1 00:00:01,756 --> 00:00:03,157 (Bell) 2 00:00:06,817 --> 00:00:13,257 (Bell) 3 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:37,940 Dear Thay, my name is Frances. 4 00:00:38,881 --> 00:00:43,111 My parents gave me that name after Saint Francis of Assisi. 5 00:00:45,382 --> 00:00:48,250 Thay , we are all your continuation 6 00:00:48,952 --> 00:00:53,498 and I vowed to continue what you taught us. 7 00:00:53,734 --> 00:00:56,999 Especially yesterday you told us about the bell. 8 00:00:57,218 --> 00:01:02,840 Perhaps we will be awakened 9 00:01:03,109 --> 00:01:05,827 and will help others to be awakened 10 00:01:06,012 --> 00:01:09,608 and we transcend the path of anxiety and sorrow. 11 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,368 This is my vow 12 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:33,512 and I know that the path will not be effortless, 13 00:01:33,695 --> 00:01:36,943 even though we've learned about effortless, 14 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:41,792 we have learned about mindfulness with insight. 15 00:01:42,105 --> 00:01:46,111 I know that the solution for that is the dying of the self. 16 00:01:46,613 --> 00:01:50,480 With the dying of the self there can be effortlessness. 17 00:01:51,027 --> 00:01:53,209 But at the same time, 18 00:01:53,424 --> 00:01:54,869 to live a vow 19 00:01:55,073 --> 00:01:57,662 we have to go through burning decisions, 20 00:01:57,840 --> 00:01:59,760 like a flame is burning. 21 00:01:59,949 --> 00:02:03,553 I have to make a decision against the collective energy. 22 00:02:04,062 --> 00:02:07,820 I also see that I am transforming my suffering 23 00:02:07,941 --> 00:02:11,146 and also my parents' suffering. 24 00:02:13,124 --> 00:02:18,592 The way I have been doing it and the way that I will continue to do it 25 00:02:18,871 --> 00:02:22,161 is to... I pray to God and to the Goddess in me. 26 00:02:22,361 --> 00:02:28,125 Outside of me is the cosmic true nature body 27 00:02:28,322 --> 00:02:31,085 and it is also inside of me. 28 00:02:31,204 --> 00:02:37,921 But supposing that everything comes from the arising of conditions, 29 00:02:41,548 --> 00:02:46,009 I see it as if everything comes from God's plan 30 00:02:46,664 --> 00:02:49,836 which is that everything is good. 31 00:02:50,060 --> 00:02:53,470 I get anxiety, I get depression, I get ill health 32 00:02:53,654 --> 00:02:55,706 it is a blessing. 33 00:02:55,857 --> 00:02:59,399 If I get good health, I get a Sangha, I get a teaching, 34 00:02:59,807 --> 00:03:02,564 it is a blessing. 35 00:03:02,702 --> 00:03:06,987 So I cannot see it as if everything arises from conditions. 36 00:03:07,174 --> 00:03:12,080 I see it as a path of compassion 37 00:03:12,306 --> 00:03:15,597 and everything arises from compassion. 38 00:03:16,187 --> 00:03:19,117 (Sister) Dear Thay, dear Sangha, 39 00:03:19,312 --> 00:03:23,383 our friend Frances was named after the monk 40 00:03:23,577 --> 00:03:26,156 Saint Francis of Assisi. 41 00:03:27,089 --> 00:03:29,324 First of all she expressed to Thay 42 00:03:29,447 --> 00:03:32,793 how inspired she was by Thay's teachings of the bell yesterday. 43 00:03:32,942 --> 00:03:35,867 She has made a vow to herself 44 00:03:35,988 --> 00:03:39,189 to continue Thay and to really master this practice 45 00:03:39,476 --> 00:03:42,774 and to live the insight of the gatha deeply 46 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:46,498 to transcend her own anxiety and sorrow. 47 00:03:46,932 --> 00:03:49,734 Her first partial question is: 48 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,126 How, with such a strong vow, she can do that 49 00:03:53,281 --> 00:03:56,205 without having a too strong sense of a self. 50 00:03:57,304 --> 00:04:03,240 How can she realize her vow to overcome difficulties in her life 51 00:04:03,482 --> 00:04:05,446 to heal herself. 52 00:04:05,565 --> 00:04:09,913 For example, in order to truly transcend anxiety and sorrow 53 00:04:10,068 --> 00:04:13,201 she knows she will have to make a lot of burning decisions 54 00:04:13,388 --> 00:04:15,238 to change her way of life 55 00:04:15,384 --> 00:04:19,948 against the opinions of those around her, her family and society. 56 00:04:20,259 --> 00:04:25,174 How can she realize that vow without having too strong a sense of self? 57 00:04:25,641 --> 00:04:29,438 The second part of her question is 58 00:04:30,825 --> 00:04:34,699 that when she experiences difficulties in her life, 59 00:04:34,894 --> 00:04:38,671 whether it is anxiety, or depression or ill health, 60 00:04:38,872 --> 00:04:42,992 she understands this as being a gift from God. 61 00:04:43,138 --> 00:04:46,183 Frances is a Christian 62 00:04:46,778 --> 00:04:50,032 so she takes these as a blessing, 63 00:04:50,653 --> 00:04:53,422 it is part of God's plan. 64 00:04:58,713 --> 00:05:01,143 So her question is: 65 00:05:01,724 --> 00:05:06,272 She sees God as something both outside of herself and inside her. 66 00:05:06,534 --> 00:05:11,654 But is it true that God is good, that everything that God sends her is good? 67 00:05:12,521 --> 00:05:15,740 And that she should receive it as good? 68 00:05:25,064 --> 00:05:28,803 Frances is aware that everything arises from conditions. 69 00:05:28,982 --> 00:05:33,389 Can we see God's world in these conditions? 70 00:05:36,681 --> 00:05:40,724 You spoke about the death of the self. 71 00:05:48,457 --> 00:05:51,181 The dying of the self. 72 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:54,348 I don't think that the self has to die, 73 00:05:54,493 --> 00:05:57,045 because there is no self to die. 74 00:05:57,281 --> 00:05:59,011 (Laughter) 75 00:05:59,759 --> 00:06:02,740 The self is just a view, 76 00:06:03,784 --> 00:06:06,325 a wrong view, a notion. 77 00:06:06,510 --> 00:06:08,533 It is not reality. 78 00:06:08,713 --> 00:06:13,850 So there is no need for something that is not there to die. 79 00:06:16,551 --> 00:06:20,160 We should not try to kill the self. 80 00:06:21,187 --> 00:06:24,880 But you can remove the illusion 81 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:31,575 by having a deep vision of reality, 82 00:06:34,679 --> 00:06:40,619 practicing the meditation on impermanence, 83 00:06:41,916 --> 00:06:45,353 because everything is changing so quickly, 84 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:50,599 and naturally the notion of the self is no longer there. 85 00:06:50,821 --> 00:06:55,277 Because the self is something that is everlasting, 86 00:06:55,681 --> 00:06:57,943 remaining the same. 87 00:07:00,252 --> 00:07:03,669 We may ask whether God is a self or not. 88 00:07:06,291 --> 00:07:10,174 It is sure that God is not a self. 89 00:07:11,885 --> 00:07:16,200 If God is a self, then all of us are selves. 90 00:07:16,473 --> 00:07:20,339 A big self or small selves. 91 00:07:25,513 --> 00:07:31,144 If there is a me, a self, 92 00:07:31,639 --> 00:07:36,097 there should be a non me existing at the same time. 93 00:07:39,502 --> 00:07:44,994 We can accept the self as a reality. 94 00:07:46,068 --> 00:07:55,600 On the conventional level of truth we can speak of me, I and you, 95 00:07:57,868 --> 00:08:00,119 he and she, 96 00:08:00,372 --> 00:08:04,287 because that designation is useful. 97 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:08,830 It is called conventional designation. 98 00:08:08,935 --> 00:08:11,877 If we don't have these conventional designations, 99 00:08:12,015 --> 00:08:15,142 we cannot talk, we cannot do business. 100 00:08:16,791 --> 00:08:21,294 I, you, this and that 101 00:08:21,464 --> 00:08:26,171 are called conventional designations. 102 00:08:26,416 --> 00:08:32,612 The problem is that we have to be aware that it is only conventional designation, 103 00:08:32,710 --> 00:08:35,027 and we are free from them. 104 00:08:35,173 --> 00:08:39,252 We can make good use of them but you are free from them. 105 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:45,527 And as I said, even the Buddha, he had to be free from the Buddha. 106 00:08:49,085 --> 00:08:52,052 There was a Zen teacher. 107 00:08:52,364 --> 00:08:55,240 One day, in his Dharma talk, he said: 108 00:08:57,072 --> 00:09:00,534 'I am allergic to the word Buddha'. 109 00:09:00,885 --> 00:09:02,801 (Laughter) 110 00:09:03,571 --> 00:09:06,465 'But sometimes I have to pronounce the word Buddha. 111 00:09:06,616 --> 00:09:08,577 But you know, my friends? 112 00:09:08,774 --> 00:09:11,565 Every time that I have to utter the word Buddha, 113 00:09:11,751 --> 00:09:14,411 after that I have to go to the bathroom 114 00:09:14,679 --> 00:09:17,560 and rinse my mouth three times.' 115 00:09:17,871 --> 00:09:19,417 (Laughter) 116 00:09:19,579 --> 00:09:22,138 That is the way the Zen people talk. 117 00:09:22,383 --> 00:09:23,952 (Laughter) 118 00:09:24,145 --> 00:09:26,603 They want to speak about freedom. 119 00:09:26,776 --> 00:09:29,964 Even freedom from the Buddha. 120 00:09:31,342 --> 00:09:34,400 The Zen teachers have their own way, 121 00:09:34,743 --> 00:09:38,076 and their way is sometimes very strong. 122 00:09:39,064 --> 00:09:41,153 'I'm allergic to the word Buddha. 123 00:09:41,359 --> 00:09:43,918 Every time I have to pronounce the word Buddha, 124 00:09:44,068 --> 00:09:48,117 I have to go to bath and rinse my mouth.' 125 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:51,826 It is something not very clean. 126 00:09:52,064 --> 00:09:54,672 It is a very strong statement. 127 00:09:54,822 --> 00:09:56,867 Then, in those days, 128 00:09:57,094 --> 00:10:00,485 there was a Zen student who stoop up 129 00:10:01,178 --> 00:10:03,113 and said: 130 00:10:03,961 --> 00:10:06,084 'Dear teacher, 131 00:10:07,031 --> 00:10:10,246 I am also allergic to the word Buddha. 132 00:10:10,516 --> 00:10:14,159 Every time I hear you pronounce the word Buddha, 133 00:10:14,335 --> 00:10:16,354 I have to go to the river 134 00:10:16,502 --> 00:10:20,080 and wash my ears, three times! 135 00:10:20,269 --> 00:10:22,202 (Laughter) 136 00:10:23,850 --> 00:10:27,767 I think that is a good teacher-student couple. 137 00:10:27,953 --> 00:10:29,412 (Laughter) 138 00:10:29,630 --> 00:10:32,832 They are free from words and notions. 139 00:10:33,053 --> 00:10:37,318 Even from words like Buddha or God. 140 00:10:37,603 --> 00:10:39,909 They are free from the notions. 141 00:10:40,087 --> 00:10:45,197 Because you may get Buddha and God only as notions 142 00:10:45,467 --> 00:10:48,983 and not the truth, the reality. 143 00:10:49,550 --> 00:10:52,251 So you have to be very careful. 144 00:10:54,237 --> 00:10:59,950 Of course you have learned about dependent origination. 145 00:11:00,395 --> 00:11:07,993 Remember we have that example on the clouds. 146 00:11:08,274 --> 00:11:12,748 There are many clouds in the sky. 147 00:11:14,306 --> 00:11:18,671 These clouds interact with each other. 148 00:11:20,279 --> 00:11:23,712 They produce each other. 149 00:11:25,103 --> 00:11:30,169 There is the lateral, horizontal relationship 150 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:34,702 but we all know that all clouds come from the ocean. 151 00:11:34,845 --> 00:11:38,631 So there is a vertical relationship. 152 00:11:40,098 --> 00:11:43,452 You are a cloud, you carry the ocean with you. 153 00:11:43,614 --> 00:11:45,584 You are a human being 154 00:11:45,791 --> 00:11:48,726 but you carry God inside of you. 155 00:11:48,924 --> 00:11:51,932 That is a vertical relationship. 156 00:11:52,251 --> 00:11:57,212 So there is the horizontal explanation 157 00:11:58,202 --> 00:12:01,191 and there is a vertical one. 158 00:12:01,311 --> 00:12:08,469 But these two should not be distinguished as two separate things. 159 00:12:09,291 --> 00:12:13,758 Looking into the horizontal you see the vertical. 160 00:12:13,954 --> 00:12:17,892 And looking deeply into the vertical you see the horizontal. 161 00:12:18,093 --> 00:12:20,018 But you have to remove 162 00:12:20,241 --> 00:12:24,591 the notion of horizontal and vertical at the same time. 163 00:12:27,463 --> 00:12:29,558 We have learned 164 00:12:29,686 --> 00:12:32,999 that notions like being and not being, 165 00:12:33,597 --> 00:12:36,901 good and evil have to be removed. 166 00:12:37,965 --> 00:12:44,863 Because that is the way our mind consciousness perceives things. 167 00:12:47,471 --> 00:12:51,144 If you describe God as the ground of being, 168 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:59,152 we lock Him, we lock Her into a notion, 169 00:12:59,391 --> 00:13:01,384 the notion of being. 170 00:13:02,625 --> 00:13:05,112 If God is the ground of being, 171 00:13:05,330 --> 00:13:08,288 who will be the ground of non-being? 172 00:13:09,031 --> 00:13:13,672 So we cannot think of God in terms of being and non-being. 173 00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:19,307 God transcends the terms being and non being. 174 00:13:19,900 --> 00:13:22,056 As the Buddha said: 175 00:13:22,231 --> 00:13:28,833 'The right view is a view that transcends both the notions of being and non-being.' 176 00:13:30,146 --> 00:13:32,026 Not only that, 177 00:13:32,272 --> 00:13:37,905 but the right view is also the view that transcends the notions of good and evil. 178 00:13:39,351 --> 00:13:45,433 If you say that God is in control of the Kingdom of the Goodness, 179 00:13:45,740 --> 00:13:50,674 who will be in control of the Kingdom of Evil? 180 00:13:51,691 --> 00:13:57,836 So God ultimately transcends both the notion of good and evil. 181 00:13:59,504 --> 00:14:01,998 Until you see that, 182 00:14:02,174 --> 00:14:07,152 you cannot see the plan of God, his intention. 183 00:14:10,099 --> 00:14:12,720 So that means you are pulled to say that 184 00:14:13,001 --> 00:14:16,352 if God is compassionate, 185 00:14:17,136 --> 00:14:24,975 why He has created something like death, 186 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:32,744 tsunamis, tempest and things like that? 187 00:14:34,286 --> 00:14:38,360 Why He has allowed these things to happen? 188 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:40,790 Delusions are trying to say: 189 00:14:40,944 --> 00:14:46,275 'This is for you to learn, that is also good for you.' 190 00:14:47,303 --> 00:14:51,017 But our mind is inclined to think 191 00:14:51,392 --> 00:14:56,087 that what is good is not causing suffering. 192 00:14:58,231 --> 00:15:01,280 Only the bad things are called suffering. 193 00:15:01,496 --> 00:15:04,228 So that is our mind of discrimination. 194 00:15:04,421 --> 00:15:09,075 We should not use that mind of discrimination 195 00:15:13,851 --> 00:15:17,496 in order to try to understand God. 196 00:15:18,588 --> 00:15:22,099 That is why the deepest way, 197 00:15:22,402 --> 00:15:25,422 the most wonderful way to touch the ultimate 198 00:15:25,671 --> 00:15:28,132 is to remove notions. 199 00:15:28,263 --> 00:15:32,226 Including the notions of being and non-being, good and evil. 200 00:15:32,711 --> 00:15:37,541 We have learned that for alayavijñana everything is a wonder. 201 00:15:38,799 --> 00:15:41,418 There is no good and evil in it. 202 00:15:41,521 --> 00:15:43,664 There is no being and non being in it. 203 00:15:43,806 --> 00:15:47,065 Only mind consciousness has these notions. 204 00:15:47,274 --> 00:15:49,783 We are caught in these notions. 205 00:15:50,668 --> 00:15:53,486 These notions may be useful. 206 00:15:54,102 --> 00:15:57,180 But if you are caught in them, you suffer. 207 00:15:59,009 --> 00:16:00,831 (Bell) 208 00:16:04,104 --> 00:16:10,333 (Bell)