Stay On The Path

Good evening everyone. Good to see everyone here today. So I'll try something different today. So you can do that with your beat, to do 108 times. That mantra is a very powerful mantra to incite, invoke the great compassion within us. And Avalokiteshvara, with thousand eyes and thousand hands, just represents, thousand represents infinite, really, infinite hands and eyes to see the suffering and to relieve the suffering. And it's really representative of our own innate capacity, our own innate, unconditional love and compassion. And mantra Om Mani Padme Hum is to invoke that, which is already within us. So when you finally reach the point where your ego is dissolved, then all that's left is love and compassion. It's not for anybody. It's for all. All is one.

And it's really not even one. It's the wholeness, really. Wholeness is closer to describe that.

Because everything that exists, exists depending on everything else. Everything is interdependent on everything else. I know you don't see that right now. But that's the truth. It's not just that everything is supported by supporting conditions or causal conditions. When you see the causal conditions that are supported by other causal conditions, other causal conditions, continuously you see that interdependent nature of all that is.

that dependent existence, dependent origination, another word for it is, codependent, interdependent, co-arising, is what the Buddha was enlightened about, the nature of the reality. Everything is interdependent. So you can say they're interconnected. They're interconnected, interwoven, because everything is interdependent. And the reason we don't see that is because we see ourself as an individual self.

That has become habitual way to identify ourself. and in order to see the reality, the truth, we have to dissolve that wrong view. That mistaken view. That mistaken identity. That's why when you ask yourself, even though there's a thought of I, there's this sense of beingness, when you look into it,

you can't find anything to justify that. Right? Anybody found it? Found that answer? What is this? Or what am I? But when you look, and look, and look, into that awareness, you'll see this. You'll start to gain that perspective without any boundary. When you're fully present, when you're fully present, you become the presence.

So here and now, even though at this moment you see it as space and time, right? There's no longer space and time now. But when you're truly here, without any boundary that you set, you transcend the space and time because here has no boundary.

It's infinite. Now has no boundary. Therefore, it's eternal, which is always. So when you are truly with no boundary, you are. I am. Without any boundary. Boundless, I guess, is the word. But no words, no concept can truly describe that. That's why you have to realize the truth.

You can't understand it. You think you understand it. There may be people with some glimpses into it, and they wrap their mind around it. They feel like they understand it. This is why we stay with the don't know mind. Don't know. What happens when you ask when you don't know?

They're simply looking. That's it. And we ask again, "What is this?" There's nothing there. What is this? Don't know. And you stay with that don't know mind. And continue to investigate, investigate, until the wall crashes down. Okay? The boundaries dissolve. Ego is no longer.

And that's the death of the ego that we must experience. And initially, that will also come back. And you continue to experience it. But this is why we're practicing simply witnessing, without any judgment. Simply witnessing, without any judgment. Because judgment is what? Thinking mind.

You're getting fooled by all those perceived notions and concepts, and beliefs and assumptions. That's happening in the mind, to judge. And all you have to do is to see what is, for what it is. So we have to train our mind. And if you can't do that right away, then you have to admit, I must train the mind.

So understanding that intention,

and training the mind, is different, than just meditating, just for the sake of meditating. And this practice, you'll find that it's very inconvenient, for many of you, to stay committed, to stay consistent. it's very inconvenient, to do it every morning, the puja every morning.

And a lot of people, we're so used to being, finding things, convenient ways to do things, easier, faster ways to do things, that our ego will start to resist this. And as I go in, more in deep into this, truth, people with strong ego, will resist this.

And they'll have, they don't consciously say, "Oh, I don't like this." But other things will pop up, and create these obstacles. And the goals start dropping off. That's why I hesitated for a long time, to go in deep. But I think, after having this program for a year now, I need to at least plant the seeds of the truth.

So if you recognize that you don't see that, then recognize that you need to practice. That's where the repent comes in. Repent. Our repent is not a regret or finding blame. It's simply recognizing where I am and setting the intention. Okay? setting the intention, making a vow to be awake to the truth.

The only thing we're really devoted from this practice, our devotion is to the truth. It's not to anything else. Buddha is a guide, as he says, like a doctor providing a prescription. You have to take the medicine no matter how bitter it is.

So this work takes commitment and consistency. Okay? That's why I keep mentioning to reflect and provide that daily reflection every single, every single day. Because without it, you don't even know that you're off the path. And if you do it your own way, then I can't help you.

But you need a teacher. You need a guide. You can't do this spiritual work on your own because your ego will take over. As soon as you make some progress, that spiritual ego will become only stronger. So there are those that are reading a lot, very interested in spiritual work, that are looking all this, you know, looking up all this information and they're filling up their cup.

and they feel like they know, "Hey, I understand this." and I tell them it's not, they get offended. That's the indicator of your ego, right there. Okay? I'm not saying you have to do and just believe whatever I say, but at least try it out.

Do the practice and see if it's beneficial. Stick with it. Stay on the path. Stay on the path. Okay? So I can't emphasize enough. For those of you who've understood everything, who see it, realize, yeah, you don't need to practice. But if you don't have that answer right now, then it's gonna take practice, right?

Yeah. But look at all those that we've been living with our ego as an ego. It's me, myself, and I. So if you're seeking a quick way to enlightenment, that's spiritual ego right there. So, simply put, it's about the identification, but it's not as simple, right, when you're trying to let go of that identification.

There's too much to lose right now for you all. I have nothing to lose.

So, letting go is not throwing things away. It's from our mind, letting everything be as is. Simply being able to be that you are. Okay. And then everything else will come naturally, organically. Because of the intention, it's going to start to pull you to the direction you need to go.

So, make the commitment. If you want to become awakened to the truth, for ultimate liberation, so you can truly benefit others. not your thinking way, but just by simply raising your level of consciousness, you can impact other people. Yeah. We're always trying to figure out, right?

How do I handle this person? How do I improve this relationship? Those are all thought-based, thinking-based. And it's all based on your positionality, your opinion, your view. That's why there's conflict, confrontation, competition. That's why we need wisdom. Wisdom. Beyond intellectual understanding. Wisdom to see.

Wisdom to know, when to not say, when to get involved. Is this beneficial? So we gotta keep practicing that. This is beneficial. To liberation. To awakening. To the intention that I set. That creates true path for this practice. Yeah. Then you can truly embrace the world.

Embrace everybody. Unconditionally.

Yeah. Not just pick and choose who I wanna be. Nice to. Yeah. Does that make sense? Or is it too far off? Yeah. All the sufferings. All the suffering. What does the Noble Truth say? What's the cause for all suffering? Actually. Craving. Yeah. Craving, right?

Craving is, you know, you gotta really, I'm gonna send you guys a video that has a good, explanation. Much, much better in explaining and articulating than I can. So I'm gonna send, and I'm gonna put it up on my band app, so you can see it.

There are a few things that this video has that's not agreeable, but still good enough. It talks about the craving. Buddha talked about three types of craving. You know, first, sense-based craving, right? Sensual, meaning six sense-based. Things that we like and we don't like, you know, that's the craving.

Craving to avoid, craving to have. You know, sense-based. Everybody's aware of that, pretty much, right? Beautiful things, you know, self-touch. All of those, based on six sense, even our imagination. And second is, it's called craving for becoming. To exist is a big thing, right?

We don't want to die. We want to continue to exist. That's why we continue to be born. But not only that, even this life, we want to continue to be something. Right? We're not good enough. That's where that comes from. I need to achieve this.

I need to have this. You know, that becoming, wanting. And then third is the opposite. Trying to escape the reality. Yeah. That craving, that tendency is what's taking us away from this present moment. From the reality. Trying to run away from the suffering instead of experiencing it and dealing with it directly.

So there's this ingrained desire, craving. And it's all based on what? Ignorance. Huh? Ignorance. Ignorance. Not knowing the truth. Yeah. Easily put, because ignorance is so vast, is this sense of I. Ego. That's the true ignorance. Not knowing this true essence. The sense of I, we're identifying with misperception.

The ego. The sense of me-ness, I-ness. That ego is always going to try to keep you away from the truth. You know, it's really the ego that starts you in the past. In a way, saying, I want to be awake. I want to be enlightened.

Or I don't want this suffering. Still I. But as you start to deepen the practice, your awareness of the self increases. It starts to dissolve. And then you're going to fight back. Yeah. With all this stuff that I got to do. With all these responsibilities.

With all these, you know, things happening in my life that's more important. Yeah. Yeah. So, you guys are very special. To come here. To this session. Each session. Every Wednesday or every Saturday. Must have been practitioners in the past lives. Have the strong inclination.

It's a very powerful, very positive karma. Yeah. So don't lose this opportunity. That brought you here. To practice. It's not about me. The fact that you are joining the Sangha. To be able to. Pave the way. For yourself. Based on that intention. So it's going to be inconvenient.

To wake up early. If you need to. To do this. You know. It's very convenient. To say oh. I was too busy this morning. I was too tired. It's understandable. It happens. That's life, right? But if we continue to allow that. Then that's just continuing the path you're going to go to.

That's the flow of direction. Based on your karma. Your ego. It's going to take you to that direction. And that's why we have to keep making the vow to stay on the path. Stay on the path to that intention. For the benefit of all.

And we're awakened to the truth. To anuttara samyak sambodhi. Yeah. Final liberation. For the benefit of all. That's the bodhicitta way. Okay? So, continue to empower that intention that I exist to make positive impact on other people. That I exist. My purpose is to make positive impact.

If that becomes powerful enough, then your tiredness, your inconvenience doesn't weigh as much as how much you care about others. The reason that hasn't shifted is because the me-ness is still weighing much

more than others. Yeah. I know your ego may not like that. Yeah. That's why we need three three conditions for practice. You've got to first have a teacher, you've got to have a, you know, sangha, and you've got to have the right environment. And we're establishing that as we go.

The sangha is very important. It's actually really the most important. Yeah. Sangha. To have a fellow practitioners. That's why you notice when you practice yourself and when you practice with others, and once you start, once we start doing more like a complete silent meditation, like retreat environment, you'll notice that there's a difference when there's people, when you're sitting among others than when you're at home sitting by yourself and meditating. I mean, I notice it.

Yeah. That's why Korea right now probably is the last place that has that continues that Zen tradition of all the monks during the summer for 90 days we gather about 2,000 monks in various different locations practice about 10 hours to 14 hours a day there's certain locations that do 18 hours for 90 days I have a friend monk who did that for 3 years straight and he's self deteriorated at the end but so it's not it's not a bata sitting it's a determination to be able to overcome those inconvenience to be able to really look within and that's how much effort it does take to sit there with the sangha yeah you fidget less when you're with other people too than by yourself that inconvenience is accepted sometimes when you're with others that's why you need sangha and also somebody to depend on you know to encourage we need that community of practitioners so we're establishing that as the time goes and in order to do that your practice has to become genuine sincere earnest otherwise here comes like a hobby something I do once in a while because it makes me feel better which is fine there's no judgment against that but there's no progress in that just simply taking a vacation from chaos and some people just need that much that's it and if you choose that that's fine too yeah there's no no judgment against that but if you really want to be relieved of the suffering that will come and go all the time and those those that make progress they find that comfortableness because you're building a lot of positive karma and you got to a point where you can kind of see things as they are you know and that's when that ego will take over and say okay I think I'm okay now you know and they're allowed to be distracted then you got to suffer again to come back so that repetition can be vicious cycle so that's why that intention is so important that's why that morning puja first thing in the morning to set that intention for the day is so critical so necessary okay so if you're uh haven't committed to the daily practice then think about that and if you do let me know and for those folks that are joining us recently we're gonna have a one-on-one to have a conversation about you know how to do that as well yeah cause there's that inclination within you already for truth otherwise you wouldn't be here and some at certain point in your life you have glimpsed into it you know so there's a little bit of a knowingness that's already within it's just kind of covered up

by all the other stuff that's going on in your life but once you start to discover that innate nature yeah then that's when the practice really starts so awareness awareness awareness is the key and what is awareness? anybody thought of that? what is awareness? what does it mean when you're aware?

I don't know no, you can know I just feel like I catch myself being aware like thinking about something you mentioned during one of the meditations and then it makes me aware and that means for me I feel like I'm aware because once I become aware you know then I can move forward from that and think of things differently respond differently yeah differently good so when you're aware what does that mean? means that I recognize something in myself that needs improvement yeah there's yes it seems like some kind of seeing except that it's coming from somewhere else yeah that's the basic thing so the question is awareness is self when you're aware of the breath what is that? I mean what does it mean by aware?

so two words seeing and knowing it's probably the conceptual way to describe that when we're aware we see and we know there's cognition right? there's cognition there's conscious we're conscious of whatever we're aware of right? that's why I say awareness is consciousness in a way we're conscious of something we're aware so understand that first intellectually when we're aware yes this is an intellectual question but I have trouble because sometimes consciousness is described as part of the there's a list of things that aren't really like the aggregates the consciousness is sort of like a on the level of the mind the consciousness is kind of like a top level of that and so sometimes it seems as if what's being said is that consciousness isn't part of awareness that it's part of the aggregates and then other times mm-hmm consciousness is being equated with yeah and so because you're you're conceptualizing consciousness as a thing yeah it's not a thing the thing is I mean I just all five aggregates yeah everybody knows five aggregates except who you are right form physical form sense perception mental formation and consciousness consciousness is but all five aggregates are conditional they only rise based on conditions that allows it to rise so it's not a thing that exists right but when you say awareness yeah isn't that beyond that or am I you can you can look at it from many different ways awareness you can look at it as awareness awareness is a function of consciousness if you look at consciousness as a base but consciousness only arises based on the supporting condition for it to rise which is contact by your six senses even your mind making cognition that cognition creates cognitive consciousness right that awareness so the reason it's confusing is because we're trying to conceptualize and put a boundary on what is awareness what is consciousness and all of these are not linear that way they're non-dual so there are many different words that are used to express it for those different purposes but you can't divide a clear division of what is awareness versus what is consciousness so consciousness can also be non-dual can be what?

consciousness is non-dual consciousness is non-dual yeah but you see it as it arises it's like right now you see me there's a visual consciousness so you can become aware that there's consciousness awareness is simply a function of knowing and seeing not just brain cognitive

that's what I was trying to say when I was saying it's C but it's not it's not cognitive but on the other hand it's the word consciousness if it's part of the five aggregates I thought the five aggregates were sort of stuck to the dual no, no, no, no that's why you look at Heart Sutra it denies all of that yeah because people start to believe that those five aggregates are something that exists as a permanent existence like our form what is our form? it's just a process of change, right?

it's more of a process for lack of a better term it's just changing process it's not something that exists as a solid thing even though we think our body is solid what is it doing? it's constantly changing just like our mind senses thoughts all of that comes and goes everything is just there based on that supporting condition for that moment and it's constantly changing constantly changing transitory awareness is awareness is aware of that awareness is just awareness so awareness is not within that but somehow beyond it that's why you gotta ask yourself what is it?

yeah you're trying to understand everything too uh uh intellectually okay that's academic mind that you have so just turn it around so you can awareness it's just aware knowing knowingness that we have okay knowingness is always there that's why a lot of people conclude once you start diving in you see that once everything dissolves your concentration is samadhi level becomes so powerful everything dissolves away but there's that knowingness right? there's sati left there's that awareness awareness of nothingness there's awareness of infinity there's awareness of you know neither perception or non-perception that's the eighth jhana level but there's still awareness sati knowingness of it okay that's why a lot of people think they conclude that we are pure awareness that's just another function it's a function everything is a function everything is that's why everything is karma what is karma?

you know it's original meaning it means action it just means it's functioning everything is functioning yeah but we're so used to seeing things identifying things as things we're trying to always conceptualize everything as something solid thing that we can understand and grasp and wrap our mind around that's the grip that we have to let go to be able to see the reality does that make sense? no? yeah I just feel as if awareness it's just there whatever it is it's not cognitive consciousness I'm just gonna have to stop worrying about it yeah consciousness is just something that arises when it's necessary to be conscious of yeah it's not a thing that's a lot of people think that's why they're trying to investigate consciousness they can't you know yeah it's like electrons anybody know you know they can't really see the electrons, right?

they can only detect the footprints of it so it's not you can start jumping into non-dualistic truth then you just gotta simply look within to see that for real okay so

I can only point the way for you which is inquiring into it that's why the inquiry method is very powerful but it's also a very high level so I'm allowing everybody to get a feel for it feel for it in case somebody latches on to really wanting to know become earnest about what is this but it's not something that you'll be able to continue if you don't have that earnesty for awakening so if not then at least develop being present that's going to help at least your current life by becoming more present and being more open so I like to call our meditation more open-heart meditation which is really mindfulness to just watch to just let be let things be let things be let things be if you let things be there will be no anger, frustration right?

when you have family members or friends that annoy you or let them be let them be if you can truly let them be then you wouldn't be perturbed by that we can't because we're constantly wanting something different resisting and recognize that this is what we pay attention to ourselves it's my creation it's the suffering that I'm feeling is my creation and stop blaming others and don't blame yourself either you just recognize that's not who you are it's just accumulation of karmic habits that's been is continuing just watch that's why mindfulness is about paying attention to yourself to yourself always moment to moment to moment okay too simple, right?

any questions? what father means that some days I feel enlightened Mm-hmm or at peace I have no sleep I wake up on the next day I'm in the trenches again yeah having to pick myself up yeah my question to you is were you born with a high level of consciousness or were you like you know, walking on Wall Street with your suitcase and all of a sudden you had some flash of enlightenment I'm just curious for me? you know my life story won't be helpful to you because it won't benefit you but you just got to look at within yourself what's what's the causal condition for that?

you know and then then you will create your own path you don't want to suffer anymore, right? or do you want to continue to suffer? that up and down of life sometimes good, sometimes bad sometimes good, sometimes bad you know that roller coaster ride sometimes high crash, high, crash that's going to continue to be repetitious not only in this life, but to next life to continuous so that's the cycle of reincarnation reincarnating to highs and lows moment to moment and those all dependent on your own for for likes and dislikes yeah so you gotta start looking within continue to investigate myself whenever that arises take a look and because our mind is not disciplined enough we're always getting dragged away by what other people say and do what the circumstances that creates my feelings within instead of choosing it consciously I want peace joy I want peace of mind and joyful heart at all times but we're not choosing that we're unconsciously allowing other people to choose that for us or other circumstances right?

yeah so we have to discipline our mind tame the mind in order to find that peace and joy so it's all up to me you know is what you have to say that's when you become master of your life when we stop blaming others everything is my own creation then you can see what choices do I have is this beneficial?

the choice what I'm feeling right now even the anger frustration ask yourself is this beneficial for me to be angry don't justify that just simply being unhappy is not beneficial whatsoever right then you ask yourself what do I need to do to tame this so that I can choose consciously that is beneficial and that really requires discipline in the mind and taming the mind that's why we meditate when you meditate sit, meditate it's really disciplinary training we're doing with the mind we're training it disciplining it so that we don't we don't resist this present moment anymore or allow it accept it and to be able to truly see what it is we have to train the mind that's why we meditate not to impress how long I can sit you know yeah so if you're if you're not becoming more present you know, recognize that then work on that when you sit this is the best most optimal way to train the mind that's why we sit and do it versus trying to do it while we're doing something else because at least your mind, your body is still for that moment then all you have to do is work on your mind to be still by just watching make sense?

kinda, sorta? Daryl? make sense? that's what we're here to do train the mind together any other questions? okay? so we'll do our announcement after we do our metta prayer

let's think about all sentient beings as we do our metta prayer may all beings be safe may all beings be safe may all beings be peaceful may all beings be peaceful may all beings be joyful may all beings awaken to their true nature may all beings awaken to their true nature may all beings be free may all beings be free have a great evening