Let Go the Boundary

Good morning, everyone. Happy to see you all today. Is this your first time in a Buddhist temple? Okay. Yeah? Not for you? You've been there? But everyone has meditated before? Okay. Is it different? Different type of meditation? Than what it is? Okay. Now, just a quick explanation of what we're trying to do here is to train our mind to become more present and to be more open to the present moment. So I like to call it, it is mindfulness. I like to call it more of open awareness, to simply be the witness of what is. The reason we train our minds that way is because we're always reacting. to what's happening to what's happening to other people. So in order to even become more proactive, less reactive, we have to be first, be present. And we have to train our mind to allow everything to be as is. And that may sound like I'm asking you to become passive, submissive, but it's not. When we can allow what already is, to be what it is, then we can decide what we need to do more consciously, instead of just reacting with negative energy, negative reaction, we can see for what it is, and then decide what is beneficial for me to do right now. The question, what do I do right now?

Instead of worrying about what might happen. regretting what had already happened, or reacting with anger, frustration, all those negative emotions, which is based on my own judgment. Right? So, we have to increase our levels of self-awareness. Ultimately, all Buddhist practices lead to self-awareness. Whether you do shamatha practice, vipassana practice, whether you do Dzogchen, zen inquiry meditation, it's all about paying attention to oneself. Mindfulness, the way the Buddha taught mindfulness is the four establishment of mindfulness. Satipatthana. Sutta talks about paying attention to one's body first. We use our breath and observe. And then, your feelings, tinkering. That includes your emotions and your thoughts, number three. And then, number four is your experiences, the dharma. Basically, all of that is paying attention to yourself, actually. So the right mindfulness is really about paying attention to myself so that I can become more familiar with our own self. To a point where you can answer the question, what is this?

What am I? What am I? Anybody have the answer for that? For the newly attending folks? You didn't see that when you looked in? What am I? What am I? So there's an exercise we did on Wednesday, I'm going to share with you as well. It may be a little bit too deep for some people, or even for the ego, to really experience.

You can come up to the chair. So first recognize the space in here. Recognize the space right here in this room. If I asked you right now in your mind to create a line dividing up this room, you can do that, right? Draw a line. Divide this room up. As soon as you draw that line in your mind, then what do you get? You have a right side of the room and left side of the room. It becomes dualistic. Even this room itself, when we think about the room, because we already have in our mind this room, the walls that creates this room, we've already done it. We divide up the space from the entire space to this room. When we divide it, this right room and this left room, right side and left side, which didn't exist until we drew that line. If I draw a big circle right here, follow my finger, there's a circle. Visualize a circle, a solid circle. Okay? As soon as you visualize the circle, there's inside and there's outside of that circle. You see that? Yeah. So, what we're doing when we're drawing this line, is that we're creating boundaries. Right? We're creating boundaries of inside and outside, left side and right side, or my right, your left. Even that's relative, right? Yeah.

Everything is relative, in a way dualistic, relative. That's how we live our life. That's why we create this boundary of me. That's why it's hard to recognize the empty space by itself. Because we're always drawing boundaries. drawing has been done for so long that we believe in that boundary as me, based on that boundary, right? Everyone has a boundary. And that's what creates that identity, self-identity,

right? Yeah. So, and what we also call me, myself, and I. Where does your boundary start? Where is your boundary end? Where do you draw the line to define that me? Think about that. If you don't want to answer, you don't have to answer, but if you want to answer, you can answer. Where does me stop? And where does not me begin? Anybody? Anybody? Want to share? Your body? Yeah, that's typical. Yeah. What part of the body? This exterior skin? Yeah. Yeah. But are you your body? Just like you said, my body. Right? And this body has been changing throughout your life, right? You're not even the same body where you were born, right? If you compare. Because at the cellular level, everything has been reconstructed. You've been completely transformed to another body. That's reincarnation. Yeah. You've been reborn without knowing you've been reborn. Everyone's transformed. So the typical reincarnation, rebirth that we talk about, I like to call it more of a karmic transformation.

Because your body has changed completely to a new person almost. Right? You are a new person. If you just simply look at the body. Based on what we ate, what we did, what we learned, all of that. Right? Our activities, our thoughts, has created this body. So those are the karma. That's what karma is. The supporting conditions manifesting. When the conditions are ripened into an experience. So whatever you're experiencing right now, based on all those choices that we made, whether it was done consciously or unconsciously, and we're identifying with it. Even though it's still changing. Even though you claim yourself to be this body right now, and it's still changing. And you have to keep on reclaiming and reclaiming and reclaiming. If you want to claim the body as that. What about the mind?

Anybody claiming their mind to be me? Anybody? No? Just your body? Your spirit? Where is that at? Wherever you want it to be. Wherever you want it to be. So it's a belief, right? Do you know for sure? Feeling? Do you know for sure? Yeah, so we always rely on our belief concepts, what we've been told, and that's what creates belief. And that's why the Buddha said, don't even believe what I say. Don't believe it because it's in ancient books, somebody noble said it. You got to see it for yourself. You got to see it, experience it for yourself to develop that wisdom, that insight. Yeah. I'm not asking you to believe what I'm saying, but look. Look and see if you can see it for real. Is this what I am?

You know? Yes, ma'am. So your original question was, where do I stop, and where do others begin, or is that? Yeah, where does, where does, where does, where does, where does me stop and not me begin? No, just, just the question itself. Yeah, in existence. The reason I ask that question is for you to take a look, take a look, and everybody has probably different concepts, whether it's a soul, you know, whether it's spirit, whatever you want to conceptualize it as. That's why when we did the meditation, I asked everyone to let go, those concepts, concepts and ideals. Why? Because they're just concepts. They're ideals. But we get so attached to our ideals and concepts that we make it into a reality. But when you take a look, when you take a closer look, there's nothing to show for it other than a thought.

Right? Just like your identity. If you get hit in the head and you lost all your memories, How are you going to define yourself when you can't even remember your name? Right? So it's our memories, our stories that we are holding onto to define what I am. But that's just merely an ideal or projection of the mind. So how do we not draw the, how do we erase the boundary? How do we dissolve this ego to realize, truly realize, what I truly am? What am I really?

We have to look. We have to really look closely. Just like any other scientist would do when they're trying to study something they've never seen before. You have to observe, right? But first of all, you have to want to know. Majority of the people don't care about it. what they truly are. But this teaching from the Buddha is about that. It's about realizing. Because if we don't know, you're basically living under your own assumptions and illusion. Right? Of this so-called self. And the consequences of that is all the sufferings we endure in our life. Why do we feel lonely? Because there's me, and therefore I need somebody else. Everything is relative. We're living a relative life. Instead of realizing. What would happen if there was no boundary? What would exist if we took out that line we drew? There's no longer a right and left. Let this wall fall apart. How would you define here?

Infinite. Infinite. Infinite. But infinite is also a concept, right? How would you define now when you don't look at it by moment by moment? And why would you look at it that way? Because you have to ask yourself, what is now? Right? We know what past is, right? What just happened is past. Does it exist? Does it exist? No, right? Anybody agree, not disagree that it doesn't exist? Maybe in your memory, faded memory, but it doesn't exist anymore. Future doesn't exist anymore. But if you look at now as a moment, you're trying to figure out something that exists that in between two things that doesn't exist. Past and the future. Where does that lie? Present moment? Yeah. But where does that exist? That's one way of looking at it. That's when we create the boundary of present moment versus past and the future. But if you look closely enough, that now is also a concept. Right?

It's a concept we have. But there's only, for lack of a better term, there's only now. Whatever we're experiencing is the only thing we can experience. Does that make sense? But we divide up a boundary of the past, present, and future. That's the dualistic, relative way of looking and perceiving the world. And here, by defining our boundaries. We're always setting boundaries all the time. Not just imaginary line, but this boundary of me, myself, and I. That's ever-changing also. So how do we know?

What am I? For real? The reality. Not just what I believe in. We have to transcend that. Boundaries. Just like You know, we have boundaries of the countries, right? When you look at a map. But when you go outside the Earth, when you transcend that, what do you see? You just see one Earth. Just one planet. Right? There's no line drawn anywhere. There's no boundary. When you look at it as a whole. Same thing with the galaxy. Continues to see the entire universe. As here. As here. That's true here. That's true here. It's the entirety. Everything. That goes the same thing for this so-called awareness. Yeah. So the answer. You're going to turn this into a concept, but still, it's everything and all that is as a whole. If only we stop drawing those boundaries.

So we have to transcend that boundaries that we set to realize our true self, true essence is all that is right here. But we are so entrenched in this identity. Even with that concept, we're trying to find identity. Well, maybe I am everything. I am the universe. That's still an identity. That's still a concept. It's all within the mind. Does that make sense? So how do we really find our true self? It's by looking. Looking inward. We're so used to looking outward for everything, right? Because of our senses and our head. Look at all the senses we have just in our head. Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, you know? There's other parts of the body that it touches, but still, everything. All of our five senses. And the sixth sense.

All six senses are right here. That's why even when you close your eye, you think you're right here behind your eyes, right? Doesn't it feel like that? Your identity is behind your eyes when you close your eyes, right? Yeah. When you close your eyes for a second, where am I? Probably right behind the eyelids, right? Yeah, so that's why I think that we're the brain. No, that's just an organ. Yes? So, actually, this is something that I struggle with, is that concept where when we

try to make an effort to live in the present, to live very consciously of our choices, but there are a lot of things that may be like obstacles. There's another part of me, where it's very much like, just let everything go, it doesn't matter, but that in itself is also the contradiction to me trying to pursue a conscious life, where I want to live.

Because your conscious life is based on your judgment, that it should be this way. That's why it's hard. If you simply let it be, and ask what is truly beneficial, but normal, people don't realise your own positionality, like my way of thinking, my way of opinions, my way of being, what is right and wrong. So when you say I'm trying to live consciously, you're making conscious choice to live that way. Right? That's based on your own boundaries. It's not right and it's not wrong. It's just a choice you make is based on that boundary of your set. So what we're saying is to be free from that is to be free. So what am I? I'm not defined unless you define it, then you become that what you define to be. This little me and this little body instead of this boundless, all that is as a whole.

I do believe in planting seeds. And how do we let go if we don't do the things that we believe in, that plant the seeds that ripple into the future? How do we let go and we just allow things to be? No, no, no. That's why a lot of people misunderstand. Letting things be is not becoming passive and becoming submissive. You know? Let somebody hurt you, you know? Let somebody do something horrible. It's not that. That's not what I'm saying about letting it be. Letting it be is myself. How I feel about things. Everybody's gonna be where they are, who they are. You can't change anybody. So, allowing them to be who they are, or the situation is already that. Right? What already is, is what already is. You know how some people go, ah, it is what it is.

You know, but what we're saying is be positive. It is what it is. Now, you have a choice. Make a conscious choice to do what is beneficial. Okay? Not just based on my opinion, but what is beneficial to everyone. To people that are around me. Whether they follow this philosophy or not. Whether they train their mind or not. We're trying to train our mind to become more open, more flexible. Because it provides the peace of mind. Simply by letting people be who they are, what they choose to do. But I'm only focused on what do I need to do. Right now, right here. To be here, present. Train the mind to be present, to be open. Because when you're present, you're taking a step back to your own true essence.

Very small circle of people that I can associate with. That's also a choice you're making. You don't have to, though. There can be multiple different types of relationships. Right? But if I say my boundary is right here, then that's the choice you make. Not right or wrong. That's just what you created for your life. Right? So we can be open to a lot of and allow other people to do, be, and still focus on what I need to do. Yeah. Yeah. I know it's hard. Sometimes it's too hard to grasp because we're already in the boundary. That's why to, to erase the boundary that you've already just created is not possible. We have to transcend that. That's why letting go is so hard. talks about how I want to let go my ego, but it's so hard, so hard because you're trying

to grab and then try to let go something that you're already holding on to. All you have to do is recognize that there's nothing I can really hold on to anyways. Based on the three laws, we know that law of impermanence, law of non-self. Law of impermanence means everything is transitory. Everything is changing. Everything is transitory. You know how fast transitory is? It's like now. Gone, right? That's how fast transitory everything is. But we use our mind to project solidity of anything and trying to hold on to it. That's what's causing suffering. And non-self means there's no independence. self, like soul. Because everything is dependent on everything else. The supporting condition, the karmic conditions is what manifests everything. There's nothing. Can you think of anything? I ask this question a lot. Anything that can exist without depending on anything else? Is there anything?

materialistic existence cannot exist without depending on something else? Even down to the atomic level, it relies on something else. Even the Higgs boson, the god particle, relies on the Higgs field, which is just potentiality. Everything depends on everything else to exist. Just simply by knowing that means everything just conditional. Everything comes and goes. Transitory. Based on the supporting condition, comes and goes. Nice, cool breeze on a hot summer day. Feels good, right? But what if you're trying to hold on to that breeze? Is that possible? No, right? Everybody knows that. If I told you to hold on to it, would you be able to? No. But we think about everything else as something we can hold on to. What did you come with when you were born? What are you going to take with you when you die? Nothing, right?

Nothing. You can't have anything. That's what it means. Nothing. But because of our definition, our boundary that we create, we're having We have to live through the consequences of that. Anxiety, fear, frustration, anger, breakups, loneliness, resentment. Anybody really want to feel those? Are you actively choosing that? No, right? We just have to experience that. Because of the boundaries that we've set, there's needs that come about from that. There's craving that comes about. Because to me, I need this. I have to have this. That's why this life is never satisfactory. That's the third law, law of suffering, law of non-satisfaction. Yeah. I think we'll be happy when you have certain amount or certain ways. But there's always going to be more. Yes?

One opinion. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm not saying you're right. It's how much we put the weight into that is what we're going to do. So focus on what you can change. Activism really comes from trying to change everybody else. Right? And the best way, best way to make our society so-called better, peaceful, more joyful, is to raise the level of our consciousness. That is the best way. That's why I came back, because then you'll have the wisdom to see things as is, not just opinions, not just beliefs, that's what's right and wrong, but actual wisdom. Wisdom is being able to see for what it is, as it is. Not adding all those values. Through our own filtering system. Right? Everybody here has their own filtering system. Right? The way you perceive the world. Right? That means you're creating your own world right now. Everyone here has their own individual world that they live in. Even though we may share some common opinions, but if we started talking about a certain topic that's worldly, everybody's going to come into different opinions about it. We're gonna have a big argument because everybody sees it differently. And that's what we have to allow. Because that's just the way it is. Everybody's going to have their own opinions. Everybody's going to have their own perceptions because they don't see it as this. They don't even see themselves as this. That's the root. Root cause. Before we talk about the environment, before we talk about the peace movements, right, which is our desire, we have to first understand, what is this? We don't even know ourself. You can't even answer what that is, but we tend to think we know everything else without knowing what is that that knows?

What is that that feels? What is that? Once you know that, your level of consciousness is higher, so you have wisdom and compassion at the same time. So our pathway is like train track with wisdom and compassion. Compassion, the true compassion is when you see the wholeness, therefore, you don't want anybody to suffer, right? Because they are all part of this one wholeness. Therefore, that's why we reach out to alleviate other suffering. And all suffering, cause of suffering, is our own craving for what we desire and what we don't want. Desire and aversions, okay? And that comes from this meanness, this individuality. Instead of being able to see the ocean, entire ocean, we're only looking at each wave and being identified. with it. So we have to first wake up. Wake up to the truth. What is? Being able to see things as is. So we don't follow our ego's way of being to achieve and attain for myself and to protect my own. That's it. That's why we have to have compassion, altruistic mind to be able to achieve and attain for myself and to protect my own. That's it. That's why we have to have compassion, altruistic mind to be able to achieve and attain for myself and to protect my own. That's it.

to be considerate, to be kind, to expand that boundary that we've set for ourselves. Everyone has boundaries. How do we increase that boundary? That's why on our practice guideline, I keep encouraging random acts of kindness. You know, how do we become more kind and helpful? How do we make positive impacts on other people's lives? Is what question we should be asking? That should be the intention for everyone. If you want to be truly be happy. You can't find happiness when you're just kind of clutching, trying to protect just myself. Why? Because that brings about fear and anxiety. It brings about judgment about others. But when you open up, that's when you'll find true peace of mind and joyful heart. Peace and joy comes from Letting it be. Peace of mind comes from letting things be. Meaning letting go. Your negative energy. Joyful heart comes from when we're altruistic, when we're considerate, when we're kind, when we're trying to take care of others, alleviate other people's

suffering. So the practice we do for all of that is to give. Right? To volunteer. To utilize. This energy that I have for others. Okay? And Buddha himself, just so that, you know, it's not me saying this. So the highest level of giving is giving of the dharma. That's why supporting, you know, a center, supporting the sangha, the community that's practitioners, all of that creates a lot of positive karmic energy. positive karmic merits for yourself so that you can work through all those obstacles you have in your life. Okay? So during the Buddha's time, for the lay devotees, there weren't practitioners, really. So really, he only gave two things to them. Generosity, dana, generosity. Okay? Be generous, and live by your shila. He gave five precepts to the lay people that were following him. You know, nowadays, everyone practices meditation and awakening. I think our level of consciousness as a whole has risen where we can do that. And science also is helping us to understand better than the old 2,500 years ago, you know.

So, but remember, those are the basic foundation for your own practice. Generosity and living by ethical, you know, moral codes that he provided. That's how you discipline the mind. That's how you generate the positive karmic energy to be able to even practice. Yeah. So without that, jumping into meditation actually hurts some people.

There are people that actually gets mental illness or meditation. So it's not for everybody. You have to develop that compassionate heart. So the reason you're practicing is for the benefit of everybody. That's why I emphasize intention, right? Intention. Everyone's purpose of their life, if you're seeking purpose, should be to make a positive impact on other people's lives. If you can set that as your intention, then your life will start to align towards that, create that path. The more you're empowered by making the vows every day, saying, I'm going to live mindfully and compassionately for the benefit of others, to make a positive impact on other people's lives, that creates that direction, your life direction that way. So you'll have more opportunity to help people. Your capacity will also grow. You're going to attract positive experience.

experiences because you're being positive. Like energy attracts like energy. That's how you create synchronicity also. Just even the worldly sense of the world and your own experiences. If you want to live positively, if you want to live, even if you say, I want to live wealthy, then you've got to give. To create that supporting condition. To enjoy that experience. You have to have a causal condition for that. So focus on that causal condition, the karma, to be able to create that experience. You want more peace in your life? You want a better relationship? Be that. Be that first. You want the world to be peaceful? Find that peace within first. You have to find that peaceful world, that individual world that I talked about. You have to find that peace first. How can we go out there with a picket and, you know, demand peace when we don't have peace within? We're just showing our anger for our disagreements that we have. We're not making any positive impact. So, if you truly want to make a positive impact, then first focus on your own peace, your own joy. But it takes a little practice, right? Because we have our own habitual way to live.

We have our own way of being. It's been creating all these karmic conditions for us to

experience all these negativities. Yeah. So, the most basic practice is to come back to the present moment, to be open. Then decide, how do I transform this to be more positive, to be more beneficial? Make sense? Okay, I went a little beyond. time. Any questions? Any clarification needed? I'm not asking you to be a nice person. Don't get that. Alright? I'm asking you to do what is necessary to make your life positive. It's almost like, it's more, it seems to me that it's much more internal work. Yes. Work rather than trying to change somebody or make them stronger or believe itself. As compared to other religions, then it's just a cycle. Yes. Yes. It's all about internal work. That's all it is. Now, even as we take care of the sangha, others, it's about our internal work. Because we're working on our compassion. Yeah. So it's better to call Buddhism more of a science of mind than religion. There's a religious aspect of it, but...

Does Buddhism have a part where you're saying, okay, this is where this ends and this is where I begin? You know what I'm saying? Or that just being compliant. No, I'm going to confuse myself. I think I'm thinking too much. Thank you. It takes the time to observe this. That's why I repeat a lot of these concepts over and over. Yes, ma'am. How do we avoid it becoming a transactional, if I do good, I would be rewarded? Oh, yeah, yeah. Versus the genuine intention. Right. It just takes practice. That's why we do the metta meditation, the prayers. Continue to do that prayer every day, and then until it becomes really sincere, you know? So we're sincerely praying for everyone. You know, think about those people that are causing suffering right now, you know?

We could watch the news right now and be perturbed by that, what's going on, right? See if we can become compassionate towards that person, to those people. See if we can do that, work on that. That's how we shift our way of being. That's how we increase the boundary. And then keep questioning yourself with this practice. As you're present, as you're open-hearted, what is this that I'm trying to take care of? Being transactional, what is that? And when you go to that don't know state, I don't know what it is. That's good. Maintain that. Okay? I'll touch lightly on that for now, but as you practice this continuously,

then you'll get to a state where you can truly ask that question sincerely, not just out of curiosity. Okay? Okay, so we're going to go downstairs and do a tea time. You're more than welcome to join us until one o'clock. So we're going to end this with our metta prayer. So if you can bring your palms together and repeat after me. May all beings be safe. May all beings be peaceful. May all beings be joyful. May all beings awaken to their true nature. May all beings be free. Have a wonderful weekend.