Notes from Talk By Master Yu on the Heart Sutra - 12/ 3 & 4 /2006
Note: These Notes Are Still in DRAFT form. Corrected Transcript Will Hopefully Be Posted Soon....
Tonight we will speak about the Heart Sutra. Prajna Paramita, Wisdom embark for the other shore.
The way I elaborate on the Heart Sutra tonight may not be the same as what you have learned in the past. Dharma is law - natural and without limitation. Since language is man-made, it is difficult to use it to describe what is natural and perfect. Of course, without this man-made system there would be no tool to use to record reality. But words are imperfect. Intellectual understanding is not enough for the serious practitioner. Why ? Because people have difficulty transcending the limitations of their languages.
Consider scenery. A beautiful view from the top of a mountain, or a perfect sunset over the ocean, or a pine-clad mountain. No matter how wonderful an environment or scenery is - the instant it is put into words it is limited by the hearer’s concept of those words. You describe it and people imagine similar scenes that they have seen - but their visions are not necessarily the same as what you saw.
It is possible to break free from the limitation of language. He who can free himself from the limitation of language and other conditions moves beyond normal being. Thus one is no longer limited by the conditions of his environment. Everyone is limited by conditions. If one is under limitation, one can not free ones’ self.
Dharma transmission traditionally requires seekers to bow to masters, but I don’t require this. The colloquial sutra should be interpreted. Prajna Paramita - Prajna is wisdom. In Chinese is sometimes pronounced Bwo Lo.
There are three kinds of wisdom: Wisdom of Words; Wisdom of Observation; and Wisdom of Reality.
Wisdom of words refers to the wisdom gained by following the intellectual path of reading the sutras. Wisdom on this path is gained by reading and following the words. Wisdom can be reached by some in this way. However, generally speaking, genuine wisdom only comes in this way to someone who is already sufficiently realized to free himself from the initial connotation of the words. This is not a path that works for the average person.
Wisdom of Observation is realized by observing the rhythms of everything. The rhythm of everything is reflected in our bodies as well as the whole. Everyone experiences the stage of wisdom in which - suddenly you realize something. Why are there so many scholars who do not attain enlightenment? Why do they accomplish little even though they study assiduously? Because they are limited to words. How many people accomplish great feats even though they are illiterate? They may lack education but they can take advantage of observing conditions, etc. They rely on observation rather than on words. This is an example of the wisdom of observation.
Wisdom of reality is supra-mundane. Beyond the normal understanding of reality in this world. Not lacking. Pure. The one who realizes this can do anything. But because wisdom is pure, such a one will NOT just do things, because one also sees the connectedness of these actions to other things. One in this state can make a pebble emit light. How ? Everything is a point of light. All matter is infused with this. Someone who realizes the wisdom of reality can make anything. So prajna is wisdom, but greater than the wisdom of words. Prajna is the wisdom that encompasses the entire universe.
Paramita is without boundary. Boundary-less. If you truly realize the final stage, wisdom has no limitation.
The key to the Heart Sutra is in its title, “Heart” Sutra. Why is the term “Heart” the key ? If you stare at something - say a mountain - if you stare at a mountain in a state of mindfulness it can alter your consciousness. In zen if you observe an object with the heart in such a way that you are mindful of that and nothing else - the object, the mountain, enters your consciousness and your consciousness enters the mountain. If you open your heart everything comes in and at the same time everything has you in it. So our heart and consciousness are no longer limited to just “you” or “I”.
As for the last word, Sutra, Sutra means to sew together like a thread. Sutra is often translated as scripture - like a thread sewn together - a journey through the nuts and bolts of practice.
Sutra is a record of actual practice - how it should be done. What do I mean by an actual record? You actually follow this method and then arrive at this realization of wisdom. So there are instructions for how to practice within the heart sutra, but you must understand what it is trying to convey.
The Heart Sutra records the experience of Avalokitesvara Boddhisattva.
Ava - means look. Look. We were born with a shortcoming. Our eyes enable us to perceive others, but not to look inwardly at ourselves. In general we live with this shortcomiing. We look at others, but not at ourselves,. We can see others flaws but not our own. And here’s another weakness - we’d rather believe in ourselves than believe in others. So people often fail to notice the truth. We jump to conclusions about what we see and hear and we don’t see reality. By habit, we fail to see our own bad nature. One of the biggest bad habits is non-receptivity.
It is easier to forgive ourselves than to forgive others. This comes from our animalistic nature. We have urges for self-preservation, desires, etc. We should look without judgement at everything and into our selves. We often believe that whatever the eyes do not see does not exist. Eyes may not see, but that is not proof of non-existence. So when you look - make it a true examination. If you try looking at an object, stare at it with your heart. If your heart is in it, it comes to you. The object is in your consciousness, not separate from it. Everything you fail to see is not in your consciousnss. If you aspire to awaken, first look at yourself. People today fail to know themselves.
People do not know themselves. Others may know you but they will not tell you. If you look at a photo, you recognize, “this is me”. You recognize the appearance. But who are you? Before people invented mirrors they really didn’t know what they looked like. They had to wait for a windless day and look at their reflection in the water. One of the greatest inventions was the mirror. Suddenly peopole made themselves presentable, wanted to make themselves and their environment more beautiful. Suddenly people wanted to know their flaws so they could better themselves. You can ask people to tell you your true flaws, but they can’t. People have yet to invent the mirror that can accurately reflect your inner shortcomings. Since people can not see themselves clearly, it is difficult to know or conquer themselves. So, the essence is in the name. Ava - look.
Avalokitesvara - has two meanings - one, the individual boddhisattva by that name, and the other - looking into one’s self.
What is the range of your bad nature ? How does it start? How does bad nature continue to feed into animalistic behavior? To look into ones’ self is to be mindful. Observe your behavior, where does that take place? Remember self. Find the origination point of bad conduct and then see first hand by looking into yourself. First experience that stage of self-examination. This is what limits your advancement and your ability to love. Most of today’s love is just vanity. We persue goodness, but we do so out of vanity. People believe they are behaving properly but fail to see the stuff they bottle up inside. They say they are happy to help, willing to help, but don’t put out the effort. How many people put out little but take credit for others efforts and believe that they have helped? These sorts of behaviors show that we are still beings of defilement, filled with selfishness and vanity.
“Self” being is made up of all this nonsense. Selfishness, bad behavior. When a practitioner arrives at a certain stage, he sees all these behaviors and realizes that he should let go of all and everything to which he has attachments.
Everyone can say “let go”. But most of us are not able to truly let go. Everyone knows they have a bad habit. But few of us really change it. If you have not seen clearly enough to really let go, then you will never experience that stage of realization. Avalokitesvara.
The “self” is mostly composed of nonsensical ideas and attachments that we should let go of, so that we can arrive at that 2nd stage of existence beyond the limitations of the ego. Why are so many of us so stressed? Because we can not let go. We can not let go and then can not experience the great ease that comes with letting go. So we become very tired and stressed.
So now - really see yourself. Learn to know yourself so that you will see who you really are. If you truly do this you will renounce your smaller self. Once you have experienced through that stage, grasped that method of arriving at the other shore, then you must share it with others.
But what is the method? How do you do it? Know yourself. Observe the origination of the problems of your “self”, and then , like following a river upstream to its source, determine how they all began. Continue going upstream to the point where it began and then you will know yourself in a way that will enable you to drop animalistic behavior. By understanding and self examination, and by learning to let go and renounce.
This method is not intellectual, but is learned by direct experience. Once you have the direct experience, then you will have a mission to help others to realize and to renounce. At the moment of true renunciation you have arrived (at the first step, anyway).
So, Avalokitesvara, The name itself conveys looking into yourself and renouncing your ego. If you arrive at this state then you aspire to share the methods by which one is able to arrive at this state. Someone in this state is a boddhisatva.
So Avalokitesvara is the being on the path to awareness whose name is Avalokitesvara. But it also has a much more profound meaning, which embodies the path to renunciation.
Let’s take a moment.....
Close your eyes and look into yourself.
Your ears no longer listen to the sounds of the world, but to the sounds of your inner world.
Begin to look inward.
See your nature.
See how existence so far has been made up of defilements, made of filth in a sense.
Hear your breathing like the wind.
Hear your heart beat like thunder.
Hear your blood flowing like he waves striking the shore.
Through your eyes and ears, enter samadhi, revealing the great wisdom of this world.
Meditating profoundly.
Syin - the Chinese character for heart - has four or five different translations.
One is meditating, to enter by that conduct or behavior, enter that state.
When in that state one perceives the 5 skandas as empty. 5 bundles or 5 attachments or 5 clouds.
There are so many translations today..
Skanda – that which is hidden under. The analogy could be like sweeping the dirt under a rug.
Empty is not “don’t have” or “don’t exist”. Sunyata. Empty is space. What is the greatest, sky, cosmos, void. Kung or Sunyata is the greatest space that encompasses all and everything. So the Boddhisattva looks inward to that profound state.
Consciousness is the same as the greatness that accomplishes all and everything.
Whatever is in the cosmos is the same as in your body. Whatever is in the 5 skandas is in you. How do you enter that profound state and recognize that the 5 bundles are empty? Look inward. This is the first stage of yoga. Merge together into one union. Make your heart only one, not two. In that state, inner happenings are reflections of all and everything.
How to enter this state of reflection of reality? Last night I touched on this slightly. If you pursue this intellectually will you arrive? Wisdom does not arrive through repetition or intellectual mumbo-jumbo. The way to wisdom is to look inside and make the journey.
Tonight, since we are fortunate to have this time together, I will teach you the actual practice of heart sutra meditation.
If you do this practice - this is the nuts and bolts of entering the path. This will help you progress much faster than recitation or intellectual pursuit.
Enter the meditative state of profundity and perceive that the 5 bundles are without inherent form.
If you truly aspire to enter this profound state, then you have to do the nuts & bolts pracrtce. Your inner 5 bundles become one with the elements in the cosmos. Not separate, join into one. The outer 5 bundles are boundless. The inner 5 bundles are within the self. To connect these is to go beyond self limitation.
(Gives mudra and mantra)
Before we start, close your eyes for a moment and just look. The 5 bundles in the body correspond to the organs. The heart, liver, pancreas, lung, kidney.
(Leads short mediation somethng like practice taught later)
By having this direct experience, you may perceive and understand that emptiness is no different than form, and form is no different than emptiness. Matter is energy. Energy is matter. What the eyes see - whatever exists in consciousness - is only points of light .
When you truly enter that experience and see for yourself, infinite numbers of little points of light - then there is no birth, no age and no death.
By that realization you enter truth as described. No increase, no decrease. No purity, no impurity.
This is something you can only understand with experience. You only understand what it means when you enter that state.
The heart sutra involves boddhisattva, mudra, mantra and visualization.
Note the reference to Avalokitesvara. Look into the self and renounce.
So prajna paramita is a text book of tantra. It is like step by step instructions. You can follow them step by step to enter that state. It teaches you a technique. Only by doing this practice will you enter that profound state of (arhat)?. In that state, wisdom reveals itself. Intellectual understanding is not sutra. Only by experience is this understood.
Intellectual pursuits can calm the mind. But true wisdom is attained through practice. Not through recitation and not through intellectual understanding alone. So, after the break I will teach you the heart sutra method.
(Break)
The mystic path to attain self awareness involves the three mysteries - body, speech and mind.
We incorporate these mysteries into the practice by the use of mudra, mantra and visualization.
We chant in silence. The mudras are alive and improve (circulation?). The mantra is an invocation of a vibration that connects us with the energy of the enlightened beings. The visualization helps us to enter the rhythm of mindfulness. Using these techniques together, we dissolve with all and everything.
(Teaches Meditation Practice) - (Not Written Here)
Most of us, our hearts are not pure. Our hearts are polluted. People place themselves under limitations through their impurities. When you are truly magnanimous, you have tolerance for all and every thing, every one, every thing, every circumstance. Then this polluted heart, this defiled mind, begins to settle down. Let it settle. Give it time. The water clears and wisdom reveals. During meditation you can have this experience of boundless, radiant light. This purifies and slowly cleans the defilements in the mind and heart, so that your polluted heart and mind will slowly become purified. In this meditation, you become one with all and everything. Through that direct experience, slowly you develop a heart of tolerance.
Wisdom is already there when your heart and mind become boundary-less. That’s when it reveals.
Perhaps someone will wonder...I haven’t done anything wrong, how has my heart become polluted? The inner pollution is not always obvious to us. If a plant grows in a polluted, contaminated environment, it is already polluted, but it won’t know the difference.
You grew up in a polluted environment. Newspapers, TV, videos, etc. all have violence and other unwholesome images. When you see some image on TV, it may have an interesting story line, but have you ever considered that the moment you perceive that image, that idea takes root in your consciousness? You may be subconsciously traumatized. Or the seed of that experience may be planted. You grew up in a polluted environment, and have lived in a polluted environment all of your life. But you never see the difference. Dharma practice is to lead the practitioners into that mind state in which the mind begins to free itself of the images, fantasies and defilements it has encountered.
If you want to change your heart and mind from the polluted to the pure state, take the practice slowly and diligently. Allow your heart space to become boundary-less.
To live a truthful life you have to begin at a very young age to truly respect others. He who truly respects others will receive respect. Help others from the bottom of your heart. Helping others is a sacrifice. It should be unconditional. Expect no reward.
When one truly develops this heart of always respecting others, of helping others without expectation of return - one no longer has dependency on others.
In this life, many people feel empty, because their lives are not fulfilling. They feel fear also because life is not fulfilling. When you truly stand up and live a life of conquering yourself, you will respect others. Do volunteer work, don’t worry so much about yourself. Fulfill your life’s experience. Don’t waste time. Wasting time is wasting life. If you have a busy schedule but with purpose and direction, this is good. If you are busy all the time but spend that time helping others. Your emotions start to change. You live healthier, longer. You become younger. Your fears disappear.
Perfectionism and fault-finding are natural. People look at some things with different eyes. They have different perspectives, different backgrounds and different understandings. They normally focus on only what their eyes and ears perceive. It is difficult to turn 180◦ and look.inside. So, it is usually easier to see others’ flaws than to see our own flaws. We see the problems and flaws of others, but not our own. Lots of people have understanding that is limited in this way. Consider this story....
Once upon a time a black crow descended from the sky and landed on the back of a black cow. It felt to the cow as if the black crow was dancing on his back. But it became very scratchy. So the cow turned to the row and said, “Crow, you are on my back, dancing with joy. It seems you are quite comfortable, but why are you scratching my back?”... .The black crow said to the cow, “I am helping you. Look how black and dirty your back is. I’m just trying to clean your back.” The cow laughed and said “you are black, too”. So this is the truth. When you are defiled you don’t see it yourself. Meditate, examine yourself, developing an attitude of helping others without expectation of return, and conquer yourself. These things will help to purify your being.
Questions:
Q: Of all the questions people have asked you, what was your favorite?
A: No favorites. I like all questions.
Q: While you are healing us, if I think of someone else who needs healing, will it help them?
A: Yes, it will help to visualize your friend, but the level of effect depends upon the closeness of the relationship. It can also help to bring a picture of the person with the whole person from head to toe showing, and with full name and birth date.
Q: Sometimes it seems i find my original state of innocence, but then i lose it again. How can i keep that state of innocence for longer?
A: Don’t ponder it, just do it. If you let go of ego and selfish motivation, then you can become innocent again like a child. Why are children so innocent? They have not yet become selfish in the way of adults. Very young children do not yet understand jealousy and other flaws. In this long river of life, you have journeyed so far, and experienced so many things. Life so far has given you happiness and sadness, joy and worry. Many people wish to return to their childlike innocence, but it is hard to do so. It is like a white cloth that becomes smeared with black ink. Can you wash it out? You can. But it will probably take more than one wash cycle. (Laughter)
So how do we return the ink-smeared cloth to being a white cloth? If you wish to return to innocence, follow the truth. If you are able to learn the right methods, in 3 to 6 years you should be able to make a quite measurable change. Every day, make a slight change in effort. The point is to find the right method to lead back to that state. For example, you are wearing your favorite clothes, but you carelessly rip the cloth. So you try to find a seamstress who can sew it to the original condition. It takes a lot of effort. It is easy to destroy, but difficult to return to its original state. Can you wash the ink out of the white cloth? Yes you can. But probably not with one wash cycle. Maybe it takes 10 wash cycles. (laughter)
In China, we have a program for lamas that starts at age 6. Training young people from an early age in the dharma can help. But such training is not always suitable for this country, especially in this day and age. Social norms in America have changed greatly since the World War II generation, and I will say this. Although you think you have progressed and improved personal freedoms and so on, sometimes you are misled. From my view people have also become more lazy, more self-indulgent and more mentally unhealthy. People from the 1920s to 1940s generation had higher standards of honor, diligence and respect. You may have an intelligent brain. But an intelligent brain that is unable to conquer its own lazy habits will still fail. People sometimes pass the buck, don’t take responsibility for themselves. In many homes I find that people leave their clothes lying around. Many restaurants are not that sanitary, etc. It is best to prepare your own food, and eat the freshest food available. Wash your utensils. Wash your clothes, don’t leave them around. Cook well. Take care of yourselves well. And learn self sufficiency. What would happen to LA if it were without power for two weeks? How many could survive without power or water there? It actually is important in life to conquer your lazy habits. Those who succeed with this have true intelligence. If you are not lazy, and you take action, practice with diligence, you can accomplish something.
Q: Is there one sound that is the highest vibration?
A: If you are speaking about mantras, no. Matnra was recorded according to the sounds of the vibrations. So mantras are the sounds of life. There is no such thing in this world as the “highest”. If there were a sound that were the “highest” vibration, then that would imply that something is the “highest” - that that’s the end. But you can always keep rising higher - there is no highest.
I remember this story about a person who was speaking about his state of consciousness, saying no one could surpass him. And someone reminded him of this old Chinese story. In ancient China when they battled they used a long spear. One day a spear merchant was selling his spears and he said, “Look at my spear, It’s the strongest! It’s incomparable! No matter how thick a shield someone has, my spear will penetrate it!”... But he also sold shields. So then he put his spear aside, and picked up a shield. He knocked on the shield and said, “Look at my shield! It’s the best! No matter what you use, you can not penetrate this shield!”. So someone from the audience asked him “ What would happen if your spear and your shield were used against each other? Can you tell us what would happen?”...and the merchant picked up his shield and his sword and went away.
Q: Will the mudra alone have benefit?
A: The mudra can make you more healthy, and have some other beneficial effects, but to gain wisdom you need the whole thing.
Q: If any one of these techniques can work to bring us to enlightenment, then why are there so many?
A: Look at the person sitting next to you. Their physiology is different. Their psychology is different. Their soul’s journey is different. So they may resonate with or have an easier time working with one practice, while you may gravitate toward another. Right now you may have difficulty concentrating, but working over time, you can reach the clear light of purity. Remember - only those whose hearts are at peace can help others. Those whose hearts are not at peace may want to help others, and this is a good wish - but for those whose hearts are not at peace this is just a dream. If your heart is settled and clear, then wisdom can appear. If you do really enter that state - don’t hang on to the tools - go beyond.
Note: These Notes Are Still in DRAFT form. Corrected Transcript Will Hopefully Be Posted Soon....
Tonight we will speak about the Heart Sutra. Prajna Paramita, Wisdom embark for the other shore.
The way I elaborate on the Heart Sutra tonight may not be the same as what you have learned in the past. Dharma is law - natural and without limitation. Since language is man-made, it is difficult to use it to describe what is natural and perfect. Of course, without this man-made system there would be no tool to use to record reality. But words are imperfect. Intellectual understanding is not enough for the serious practitioner. Why ? Because people have difficulty transcending the limitations of their languages.
Consider scenery. A beautiful view from the top of a mountain, or a perfect sunset over the ocean, or a pine-clad mountain. No matter how wonderful an environment or scenery is - the instant it is put into words it is limited by the hearer’s concept of those words. You describe it and people imagine similar scenes that they have seen - but their visions are not necessarily the same as what you saw.
It is possible to break free from the limitation of language. He who can free himself from the limitation of language and other conditions moves beyond normal being. Thus one is no longer limited by the conditions of his environment. Everyone is limited by conditions. If one is under limitation, one can not free ones’ self.
Dharma transmission traditionally requires seekers to bow to masters, but I don’t require this. The colloquial sutra should be interpreted. Prajna Paramita - Prajna is wisdom. In Chinese is sometimes pronounced Bwo Lo.
There are three kinds of wisdom: Wisdom of Words; Wisdom of Observation; and Wisdom of Reality.
Wisdom of words refers to the wisdom gained by following the intellectual path of reading the sutras. Wisdom on this path is gained by reading and following the words. Wisdom can be reached by some in this way. However, generally speaking, genuine wisdom only comes in this way to someone who is already sufficiently realized to free himself from the initial connotation of the words. This is not a path that works for the average person.
Wisdom of Observation is realized by observing the rhythms of everything. The rhythm of everything is reflected in our bodies as well as the whole. Everyone experiences the stage of wisdom in which - suddenly you realize something. Why are there so many scholars who do not attain enlightenment? Why do they accomplish little even though they study assiduously? Because they are limited to words. How many people accomplish great feats even though they are illiterate? They may lack education but they can take advantage of observing conditions, etc. They rely on observation rather than on words. This is an example of the wisdom of observation.
Wisdom of reality is supra-mundane. Beyond the normal understanding of reality in this world. Not lacking. Pure. The one who realizes this can do anything. But because wisdom is pure, such a one will NOT just do things, because one also sees the connectedness of these actions to other things. One in this state can make a pebble emit light. How ? Everything is a point of light. All matter is infused with this. Someone who realizes the wisdom of reality can make anything. So prajna is wisdom, but greater than the wisdom of words. Prajna is the wisdom that encompasses the entire universe.
Paramita is without boundary. Boundary-less. If you truly realize the final stage, wisdom has no limitation.
The key to the Heart Sutra is in its title, “Heart” Sutra. Why is the term “Heart” the key ? If you stare at something - say a mountain - if you stare at a mountain in a state of mindfulness it can alter your consciousness. In zen if you observe an object with the heart in such a way that you are mindful of that and nothing else - the object, the mountain, enters your consciousness and your consciousness enters the mountain. If you open your heart everything comes in and at the same time everything has you in it. So our heart and consciousness are no longer limited to just “you” or “I”.
As for the last word, Sutra, Sutra means to sew together like a thread. Sutra is often translated as scripture - like a thread sewn together - a journey through the nuts and bolts of practice.
Sutra is a record of actual practice - how it should be done. What do I mean by an actual record? You actually follow this method and then arrive at this realization of wisdom. So there are instructions for how to practice within the heart sutra, but you must understand what it is trying to convey.
The Heart Sutra records the experience of Avalokitesvara Boddhisattva.
Ava - means look. Look. We were born with a shortcoming. Our eyes enable us to perceive others, but not to look inwardly at ourselves. In general we live with this shortcomiing. We look at others, but not at ourselves,. We can see others flaws but not our own. And here’s another weakness - we’d rather believe in ourselves than believe in others. So people often fail to notice the truth. We jump to conclusions about what we see and hear and we don’t see reality. By habit, we fail to see our own bad nature. One of the biggest bad habits is non-receptivity.
It is easier to forgive ourselves than to forgive others. This comes from our animalistic nature. We have urges for self-preservation, desires, etc. We should look without judgement at everything and into our selves. We often believe that whatever the eyes do not see does not exist. Eyes may not see, but that is not proof of non-existence. So when you look - make it a true examination. If you try looking at an object, stare at it with your heart. If your heart is in it, it comes to you. The object is in your consciousness, not separate from it. Everything you fail to see is not in your consciousnss. If you aspire to awaken, first look at yourself. People today fail to know themselves.
People do not know themselves. Others may know you but they will not tell you. If you look at a photo, you recognize, “this is me”. You recognize the appearance. But who are you? Before people invented mirrors they really didn’t know what they looked like. They had to wait for a windless day and look at their reflection in the water. One of the greatest inventions was the mirror. Suddenly peopole made themselves presentable, wanted to make themselves and their environment more beautiful. Suddenly people wanted to know their flaws so they could better themselves. You can ask people to tell you your true flaws, but they can’t. People have yet to invent the mirror that can accurately reflect your inner shortcomings. Since people can not see themselves clearly, it is difficult to know or conquer themselves. So, the essence is in the name. Ava - look.
Avalokitesvara - has two meanings - one, the individual boddhisattva by that name, and the other - looking into one’s self.
What is the range of your bad nature ? How does it start? How does bad nature continue to feed into animalistic behavior? To look into ones’ self is to be mindful. Observe your behavior, where does that take place? Remember self. Find the origination point of bad conduct and then see first hand by looking into yourself. First experience that stage of self-examination. This is what limits your advancement and your ability to love. Most of today’s love is just vanity. We persue goodness, but we do so out of vanity. People believe they are behaving properly but fail to see the stuff they bottle up inside. They say they are happy to help, willing to help, but don’t put out the effort. How many people put out little but take credit for others efforts and believe that they have helped? These sorts of behaviors show that we are still beings of defilement, filled with selfishness and vanity.
“Self” being is made up of all this nonsense. Selfishness, bad behavior. When a practitioner arrives at a certain stage, he sees all these behaviors and realizes that he should let go of all and everything to which he has attachments.
Everyone can say “let go”. But most of us are not able to truly let go. Everyone knows they have a bad habit. But few of us really change it. If you have not seen clearly enough to really let go, then you will never experience that stage of realization. Avalokitesvara.
The “self” is mostly composed of nonsensical ideas and attachments that we should let go of, so that we can arrive at that 2nd stage of existence beyond the limitations of the ego. Why are so many of us so stressed? Because we can not let go. We can not let go and then can not experience the great ease that comes with letting go. So we become very tired and stressed.
So now - really see yourself. Learn to know yourself so that you will see who you really are. If you truly do this you will renounce your smaller self. Once you have experienced through that stage, grasped that method of arriving at the other shore, then you must share it with others.
But what is the method? How do you do it? Know yourself. Observe the origination of the problems of your “self”, and then , like following a river upstream to its source, determine how they all began. Continue going upstream to the point where it began and then you will know yourself in a way that will enable you to drop animalistic behavior. By understanding and self examination, and by learning to let go and renounce.
This method is not intellectual, but is learned by direct experience. Once you have the direct experience, then you will have a mission to help others to realize and to renounce. At the moment of true renunciation you have arrived (at the first step, anyway).
So, Avalokitesvara, The name itself conveys looking into yourself and renouncing your ego. If you arrive at this state then you aspire to share the methods by which one is able to arrive at this state. Someone in this state is a boddhisatva.
So Avalokitesvara is the being on the path to awareness whose name is Avalokitesvara. But it also has a much more profound meaning, which embodies the path to renunciation.
Let’s take a moment.....
Close your eyes and look into yourself.
Your ears no longer listen to the sounds of the world, but to the sounds of your inner world.
Begin to look inward.
See your nature.
See how existence so far has been made up of defilements, made of filth in a sense.
Hear your breathing like the wind.
Hear your heart beat like thunder.
Hear your blood flowing like he waves striking the shore.
Through your eyes and ears, enter samadhi, revealing the great wisdom of this world.
Meditating profoundly.
Syin - the Chinese character for heart - has four or five different translations.
One is meditating, to enter by that conduct or behavior, enter that state.
When in that state one perceives the 5 skandas as empty. 5 bundles or 5 attachments or 5 clouds.
There are so many translations today..
Skanda – that which is hidden under. The analogy could be like sweeping the dirt under a rug.
Empty is not “don’t have” or “don’t exist”. Sunyata. Empty is space. What is the greatest, sky, cosmos, void. Kung or Sunyata is the greatest space that encompasses all and everything. So the Boddhisattva looks inward to that profound state.
Consciousness is the same as the greatness that accomplishes all and everything.
Whatever is in the cosmos is the same as in your body. Whatever is in the 5 skandas is in you. How do you enter that profound state and recognize that the 5 bundles are empty? Look inward. This is the first stage of yoga. Merge together into one union. Make your heart only one, not two. In that state, inner happenings are reflections of all and everything.
How to enter this state of reflection of reality? Last night I touched on this slightly. If you pursue this intellectually will you arrive? Wisdom does not arrive through repetition or intellectual mumbo-jumbo. The way to wisdom is to look inside and make the journey.
Tonight, since we are fortunate to have this time together, I will teach you the actual practice of heart sutra meditation.
If you do this practice - this is the nuts and bolts of entering the path. This will help you progress much faster than recitation or intellectual pursuit.
Enter the meditative state of profundity and perceive that the 5 bundles are without inherent form.
If you truly aspire to enter this profound state, then you have to do the nuts & bolts pracrtce. Your inner 5 bundles become one with the elements in the cosmos. Not separate, join into one. The outer 5 bundles are boundless. The inner 5 bundles are within the self. To connect these is to go beyond self limitation.
(Gives mudra and mantra)
Before we start, close your eyes for a moment and just look. The 5 bundles in the body correspond to the organs. The heart, liver, pancreas, lung, kidney.
(Leads short mediation somethng like practice taught later)
By having this direct experience, you may perceive and understand that emptiness is no different than form, and form is no different than emptiness. Matter is energy. Energy is matter. What the eyes see - whatever exists in consciousness - is only points of light .
When you truly enter that experience and see for yourself, infinite numbers of little points of light - then there is no birth, no age and no death.
By that realization you enter truth as described. No increase, no decrease. No purity, no impurity.
This is something you can only understand with experience. You only understand what it means when you enter that state.
The heart sutra involves boddhisattva, mudra, mantra and visualization.
Note the reference to Avalokitesvara. Look into the self and renounce.
So prajna paramita is a text book of tantra. It is like step by step instructions. You can follow them step by step to enter that state. It teaches you a technique. Only by doing this practice will you enter that profound state of (arhat)?. In that state, wisdom reveals itself. Intellectual understanding is not sutra. Only by experience is this understood.
Intellectual pursuits can calm the mind. But true wisdom is attained through practice. Not through recitation and not through intellectual understanding alone. So, after the break I will teach you the heart sutra method.
(Break)
The mystic path to attain self awareness involves the three mysteries - body, speech and mind.
We incorporate these mysteries into the practice by the use of mudra, mantra and visualization.
We chant in silence. The mudras are alive and improve (circulation?). The mantra is an invocation of a vibration that connects us with the energy of the enlightened beings. The visualization helps us to enter the rhythm of mindfulness. Using these techniques together, we dissolve with all and everything.
(Teaches Meditation Practice) - (Not Written Here)
Most of us, our hearts are not pure. Our hearts are polluted. People place themselves under limitations through their impurities. When you are truly magnanimous, you have tolerance for all and every thing, every one, every thing, every circumstance. Then this polluted heart, this defiled mind, begins to settle down. Let it settle. Give it time. The water clears and wisdom reveals. During meditation you can have this experience of boundless, radiant light. This purifies and slowly cleans the defilements in the mind and heart, so that your polluted heart and mind will slowly become purified. In this meditation, you become one with all and everything. Through that direct experience, slowly you develop a heart of tolerance.
Wisdom is already there when your heart and mind become boundary-less. That’s when it reveals.
Perhaps someone will wonder...I haven’t done anything wrong, how has my heart become polluted? The inner pollution is not always obvious to us. If a plant grows in a polluted, contaminated environment, it is already polluted, but it won’t know the difference.
You grew up in a polluted environment. Newspapers, TV, videos, etc. all have violence and other unwholesome images. When you see some image on TV, it may have an interesting story line, but have you ever considered that the moment you perceive that image, that idea takes root in your consciousness? You may be subconsciously traumatized. Or the seed of that experience may be planted. You grew up in a polluted environment, and have lived in a polluted environment all of your life. But you never see the difference. Dharma practice is to lead the practitioners into that mind state in which the mind begins to free itself of the images, fantasies and defilements it has encountered.
If you want to change your heart and mind from the polluted to the pure state, take the practice slowly and diligently. Allow your heart space to become boundary-less.
To live a truthful life you have to begin at a very young age to truly respect others. He who truly respects others will receive respect. Help others from the bottom of your heart. Helping others is a sacrifice. It should be unconditional. Expect no reward.
When one truly develops this heart of always respecting others, of helping others without expectation of return - one no longer has dependency on others.
In this life, many people feel empty, because their lives are not fulfilling. They feel fear also because life is not fulfilling. When you truly stand up and live a life of conquering yourself, you will respect others. Do volunteer work, don’t worry so much about yourself. Fulfill your life’s experience. Don’t waste time. Wasting time is wasting life. If you have a busy schedule but with purpose and direction, this is good. If you are busy all the time but spend that time helping others. Your emotions start to change. You live healthier, longer. You become younger. Your fears disappear.
Perfectionism and fault-finding are natural. People look at some things with different eyes. They have different perspectives, different backgrounds and different understandings. They normally focus on only what their eyes and ears perceive. It is difficult to turn 180◦ and look.inside. So, it is usually easier to see others’ flaws than to see our own flaws. We see the problems and flaws of others, but not our own. Lots of people have understanding that is limited in this way. Consider this story....
Once upon a time a black crow descended from the sky and landed on the back of a black cow. It felt to the cow as if the black crow was dancing on his back. But it became very scratchy. So the cow turned to the row and said, “Crow, you are on my back, dancing with joy. It seems you are quite comfortable, but why are you scratching my back?”... .The black crow said to the cow, “I am helping you. Look how black and dirty your back is. I’m just trying to clean your back.” The cow laughed and said “you are black, too”. So this is the truth. When you are defiled you don’t see it yourself. Meditate, examine yourself, developing an attitude of helping others without expectation of return, and conquer yourself. These things will help to purify your being.
Questions:
Q: Of all the questions people have asked you, what was your favorite?
A: No favorites. I like all questions.
Q: While you are healing us, if I think of someone else who needs healing, will it help them?
A: Yes, it will help to visualize your friend, but the level of effect depends upon the closeness of the relationship. It can also help to bring a picture of the person with the whole person from head to toe showing, and with full name and birth date.
Q: Sometimes it seems i find my original state of innocence, but then i lose it again. How can i keep that state of innocence for longer?
A: Don’t ponder it, just do it. If you let go of ego and selfish motivation, then you can become innocent again like a child. Why are children so innocent? They have not yet become selfish in the way of adults. Very young children do not yet understand jealousy and other flaws. In this long river of life, you have journeyed so far, and experienced so many things. Life so far has given you happiness and sadness, joy and worry. Many people wish to return to their childlike innocence, but it is hard to do so. It is like a white cloth that becomes smeared with black ink. Can you wash it out? You can. But it will probably take more than one wash cycle. (Laughter)
So how do we return the ink-smeared cloth to being a white cloth? If you wish to return to innocence, follow the truth. If you are able to learn the right methods, in 3 to 6 years you should be able to make a quite measurable change. Every day, make a slight change in effort. The point is to find the right method to lead back to that state. For example, you are wearing your favorite clothes, but you carelessly rip the cloth. So you try to find a seamstress who can sew it to the original condition. It takes a lot of effort. It is easy to destroy, but difficult to return to its original state. Can you wash the ink out of the white cloth? Yes you can. But probably not with one wash cycle. Maybe it takes 10 wash cycles. (laughter)
In China, we have a program for lamas that starts at age 6. Training young people from an early age in the dharma can help. But such training is not always suitable for this country, especially in this day and age. Social norms in America have changed greatly since the World War II generation, and I will say this. Although you think you have progressed and improved personal freedoms and so on, sometimes you are misled. From my view people have also become more lazy, more self-indulgent and more mentally unhealthy. People from the 1920s to 1940s generation had higher standards of honor, diligence and respect. You may have an intelligent brain. But an intelligent brain that is unable to conquer its own lazy habits will still fail. People sometimes pass the buck, don’t take responsibility for themselves. In many homes I find that people leave their clothes lying around. Many restaurants are not that sanitary, etc. It is best to prepare your own food, and eat the freshest food available. Wash your utensils. Wash your clothes, don’t leave them around. Cook well. Take care of yourselves well. And learn self sufficiency. What would happen to LA if it were without power for two weeks? How many could survive without power or water there? It actually is important in life to conquer your lazy habits. Those who succeed with this have true intelligence. If you are not lazy, and you take action, practice with diligence, you can accomplish something.
Q: Is there one sound that is the highest vibration?
A: If you are speaking about mantras, no. Matnra was recorded according to the sounds of the vibrations. So mantras are the sounds of life. There is no such thing in this world as the “highest”. If there were a sound that were the “highest” vibration, then that would imply that something is the “highest” - that that’s the end. But you can always keep rising higher - there is no highest.
I remember this story about a person who was speaking about his state of consciousness, saying no one could surpass him. And someone reminded him of this old Chinese story. In ancient China when they battled they used a long spear. One day a spear merchant was selling his spears and he said, “Look at my spear, It’s the strongest! It’s incomparable! No matter how thick a shield someone has, my spear will penetrate it!”... But he also sold shields. So then he put his spear aside, and picked up a shield. He knocked on the shield and said, “Look at my shield! It’s the best! No matter what you use, you can not penetrate this shield!”. So someone from the audience asked him “ What would happen if your spear and your shield were used against each other? Can you tell us what would happen?”...and the merchant picked up his shield and his sword and went away.
Q: Will the mudra alone have benefit?
A: The mudra can make you more healthy, and have some other beneficial effects, but to gain wisdom you need the whole thing.
Q: If any one of these techniques can work to bring us to enlightenment, then why are there so many?
A: Look at the person sitting next to you. Their physiology is different. Their psychology is different. Their soul’s journey is different. So they may resonate with or have an easier time working with one practice, while you may gravitate toward another. Right now you may have difficulty concentrating, but working over time, you can reach the clear light of purity. Remember - only those whose hearts are at peace can help others. Those whose hearts are not at peace may want to help others, and this is a good wish - but for those whose hearts are not at peace this is just a dream. If your heart is settled and clear, then wisdom can appear. If you do really enter that state - don’t hang on to the tools - go beyond.
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