Good afternoon. Thanks for turning out on this beautiful day. Perfect Mediterranean weather. Oh my gosh. So I'm impressed. Thought, but no. So we're just going to continue on with the sutra and last class. So it's I received the feedback that people were okay with me continuing to read each chapter. And that's the format it's going to continue to take until we get to the end of the sutra, actually. Now, the thing is, it's going to speed up a little bit. And that's going to be explained later on in this class, the why. The why of that. Because things are going to shift a little bit. Also... A lot of the chapters in the latter part of the sutra are much, much shorter.

[01:03]

They get very short. Although there are, as we said in the first class, 32 chapters, which relates to the 32 marks of the Buddha. Many of the chapters are very short. And there's more to it than that. Anyway, I will continue also reading from Bill Porter's translation. This is his unique translation. using both Chinese and Sanskrit, and it's a darn good one. At this point, I've read a number of the translation status. So, because, you know, the sutra itself is quite short. Yes. Shout out. On sale now in the Tazahara bookstore. In the library. Oh, right.

[02:04]

So I'm not going to read chapter 10 again. That's where we left off. But I will, among the many books I brought today, I did not bring the Platform Sutra with me, but you may recall that we said there was a verse in chapter 10 that Huinang, the sixth ancestor, the central figure in the Platform Sutra, in his encounter with Hongren, the fifth ancestor, woke up to this certain verse, which I will read that verse again. Therefore, Simburi, 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. So I believe it was actually the words... Fearless bodhisattvas should thus give birth to a thought that is not attached and not give birth to a thought attached to anything.

[03:22]

Which... at his enlightenment experience, the transmission of the Dharma. Is there any chance we could talk about that? I just, if you woke up to it, like why not discuss it? Maybe one of us will wake up to it. One of the translations I read, I think the only translation I read was unsupported, not unattached, but actually it says the word unsupported. It just sounds a little harder to figure out in a way. I don't know. So, it's not hard to figure out when you say unattached. Okay, it makes a lot more sense. Okay. Unattached, unsupported. How do we understand that? It's like, you're not, well, you're not, like...

[04:25]

So this morning we chanted Genjo Koan, right? Dogen says to carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusional. that myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening. So, question is, how? How do we do that? Oh! I feel like it's on it. I think it was your... It's like, for me, it feels like... A divestment of self. You know, a divestment of self. So when varied things come forward, they already are unattached or unsupported.

[05:31]

However, the self-clinging aggregates are, they do. So by paying attention to not allowing, not allowing, but watching when mine starts to proliferate, we can come back to the unattached, unsupported. phenomenal arising without thinking that it has anything to do with us. So I said I was going to talk about non-abiding. This is exactly that. Actually, these are not my words, though. I'm going to read to you from another translator's commentary. person, Charles Muller. I don't know anything about Charles Muller, but one of the many translations I own that's on my laptop had this commentary.

[06:32]

This is an excerpt from that commentary that I like a lot that I think we can, it helps make this more accessible to me. Most important... is the basic resonance of the text's message with the core aspect of Zen doctrine and practice, the theme of non-abiding. Non-abiding in a Buddhist and especially a Zen context refers to the continual practice, i.e. not just while one is sitting in Zazen, of being aware of the stoppings and goings of the mind, and avoiding being tricked and ensnared, by the web of mental constructs that one continually weaves for oneself. The ongoing proliferation of these diluted constructs has as its causes and conditions not only in the thought processes, not only in the thought processes in which one is engaged at the present moment, but also the flowing river, one's entire multi-lifetime load of previous karma, and not only one's own karma.

[07:39]

but the linguistic karmic flow of one's entire culture. A vitally important message of the Diamond Sutra is that not abiding should not be misconstrued as a nihilistic sort of practice. On the other hand, it also does not imply simply giving free reign to one's thoughts. Since then, one is certainly going to get further wrapped up in the dense web of one's own spinning. Non-abiding necessitates the kind of moment-to-moment attentiveness that is awesome in its required subtlety. And I think this is important. And I want to emphasize, as this class goes on, how early this teaching is. So, you know, later on, we get the Madhyamaka, the middle way. We understand that that very much informs our Zen training. Madhyamaka, middle way, means... It's a different understanding, a newer understanding of the middle way that the Buddha preached in the first Dharma talk.

[08:51]

The Buddha said, you know, we should find a middle way between the excesses of asceticism and indulgence. Later on... about finding the middle way between the absolute and the relative. So neither nihilism nor positivism. Neither one. But both. It's both and. So the sutra over and over again, you know, A does not equal A. Therefore, A equals A. Not abiding anywhere. So the sutra, you know, it just, I said before, You know, I gave my kind of my own mental image of the ringer and the laundry area. And then later on, I thought, well, it's more like a deep tissue massage. It's just over and over again. It's trying to get us to let go. You know, opening the hand of thought. How do you open the hand of thought? So this is reading and reciting the sutra.

[09:54]

It just gets you to like... helps, I think. It helps us to loosen up a little bit. The whole business about Deepankara, Tathagata, it's in the beginning of chapter 10, is the first introduction to the practice of Kshantiparamita, the tolerance of Thank you. This one, Kshanti, patience or tolerance. The sutra emphasizes mostly dana, Kshanti, and prajna. as the antidotes to greed, hate, and delusion.

[10:58]

So in this chapter is sort of the introduction to the tolerance, the ultimate tolerance. Bill Porter says, it was during this encounter with Deepankara Tathagata that the Buddha realized the forbearance of birthlessness, which is the final attainment of the Bodhisattva, the ability to know and to bear the knowledge that nothing arose in the past, Nothing now arises and nothing will arise in the future. There is no greater traumatic experience or knowledge for someone on the spiritual path. Hence, such forbearance or acceptance requires kalpas, a preparation. The Indian commentator Kamala Shiva says, the truth he realized was the truth that nothing arises. And the power he acquired was the ability to bear this truth. So actually, believe it or not, that's what we're practicing here too, all those fearless bodhisattvas.

[12:01]

You may not know that now, but that's what's being cultivated right here in good old Tassajara. And the Buddha says... Don't be attached to anything. Oh, yeah. So Thich Nhat Hanh has a slightly different translation here. The end of chapter 10.

[13:03]

He says... Does a Bodhisattva create a serene and beautiful Buddha field? And Thich Nhat Hanh says, I just wanted to include this because Suzuki Roshi talks about this too. If you have some attainment and peace, you may wish to share them with others and establish a small practice community. But this should always be done in the spirit of formlessness. Do not be bound by the practice center you establish. So Suzuki Roshi used to say that too. He said, Tassahara may go away. We might lose city center. That's okay. It's the practice that counts. Don't attach to anything. Yes? Yes. Yeah.

[14:03]

What does it mean that nothing arises? Yes, it's true. I'm going to share a story about mine. I was born with a yoga song with a teacher and decided to do an object for a moment, some bell meditation, and it disappeared. Uh-huh. So she got really frightened and she went in and asked the teacher about that. And the teacher's answer, which is right, said, we just don't have to get used to it. That's a great story. And the fact is, everything will. Everything will. Nagarjuna said, Dogan quotes Nagarjuna, saying, the mind that sees into impermanence is way-seeking mind.

[15:13]

So, eventually, like Reb said, you have to get used to it. Doesn't something have to arise in order to be impermanent? Yeah, provisionally. Again, this is the middle way between the absolute and the relative. That's why you don't land exactly. You don't land anywhere. And you have to tolerate that. Okay. Chapter 11. The Buddha said, Subudi, what do you think? If there were as many rivers as there are grains of sand in the great river of the Ganges, Would the number of grains of sand in all those rivers be great? Suburi replied, The number of rivers would be great, Bhagavan. How much more so their grains of sand? The Buddha said, I shall tell you, Suburi, so you shall know.

[16:19]

If a man or woman filled as many worlds as there are grains of sand in all those rivers with the seven jewels and gave them as a gift to the Chattagadas, the Arhans, the fully enlightened ones, what do you think, Suburi? Would the body of merit produced as a result by that man or woman be great? Subhuti replied, It would be great, Bhagavan, great indeed, Sugata. The body of merit produced as a result by that man or woman would be immeasurable and infinite. The Buddha said, Subhuti, if then a man or woman filled as many worlds as that with the seven jewels and gave them as a gift to the Chattagadas, the Arhats, the fully enlightened ones, and a noble son or daughter grasped but one four-line gatha of this Dharma teaching and made it known and explained it to others, the body of merit produced as a result would be immeasurably infinitely greater. So this is, again, about the practice of giving. And again, these seven precious things shows up.

[17:23]

He's talking about the seven precious jewels. Maybe... You can think of it as Christmas morning times a million. You know, just like, what's the best anything you can give? Give that. And comparing that to giving teaching of one four-line gatha of the sutra. This chapter is sometimes called The Superiority of Uncreated Merit. Merit is a very, very important concept, which we talked about before, punya. It's very, very important in Buddhist tradition. So this chapter is pointing out we can give material goods. We should give material goods. But what is it traditionally that bodhisattvas give? Mahayana tradition. Bodhisattvas practice dhanaparamita. Compassion. dedicate the merit, we turn it over.

[18:30]

We don't hold on to the merit. Shucks. It means whatever good that arises from my good works, whatever good karma or good outcome that arises from our good works, we don't hold on to that. We don't attach to that. We turn that over too. We dedicate it to others, which we do in all our services. because we think that traditionally just believe that doing these services is generating a lot of good merit. Philip Whelan used to say, good luck, creating good luck. So traditionally, giving is material goods, like the seven precious jewels, or food, shelter, clothing, medicine. give that. Bodhisattvas give that.

[19:31]

Monks give that. Teaching. Bodhisattvas give the teaching. They give the Dharma. They offer the Dharma freely. They never withhold the Dharma. And the third is non-fear. Confidence. These are the three things that Bodhisattvas give traditionally. So, the point of this chapter is that is that no matter how amazing, the best of all the most amazing things you can give, it's still impermanent. It's still created and it will be destroyed. But the teaching is not. The Dharma is not. Liberation is not. Even the merit of a fortunate rebirth or something that is kind of insubstantial like that is still impermanent.

[20:40]

It's still impermanent. Shall we go on? Chapter 12. Furthermore, Subuddhi... Whatever, excuse me, furthermore, Subuti, wherever but one four-line gatha of this Dharma teaching is spoken or explained, that place is like a stupa in the world of devas, humans, and asuras. How much more shall they be remarkably blessed, Subuti, who memorize, recite, and master this entire teaching and explain it in detail to others? For in that place, Subuti, dwells a teacher or one who represents the guru of wisdom. Everybody knows what a stupa is? Yeah. Like a big tower. Like that. What does a stupa contain? Relics.

[21:41]

Relics. The stupa symbolizes the teacher and the teaching. So, before there were images of the Buddha, there were stupas. whether they contained actual relics or not. And then the stupa symbolizes the teacher and the teaching. Wherever this sutra is preached, again, this is the veneration of the cult of the veneration of the sutra, which is kind of beginning here. This is very early Mahayana. Aha. And... Some commentators say the first part ends here. Okay, so we're going to switch gears a little bit. Some say it ends right after the beginning of chapter 13. This having been said, the Venerable Subuddhi asked, Bhagavan, what is the name of this Dharma teaching and how should we remember it?

[22:49]

The Buddha told the Venerable Subuddhi, The name of this Dharma teaching, Sibuddhi, is the perfection of wisdom. Thus should you remember it. And how so? Sibuddhi, what the Tathagata says is the perfection of wisdom. The Tathagata says is no perfection. Thus is it called the perfection of wisdom. You probably saw that coming, right? You probably knew that was coming. So some people think that's the end of part one. Sibuddhi... is acting like the sutra's over. You know, we're at the end of the teaching, and now what should we call this? We're not halfway through this book. Come on. Chapter 13 out of 32. No. What's that about? Usually such a chapter would come at the end of a sutra. But according to some... Subutti isn't asking the name because his questions have been answered.

[23:54]

Actually, you could say most of his questions were answered in the first five chapters. That's generally understood. Most of his questions were basically answered in the first five chapters. He's not asking the name because his questions have been answered. He's asking the name because he's finally beginning to understand it. So... This could also be seen as the beginning of where Subuddhi and this Dokusan with the Buddha, this practice discussion he's having with the Buddha, is kind of starting to shift gears from the Shravaka approach, the Nikaya Buddhism, Theravadan Buddhism approach to the Mahayana, the expansive, devotional, passionate Mahayana understanding. This not only transcends language, it transcends itself. But I have to read the rest of chapter 13.

[24:59]

Subuti, what do you think? Is there any such dharma spoken by the Tathagata? Subuti said, no indeed Bhagavan, there is no such dharma spoken by the Tathagata. The Buddha said, Subuti, what do you think? Are all the specks of dust in the billion world system of the universe many? Subhuti said, many, Bhagavan. The specks of dust are many, Sugata. And how so? Because, Bhagavan, what the Tathagata says is a speck of dust, Bhagavan, the Tathagata says, is no speck. Thus is it called a speck of dust. And what the Tathagata says is a world system, the Tathagata says, is no system. Thus is it called a world system. The Buddha said, Subhuti, what do you think? Can the Tathagata, the Arhat, the fully enlightened one, be seen by means of the 32 attributes of a perfect person? Subhuti said, No, indeed, Bhagavan. The Tathagata, the Arhat, the fully enlightened one, cannot be seen by means of the 32 attributes of a perfect person. And why not? Because, Bhagavan, what the Tathagata says are the 32 attributes of a perfect person, Bhagavan, the Tathagata says, are no attributes.

[26:08]

Thus, are they called the 32 attributes of a perfect person. The Buddha said, Furthermore, Suburi, if a man or woman renounced their self-existence every day as many times as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, and renounced their self-existence in this manner for as many kalpas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, and someone grasped but one four-line gata of this Dharma teaching and made it known and explained it to others, the body of merit produced as a result would be immeasurably infinitely greater. So, yeah. What the Tathagata says is the perfection of wisdom. The Tathagata says is no perfection. Thus is it called the perfection of wisdom. Bill Porter says, such a teaching not only transcends the world of language, it also transcends itself. No other teaching is so self-effacing and yet so sure of itself. It is self-effacing because it asserts nothing.

[27:10]

And it is sure of itself because it asserts nothing. That's about as Zen as it gets. Yes. Yes. You can also see number one is form, number two is emptiness, number three is form is emptiness. Right? and form is form. That's exactly right. And, you know, there's a lot of when we chant the Heart Sutra every day, whether we chant it in English or Japanese, but probably you may be picking up more on it when we chant it in English. My hope is that these two They go together.

[28:10]

They're very often published together. Since ancient times, they very often have been published together. These two core Prajnaparamita teachings. So hopefully, this class might help to get some insight into the Heart Sutra when we chant it. Because they inform each other very much. Yes? Would you say that form is form emptiness as a reality? Form is emptiness as a mystery. Absolutely. I would say form is emptiness, and emptiness is form, is where the absolute and relative meet. That's why we chant. So when you put the Heart Sutra in the Vajjaniya, where are you doing the true chant? Squarely, squarely in the middle. And it's called the Heart Sutra because it's considered like the core... tasty nuggets, the central, it's got all the good bits are like condensed into the hard sutra.

[29:25]

No, it's going to be part of the Prajnaparamita literature. Yeah, and you know, that's a theory. That's a theory. You mean conceptually it's part of that literature? Definitely. Definitely. I think conceptually and most people would say historically. But yeah, we've heard that there's a possibility that it was first written down in Chinese and then back translated into Sanskrit. But it might have just only been first written down in Chinese too. And chanted for a long, long time. Because before there was things written down, there was oral transmission. Nobody really knows. Okay. What's that? It's probably better that nobody really knows. Yeah. Then we don't have to abide anywhere. And we keep the teaching alive. This infinite body of merit that the sutra talks about later on,

[30:34]

Later on, I brought up the three bodies of Buddha. This is not a teaching from the sutra. It comes much later historically. But the sutra, when it talks about that infinite body of merit, that is later on going to be understood as the Sambhogakaya Buddha. We have the Nirmanakaya, which is the physical Shakyamuni Buddha. The Sambhogakaya is the body... of merit, the body of reward, the body of bliss, which is a little hard to talk about and understand. And then the Dharmakaya is the absolute reality. Just pure, undifferentiated reality. Okay. So, if this is the end of the sutra, and Subhuti's talking like it is the end of the sutra, well, then what?

[31:37]

What's the rest of the sutra even about? Well, Dr. Kansa has got a thing or two to say about that, which might shock you. If you are very devoted to the Diamond Sutra, well, you're all sitting down. That's good. Dr. Kansa. Boy, I wish I could have met him. The second part of the sutra presents the commentator with exceptional and so far insuperable difficulties. It is not impossible that one day someone may succeed in offering a satisfactory explanation. None has yet been found. Even Asanga, Vasubandhu, and Kamalashila were often at a loss to account for the logical sequence behind the argument, and their comments are apt to be unconvincing, labored, and over-ingenious. My own commentary, based on their suggestions, was rewritten a number of times. Even in its final form, it failed to ring true, and I must agree with my friends who pronounced it to be unhelpful, inconclusive, tedious, uninspiring, and positively confusing.

[32:45]

Far from adding to the understanding of the sutra's spiritual message, this part of the commentary actually obscures it, though it might have some value for philologists' concern with the construction of the Sanskrit sentences. Speaking of self-effacing, our bewilderments are perhaps due to invincible obtuseness. It is equally possible that they derive from the state of the text, which has been transmitted to us. Far from representing a coherent whole, the second part of the Diamond Sutra may very well be no more than a chance medley of stray sayings. Scholars who are familiar with the conditions of literary composition in Buddhist India and who have considered the frequent repetitions and violent transitions in this part of the sutra are inclined to believe that reciters at various times added a passage here or there and that, what is more, the scribes at one time misplaced some of the palm leaves and also added glosses from the margin into the text.

[33:46]

In that case, the sequence of the argument would be determined by a series of mechanical accidents and I have been content with the bare translation of chapters 13 to 29. There you go. And Muson is kind of similar, kind of similar. Not so much, but once you get up to chapter 13, 14, the rest, he translates and has a little bit of commentary, but not much. So, was it something I said? Show like the sutra's over. No, I'm kidding. Well, here's another point of view.

[34:49]

This is from... This is Chana Zen Teaching, Series 1 from Charles Look, a real gem. I'm so happy that our library owns this. This book is very hard to find. That's from New Women's Estate, right? Yep. Nora Ross, Eleanor Ross, who was friends with Suzuki Roshi. She had an amazing library, and her niece donated it to Tassahara. So this is a first edition. Charles Look translated it. the commentary that was written by Ming Dynasty monk, Hanshan. This is not Hanshan, the poet, who is somewhat more famous. It's a pretty long commentary. It's called The Diamond Cutter of Doubts. So Bill Porter read 53 Chinese commentaries. I've read one. This one. And I really enjoyed it. And... This is very, very devotional.

[35:52]

The commentary is very devotional. And what Hanshan has to say is that... Where is it? Master Hanshan wrote this commentary after he had attained enlightenment, had read the whole Tripitaka, and had apprehended the deep meaning of all the sutras. According to his commentary, the Diamond Sutra has only two parts. Part one, dealing with the coarse views held by Subuti, and in fact by all students of Mahayana Buddhism. And part two, dealing with the subtle views still held by, but imperceptible to them. And maybe I'd add my own point of view, which is what I said before. It's just this continuous deep tissue massage. Yeah, we're there. We're there. I think we get it. But no, keep going. Just keep going because you're going to let go a little more.

[36:53]

Just keep going. You haven't let go completely. So we're going to keep going. Chapter 14. By the force of this Dharma, the venerable Subuti was moved to tears. Wiping his eyes, he said to the Buddha, How remarkable, Bhagavan, how most remarkable, Sugata, is this Dharma teaching that the Bhagavan speaks for the benefit of those beings who seek the foremost of paths, for the benefit of those who seek the best of paths, and from which my own awareness is born. Bhagavan, I have never heard such a teaching as this. They shall be the most remarkably blessed of Bodhisattvas, Bhagavan, who hear what is said in this sutra and give birth to a perception of his truth. And how so? Bhagavan, a perception of its truth is no perception of its truth. Thus does the Tathagata speak of a perception of its truth as a perception of its truth.

[37:55]

Hearing such a Dharma teaching as this, Bhagavan, it is not remarkable that I should trust and believe it. But in the future, Bhagavan, in the final epoch, in the final period, in the final 500 years of the Dharma-ending age, Bhagavan, those beings who grasp this Dharma teaching and memorize it, recite it, master it, and explain it in detail to others, they shall be most remarkably blessed. Moreover, Bhagavan, they shall not create the perception of a self, nor shall they create the perception of a being, the perception of a life, or the perception of a soul. Let's find this again. They shall create neither a perception nor no perception. And why not? Bhagavan, the perception of a self is no perception. Cheapers. This chapter is pretty long. You still want me to read the whole thing to you? Yeah. And the perception of a being, a life or a soul is also no perception. And why not? Because Buddhas and Bhagavans are free of all perceptions. This having been said, the Buddha told the venerable Subuddhi, so it is Subuddhi, so it is.

[39:01]

Those beings shall be most remarkably blessed, Subuddhi, who are not alarmed, not frightened, and not distressed by what is said in this sutra. And how so? Subuddhi, what the Tathagata proclaims as the best of perfections is, in truth, no perfection. Moreover, Subuddhi, what the Tathagata proclaims as the best of perfections is also proclaimed by countless Buddhas and Bhagavans. Thus is it called the best of perfections. So too, Subuti, is the Tathagata's perfection of forbearance no perfection. And how so, Subuti? When King Kali cut off my limbs, my ears, and nose, and my flesh, at that moment I had no perception of a self of being a life or a soul. I had neither a perception nor no perception. And why not? At that moment, Subuti, if I had had the perception of a self, at that moment I would have also had the perception of anger. or if I had had the perception of a being, the perception of a life, or the perception of a soul, at that moment I would have had the perception of anger.

[40:05]

And how so? Siburi, I recall the 500 lifetimes I was the mendicant, Kishanti, and during that time I had no perception of a self, nor did I have the perception of a being, the perception of a life, or the perception of a soul. Therefore, Siburi, Fearless bodhisattvas should get rid of all perceptions in giving birth to the thought of unexcelled, perfect enlightenment. 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. They should not give birth to a thought attached to a dharma, nor should they give birth to a thought attached to no dharma. They should not give birth to a thought attached to anything. And why not? Every attachment is no attachment. Thus, the Tathagata says that bodhisattvas should give gifts without being attached. They should give gifts without being attached to a sight, a sound, a smell, a taste, a touch, or a dharma. Moreover, Subuddhi, bodhisattvas should practice charity in this manner for the benefit of all beings.

[41:07]

And how so? Subuddhi, the perception of a being, is no perception. Likewise, all the beings of whom the Tathagata speaks are thus no beings. And how so? Subhuti, what the Tathagata says is real. What the Tathagata says is true, and is as he says it is, and is not other than as he says it is. What the Tathagata says is not false. Moreover, Subhuti, in the Dharma realized, taught, and reflected on by the Tathagata, there is nothing true and nothing false. Siburi, imagine a person who enters a dark place and who can't see a thing. He is like a bodhisattva ruled by objects, like someone practicing charity ruled by objects. Now, Siburi, imagine a person with eyesight at the end of the night when the sun shines forth, who can see all manner of things. He is like a bodhisattva not ruled by objects, like someone practicing charity not ruled by objects. Furthermore, Subuddhi, if a noble son or daughter should grasp this Dharma teaching and memorize it, recite it, master it, and explain it in detail to others, the Tathagata will know them, Subuddhi, by means of his Buddha knowledge, and the Tathagata will see them, Subuddhi, by means of his Buddha vision.

[42:20]

The Tathagata will be aware of them, Subuddhi, for all such beings produce and obtain an immeasurable, infinite body of merit. Well, this is kind of a... big summation or you could say if you think of the sutra as orchestral music this is after like the end of the first uh what do you call it a movement in a symphony in a symphony you know you have that this divided up into parts different movements and the the end of the first movement like and the beginning of the second movement So it's like summing up the whole sutra and really, really with emphasis and force and the beginning. By the force of this dharma, the venerable Subuddhi was moved to tears. That's unlike most sutras up to this point. Up to this point. And this represents the passion of the Mahayana.

[43:22]

This is passionate. And it's deliberately contrasted to... Nikkai Buddhism, which basically, you know, if you read the Pali Canon, there's a lot of emphasis on being dispassionate. Control the passions, you know. Don't give free reign to your passions. Get things under control. Siburi's just like all over the place. He's so moved. It's so moving. What's so moving about it? It doesn't take very long to chant this sutra, actually.

[44:26]

We chanted it. It took us less than 40 minutes. So really, you know, in the space of a few minutes, Subuddhi has gone from Arhat to Bodhisattva. And it's been a wild ride. His eyes have been opened. This can also be thought of as a kind of precursor to The sudden enlightenment of the Zen school. Suddenly coming to a realization of the truth. The truth of interbeing. The truth that we inter-are. Not holding on to thingness. Not giving rise to any views. Poof. My understanding of what I remember what you just said is like, what comes up is just like first thought, where the mind, he says, you know, if you're cutting the length or something like that, there's no self, so therefore there's no anger, right?

[45:33]

So there's no, there's no interpretation and therefore there's no reference point. So without the reference point, there is no self, because self is reference. And that's my understanding of what I think I understood you're saying, is that when the perception of self doesn't arise, then there is just what's happening without any identity. Without any identity that you stick to or are caught by. Provisional identity is very useful. It comes in handy. So that's why we talk about the two truths. You're not caught anywhere. You don't abide anywhere. Yeah. Hansha, this beautiful commentary, he says, in this paragraph, only the absolute Dharmakaya is pointed out. It is said, when one has reached the top of a hundred foot pole, one should take a step forward.

[46:38]

It is only necessary to have a diamond eye to be in communion with the absolute reality. This is why Suburi, who was now awakened to the truth, was moved to tears and praised the unfathomable doctrine, like a man returning home after a long residence in a foreign land. It was quite natural for him to shed tears when meeting his dear mother again. Who is his dear mother? Prajnaparamita, the mother of Buddhas. Yes. Yeah. Well, that's Prajnaparamita. And later on, actually, in the Mahayana, Prajnaparamita is worshipped and given human form

[47:42]

people made images of Prajnaparamita. There's an image of Prajnaparamita in the Buddha Hall at City Center that was sculpted by Rebecca Maieno, my first sewing teacher, a sculptor. Into the perfection of wisdom, which I believe Catherine's going to talk about when she teaches her class. It comes from The first, actually, generally acknowledged to be the first Prajnaparamita Sutra, the Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines. And it was epitomized by Linda Ruth and Steve Weintraub, actually. And so where would you put the Perfection of Wisdom relative to the dynamic Sutra, being the Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines? Well, I mean, generally scholars believe that it was first.

[48:44]

First. And in short order, these other Prajnaparamita sutras came along. Diamond Sutra and the Heart Sutra, perhaps, towards the end of the body of literature called Prajnaparamita literature. So... The Buddha also says... This is kind of new. So it is Subuddhi. Those beings shall be most remarkably blessed, Subuddhi, who are not alarmed, not frightened, and not distressed by what is said in this sutra. It's hard to take. The tolerance of birthlessness is hard to take. This is a difficult teaching to take in. So this is what...

[49:45]

Bodhisattva's gift is the gift of non-fear. So this tolerance of birthlessness, again it comes up in So Tu Suburi is the Tathagata's perfection of forbearance, no perfection. Chinese commentator Yin Shun says, there are three kinds of forbearance. Forbearing the suffering of human affairs, is called existential forbearance. And that's like the Buddha talking about in his past lives when King Kali cut him up and he endured all these tortures. Or if somebody has really caught you in a tedious conversation and you can't get away, or you name it. Forbearing the suffering of human affairs is called existential forbearance. forbearing the physical and mental suffering from illness and exhaustion, as well as the suffering from wind and rain, heat and cold, is called material forbearance, and forbearing the birthless nature of all dharmas is called forbearance of birthlessness.

[50:59]

The forbearance of birthlessness is the practice of prajna wisdom. Okay? Pretty interesting. And then I have another... Chinese commentator to share with you. From commenting on, moreover, Siburi, in the Dharma realized, taught, and reflected on by the Tathagata, there is nothing true and nothing false. Did y'all catch that one? Yeah. Yeah. So, here's another Chinese commentator, Sheng Yu, or Sheng Yi. I'm not so good. I don't know. The heart of this teaching is empty and still and contains no perception to realize. Thus, it is not true. But in its empty, still heart, it contains an infinite body of pure merit.

[52:02]

Hence, it is not false. If we said it existed, and yet we could not realize it, this would make it not true. And if we said it did not exist, and yet we could never exhaust it, this would make it not false. Thus, the Dharma realized by the Chathagata cannot be said to exist, nor can it be said not to exist. Okay? Does that make perfect sense to everybody? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we'll become... Okay. Thank you. That's a very good point, because... Who knows, you know, this Shen Ye, he could be Song Dynasty, he could be Ming Dynasty. So much further down the line, well-educated about Matyamaka, commenting from that point of view, that perspective, bringing that to the Diamond Sutra, which is, you know, looking back to this literature, this much, much earlier teaching and saying...

[53:07]

That's where it gets, see, that's where it comes from. And for validation. And this is the origin of this understanding, which is kind of great. But yes, I agree. That is totally Madianka right there. Okay. Whoa. Chapter 15. We have to go. It's time to go. Yeah. You know what? You're right. What? Pack the furniture. I could beat it. Chapter 15. Furthermore, Siburi, if a man or woman renounce their self-existence during the morning as many times as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, and likewise renounce... their self-existence during midday as many times as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, and renounce their self-existence during the afternoon as many times as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, and renounce their self-existence in this manner for many hundreds and thousands of millions and trillions of kalpas, and someone heard this Dharma teaching and did not reject it, the body of merit produced as a result would be immeasurably infinitely greater.

[54:25]

How much more so if they not only wrote it down but grasped it, memorized it, recited it, mastered it, and explained it in detail to others. Furthermore, Subhuti, inconceivable and incomparable is this Dharma teaching, this Dharma teaching spoken by the Tathagata. Subhuti, for the benefit of those beings who set forth on the foremost of paths, for the benefit of those beings who set forth on the best of paths. For if someone grasps, memorizes, recites, and masters this Dharma teaching and explains it in detail to others, The Tathagata will know them, Subhuti, by means of his Buddha knowledge, and the Tathagata will see them, Subhuti, by means of his Buddha vision. The Tathagata will be aware of them, Subhuti, for all such beings produce a body of merit that has no limits, a body of merit that is inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and boundless. For all such beings as these, Subhuti, likewise wear enlightenment upon their shoulders. And how so? Subhuti, this dharma teaching cannot be heard by beings of lesser aspiration, not by those who mistakenly perceive a self, nor by those who mistakenly perceive a being, a life, or a soul.

[55:32]

For beings who lack the bodhisattva's aspiration cannot hear, grasp, memorize, recite, or master this dharma teaching. Moreover, Subhuti, wherever this sutra is explained, that place shall be honored, whether in the realm of devas, humans, or asuras, That place shall be honored with prostrations and circumambulations. That place shall be like a stupa. Okay. They might. Yes, we do. Yeah. Well, the altar is a stupa. Okay. Thank you very much for your attention. We will persevere. The next class will actually be in five days, the 22nd. And the next one after that will be the 25th.

[56:33]

At least that is my plan. I think those might be the last two classes. We'll see.

[56:42]

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