I mentioned some things and what could they possibly have been? Just like that, you know? I just turned it on, I had it, and now it's gone. You know what I mean? It's amazing. The thoroughness of it is what is astounding to me. It's so completely gone. It's like a blank slate, you know? It had something to do with a kind of an attitude of, let's see, what could it have been? Oh well, maybe it'll come back. It used to come back all the time, I could count on it coming back, but now, you know, it's not so sure. Where's Josh? You must tell me someday about how the mind works, and if we have billions, if we have billions and billions of, you know, neurons and stuff like that going on out there, why is it, with this chemical change that's happening, that the amount of what seems to be the amount

[01:08]

of neurons or whatever it is that I'm dropping, I mean the speed at which... How can that be if there's so many up there that I would lose that many, you know, so quickly? They're confused. Well, with that attitude, we can proceed with the day. Great. Well, do we take those kind of chemicals instead of the hormones, or what? But somebody tell me, if you take some stuff, then your brain thinks that it doesn't need to develop its own because it's... That's not what happened? You'll tell me later? No? What? Well, you know, that's the most interesting part of it.

[02:10]

That, I think I told you guys the other day, that this is really, it really puts you in touch with life, because it puts you in touch with the lost, you know, the leaving of the life energy. It's fascinating. Really fascinating. Awesome, in a way. It's really amazing. And it's so clear that you are not your body, you know, your body is just going on all by itself, you know, it's taking you along for this ride. Somebody... I read somewhere, somebody told me, I don't remember, that they were in the... as they were dying in the very... the last thing that they said before they were dying was something like, this is going to be really interesting. That would be great to die with that attitude, you know? Okay, where could we have been? Oh, I want to... Actually, I wanted to start with whatever it was that I forgot, but in lieu of that,

[03:14]

I'm going to start with this. I wanted to just go... You know, we're going to talk about twenty, twenty-one, and twenty-two today, parakalpita, paratantra, and parinirvana, and hopefully we can just clarify just the definitions of those three. If we get into their relationship, that will be, you know, something else. But I did want to say that, to go back to nineteen, what I wanted to say was that the point in this case, I think, that is being made is the fundamental basic practice, which is that the mind, the way it transforms, brings with it a kind of tendency to grasp, that grasping, and it manifests itself ultimately in suffering.

[04:19]

And that if we watch, simply watch the grasping and settle, be able to settle there, that's one of the ways of cutting the wheel. I said this, I told you this before. You know, I actually forgot what I was going to say to start the class. Well, maybe it will come to me if I read to you from something. All right, then I'm just going to start. I'll just read to you and maybe it will come back to me later. What I brought to read to you today is from the Sutta Napata and Buddha again, and it's about ignorance, the basis of suffering, ignorance in grasping through assuming a

[05:25]

kind of solidity, or we can say substance, or inherent in existence, or reifying something, all of those words, for me anyway, the way I'm talking about it, meaning basically the same thing, that we are confirming a kind of separation and solidity or inherent existence where there is none. So, Thus have I heard. This is a little short thing on the origin of suffering, origination of suffering. Thus have I heard. Once the Buddha was staying in the eastern park of Magaramattu's estate in Savasthi. One evening on a full moon day he was sitting in the open air with all the monks gathered around him. He saw that they were silent and so he spoke to them.

[06:28]

Monks, he said. It sometimes happens in this world that things are said concerning skillful states, distinguished and liberating statements that are made to lead to full awakening. Now monks, why should you bother to listen to those statements? People may ask you this same question and if they do you should answer them like this. It is for the purpose of knowing two things as they have come to be. The first insight is this. This is suffering and this is what causes it. The second insight is this. That is where suffering stops and that is how you get there. One insight is that grasping is the basis of all suffering. The other insight is that by the complete cooling and cessation of all this grasping there is no more arising of suffering. There are many kinds of suffering in this world and all of them grow from the same source,

[07:34]

grasping. When a person knows no better she gives way to this grasping and, slowed and dulled, she goes through one misery after another. Do not create it for yourselves. Use your knowledge to see how suffering begins and develops in attachment. One insight is that ignorance is the basis of all suffering. The other is that by the complete cooling and cessation of ignorance no more suffering is produced. In the world substance is seen in what is insubstantial. They are tied to their psychophysical beings and so they think that there is some substance, some reality to them. But whatever be the phenomena through which they think of seeking their self-identity it turns out to be transitory.

[08:36]

It becomes false for what lasts for a moment is deceptive. Whatever there is which is said to be existent, the delightful, enticing and pleasant forms, sounds, tastes, odors, tactile sensations and thoughts, these are all agreed upon by the world to be happiness. In your world these things are thought of as pleasures and yet when they cease they are thought of as sufferings. It is dark where they are trapped. It is pitch dark for the blind and crystal clear for the wholesome. Did you get that? It is dark where they are trapped. It is pitch dark for the blind and crystal clear for the wholesome. For those who can see it there is light. But if you are blind to the teachings of the way things are, if you know nothing of the path,

[09:37]

then you will not be able to make out anything, though you may be right on top of it. This teaching about the way things are does not become a force of full enlightenment for someone who is infected with desire. Who else can justifiably reach this state of full understanding except for those beings of distinction? Who else has come to understand this state and dispersed all the forces of confusion? This is what the Buddha said on that occasion. The monks were full of gladness and joy when they heard these things. Indeed, some sixty monks let go of all clinging and grasping right away during this talk and they were freed. So, in my opinion, the text that we are reading here is pointing to these things, pointing to, specifically, how it is that we create naturally the illusion of self and other in separation,

[10:40]

how our mind naturally grasps on to the projection of externality and in that grasping reifies, substantializes, solidifies that dichotomy and in that grasping comes aversion. Question from audience Yes, you can say that. I kind of tried to make a kind of a simple thing here based on settled attention. This is kind of necessary. This is necessary. The first thing that we have to pay attention to, and I've said this before in class,

[11:41]

but I just want to say it again because until we really are able to settle and still the mind, there's no sense bothering with any of the rest of this. There's no sense even looking at self or habitancies or anything else because what actually happens is when you begin to get close to this self that is trying so hard to help us, really, when you begin to get close to seeing how it really works, if your mind is not really settled, it will just toss you into whatever deluded event it's running at that time that you're trying to watch. So I really want to emphasize, before you do any kind of meditative investigation or meditative anything, you have to first make sure that the mind is present and settled. Now, I also want to say, there is nothing that I've read in Soto Zen instructions about meditation

[12:46]

that say anything about steps and stages, investigating, looking at this, that or the other thing. It's all always about simply letting go of any kind of grasping. It's a total non-dualistic being of life. That's our way. I've never read anything that Suzuki Roshi said, ever, that says anything else. So I just want to say that, okay? Because I love that way. Anyway, so the mind has to be settled and attentive first. Calm, open, relaxed body. And I put down lightness and happiness. I don't know, maybe for some people that can arise. Certainly that is written,

[13:46]

that with that kind of settled attention, there is a lightness and a kind of happiness that can arise. We must note, here's my note, that thinking does not make our life better. And I've been trying during class to make a distinction between the kind of thinking that our mind does that it's good at, recipes, mathematics, buying plane tickets, certain kind of analysis, logic, that kind of stuff, building things, you know, it's good at that. It is not good about understanding directly, really deeply understanding what life is about. And in terms of relationships in your life, even making decisions, I would suggest that you really pay attention and find out whether or not the constant round and round and round and round of thinking and trying to make it better and analyzing, she did this and he did that and I should be this, all of that stuff is not helpful.

[14:49]

And it doesn't work. And when are we going to get it? To rely on the mind in that kind of way simply doesn't work. And to sit there hour after hour after hour and hear this stuff going on round and round and round, basically maybe you have variation of maybe five different tapes that you're listening to. That's it. It's not creative. It's redundant and boring. And when it gets boring, that's a step in the right direction. When you finally are sick and tired of hearing it, you will not keep it going. But you know, if you're really present,

[15:50]

you will see exactly that. Because right before that happened, you'll be right there for the one right in front of it. And developing that kind of, you know, being present enough to catch it before and before and before, you will know it in a different way. It's much deeper knowing it than figuring it out. In a certain kind of way, that's why psychology is great, you know, to unpeel in that way. But living it differently, it's much deeper. That kind of transformation happens in a different way. We need to have a clear view on how grabbing, I just used a different word, thinking that some of you would respond better to a different word than the word I've been using. But anyway, we have to have a clear view on how holding on causes suffering. And you can see that in your meditation. And sometimes we don't want to let go.

[16:51]

Well, that's fine. If you don't want to let go, at least know that's what you're doing and enjoy the misery. Yeah, or even in the mind, because the next one is awareness is always still. It's always spacious and still, even in the midst of dualistic thinking. Right there. Clear mind of awareness is right there. You can't separate thinking and body? So where do you see,

[17:54]

I don't understand what you're saying. Oh, well, that's okay. You don't have to believe this. I want people to find out for themselves. So awareness, again, is always still, even when dualistic thinking is happening. Fine. I do not have a problem with it. And thank you. You know, patience is totally an underrated.

[19:01]

This is one of the paramitas. Patience and loving kindness. Now, it's true that for a long time, the fact of the matter is that we believe the thoughts and feelings that come up are us. They're my thoughts, my feelings. And it's true how I'm feeling. Well, that might go on for... And it's true. We believe the emotion thought initially. Of course, we believe all that stuff. That's the suffering that's brought us here in the first place. So, of course, we're going to be caught by it over and over and over again. So, from what my experience is,

[20:03]

is that when we're going through that kind of suffering and we're doing this practice, that somewhere in there... At first, we don't even have this, you know, because we're totally caught by it. But there might be maybe a glimmer, just a teeny-weeny glimmer, that the person who is suffering, especially if you understand dependent co-arising, which is a great thing to study, even intellectually, if you have some sense that the suffering of this person was dependently co-arisen, you can have a teeny glimmer of just feeling enormously tender toward the person, me, who's going through all of this misery. There is that possibility. And there's a possibility too if you allow yourself the space to go ahead and do that while you're caught, just to even know you're caught is a teeny aid.

[21:05]

And then you just lie back. I used to think of it as kind of like... If after a while you know your particular tendencies of where you're getting caught and what your particular demon is, what it says to you, and I would be caught by failure. It was a real big one for me and I saw it as a demon. And in Tibetan way, some of these psychological states are drawn as demons and we have to respect them because in the beginning they're huge, they're way stronger than the mind that we're trying to keep present. That habit tendency we're developing and in the beginning it's quite teeny. So you have this really teeny habit element of trying to be present in this wide space of awareness, ha ha ha, right? And you have this enormous demon. And so when I would get caught by this thing I would picture my particular demon which had failure written all over it and I would picture me as just, you know,

[22:06]

just like they do in the Tibetan thing, lying down on the floor and having my demon smashing, trampling all over me. And for some reason it was kind of helpful because I kind of gave up trying to fight with... You know, you win. I surrender. Okay, beat me up. Which it did, you know, over and over again. To me that was kind, you know, to be able to admit to myself that I had just lost that and gotten caught again and felt the pain of it all by being... And it's also painful in the body, some of those thoughts to me. They actually felt painful. It was like whipping myself painfully. So I just let that be there.

[23:08]

Does that make sense? Well, sometimes when I was, you know, when I was... On the other hand, the nice thing about our practice is that when the bell rings you have to go somewhere. And particularly in the kitchen, that's why I so, you know, appreciate the kitchen because I could only hold on to my, you know, being a failure for not making the salad dressing which I still am not very good at, you know, very well. Once the salad is gone and I was told to go bake cookies, which I was better at, thank heavens, go bake cookies, I couldn't... It was hard for me in the kitchen to keep remembering that I was really a failure at salad dressing. And for me, therefore, at life. I didn't stop at failure at salad dressing. That wasn't true for me then. I wasn't just a failure at salad dressing. I was a failure at life.

[24:10]

Well... It makes you unable to function. Okay, class. Do any of you... Are any of you struck by certain demons? And what do you guys do? Let's have some... Let's have some skill. Here, Paul. Well, my comment is... I don't know how to say it. I don't know how to say it. You first have to identify the demon. And when it's really large, it carries it out. And my approach to dealing with demons is you just have to get rid of it and then tackle it. And over time,

[25:17]

you can touch it a little more. And as you do this iterative process and you survive, and you're not happy that you survived, you can go a little bit deeper. And I think this is what Peter was saying about patience. You just have to keep going back and touch it a little bit more. And that gives you the courage to essentially go through life. Yeah, that's an excellent point. When you practice with the smaller ones that you can stay still with, like... Not there. Like in our sitting, the idea is to not grasp, not push away. And we can do that with the smaller ones. Like failure at salad dressing, I can maybe hold still for it. And if your mind begins to have some strength with that, then little by little, you can have more strength with the larger ones. That's very true. Anybody else? Good suggestions.

[26:32]

Okay. So let's just quickly do this so we can get to the text. So you should just know that this kind of agitation of grasping and aversion is based on ignorance. And the rest of it is just as you keep doing it, then the habit tendencies, little by little, as you're able to go with the bigger and bigger ones, they eventually dissipate and we can live 100% in activity with things just to live, you know, being with such... I keep hating to use that word because it's such a, you know, shaking word, but just to live is just to live with whatever arises. You're just 100% there for it. And I just wanted to mention too that insights, as we are able to have some kind of stillness of mind and presence in our meditation, and oftentimes not in meditation,

[27:36]

almost more often than not, various insights, big insights, small insights, major insights, not major insights, like happen, and then you embody them and put them immediately into your practice and then just continue on, mainly with the attitude of practicing, you know, for itself, not for any goal, but already because we are ready, are already enough. Really. Deluded or not deluded. It's really okay to be who we are. So, let's go to the text. Number 20. Whatever thought through which an object is thought of as a substance, that indeed is fabrication. And I brought many definitions just in case we don't understand.

[28:41]

So let me start with the Dalai Lama. And also, you know, everybody can say how they approach this if you want to. You know, we can have that discussion. Let's actually, why don't we do all of them first. So, parakalpita is imagined, whatever in the mind, okay, let's just say imagined substance, or it's a mental activity, images in the mind that are not, they don't have characteristics, they're not shown to exist, we can't in any way find them. It is one of the characteristics of what everything is, we can say that. And the other two are also, everything has the characteristic or nature of paratantra, which is that it's dependently co-risen, it depends on something else for its arising. And also, everything is ultimately

[29:43]

just as it is, which is suchness, or in this case, parinirvana. So, I'm going to read a number of definitions that I think will be helpful. Also, you know, there are definitions in the vocabulary that I passed out a long time ago, so I hope you looked at that as well. So, here's one definition. Parikalpita, k with a k, parikalpita is established in the mind, it is imagined, it is purely subjective, without self-existence, without existing from its own side, empirically experienced as truth. Paratantra, with a t, the t one, is dependent on other things, it's resulting from causality, which arises and is recognized

[30:44]

as the subject-object dichotomy. I just want you guys to remember that dependent co-rising can be seen in two ways. In one way, it is in the conventional sense, but in another way, it looks at emptiness. So, the characteristic of these things, paratantra, is... Oh, we'll get to that tomorrow, actually. Never mind, we'll get to that tomorrow. Absolute truth stands beyond every subject and object, this is parinispana, and is therefore subjectless and objectless in emptiness. And then, listen to this, okay? Paratantra is the overlapping of parinispana by an infecting parakalpita. Okay, this I really want you to understand,

[31:45]

because this is how it was originally presented to me, and this is my understanding of it. There are dependently co-arisen, apparent... Oh, I'm sorry. Dependently co-arisen, apparent... You know, we see that,

[32:45]

are here, do arise, do arise. Okay. What happens is, we view these things, but not as they actually are, which is, in their essence, empty of inherent existence. We imbue them with this quality of solidity, which is parakalpita. So we view this... I'm going to put parakalpita right over it. Parakalpita. We view this as solid, solid, separate, separate, you know, unchanging. How we can do that is amazing to me.

[33:48]

But we do. This is how we behave. We think that they're graspable, so we think that they don't change. Right? We overlay these apparent, totally fluid, unseparate, changing processes. We cut them out and we paste on them a solidity that they don't have. Parinirvana is simply dependently co-arisen, apparent things, and that's it, without... without parakalpita, or actually knowing that this is what we do. Okay? And the way it was originally taught to me was like this,

[34:52]

like a big heart, kind of like, knowing that these, that this dependently arisen things, you know, do arise, and knowing that we do impute substance to them, but knowing the difference is the accomplished, is... is suchness, actually. It's clearer in the end over there. What it says is, is that the mind reverses or reverts back to its original clarity and is able to view things just as they are, which includes viewing them, you know, as... knowing that we see them also with the imputation of solidity, without being bothered by it. So let me read you some more definitions.

[35:58]

I'll read you... Oh, here's the Dalai Lama. Here's the Dalai Lama. All things and events possess three principal natures. Dependent nature, which one's that? That is, the interplay of various specific causes and conditions is said to be the basis of a phenomena's existence. Upon the basis of this dependent nature, we project an independent reality onto the phenomena. Which one is that? This imputed nature is what appears to us as real.

[37:01]

Got that? Some people don't have this? That's okay. Not a problem. Just don't grab. Finally, the ultimate nature of a phenomena, which one is that? Is the negation of this imputation, namely the phenomena's emptiness. This is from the book that you were just reading. Exactly, that's what that is. Dalai Lama. Could you hold up that book? What's it... So let me read it again, because this is exactly what I think Vasubandhu is saying, although lots of people... we have lots of opinions. You know, it really is true.

[38:06]

There are really lots of opinions. For people who are interested in pursuing this, there is... on the Internet, there is just an incredible amount of information and discussion about all of the stuff that happens that is about Yogacara understanding. I think it's really interesting just to get in there and kind of muck around in it because it helps... you know, keeping going it over and over and over again helps, you know, clarifying your understanding, our understanding. Yeah, I brought... There's one that's really a neat website that is an actual symposium, a yearly... So they have a yearly symposium of Yogacara questions. And the one I got one of these off of was from... The topic of the seminar was external objects, yes or no? And the paper I got off of this,

[39:08]

this guy seems such like an arrogant guy. I guess that's what they do in academia. It would be frightening to me. But he talks about it like he's making a comment on these other people's papers. And then he says, John... He's talking about Hopkins, you know. He's saying... And he talks in this familiar way. And basically he's saying to the guy that, well, you misunderstand this and this and this. It was just amazing. Let's see. But I printed it out without... I copied it to another thing and so I didn't... It's not... Yeah, I don't have the website. But I can easily get the website. I have a ton of those pages at home off of that very website. Could you remind me and I'll get it for you? Just knock on my door. Did I get it from this one? No, I didn't bring any of them. So let me read the Dalai Lama ones again because I think it's really clear. Anyway, this symposium thing is really terrific

[40:10]

because they have one every year and every year they pick out... Like one year it was the three natures and then they have all of these papers written on the three natures and, you know, I didn't... They don't agree with each other. Kind of fun. What page are you talking about? Page 103. I'll read it again. He's talking about the sutra Unraveling the Thought of the Buddha. This is the Samdhinirmocana Sutra he gets this from. And this is what he says. All things and events possess all three principal natures although, you know, when parinirvana is there, the parakalpita is... The imputation is not necessarily seen. Although I was just talking to Rib yesterday and he didn't say that.

[41:10]

He said it's always there. So I thought, that's interesting. No. Yeah, I put in all because that's what... All things and events possess three principal natures. Dependent nature, that is, the interplay of various specific causes and conditions. Upon the basis of this dependent nature, we project an independent reality onto the phenomena. This projection or this imputed nature is what appears to us as real. That is to say, we impute, you know, solidity and separateness and unchangeableness and inherent existence. That's what we impute. That reality we impute. We reify concepts.

[42:11]

That person is blah, blah, blah. I am blah, blah, blah. This is not an intellectual study. This is to help us to wake up. We do this with all concepts and we see everything conceptually. We know everything conceptually. We know that conceptually. We know this conceptually. We know points of view are concepts. Idea of self is a concept. Can you see how fundamental this is? We reify concepts. That's what we do. We impute a reality to them when there is none. Finally, ultimate nature of a phenomena is the negation of this imputation, namely the phenomena's emptiness. So dependent co-arising, which is emptiness

[43:13]

of apparent things which do arise without the imputation of reality or solidity or inherent existence or substance to them is parinirvana or suchness, things just as they are. What? Dependent co-arising, paratantra. Yeah, see. See. I want to go back to Anna's question for a second. If everything is merely desiccated by mind, then in what sense is the body more fundamental than the thought? More trustworthy? Yeah. You know, in terms of practice, I'm not so sure that I would say trustworthy. I mean, the body does have feelings

[44:15]

that may or may not conform, I don't know if conform is a good word to use, with reality, you know. But the body does store all of the consequences of the mind's misunderstanding of true nature, let's say. And the way that we transform, the process of this kind of transformation happens, I think, through the body. And the way that I think that happens is because the energy of those karmic events, when held, when grasped, is held in the body. And when we re-walk through those karmic events, when the energy of that comes back up, and this is all a physical event,

[45:16]

and we sit still in it, then that energy is released and that grasping is subdued and the mind can release, can let go of that holding. That's how I experience it. Yes, right. The tendency to grasp is, I think, part of the nature of mind. I think that's what it says. Yes. Well, Thich Nhat Hanh says that alaya is actually in every single cell.

[46:19]

That's how he talks about it. So, I mean, how to point to it, there are lots of hands happening here. Okay, now wait. So, Jim and then Julia and Gail and Andy and then Mimi. Can you wait? No, she can't. Go ahead. I just want to say, and it's following up on what you're saying, maybe the problem here is trying to demarcate what is mind and what is body and that's the problem. Yeah, that does go back to what you were saying. So, now, should we go around there? Right. Mm-hmm.

[47:43]

Yeah, I don't want to make a separation of mind and body. I'm just trying to point to a certain kind of thinking that is not helpful. Okay. Andy. Mm-hmm. Yeah, the not helpful. Yeah, right. Did we get everything? Gail? Okay. Mm-hmm. Not better. Right. Totally, exactly.

[48:53]

Yeah, that's exactly right. Not that kind of thinking, right. Thinking is manas and manas is what in the ultimate, you know, when we get to the ultimate thing, it's manas that's going to, that is, what can I say? I hate to say this kind of stuff, is not functional anymore. That's the whole point. Did you have your hand up? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yes. That's great. So I did want to read from Thich Nhat Hanh a little bit, although I didn't get to these other definitions,

[50:01]

but I think the definitions of them maybe are not too hard to understand. It's the relationship that's difficult to understand. And I think tomorrow what we're going to do is we're going to go over how these three definitions also are essence-less-ness. That's tomorrow. So can you study that a little bit before we get to it? Otherwise it will be really confusing. Essence-less-ness. It's got about six S's in it. S-E-S-S. S-E-S-S. Right? The next one. Twenty... What, 21? No, not 21.

[51:04]

Twenty... Twenty... No. Twenty-three? Yeah. So we have to go a little more today. Wait a second here. Wait a minute, wait a minute. We can't leave yet. Just a second. We have to go further. I can't read about meditation yet from Thich Nhat Hanh because we're not done today yet. We have to do at least 20, 21. Okay. Can you hold on a little bit more? Is that all right? Okay. We'll take a peek at... Let's see. What did we do here? So, 20 is parakalpita with a K. Twenty-one, a dependent self-nature is a thought that has arisen depending upon conditions. So, in other words, that's paratantra. And then when it says the absence of the one prior to it

[52:07]

is always the accomplished, that means the absence of parakalpita... but on paratantra is parinirvana. That's what that sentence is about. Are you there? Are you guys with me? Hello? No, I wouldn't go there. Yeah. The next one is a little tricky-ish, but let's do it anyway. See if... You know, this wood one is interesting. Have you been reading it? The end of it, the last part is kind of... Yeah, some of it I kind of don't agree with, but... I didn't bring it downstairs.

[53:13]

Oh, there's another... Barnaby found another... Did you find this in... Oh, you found it in that book. Another translation that is kind of interesting. You know, all the... As many translations as we can get upon... So, this translation will be in the back as a Xerox tomorrow. You can share. So, this is a little tricky, but let's go there. Let's just do 22. 22 says, Thus, the accomplished, or parinirvana, should be declared to be neither identical nor different from the dependent, from dependent co-arising, like in permanence and so on. When the dependent... When dependent co-arising is not perceived, this too is not perceived,

[54:19]

this is what I think it means. It's like... In other words, parinirvana is dependent on apparently arisen things in order for us to be able to say that things are just the way they are. It seems like... Do you understand what I mean? Is that kind of clear? So, in the same way, there can't be anything called impermanence without there being things that are impermanent. You know, right? The word impermanence has no meaning unless there are stuff that keeps changing all the time. In the same way, parinirvana doesn't mean anything unless there is related to... Yes? Yes. Yes, right. Okay. So then we come to 23. And that one is...

[55:25]

Okay, that's tomorrow. We're not going to go there. So that's the non-substantiality, so we're not going to go there. This is enough for today. And I wanted to read a little bit from Thich Nhat Hanh about the practice, because the most important thing is whether or not this is useful to us in practicing. And I have found it, in my practice, enormously useful in this particular way. First of all, to know that the way we know everything is through conceptuality, and that when we're caught, what we've done is that we have given substance, we have reified some concept. We are either caught in a point of view, we're caught in an idea of other, we're caught in an idea of self, we're caught in an image of who I am or some idea of what somebody else is. And when we are present enough

[56:33]

to know that that has just happened, even when we've pasted ourselves or somebody with this box or color or whatever, or substantial being and no longer see the situation as a fluid process, to be able to step back from that, even for a moment, and reconsider what you've just done, is enormously liberative for yourself and for everybody else that you're relating with. And then, once you do that with a level of emotion thought, to be able to then go deeper and to be able to do that whenever the idea, the concept of self arises or other arises, begins to be really transformative. So, to practice doing this at whatever level you're practicing with, it doesn't make any difference what level you're practicing with that is. Whenever there's suffering

[57:34]

or wherever you feel contracted and you feel a sense of self and other, we renounce that and we watch very carefully where we're grabbing onto the concept, how we're reifying it, and allow yourself, if possible, to settle in... Just be still. Don't grab onto it. Don't push it away. Mostly, don't grab onto it. And just try it and see if that helps massage or lubricate the stickiness of the mind. Wherever the mind is sticking, we suffer. It's a clue. It's a really clue. So, whenever that happens, know about this teaching and see if you can put this teaching into your meditation and then into your daily life. It's enormously transformative. It fundamentally undermines our holding,

[58:37]

grasping to delusion. Okay? Quick question. How do we put something like that into our meditation without grasping? How do we put something like that into our meditation without grasping? Well, here's the thing. To watch yourself... Letting go simply means being present. So, as soon as you find yourself leaning toward believing whatever idea you just had was, like, for example, how do I not grasp? Okay? What I do is I just release my body. That's why the practice of the body is really important. Because, to me, it begins there and it kind of ends there. If you can just relax and release... Because the holding, to me, is a felt sense. The sense of separation is a contraction. It's kind of painful. So, if you can open that contraction

[59:38]

and then just settle into a hundred percent what actually is happening right then, what is arising, that's letting go. It's not an activity. It's just let the mind do whatever it wants to do. Just don't be dragged along by it. And if you do, be patient. Because you're going to get another opportunity right away. All right? So, maybe I'll read you about how... For those of you who have the Thich Nhat Hanh book, the end of the book is all about the meditation. It's really good and useful. So, tomorrow we'll talk about Essencelessnesses. Huh? I'll read it tomorrow because it's already 11. Okay. Thank you.

[60:32]

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