Бетси Грир — Книга 2: Интерлюдия о пустоте, занятие 72

[Speaker 3]
All right, almost time. Got some exciting classes for you today. Hi everybody.

Can y'all hear me? All right, welcome to Xuanzang's Tower. Here we are all together.

[Speaker 1]
Oh, it's a small turnout. So far, hopefully it will grow. We have a team class.

Team classes for you today. Geshe Michael is maybe, hopefully sleeping, but probably doing things. In early, 8 a.m. here in Kyoto. And we've got a wonderful class lined up for you first, with Betz, working on Interlude on Emptiness. And then I will lead a class on my text, Ratnamala, String of Jewels. So thank you all for coming.

Thank you so much to our dear interpreters, and to all of our tech team, and everybody who supports us. So I'm guessing you have a quiz for us, Utpala? It's going to be just an oral quiz.

An oral quiz, okay. So I'm hoping that people feel like participating without having the questions written out in front of you. We'll do our best to remember words in order.

So thank you all for your interest in this book. This very important book by K. Drip J.

on basically, like, the ultimate nature of reality is what we need to see if we want to get out of the cycle of suffering. And the Buddha said what appears on its face to be contradictory things about the nature of suffering. So this book is about what do we take to be what he really meant when we get on our cushion and attempt to see directly the nature of reality, so we can get the heck out of here, right?

And we spent years on Arya Asanga and Master Vasubandhu's charioteer work. Do you remember they were the chariots of the mind-only school? Because they have a particular point of view about what the Buddha really meant.

And now we are on to the second half of the book, which if we were to look at this book as a book and just look at the pages, the second, these years that we've just spent are about like this. And now we're going on to the second half of the book, which is more like this, which is going to get into fine detail so much for an interlude on Arya Nagarjuna's charioteer work on what the Buddha really meant when he talked about the absence of his self-nature to things. What is selflessness?

So we have started on this section on Arya Nagarjuna, right? And we started talking about, he said, at the beginning of this half, that he's going to cover two things. He's going to cover the books that, well, actually it's a little more granular than that, but in this section we're in right now, he said there are two parts.

There's the part about what he wrote. And then there's the next part, which we're going to start today. So the first part is on books that Arya Nagarjuna wrote.

And if you recall, we talked about a few of them and what it is that they cover. And remember that although Arya Nagarjuna was prolific, a prolific author, the ones we are most concerned with, because they fit the topic of our book here, are those related to the nature of reality, to how things truly exist, in that they do not exist truly. Okay, so we started off last class talking about 70 verses on emptiness, which is one of Arya Nagarjuna's books.

Now, does anyone recall what it is that, why it is that Arya Nagarjuna wrote 70 verses on emptiness? It was an extension of a particular section of the root text, meaning the root text. And in English, we normally call it wisdom.

Wisdom, yes. So yes, it was a particular section of that book. Do you recall which section of that book?

No, I mean, I have translated this so many times, but I don't, I haven't memorized. Yeah, it starts with, starts with, no. It starts with, like a dream.

Yeah, okay. No, lines from the seventh chapter of wisdom. And these lines are basically like the main content of 70 verses on wisdom.

So does anyone remember what, in a general way, you don't have to give me all 70 verses, but what in a way, like hint three things, this book is talking about? What does the 70 verses talk about? Yeah.

70 verses talks about, I mean, the nature of reality, that's for sure. Yes. I gave you that hint.

That's all I got. Okay. Okay, I'll read you the lines that it's about in particular.

Like a dream, like an illusion, like a city in a cloud, so is starting, so is staying, so is stopping, taught to be. So the 70 verses on reasoning is about starting, staying and stopping, not existing inherently. Rather, what would it say instead?

If they don't exist inherently, how is it that they do exist? These three things, starting, stopping and staying?

[Speaker 2]
By name only.

[Speaker 1]
By name only?

[Speaker 2]
Yeah, which means like they exist as a mental picture.

[Speaker 1]
Right. Name and mental images. Yes.

Those two things projected from our own mind onto things that we create into objects. Excellent. Thank you, Oscar.

We then talked about a couple more books, the 60 verses on reasoning, and then we started talking about the book that is the root text for the commentary that Nick is translating on the String of Precious Jewels. So these two books, do you recall their sort of, their focus? I mean, I do, because I have my face buried in them constantly, but let's see if somebody else does.

Oh, nice. Lower Nirvana. That's true.

I think I'm going a little more general than that. So if the 70 verses is focusing on how is it that starting, stopping and staying don't exist inherently, like it has a focus on that. These other two books, they do talk about nirvana, also omniscience, and how it's not possible to reach either of them if you still think dependence has a nature of its own, hold to starting and stopping the extremes of being existent or non-existent at all.

So we spent some time talking about last time on how these two extremes will keep us from reaching omniscience. And of course, even reaching freedom from the cycle of suffering. So now we can move on.

Oh, I should ask you for a couple of Tibetan words, shouldn't I? Let's see. We talked about, I'm going to put in the chat here.

Can anyone tell me what trung shen mi means? The two other books? The two other books.

Yep. Thank you. Can anyone tell me what chi mu means?

Needless to say. Very nice. Who said that?

That's me. That's Dodo. Thank you very much.

And then one more. I can't tell you what that is. Oh, good.

So hopefully someone else can. Marina, I think you should know this one. She looks like she's saying it.

She's just muted. Oscar's also unable. So many people unable.

Does it mean cheese sandwich? Powerless. What's that?

Powerless. Powerless. Yeah.

Thank you.

[Speaker 2]
No, it means a powerful human. An able-bodied individual.

[Speaker 1]
Unable, yeah. Or powerless. Incapable.

Words that can describe a certain someone who seems to be taking a lot of my brain space these days. Oh, let's see. I'm now going to attempt to share the text.

I'm sorry. I do seem to have a particular anti-city around sharing. Dog ate your homework, huh?

I'm sorry? Dog ate your homework? No, I'm going to share the text.

I know. Okay, I got to stop it and start it. Okay, do you see a text?

Yeah. With a bunch of words with all capital Roman letters? Yes.

Starting with 445. We can. Excellent.

So, Venerable Chunzong, would you like to read, please? This first section? Yes.

Really heavy pre-nasal there. It's in there. Great, thank you.

So, here we're talking about Let's see. We're talking about Pungpo, which is what, Venerable Chunzong? Skanda.

Body and mind. Body and mind. Yeah.

And we're talking about Denzin. Belief. Holding to be real.

Yeah. Yeah, holding to the body and mind is truly existing. It's Pardu, I guess.

Yeah, right, Pardu. Right, Mase Pardu. Sorry.

Ah. So, Pardu, we know this right in between. I think it's a Not only, not only that.

Well, usually we see it as As long as time that we have extinguished. As long as, yeah. Because it's one of those things where the ma is not really a ma in English.

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Until such time as we continue to hold to the heaps as true or self-existent or something. Yeah, until we've exhausted grasping to the body and mind is truly existing.

Yes. Then, Right. So, sorry.

No return. No, no going back. Won't stop.

Can't stop. Can't be stopped. Yeah.

And not only that. Let's see. So, Gopal, what's Gopal?

Oh, we're still, Gopal closed. Need. Necessary, right, or need to from Korwa.

To be free from Sensara. Right. Um, we have to Shepa.

Understand. Sometimes we see this as. You may remember the phrase.

It's pure view or something. Yeah, right. Correct view.

We're talking about. So, the correct. Understanding.

The correct object here. Yeah, the perfect object. Perfect object or perfect meaning.

Perfect object. Object through. What's the object?

Here it is here. Yep, make it. So, it couldn't be the meaning of not seeing.

So, we have the tower is. I'm sorry, what? It couldn't be the meaning of not seeing those things.

Yeah, what it means to not see. I think either way. Object.

I think there actually is something that's considered. The young duck. Yeah.

Young duck. Big done is another word for reality. Reality.

Cool. So, I could put that. That's something you can massage later.

So, and that is. Me Tawa. Here it's a view as a verb.

I mean, Tawa is a verb. Right, not seen. To not you, you make guitar.

The extremes tar. Yeah. Of you make the things either you or they may.

Exist or not exist. Right. The extremes of existence and non-existent cool.

Now, then drama. Here's why I used object, but by understanding. An object.

Then drama like that. Understanding an object. They draw like that.

Then we have this again. Korwa. Lead.

Draw. From Korwa. From since our us.

Right. Yeah. But.

Freedom. Freedom. Oh, sorry.

Freedom from since our freedom from since our. Call me. At the.

Through or by that. Due to. Due to sure.

So by understanding an object like that. One is freed from the cycle of pain. And so we're still talking about.

We're still talking about the string of precious jewels here. And what this book is about. Which sounds pretty darn cool.

And it also. Che. Cut.

Explains. Yeah, it's for it's related to that. Che explains.

Kiepar. Kiepar. Yes.

In detail. Or extensively. The.

The steps of the path. Yeah, the steps of the path. We're talking about a mission somewhere there.

Yeah, I don't know exactly how it breaks down. To attaining. Omniscience.

Coping is. That's a certain level of omniscience. Right.

The level. Omniscience. So it's also going to explain in detail.

This steps on the path. To attaining the state of omniscience. That's pretty cool.

That's pretty awesome. Let's jump to next text. Why don't we?

I mean, golly. OK, so I had this is until one has exhausted. Grasping to the body and mind is truly existing.

The cycle can't be stopped. To free oneself from the circle of pain. It is also necessary to understand the perfect object.

To not view extremes of existence and non-existence. By understanding an object like that. One is freed from the cycle of pain.

It also explains in detail the stages of the path. To attaining the state of omniscience. Hey.

[Speaker 2]
Nice. What do you? What do you think about me here?

Lumped in by need. Like just that exactly that. You have some feeling about what to do with that.

[Speaker 1]
I just put a question mark there. And looking forward to when Geshe Michael. Actually, for sure.

That's what this really. Yeah, sounds good. Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

The steps themselves. Yeah, that's the very steps or something. The very steps.

Yeah. Cool. OK.

I need a new. I don't know who's here. Let me see if I can look at the chat.

Um. If there's someone who. I can't see the peoples.

Who's here? Let's see. Oh, there you are.

Um. A lot of names in languages I can't read yet. Like it looks like Korean and Japanese and Chinese.

Um. Let's see. Would you like to read?

Oh, sure. Thank you. Thank you.

Young. Thank you so much. So.

Do you know? Um. If by that.

Why are you doing? I don't know. Therefore.

Yeah, it's a phrase that means therefore. And I'm wondering if. Maybe it's like somehow related to if it's like that.

If that's like it. Yeah. It's it's a shortening of data.

Oh, thank you. Data as in. Um.

Could you write it in the chat? Now, right? Oops.

Wrong keyboard. Great. So we're talking about.

We're talking about. So we're talking about. Um.

The two books of the area or in the books of the area. Right, these. These books of the area.

So they're doing something so probably. Well, we'll get to what they're doing, but at least this is marking it is. The this the thing that's doing the doing.

Uh. That means the things that they refute and establish and so on. Right, refutations, proofs.

And and so on. So we have to go down to. Find our verb.

And our verb is down here. Oh. This is established or set forth.

Right. Extensively, right? Extensively explain.

On the two truth or two. Yeah, two truth realities. Right.

Uh. And here's how this is at least how I broke it up. Through.

Refutations, proofs and such. And we can talk about how maybe it could be broken up differently. But I this is how at least I put it together.

Given that it's talking about two truths. So we talked about here. Uh.

Can it mean all the subjects and objects? Yeah, it could be subjects and objects. I thought of it as all the actors and actions.

Or all actors and actions. That is a idiom, though. It means how things how everything works.

OK, how everything works. How all things function or something like that. Well, not all things function.

That's the thing. That's why I didn't use. As.

Functioning things. But again, but actors and actors are also functioning things so. Anyway, hopefully we'll get clarification of that.

But they are. So. This is perfected.

Is deceptive reality. Oh, yes, sorry. Yes, yes.

So there. And it would be. It would be inappropriate.

To. This is how I put it together. To.

Shock. So like I put this as. Think of them.

As. I don't know. That but.

As as as not merely label. Or not established through being merely labeled. But doesn't that may have to go with the kunzob, though, because of the two.

I agree with that. There's. There comes a man to.

Yeah, from from talk about the shock. Is a is a phrase. I'm sorry.

From talk about the T.A.G.S. down to the B.Z.H.A.G. is one continuous phrase and. Yeah, establishes existing through labels alone. The things that you put forward shock that.

Have that by their exist by their own definition that are established through labels alone. Are me wrong or inappropriate. Me rumor.

It's inappropriate to. Yeah. Positive establish them as existing by definition.

Yep. But it's not inappropriate to call them merely labeled. Which is why I broke it up the way I did.

But so you're suggesting that the word the word is that nothing is there aren't. There is nothing that is deceptive reality where it would be appropriate to say. That they exist by definition and merely labeled something like that.

Yeah. Well, it could be. Right, not either not.

Deceptive, right? Like, it would be wrong to say that things aren't deceptive. Yeah.

But then I don't know, right. Could also be to say that things don't exist, that there may. Because we're talking about gawking and drooping.

But I think you're right the 1st time it is inappropriate to say that. Nothing the way everything functions is not deceptive. May everything.

Judge a time. Okay, then I have. So, how we fit this in then, because this is a correct approach.

Yeah. Description of what's going on, which is things are established rather things. Things don't exist by definition.

Rather, they're established through being merely labeled. But there's a gi there gi and it's saying self existently there that way. And that's inappropriate.

Hmm. So, that part is right. But if it's self existently, the way it happens, it's inappropriate.

Me room. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, the law is probably a disjunctive here. Right.

So, established self existently. Right. Joke, the gi connects to self existently.

Right. Rather than then talk some. Oh, the lies, the ladun.

That's why the joke is the verb. Right. And they are joked.

They are. But it's inappropriate to say the way they are joked by labels alone is a self existent type of establishing because they can exist. They cannot exist deceptively.

Um, everything cannot function that way. That's what I think. Maybe.

It'd be hard to say that you could self existently establish things merely by label. It seems like those two are opposites. They are.

That's why it's me room. Yeah.

[Speaker 3]
Okay.

[Speaker 1]
Okay. The grammatical construction does look like that. I'm not.

I mean. Awfully subtle. This, the placement of this may is, I'm sorry, is baffling to me.

I don't, I do not like where it is. Coming after Kunzel. It's coming after it.

So cool. Yeah. So something like that is gonna happen when we get the true meaning of what deceptive reality is.

Yeah. Let's move on to ultimate reality. Shall we?

Sorry. My camera is in the wrong place. Should come on young.

Any, any, any, anything at all? Any existence at all? Mm hmm.

Right. Anything at all? And because we're, we've got here.

Actually. We've got this. So, so I would say there's nothing at all.

No, no. Yeah. There's not even.

Not a, not a, not a hint of a self existing quality. Yeah. Not even a little self existence to it.

Yeah. Oh my God. What's the word?

There's not even a shred of self nature to anything. Correct. The ultimate reality of suchness.

Yeah. That's what I got to. So I put, I translated that as an, and that there is nothing at all that has even the slightest essential nature.

Yeah. The ultimate reality of suchness. Yeah.

Dems the true truths.

[Speaker 3]
I'm sorry?

[Speaker 1]
Dempany. The word that those are the two truths. Oh, oh, here I am looking for dempa tooth.

No Dems. They are, those are. Thus we have presented the two truths.

And thus we have extensively explained the two truths. Okay, cool. And then the last, the last statement in this part of the book, Oscar.

Yes. Can you help me with this? Yeah.

[Speaker 3]
Thank you.

[Speaker 1]
And read first. Thank you. So I found it helpful.

Actually just do these separately. So. Yeah, I can see that.

That's a good idea. So we have this, we have, then we have our verb here. So these books, tenpa.

What do they do, Oscar? They teach. Yes, they teach.

Uh, and they teach through, through, oops. Lung dang rikpa ta yepa.

[Speaker 2]
To infinite quotation of other books or scriptural authorities and logic.

[Speaker 1]
And then I threw this in here too. Like maybe, but maybe that's not right. So ngo is a period, rung ngo, period.

Okay. Ngo is a period. So.

Yes. It must be then scriptural quotations. Yeah.

Oh, no, no, no, no. The she is mentioning that what ends with ngo was a quotation. Yeah.

And then it starts a new sentence, lung dang rikpa ta ye, like infinite scripture and reasoning. Okay. So it teaches, it teaches, um, this, uh, through infinite.

Well, not infinite, but. Yes. Because she, Michael says literally infinite.

By literally infinite numbers. He's still writing it as a matter of fact. Exactly.

Well, there's countless planets. That's an urging for everyone to write. Scripture and reasonings.

And okay. So then, um, here's our, here's a, a word we had earlier. Oh, yeah.

Needless. What need mentioned. Yep.

Okay. So we're just going to move on. Cause there's apparently no need to mention.

Uh-huh. No, just kidding. What me worry.

[Speaker 2]
Like much less.

[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Yeah. Those three go together.

Yeah. Yeah. Much less.

Nice Oscar.

[Speaker 2]
Oh, then there is the realizing that way or to understand it in that way.

[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Let's talk about realizing the two truths, right? Yeah.

A method to realize. Yeah. No need to mention that.

What need mentioned the realization of Buddha. Yeah. Or the achievement.

By realizing the two truths in this way. Then what need mentioned.

[Speaker 2]
Yeah. Which you in Buddhahood. No, they taught it.

This is the way in which we realize the two truths. Oh, because of the knee.

[Speaker 1]
No, uh, not the knee that this, this way. So this is the method in which we realize the two truths. Knee.

Okay. And then what need we have to mention achieving Buddhahood. Right.

It's parallel. Yeah. The knee.

Actually indispensable, uh, to achieving Buddhahood. And where did I get that indispensable from? Dispensable.

Are you looking at notes or something? Yeah, I have. Oh, yeah.

Uh-huh. Oh yeah. Well, we're, we're translating into English.

What? I'm in the wrong class. Nick, could you get back in the Latin channel, please?

Yeah, I'm going. Sorry about that. Much less so to the venerable children's favorite phrase of today.

Free from suffering. Free from pain. Free from suffering.

Yeah. Great. So they teach through means of extensive quotations and scripture and reasonings that there's really no need to mention that realizing things in this way is indispensable to achieving alignment, much less so to attaining freedom from the cycle of pain.

But I think, yeah, I think you doubled your much less so. Um, um, no need to mention is the much less so. Um, you need it in order to achieve Buddhahood.

I mean, you know, so what, what need mention, you know, not to mention. Getting out of the cycle. We've got Tajima and we've got young men do.

Yeah. It would be inappropriate to say that you could do without it is the young men do for, uh, for sun gate, uh, for achieving Buddhahood, not to mention. Right.

So I shouldn't even have to mention that you need it or achieve for achieving Joe off from or while achieving freedom from the cycle. Just reverse the order from, from what you said it. Oh, and then there's the house.

Well, that's surprising. Uh, I think this now, now I finally understand reassert control of the screen. There, there's been a, a whoopsie super fascinating one, but, uh, we had a, uh, a booboo happened with screen share.

He doesn't see it. She doesn't see it.

[Speaker 3]
I got it.

[Speaker 1]
Well done. Yeah. So, yeah, it would be, it would be indispensable for getting free from the cycle of pain.

What need we have to mention for achieving Buddhahood. And the way you do this is through teachings of infinite teachings of long and Rick scriptural authority and logic. Yeah.

I think it's the other way around though. The phrasing, isn't it? It would be indispensable for achieving Buddhahood.

So we don't even need to mention. No, because no, because the cycle of pain is lower. So, right.

Right. That's why I thought, yeah, you don't need to mention the lower one, right? Like you can get all the way to Mars.

You don't, why mention that you can get to the moon or something. If you needed to get to Mars, then you sure as heck needed to get to the moon. So if you need it to get to Buddhahood, then I shouldn't have to tell you that you need it to get free of pain.

No, I don't think that's true. I mean, I agree word logically grammatically. I, I feel like Tachimo would typically come before, but logically, I, I totally agree with you a word that, um, yeah.

The Tachimo comes before the thing that you're not going to mention because there's no need. Would have been my feeling. It's a double negative.

So it's about, uh, real, if you realize, uh, if you, if you follow the ways and realize the true truths, you will achieve Buddhahood needless to say the lower Nirvana. Yeah. That's how I'm looking at it.

[Speaker 3]
That's right. That's right.

[Speaker 1]
I think it's a double negative treat as a positive. So there's no problem to that. Okay.

And young means it's indispensable. Yeah. And, uh, so, and what's, uh, wrong.

[Speaker 2]
Oh, it's the one young mate.

[Speaker 1]
It is indispensable. Yeah.

[Speaker 3]
Yeah. It's all together.

[Speaker 1]
It's indispensable. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. It's wrong to say you could do without it. Yeah.

It's just, you can see amounts to indispensable. Yeah.

[Speaker 2]
It would be me wrong to say that you could be me of that view.

[Speaker 1]
So wait, okay. If we're going to put the top touching mood, I like what you and Dodo are saying. So where are we going to put the indispensable then?

Young man in English, the order. Thanks, buddy. Flip flop.

So what is it? Indispensable for maybe it's like this. I guess now I'm seeing it could go either way.

Ah, maybe realizing the ways, uh, uh, realizing, uh, realizing, uh, the ways to realize the truth, the truth, the truth. No, it could actually go. It seems like it could go either way.

It's indispensable for achieving Buddhahood. So we don't even need to mention escaping sansara, but you know, I think logically airtight because, um, there could be something that you need in order to remove obstacles to omniscience, right? Right.

Cause Buddhahood's more. So you don't know there's an additional method to serve. So it has to be, it has to be time to move to Buddhahood and therefore, okay.

And it has to be indispensable. Yeah. Okay.

That makes sense. Yeah. Cause as you, as you climb the hierarchy, uh, it's indispensable for if you need it to escape sansara, of course you need it also for achieving Buddhahood because it escapes sansara to achieve Buddhahood.

Yeah. Makes sense. Okay.

Thank you. All right. Cool.

Hey, what about the S? S? Does it make sense?

Let's find out. Therefore. No, it's just indicating that these books are teaching this.

No. Therefore. No, it's not.

I mean, you can try and link it to this, but I don't think it is. Those great guys. That great being.

And, um, which kid? Yeah, that one. By that great being or by that great being.

Let's see. So we've got. This one, it's kind of awkward in English because there's so many different clauses.

So we'll just start through the clauses. Um, so this great being. Those of us who are very fortunate.

Those very fortunate ones. Lucky duckies. Love them.

Yeah. For the lucky duckies. To them.

Yeah. Harper. I'm sorry.

The path to omniscience and freedom. The path to freedom and omniscience. I think a lot.

I think. Distribute. That's right.

Yeah. Yeah. Uh, and.

What they really thought. What the victors really thought. The intent of the conquerors.

According to. Yeah, like, yes. In line with their true intent.

In line with. Yeah. So.

He cleared it up. Clarified. We know because we talked about that earlier.

I think the shingtas probably goes together, right? Yeah, it does. But I just want to know what shingta is.

It means wooden horse. Yes. Or a chariot or a pioneer.

And then.

[Speaker 2]
Pioneer. Engine.

[Speaker 1]
A wagoneer. Yeah. And the soul would be.

System. It really means the rail, right? It could mean a system.

Could mean a rail. Here means. It could be a tradition.

It means oatmeal. Lek par chewa. They divided it so well.

Super divided it. Super divided it. Made clear distinctions.

Yeah. Well established. So here's how I did it.

And then let's talk about how I got it. I did it incorrectly. The next minute.

In the true. In the true and distinctive way of a pioneer. This great being clarified for those of good fortune.

The path to freedom and omniscience. According to the intent of the conqueror. Yeah.

Yeah, that's good. He did. In fairness, the.

To use the saw from previously. That is how he did it. Was.

By teaching. In, you know, countless. Uh, scriptural examples and proofs.

Yeah, therefore, this great being blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, right. That's how he did.

He did it that way. That by teaching those things. So, yeah, that's great.

Lovely. How can I use this more practically in my life? Oh, let's talk about it.

Hopeful for that. I want to be a. Thank you for your participation.

Everyone. Sorry, let me know when we finish. Okay, so.

How on earth.

[Speaker 3]
How do you move?

[Speaker 1]
It can get us enlightened. What need mention could improve our lives? Oh, wait the other way.

It can improve our lives. What me worry. It's boring.

Mixed nuts can talk, but it's it's more. Interesting if other people talk. Yeah, I mean.

Kind of like from just. On its very surface level, like. It sure sounds like Ari Nagarjuna is the guy to read.

If if you want to get the heck out of the cycle of. No, if you want to reach omniscience. What need mention get out of the circle of suffering.

Right, practical application is to join the good night book club. Read Ari Nagarjuna. Yeah, well, it's true.

But that's just a surface level. What else can you learn about? I mean, I mean, there's stuff in there about.

Mm hmm. Like breaking down all the different ways that things exist. There's there's stuff about using.

Not just reasoning, but also scriptural authority. Or maybe not just scriptural authority, but also logic. Yeah, personally, I need both.

I think it's helpful. I don't know. I'll just talk about my own life for a second and how I can relate with some of this.

I've been in Japan for a week, and it's the first time that I've been away from my family for this long in a long time. And life is is interesting. You know, it's it's hard.

I think when you get it's hard to remember sometimes emptiness. It's harder when you get into a routine and you kind of get back into like life and you just start doing your daily routine, like the same kind of things every day. And I feel like for me, I'm just trying to chime in here until somebody else has something else to say.

But something that I've noticed is like being away for a few days was really. I've been thinking about emptiness a lot. I've been listening to Geshe Michael teach, which usually helps you do that.

And it was a little bit of like a reset for me to kind of get some tools again to to like try to have an interrupter process for like when I start getting upset by things in life or when I can have a little distance and then have a perspective that like, oh, I can see that in these particular situations, I'm really, really holding to things as if they have nothing to do with like me and my seeds, my past actions. And so I think that I'm really relating with the logic and scripture of it because I got to listen to my teacher talk about things right out of the books.

And I get to kind of slow myself down because I'm not stuck in just like doing the same things so quickly all the time. I feel like I have an opportunity to reset and catch my mind using logic like, oh, my gosh, I can start to see some patterns and interrupt them. So I think that there's something to be said for using both logic and scripture to get yourself to the point where you can see emptiness.

But of course, which is Nagarjuna's main goal here, but also just to interrupt the daily habits, patterns that keep you stuck and maybe afford you a little bit of perspective and freedom. So I've been good for the first time in years to just have a little bit of space so that hopefully I can return to my day-to-day life with some renewed tools. And so the practical application here is go on vacation for a couple of days.

But if it's not vacation or a work trip, then even just finding small ways to probably break up the habits. I'll say one more thing about that. I was watching Dune 2 on the plane and I hadn't seen it yet.

And I read all the books, but I forgot that when you walk in the desert, you have to avoid the giant sandworms that will come and eat you and everyone you've ever met. So you have to walk in really random patterns. You can't follow any pattern in the way that you step in the desert.

And I was like, oh, there's something I was thinking about my trip and how it's important to kind of break up the little patterns that you form in life and interrupt so that you can stop the giant sandworm of samsara, the giant saloon of samsara from eating you and your family. That's great. A section started with Pumbaa Denzin, ma sepa, as long as you don't get rid of your belief in the reality or the of...

Grasping to the true existence of the body and mind. Yeah, right, of what's mine. I think it's interesting that this whole discussion today cascaded from this need that stems from our obsession with what belongs to me and how much of the day I'm fighting for what's mine or what I deserve in life from what I deserve in terms of like recognition or the way people should treat me.

The idea of mine seems to be a really powerful issue. And it's hard because we have to sustain ourselves. I think I personally, I struggle with overeating.

That's my personal addiction issue. I smoked cigarettes when I was a kid, but I don't do that anymore. So that's great.

But now food is tough because you have to eat it. You have to eat food. I can just not smoke cigarettes.

That's really helpful for getting over. The most powerful thing I found for getting over cigarette addiction is don't smoke them.

[Speaker 2]
But you can't use that for food. And you need things to sustain yourself. You need possessions.

They say even the Buddha knows which bowl is his.

[Speaker 1]
And so it's very difficult to sustain yourself, to have things and sustain them without getting wrapped up in them, without getting worried about what's mine and not yours and fighting for them. But Ben, what's in that bowl that you're holding? My refrigerator.

I know which refrigerator is mine. Does that have anything to do with sustaining your body? Anything?

There seems to be a correlation. I'm loathe to say nothing. I'm afraid that if I said it had nothing to do with it, then I would be denying that I have through mere label.

There is a deceptive relationship between the food and the body. I think so. I do struggle with that.

It is difficult to balance these things. Is my body kept alive through food in a way that is merely labeled? Yes, and I think so.

And maybe that's why perhaps one would do without food, but I'm not. I don't think. It seems like that would be maybe merpa.

It would be maybe denying more than I should deny to say that there's no relationship between food and my body. And maybe that's why I personally struggle with my food addiction or with stuff addiction in general, because you need. It seems like you need stuff.

Seems like it. Yeah, I totally agree. It seems like it.

But I don't think it does. No, not even. A merely labeled relationship between bodies and food.

What was the quote that we had at the beginning? Like a dream, like an illusion, like a city in a cloud. So it started.

So it's stopping staying. So it's stopping. Talk to me.

Oh, that's an answer. I mean, you think that by do we think that by? Yes, we do think that by eating a piece of cheese or some scrambled eggs or whatever it is we like to eat.

How would you know what I had for breakfast? Which maybe not. But anyway, that, oh, there it's made of these constituent parts and these contain certain nutrients that are tiny, teeny, tiny particles of things that are nutrients that when they interact with the cells inside my body, they give them sustenance and allow them to continue to function as a body that can translate ancient languages into English.

Yeah. That's a story.

[Speaker 2]
It is. It is. I mean, but this is the story.

[Speaker 1]
I just read an article of some priest who was trying to fast for longer than Jesus, specifically, and he died. And so he was still labeling this connection strongly enough, merely labeled. But but that label was strong enough that.

Now, whether it's his label or my label, I don't know. But my label of his label. But he so he died.

We have to affirm deceptive reality. What about the laws of how karma works? And what what is the sort of the features of a karma being able to ripen immediately like that?

Like not eating death, that it would happen that quickly. It would be very powerful. It would be.

Maybe if you are someone who is. Serving a llama or something, would that make your cause and effect? Fast?

I don't know. Typically, no, we would say that there's a there's a gap between cause and effect, although. I'm right for it to happen really quickly, like everything has to be done.

And I'm going to say perfectly not like right and wrong, but perfectly in the sense of with the highest possible motivation. Yes. With the highest possible understanding of the nature of reality.

That's not how I eat a pizza. Yeah. With the highest possible thing you could do, like highest possible action of the greatest benefit to the highest possible object, like the view has to be very high.

I mean, I don't know, maybe wanting to be, you know, a bigger holdout than Jesus. That might be a high view. I don't.

Maybe it was a different view. Nobody tried to fast for 45 days, though. If it's just, you know, for me, don't do it for yourself, but do it for me.

For me, keep feeding yourself for now. And then who knows what's possible. But for my sake, do me a favor, and nobody stop eating yet.

I don't know if I can sustain the view that makes it safe. But it's an interesting question, you know, whether or not someone could, but not the way I eat pizza. Yeah, we have to sort of like end with where I'm over time, but I just want to end before we go over to Juan, just to say that, yeah, we are, if you're anything like me, you are forced by the ripening of your past actions and thoughts and words to have the experiences that you're having.

And like, that's what we have to deal with. Is that how things really are? No.

But that is how things really are being experienced by you, by me. So we have to do what's smart. Juan, are you here?

[Speaker 2]
Yeah, I am. Wonderful. Good to see you all.

And thank you very much for the talk. I know these last words really struck me in the sense of, yeah, to do what I, I know, because, I mean, we're going to go into that in a few minutes, but Adam and I are in Kyoto and we've been presenting some topics on the first book that Geshe-la and Adam translated, the Opening a Door to Emptiness. And it's like this thing, it's really funny because things do work because we have the seeds for them to work in a certain way.

It's like, I agree. It's like, for now, we have to keep eating. We have to keep feeding ourselves.

We have to be taking care because for whatever random reason, we have the seeds for that to work for us right now. And until we don't change our seeds to force us to perceive a different reality or situation, it's smart, as you say, to keep playing with those rules. Don't put your hand inside the fire until you're very, very sure that that fire is not hot and burning anymore.

Something like that.

[Speaker 1]
They're not random, by the way, but, but yeah.

[Speaker 2]
Totally. Yeah, you're right. Not random, but I'm saying like random in the sense like we cannot access, or at least I cannot directly like, oh, what I need, who I didn't take care of very well.

So now I'm forced to need to eat food. I don't know. You know what I'm trying to say?

Yeah.

[Speaker 1]
Yeah.

[Speaker 2]
Not random, you're right, because there are very specific karmic correlations. I will say that, of course, produce results, which is another deep topic that we could go into, because how can something really produce a result? Who knows?

But speaking about karmic correlations, I want also to present that right now, in regards to Diamond Cutter Press, we have available the book, All Kinds of Karma, which is a very beautiful presentation on many different karmic correlations. This is a sutra, meaning that it's like a teaching that Lord Buddha himself taught. So it's very, very beautiful to access this content like that and to see.

I have taken a look, haven't read it completely, but for sure have spent some time with it, playing with it. Our dear friend Gina Rivera, she worked for many years doing the copying the draws from the Burubudur palace, or how to call it, temple, stupas, and then she put them into the book. Anyways, amazing, beautiful correlations, all kinds of things, how to be everything, how to be more healthy, how to be more beautiful.

Hey, check this out, by the way, sometimes things are unexpected, like one of the karmic correlations for beauty is to, at least the book says, is to give new cooking utensils to people, give them presence of new cooking, like pans and stuff like that, pots. We can't figure it out why, what's the essence behind that, but just saying like you will find very interesting things, how to make money, how to lose money, all kinds of karma. And if you're interested in this, I really recommend it, you can follow the QR code.

Now we have this special use code for a pre-order, but the pre-order is going to finish on March 27th, so it's like in three or four days, depending where you are right now, but check it out, it's really, really worth it. If you cannot get it this time, you can also find the online version on the Diamond Cutter Press website. Okay, and next thing I would like to talk about, as I was just mentioning, Adam and I are in Kyoto, among other people, like Nick is here as well, Tim Lowenhaupt is here, Geshe-la of course, Xiaoping, Stanley, many more people.

This time, Adam and I are presenting this, maybe like the first series of the G-Box project, where a translator gets together with one of the teachers and then presents the materials, the content of this book. So here I'm just sharing the poster for two reasons, mainly, you can watch the recordings, we have already done two sessions. The recordings are now available on YouTube, on the Diamond Cutter Classics YouTube channel, you can watch the recordings following this QR code, or just go to the Diamond Cutter Classics, the Tibetan language channel in YouTube, you can find them there in many different languages.

And if you want, today is going to be the last class, you can follow the QR code to register for Zoom. If you're in Kyoto, you're welcome to come, we are having the sessions at the Ace Hotel. And just to show you a little bit, a few pictures of how the event has been going.

Yeah, this is CSP, as you know, is also having sessions. This was two days ago, three days ago, Geshe-la invited Adam and I to the stage, we had a fun talk, Geshe-la played with us like this wonderful debate. You can watch the recording, this is a part of Stanley's class.

At the end of the class, it was when this happened, it was very fun. And Geshe-la gave a wonderful introduction to the book, and opening these questions on why are these topics the door to emptiness? And why the very first debates that we approach in this book are red and white.

Yeah, next picture, please. This is Adam, yesterday sharing a wonderful, wonderful class. I was a little worried that audience will not be able to follow up because Adam is going deep.

And then at the end of the class, everyone was super happy, like perfect. And I was like, okay, Adam, I owe you an apology. I was misjudging, but audience super, super happy.

Next picture, please. That's, yeah, Geshe-la advertising or showing everyone the book. Now, we had some printed copies, but all of them run out.

We will later see if we can print more. But for now, you can get a copy if you follow the QR code as well. And just the introduction, let me tell you, I've been working on it.

It's really, really beautiful, really, really wonderful introductions. The topics that I'm little by little getting more familiar with them. Also, very great tools to have to improve our daily life, really.

So, yeah, once again, if you want to either watch the class on Zoom or come live or watch the recordings, there are the QR codes. Okay, and what else is happening here? As I say, CSP is having sessions.

They are about to finish sessions, but next, DSEU is going to start their new session for the next upcoming week. After that, about April the 2nd, Geshe-la and team, not team, Geshe-la and their team of production go to the Dunhuang caves to have the AR events. And just heads up, the very first event on AR this time is going to be open to all audiences online.

So it's going to be a kind of, I will say like an open talk. You can register for this talk. Most likely, I'm guessing it's going to be April the 9th.

More information will come soon about it, but just heads up, it's going to be like the grand opening of this project. Everyone is welcome. I will recommend following these QR codes and then you will get more information there.

Here, we will try to keep you informed as well. And also, if you want to go live in person attending these events, registrations are still available. Okay.

After they go to China, they come back to wonderful Arizona land and we are going to have the first event of the series of four events that are preparing us for the teachings on 2026 of the Diamond Way, Geshe-la is preparing for us. So April 17th to the 27th, we're going to have the very first event of the series. The New Beginnings of the Five Houses.

Geshe-la is going to be teaching from Diamond Mountain. And yes, this is the list of four events I'm talking about. Diamond Mountain in April.

Then Mexico is in July. We go to Phoenix. We haven't been, I think like officially in Phoenix since, I mean, in an event since 2015 probably.

And then Kyoto, again, Japan in December. So you can attend live or online. Both are valid, but to me, probably live is more fun, but also online may be more comfortable for some of you.

Okay. And what else? DSCU is having very special events upcoming very, very soon in a few days.

So with us, we have today Edmond to share with us what they are planning. It's like a final graduation ceremony. Everyone is welcome.

And they have another special event coming up. So if the tech table could help me spotlight Edmond. Hello, Edmond.

[Speaker 3]
Yeah. Hi. Hi, Juan.

Yeah. Hi. Nice to see you.

You. Yeah. And now, yeah, as Juan have mentioned that Gershela and many other friends are in Kyoto.

And actually where DSU is very, have very, very good news for all people and invite them. Because as you know, we have just finished, almost finished our first cohort, which our students will be graduate on the 29th of March. And then we will have a very, very grand graduation ceremony on.

Yeah. Yeah. You can see this poster.

We will have a global live broadcast. Welcome everybody to join, which will be in Kyoto time starting at 10 AM Kyoto time. And by the end of the ceremony, Gershela will give a very, very important speech.

And yeah, you're, everybody's welcome to join. And also after our graduation ceremony, we will have another event, which will be open live wisdom class. This is another event, which will welcome people who are interested in registration of our next cohorts and also some of other friends to join.

This will be a one day course, which, and then during this, this session, Gershela, Xiaoping, Stanley will start the teaching of our next group. And then, I mean, the class will, it is the first time that Gershela teach our Shadowsphere Leaders Program and our also the first teaching of our Young Leaders Program and also our MBA program too. And, but of course these three programs, the formal, the official start of the three program will be in June this year.

So if you are interested in this program, you are also welcome to register and then you can have a taste of how this, how the classes of these three programs will be delivered before you join the program. Yeah. This is the two big event we are going to have.

So here is the QR code. This one is for the Give a Prism course and the previous one is for our graduation ceremony.

[Speaker 2]
Okay. So can we watch the first, the previous? Yeah.

Yeah. The previous poster. So I'm noticing it's in Kyoto time.

If you're in Asia, let's put it that way. It's going to be on Saturday, Saturday morning. Yeah.

And if you are in United States or I don't know, in maybe Europe, American continent, it's Friday night. Yeah, yeah, yeah. People can log in.

And if people are, if question is, if people are around, can, are they welcome to go to that live?

[Speaker 3]
You mean in Kyoto?

[Speaker 2]
Mm-hmm.

[Speaker 3]
Yeah. We'll still have some limited seats, but if you're in, you are in now in Kyoto, please let us know as soon as possible because we have our, the space is, we still have some, a few seats, but yeah. Okay.

Everybody's welcome to join online. Yeah.

[Speaker 2]
Perfect. Perfect. Perfect.

Okay. Thank you very much, Edmond. Hopefully I'll see you soon.

Most likely, if everything goes well, let's go to, I think now it's Nick, Nicholas Shaw. He's also in Japan, by the way, so he can, well, he already told you how it's going for him. Thank you so much and see you soon.

Good to see you Nick again. I'll see you in a little bit. All right.