form. Do we not need to have some deep understanding of non-self first? I think, as they say, to pick up one corner of the tablecloth is to pick up the whole tablecloth. That we just... kind of dive into the deep end in the school yeah so if speaking of the parable of the raft if it serves your practice and training to have a deep understanding of non-self first first as opposed to what i'm not so clear of but whatever if if that if that feels important then i would say yes

[18:34]

For this person, that's probably important. And for another person, just sitting. For another person, let's do a lot of Vipassana retreats. For another person, I'm going to do a lot of visualization practices. Who knows? The important thing is to find out. To find out. Yeah. Anyway, that's my take on it. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, so this practice discussion goes on. Once again, the Buddha asked the Venerable Subhuti, What do you think, Subhuti? Did the Tathagata realize any such dharma as unexcelled perfect enlightenment? And does the Tathagata teach any such dharma? Buddha's kind of testing Subhuti here. The venerable Sabuti thereupon answered, Bhagavan, as I understand the meaning of what the Buddha says, the Tathagata did not realize any such dharma as unexcelled perfect enlightenment.

[19:44]

Nor does the Tathagata teach such a dharma. And why? Because this dharma realized and taught by the Tathagata is incomprehensible and inexpressible and neither a dharma nor no dharma. And why? Because sages arise from what is uncreated. So Subuti, he's trying to show, you know, that, hey, I'm on board here. I think I got it. And the Buddha says, well, let's keep going. Let's go a little further. Let's go a little further. He knows that Subuti has not yet really grasped his teaching. And he's still attached to the Dharma of no dharmas. Subuti, you see... He's still a little bit attached, still attached to emptiness. So he goes there very quickly. No, no, no, no, no. You haven't realized any such thing as Anuttara Samyaksambodhi. It is, and you want to write something on the... You can write that up there.

[20:49]

That's a big, fat one. It means unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment. Where have we heard that expression before? Yes, indeedy. A-N-U-T-T-A-R-A dash S-A-M-Y-A-K dash S-A-M-B-O-D-H-I Amnithara Samyaksambodhi. The version of the Heart Sutra that used to be chanted in Zen Center We didn't translate that at first. He's to chant, all Buddhas of past, present, and future rely on Prajnaparamita and thereby attain Anuttara Samyak Sam Bodhi. Now we say, unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment. That's it. I think the Mahayana was, they were trying to say, no, no, no, no.

[21:54]

We're not talking about being an ARAD here. This is something more, you know. It's kind of... No, no, no. This is it, really. This is it. Completely beyond all conception. Beyond all ideas about what enlightenment is. Complete, unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment. Anuttara Samyaksambhori. As somebody says, well, no. It doesn't. Oh, really? Here's another... take on that from the Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines. This is so good. This is from Chapter 8, Purity, in the Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines, translated by Dr. Kanzas. Again, this is a practice discussion with Subuddhi and the Buddha. Subuddhi, therefore, all dharmas have the character of not having been fully known by the Tathagata, the Lord. It is just through their essential nature that those dharmas are not a something.

[22:57]

They are not a something. Their nature is no nature, and their no nature is their nature, because all dharmas have only one mark, only, i.e., no mark. It is for this reason that all dharmas have the character of not having been fully known by the Chathagata, for there are no two natures of dharma, But just one single one is the nature of all dharmas. And the nature of all dharmas is no nature. And their no nature is their nature. It is thus that all those points of attachment are abandoned. Emphasis mind. Subuti. Deep, O Lord, is the perfection of wisdom. The Lord. Through a depth like that of space. Subuti. Hard to understand, O Lord, is the perfection of wisdom. The Lord. Because nothing is fully known by the enlightened. How do you like that? How's this translation?

[23:58]

Nothing is fully known by the enlightened. That's pretty zen, I would say. That's pretty zen. That's bodhidharma's don't know. The more you know, the more you know you don't know. Exactly. So where does that leave us? Adrift. Adrift. Mired between the two shores? What's left to us? Practice. Here's another Pali Sutta. Very well known. Very often quoted. The Buddha's teaching to the Kalamas. You know this one? They lived in this little town of Kesaputta. It must have been on a crossroads. Because a lot of people came through their little town... And they say, oh, it's like this. You should practice like this. You should believe in this. And then a little bit later, another person would come through. He had his own following. He said, no, no, no, no, no. It's not like that.

[24:58]

Don't listen to him. You should practice like this. You should believe in this. And the people in the town got very confused. And they asked Shakyamuni, what should we believe? Actually, who should we believe? And the Buddha says, now Kalamas, don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions. by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability or by the thought, this contemplative is our teacher. When you know for yourselves that these qualities are skillful, these qualities are blameless, these qualities are praised by the wise, these qualities, when adopted and carried out, lead to welfare and to happiness. then you should enter and remain in them. This is about practice. The sutra is pushing us out like, let go, [...] let go. Don't rely on your concepts.

[25:59]

With nothing to attain, a bodhisattva relies on prajnaparamita. It's about your practice and trusting your practice. But this can be... The Kalama Sutta is often pointed to. Thanissaro Bhikkhu says, this discourse is often cited as the Buddhist carte blanche for following one's own sense of right and wrong. It actually says something more rigorous than that. Actually, so the advice of our guy Sekito Kisen, in the harmony of difference and equality, don't set up standards of your own. It's not about that. But it's about... finding out for yourself, testing your practice. Traditions are not to be followed simply because they are traditions. Reports such as historical accounts or news are not to be followed simply because the source seems reliable. One's own preferences are not to be followed simply because they seem logical or resonate with one's feelings. Instead, any view or belief must be tested by the results it yields when put into practice.

[27:07]

and to guard against the possibility of any bias or limitations in one's understanding of those results, they must further be checked against the experience of people who are wise. There you have it. Yes. Let go, let go, let go. We're inside. I'm not... In the midst of this dialogue between the Buddha and Subuddhi, it's like, should I believe in this? No. Should I believe in that? Well, actually, what about this? And so, over and over again, the Buddha is helping Subuddhi to

[28:07]

get over his concepts of what practice and realization are. And not be caught by any idea, but also to stay true to the actual practice. So this chapter seven is a good example of that. It's what he says. Oh, yeah, I get it. There's nothing about, yeah. The Tathagata didn't understand Anuttara Samyak Sam Bodhi. He didn't achieve that. Buddha's like, let's keep going. Let's keep going. It's not that either. So, that's what I mean. Yeah, it's not explicitly stated. Buddha doesn't say, let go. He's just walking him through this. And little by little, it's He has to let go.

[29:08]

We have to let go. Okay, where does that leave us? So, here's some more about Dhanaparamita. The Buddha said, Siburi, Chapter 8. Subuti, what do you think? If some noble son or daughter filled the billion worlds of this universe with the seven jewels and gave them as a gift to the Chittagadas, the Arhats, the fully enlightened ones, would the body of merit produced as a result by this noble son or daughter be great? Subuti answered, Great indeed, Bhagavan. The body of merit produced as a result by that noble son or daughter would be great, Sugata. And how so? Bhagavan, whatever is said by the Tathagata to be a body of merit is said by the Tathagata to be no body. You saw that coming, didn't you? Yeah. Thus does the Tathagata speak of a body of merit as a body of merit. This is over and over.

[30:16]

This is how the Buddha is telling us to let go, how he's telling the Buddha to let go, and how the sutra is telling us to let go. 8 does not equal 8, therefore, 8 equals 8. Over and over and over again. Yes? It's going to fall down? That would be exciting. Is there a purpose to studying scripture or studying this thing? All it's saying is your, this mind that you're using to study is going to lead you astray. You should just practice. Well, you want to say something? The dynamic activity of being in this yes, no, yes, no, yes, no.

[31:48]

It's going to undo the scholarly quest for standing. And the fuggled body realizes that Yes. So the text is an actual process towards understanding by undoing the conceptual mind in this constant yes-no, yes-no, yes-no. And, yeah. True. I believe Shilohakura Kimori said in his Hishimu last summer that the... I like that.

[32:55]

Thank you. And my teacher, Mel, who has said more than once, well, study is not the most important thing, practices, and yet he studies all the time. I bet you he'll be down later this month. I bet you you'll see him in the Abbott's garden or in the Abbott's cabin. He's got a book. He's writing it. He never stops. He's going to be 87 tomorrow. Tomorrow is Bill's birthday. How about that? He never stops studying. What he says is the study... confirms his understanding. The study, sutras and commentaries, koans, et cetera, et cetera, provides a framework, something to bounce off, something to help us to consolidate our practice.

[34:02]

But the practice always comes first. Practice always comes first. Yeah. That's what Mel says. What do you know about these seven precious jewels? That comes up in the sutures a lot. They're usually gold, silver, aquamarine, maybe lapis lazuli, maybe blue beryl, carnelian, red agate, nacre... or it could be crystal rubies, pearls, coral, or black mica. That's way more than seven. So it changes a lot, actually. It just generally is seven precious jewels, the most precious things you can imagine. So that probably changed from time to time. This foreshadows Bodhidharma's exchange with Emperor Wu. The emperor says to Bodhidharma, I've endowed all these monasteries.

[35:04]

I've given all these gifts. I'm like, of course, you know, the seven, what does it say? The billion worlds of this universe filled it with the seven precious things and then give that as a gift to the Tathagadas. That's kind of far out. That's kind of unbelievable. But Emperor Wu was the real deal. He actually, he gave an amazing amount. He was emptying his treasury to support Buddhism, endowing all these monasteries, giving all this land. Kind of crazy that he was so devoted. Maybe he was inspired by the sutra. And he said to Bodhidharma, what's the merit in all this? No merit. Bodhidharma doesn't skip a beat. No merit. No merit. compared to the merit that the boundless, infinite merit of just reciting one four-line gatha, one verse of this sutra.

[36:20]

How about that? Because one kind of merit could be measured and is subject to impermanence. And the other merit is boundless. That's the difference. The man from Nazareth, Jesus of Nazareth said, don't store your treasures where the moths can get at them. or rust can get at them. That's not your real treasure. Where is your real treasure? This is a similar sentiment. This is a similar sentiment. Just one four-line gatha of the sutra. Which one? Which four-line gatha are they talking about anyway? It says here,

[37:26]

The Qingkang Samadhi Sutra says, all dharmas are contained in a single four-line gatha. That's sort of reminiscent or influenced by the Huayen, the Avatamsaka Sutra. It teaches us that everything is everything. Mutually unhindered interpenetration of all space and time. All dharmas are contained in a single four-line gatha. It doesn't matter which one. Hong Lian says, everyone possesses this sutra. It is complete in everyone. From the Buddhas above to the ants below, they all possess this sutra, which is the wondrous and perfectly enlightened mind to which nothing can compare. One minute of zazen is one minute of Buddha. You already have it. You already have everything you need to practice. It's very devotional.

[38:28]

And it's also what I mentioned before. It's an example of the cult of the Sutra. Comparing the most amazing thing that you can give versus just memorizing one for Lankatha of this Sutra. And again, kind of talking about the Sutra as though it's already been preached. Just, just, you know, in the future, the last epoch. One person memorizes just one four-line gatha. It's really promoting the sutra as a holy thing in itself. It is the body of Buddha. Yes. Or you should view this fleeting world, a flash of lightning in a summer cloud, a bubble and a stream of flickering lamp, a bubble and a dream. Yeah, maybe that's the one.

[39:32]

Those are the last lines of the dining sutra. Well memorized. Sort of. The merit is boundless. Don't forget to turn it over. Okay. We're doing all right. How's everybody doing? Bored? Awake? Sleep? Into the sutra? Not into the sutra? Yes? Really into the sutra. Yes. Well, because... I'm going to say something that kind of surprises me. What's coming up for me? is the precept of not killing. If you try to possess the Dharma, if you try to possess the merit, you're killing it.

[40:36]

You're killing practice. You're making it into a thing. Boom. Instantly, it's dead. Dead. Excuse me for doing that. the merit in echoes and services to our departed teachers and ancestors who seem like they would need the merit a whole lot less than people already don't already have gone. That's a good question. I don't know. I think it's an expression of devotion. It's an expression of remembering what it is we're grateful to. That's my take on it. Yeah. Yes? I think it might also have something to do with this miracle of ancestor working from those cultures.

[41:45]

Okay. Chapter 9. Tell me, Suburi. So the practice discussion goes on. Do those who find the river think, I have attained the goal of finding the river? Subuti replied, No, indeed, Bhagavan. Those who find the river do not think, I have attained the goal of finding the river. And why not? Bhagavan, they do not find any such dharma. Thus are they said to find the river. They do not find a sight, nor do they find a sound, a smell, a taste, a touch, or a dharma. Thus are they said to find the river. Bhagavan, if those who found the river should think, I have attained the goal of finding the river, they would be attached to a self. They would be attached to a being, a life, and a soul. So, you know, just as a refresher, Atma, Sattva, Jiva, Puttala.

[42:50]

These get repeated over and over again in the sutra. Just to help us to let go. You have all these four views of the self, inner view, outer view, life, present reality, and a soul that relates to a past or future reality. Letting go of these four views. Letting go completely. Sabuti replied, the Buddha said, tell me, Sabuti, do those who return once more think I have attained the goal of returning once more? Yes. Subuti replied, No indeed, Bhagavan, those who return once more do not think I have attained the goal of returning once more. And why not? Bhagavan, they do not find any such dharma as returning once more. Thus are they said to return once more. The Buddha said, Tell me, Subuti, do those who return no more think I have attained the goal of returning no more? Subuti replied, No indeed, Bhagavan, those who return no more do not think I have attained the goal of returning no more.

[43:51]

And why not? Bhagavan, they do not find any such dharma as returning no more. Thus are they said to return no more. The Buddha said, Tell me, Subhuti, do those who are free from rebirth think I have attained freedom from rebirth? No, indeed, Bhagavan. Those who are free from rebirth do not think I have attained freedom from rebirth. And why not? Bhagavan, there is no such dharma as freedom from rebirth. Thus are they said to be free from rebirth. If, Bhagavan, those who are free from rebirth should think, I have attained freedom from rebirth, they would be attached to a self. They would be attached to a being, a life, and a soul. And how so? Bhagavan, the Tathagata, the Arhat, the fully enlightened one, has declared that I am foremost, this is Subuti talking about himself, declared that I am foremost among those who dwell free of passion. Bhagavan, although I am free from rebirth and without desires, I do not think, I am free from rebirth and without desires. Bhagavan, if I thought I have attained freedom from rebirth, the Tathagata would not have singled me out by saying, foremost among those who dwell free of passion is the noble son Subuti, for he dwells nowhere at all.

[45:03]

Thus is he called one who dwells free of passion, who dwells free of passion. So if you're up for writing something again, the first word is srotapana. That was from the 4th of July, by the way. S-R-O-T-A-P-A-N-N-A. It's usually translated as stream enterer. S-R-O-T-A-P-A-N-N-A. And these are... all versions of Shravaka. So you could put Shravaka at the top, actually, S-H-R-A-V-A-K-A. Originally, the Buddha's original disciples' voice hearer, those who heard the Buddha's voice, but later just became a way of talking about those who are practicing this path, the Nikaya Buddhism.

[46:17]

And the second one is Sakridagamin. S-A-K-R-I-D-A-G-A-M-I-N. Going and coming just once. One more birth. One more lifetime. One more to go. S-A-K-R-I-D-A-G-A-M-I-N. Sakridagamin. And then... Anagamin, A-N-A-G-A-M-I-N. Not coming. No more birth. And then Arhat, free from rebirth, which is considered the ultimate goal. In the view of the sutra, what? Subuti is getting more and more interested in the Bodhisattva path. Yes. Those are the next two stages.

[47:30]

It's the stages of practice after letting go of certain defilements and mistaken views, which can be found listed in various places, which I'm not going to get into right now. And they're the stages. So first is finding the river, finding the river of impermanence, maybe, or the river of the truth of suffering. In other words, beginning to practice, finding that river. I think it's safe to say we have all found that river. And then Sakri Dagamin is one more rebirth. You're doing really well. You just got one more rebirth to go. Might be human, might be heavenly. One more rebirth. And alagameen means no more rebirths. And arhat means not only are you not coming back, you are free completely. But it's a personal kind of freedom.

[48:33]

So these shravakas, in the view of the sutra, are actually held back in a way. They're held back by the selfishness of their detachment. of the self. So this is, as I said, the beginning of the Mahayana. Letting go of this individual practice. We're not practicing for ourselves alone. When you really enter the stream, according to Zubhuti here, you let go of I have entered the stream. That no longer applies if you really enter the stream. If you really let go, then you're dwelling in not abiding. Your practice is not separate from others. So yeah, held back by the selfishness of their detachment from the self, by their ideas about practice. Okay, gang.

[49:37]

Are we ready to hear about Hui Nung? You know Hui Nung? The so-called Chinese Buddha? The sixth ancestor? kind of father of Zen. You look at the Zen lineage charts, it goes from Bodhidharma, six ancestors, Huinang, and then Tang Dynasty Zen School. Maybe so. Maybe so. So, I don't know how I am with reading everything, actually. I thought I was going to be just fine, but are you tired of me reading the whole sutra to you? Yeah, okay. Chapter 10. The Buddha said, Sibudi, what do you think? Did the Tathagata obtain any such dharma in the presence of Deepankara Tathagata, the Arhat, the fully enlightened one?

[50:44]

This is past lifetime. Subhuti replied, No, indeed, Bhagavan. The Tathagata did not obtain any such dharma in the presence of Deepankara Tathagata, the Arhat, the fully enlightened one. The Buddha said, Subhuti, if any bodhisattva should thus claim, I shall bring about the transformation of a world, such a claim would be untrue. And how so? The transformation of a world, Subhuti, the transformation of a world, is said by the Tathagata to be no transformation. Thus is it called the transformation of a world. Therefore, Sibhuti, fearless bodhisattvas should thus give birth to a thought that is not attached and not give birth to a thought attached to anything. They should not give birth to a thought attached to a sight, nor should they give birth to a thought attached to a sound, a smell, a taste, a touch, or a dharma. Subuti, imagine a person with an immense perfect body whose self-existence is like that of Mount Sumeru. What do you think, Subuti? Would such self-existence be great?

[51:46]

Subuti replied, Great indeed, Bhagavan. Such self-existence would be great, Sukhata. And why? Because self-existence, Bhagavan, self-existence is said by the Chittagata to be no existence. Thus is it called self-existence. Because, Bhagavan, it is neither existence nor no existence. Thus is it called self-existence. Oy. So, in the story, in the Platform Sutra, the beginning of the sutra is sort of autobiographical. In fact, you could say it's Hwai Nang's wayseeking mind talk. And he talks about his life and his youth. And the story goes... Hoi Nung, as a boy, I don't know what his name was then. It wasn't Hoi Nung. Hoi Nung is his Dharma name. But as a little boy, he was destitute. His father was dead, gone. And his mother was poor. And he was making a living helping his mom out by gathering firewood in the woods and selling it in the market in the town.

[52:53]

And wandering through the town, selling the firewood, he heard... the Sutra, the Diamond Sutra being preached. And just overhearing it, not preached, just recited, heard it being recited, and just overhearing it, he was moved to pursue a religious life, something in him deeply moved. Which part of the Sutra Huinang heard being recited is questionable. But in the Platform Sutra, in Huena's story in the Platform Sutra, later on, when he's practicing with his teacher, Hongren, the fifth ancestor, they have this exchange, which is very, very much foreshadows our ceremony of Dharma transmission that we do in Soto Zen. One day the ancestor came secretly to the room where the rice was pounded.

[54:01]

The wainang, they put him to work. It was considered just a simple peasant, so they put him to work pounding the rice for the temple. Seeing that I was working with a stone pestle, he said to me, a seeker of the path risks his life for the dharma. Should he not do so? Then he asked, is the rice ready? Ready long ago, I replied, only waiting for the sieve. He knocked the mortar thrice with his stick. and left, knowing what his message meant. In the third watch of the night, I went to his room. Using the robe as a screen so that none could see us, he expounded the Diamond Sutra to me. When he came to the sentence, one should use one's mind in such a way that it will be free from any attachment, I at once became thoroughly enlightened and realized that all things in the universe are the essence of mind itself. That's the passage there in Chapter 10 that Flayna was talking about. Yes? Is that a Diamond Sutra?

[55:05]

Is this post-Nagarjana? No. I think not. I don't know. I don't know. Nagarjana. Is it awkward historically? Yeah. Do we consider this to be a new vision or a teaching Diamond Sutra? No, this is a Prajnaparamita. It's early Prajnaparamita. Well, not that early, but it's Prajnaparamita literature, which came before. That's why it's like shaking my head no, because the three major schools of the Mahayana that evolved and inform our practice, all three very important in historically Prajnaparamita school, then Madhyamaka, than Yogacara. So how do you distinguish in terms of the doctrine, or whatever word, Krishna, Dharamita, from Yogacara?

[56:05]

How is that different? I think not so different. It's just Yogacara is a kind of continuation and expounding upon. So it's just nature? Expanding. Yeah, expanding. The understanding, yeah. And there's a lot more of a codifying explanation. We are reaching the limits of the envelope of my scholasticness. I can say with confidence that this is Prajnaparamita literature, the Heart Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, the Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines. This is Prajnaparamita. And that came before Madhyamaka, which came before Yogachara. That is so. Yeah. Oh, after all that. After all that. Yeah, this is a Chinese, although we call it a sutra, it's actually born and raised in China.

[57:12]

Oh, it definitely is. Definitely is. I think pretty much everybody. Even those very skeptical academics all know this to be Indian. There are extant Sanskrit versions, that is sort of very, very old. Gang, it's almost 4.30. Maybe, maybe. We better call it quits. So we didn't make it to chapter 13. Oh, well. I'm happy to keep teaching this class as long as people are happy to keep coming and to go through the sutra entirely. And if people really want me to keep reading it, I will keep reading it. Certainly, the most many chapters are much shorter. They sort of get shorter as we go along towards the end of the sutra.

[58:18]

Some of them, there's a lot to say about, and some of them, not so much. You will pick it up again on the 13th. May our intention equally...

[58:39]

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