From: https://youtube.com/watch?v=IPl8K7rf7JE

Context: Throughout this transcript, Bhante Vimalaramsi is the speaker unless otherwise indicated.

okay happy st. Patty's Day thus have I

heard on what Cajun the blessed one was

living in Swati in the eastern park and

the palace of mackerras mother the story

about Maga res mother megara was her

father-in-law Maga res mother was

actually her father-in-law magar does

mother was the soccer and bussaco wood

came from an extraordinarily wealthy

family and when she traveled and became

married to the son she traveled with a

brahmin to watch her behavior make sure

that she behave correctly when when

bussaco was 8 years old her mother took

her to see the buddha and she became a

soda pop just by listening to the

Buddha's talk so she's of 16 right

around that age and she got married and

moved

another town with with her husband and

there were some instances whether it was

kind of questionable that she had one

night she went out and spent the whole

night away from the house which is kind

of unheard of in the Buddhist culture or

in the the the Brahmin culture but what

she was doing her favorite mare was

giving birth and was having a hard time

so she went there to help and she spent

the whole night to make sure that the

Mayor was ok and the colt was ok and the

father-in-law noticed that and saw

thought that that was really not good so

he started holding a grudge against her

and then there was one day while he was

eating his meal that a month came up to

the door so you give he could give alms

and he didn't pay attention to the monk

so she waved the monk in and he still

didn't pay attention to the monk so this

acha said he's satisfied eating stale

fair stale food

and I told the monk that he should leave

and the father in law got really upset

and told her that she had to leave can't

be in this house and she told him that

she was she had eight Brahmin that came

and they would judge whether her

behavior was good or not got her hair

anyway

the father-in-law said that one night

she spent the whole night outside of the

house and that was really into improper

behavior so she should leave just

because of that reason and the Brahmin

ask her was that true and she said yes

and they said why did you leave the

house all night and she said I was with

a lot of attendance and we're taking

care of a mirror so that she wouldn't

die and she was giving birth and took

care of all of that and the Brahmin said

well that's that's no reason to banish

her from the house and then he said well

I was eating a meal wait one day and she

told a monk that I was eating stale food

and the Brahmin said is that right and

Busacca said well actually what I said

was it was eating stale fair and what I

meant by that was he was eating from the

karma of past actions and he didn't want

to make any good actions to continue

being able to eat good food so there's

no reason the Brahmin said there's no

reason to be expelled from the house for

that and then visakha said but i'm going

to leave and the father in law got down

on his knees and ask her to forgive him

and said you are such a wise person and

he opened up her sari and he started

suckling on her and said from now on I'm

going to call you my mother

that's the story that's why we have

madara's mother those Brahmins say they

were kinda strong then when it was

evening the venerable ananda rose from

meditation went to the Blessed One after

paying homage to him sat down at one

side said to the blessed one venerable

sir on one occasion the blessed one was

living in the sake and clan at a town of

the sake ins named Naga raga their

venerable sir I heard this from the

blessed one's own lips now Ananda I

often abide in whiteness did I hear that

correctly venerable sir did I learned

that correctly attend to that correctly

remember it correctly certainly Ananda

you heard that correctly learned that

correctly attended to that correctly and

remembered it correctly as formerly

Ananda so so now too I often abide in

voidness Ananda just as this palace of

majora's mother is void of elephants

cattle horses and mayor's void of silver

and gold void of the Assembly of men and

women and there is present only this non

voidness namely the singleness depended

on the Sangha of monks so to a monk not

attending to

perception of a village not attending to

the perception of people attends to the

singleness dependent on the perception

of forest his mind enters into that

perception of forest and acquires

confidence steadiness and decision he

understands thus whatever disturbance

there might be dependent on the

perception of village those are not

present here whatever disturbance there

might be dependent on the perception of

people those are not present here

there's only present this amount of

disturbance namely the singleness

dependent on a perception of forest he

understands this field of perception is

void of the perception of the village

this field of perception is void of the

perception of people there is only this

amount of non voidness namely the

singleness dependent on the perception

of the forest thus he regards it as void

of what is not there but as to what

remains he understands that which is

present thus this is present the sananda

this is his genuine

undistorted true descent into voidness

this is a pretty

amazing concept because there's an awful

lot of talk about voidness and emptiness

and hear what the Buddha is saying that

it doesn't mean being completely empty

there is nothing there in the void pneus

it's void of everything he's saying is

void of particular things but as to what

is there there is that amount of non

voidness so it's a pretty different

approach to what the word voidness is

talking about and we'll get it more into

that right now again and under a month

not attending to the perception of

people not attending to the perception

of forest attends to the singleness

dependent on the perception of Earth now

this is talking about the earth cocina

how do you do that meditation I don't

know the only kind of cocina meditations

that I know have to do with absorption

concentration

I practiced them for about six weeks and

then I didn't feel right so I quit but I

don't know exactly what it's talking

about when when is talking and I've

never read run across any teacher that

that knows exactly except through

absorption concentration now Cassina is

is a cert as a circle that's about this

big and then you put it on a ring piece

of wood something like that you put a

piece of cloth over it you take mud and

you put it on like and put butter on

bread so it's covered completely with

the dirt and then you let it dry and you

hang it up if you're sitting on the

floor right it right at head level and

then you look at that and you just start

repeating the word earth earth earth

earth earth earth

and then you close your eyes and try to

visualize that cocina there's eight

casinos earth water and take a circle

and you you have it covered on the

outside of the circle so it's like over

you take a piece of cloth and just got a

hole in the middle of it and then you

spread it over where water is of the

fire cocina and the air cuisine I don't

know how to make an air cuisine the

nurse for color casinos red white blue

yo

I can't tell you any more about it I

when I did it I didn't do the earth

cocina I did the white cocina I had a

lid from my bowl and I put the cloth

over the top of it but it so it was real

tight and then sat and I was continually

working with trying to visualize that

and I got so that I could and then I was

using the Missouri maaga at the time and

they say you have to do this until you

see the countersign arrive which is like

a very shiny it's almost like a moon as

the luminescence ball and then there's

things about making it big been making

and small and making it bounce around

and do all kinds of different things

with it but keeping your mind just

focused on that so it's a mental object

interesting thing happened when I was

doing that I was we're getting fairly

focused on this white cocina and an aunt

started walking across it and I saw the

end but I wasn't concentrating on it and

it closed my eyes and I saw the white

casino with the an interesting at these

anyway that the story that I got from

people that hadn't practiced that but

all kinds of stories actually come out

of meditation and monks talk about this

sort of thing and they said if you

really develop the monk or the white

cocina that you will start gaining

psychic powers psychic abilities and you

can turn a river into milk so people

would never start that's what they said

whether I really believe that or not is

another story I've never seen anything

like that I think it's just somebody's

imagination to be quite honest I just

don't believe it personally

but how do you do the earth cocina and

why you do the earth cocina they don't

know and i haven't been able to find out

so if anybody does run across somebody

that knows let me know and I'll go

doctor

his mind enters into that perception of

Earth cocina acquires confidence

steadiness and decision just as the

Bulls hide becomes free from folds when

fully stretched with a hundred takes so

to not attending to Enys any of the

ridges and hollows of the earth in the

rivers and ravines the tracks and stumps

of thorns the mountains and the uneven

places I don't know why you want to do

that and this is almost exactly from the

Vasudha manga what they're talking about

but they don't tell you how to do it in

the city

attends to the singleness dependent on

the perception of earth his mind enters

into that perception of Earth requires

confidence steadiness and decision he

understands thus whatever disturbances

there might be dependent on the

perception of people those are not

present here whatever disturbances there

might be dependent on the perception of

forest those are not present here there

is only this amount of disturbance

namely the singleness dependent on the

perception of earth he understands this

field of perception is void of the

perception of people this field of

perception is void of the perception of

forest there is present only this non

voidness namely the singleness did

on the perception of her thus he regards

it as void of what is not there but as

to what remains there he understands

that which is present us

is present

in this too is his genuine undistorted

pure peasant and voidness again not

attending to the perception of whiteness

not attending to perception of Earth

Makka tends to the single is dependent

on the perception of the base of

infinite space what we're talking about

here is doing the earth cocina until you

get to the 4th jhana and then I I

suppose I'm not really sure i know this

is what it says in the viscera maaga it

says that you can get all the way up to

the 8th drama by doing the earth cocina

so if that's your object a minute

that's the way you

but as we are practicing the Brahma

viharas that would be our object of

meditation so you would still be able to

see the base of infinite space his mind

enters into that perception of the base

of infinite space and acquires

confidence steadiness and decision he

understands thus whatever disturbances

there might be dependent on the

perception of forest those are not

present here whatever disturbances there

might be dependent on a perception of

earth those are not present here there

is present only this amount of

disturbance namely the singleness

dependent on the perception of the base

of infinite space he understands this

feel the perception is void of the

perception of forest this field of

perception is void of the perception of

Earth so I guess what they're talking

about it just getting to the 4th jhana

and then using infinite space as a

object of meditation I guess that's what

it's saying I'm not positive

there is present only this non-void 'no

snavely the singleness dependent on the

perception of the base of infinite space

thus he regards it avoid as void of what

is not there but as to what remains

there he understands that which is

present thus this is present the sananda

this too is as genuine undistorted pure

descent into voidness again ananda monk

not attending to the perception of earth

not attending to the perception of the

base of infinite space attends to the

singleness dependent on the perception

of the base of infinite consciousness

his mind enters into that perception of

the base of infinite consciousness and

acquires confidence Teddy and steadiness

and decision he understands thus

whatever disturbances there might be

dependent on the perception of Earth

those are not present here whatever

disturbances there might be dependent on

the perception of the base of infinite

space those are not present here there

is present only this amount of

disturbance and the disturbance when you

get into the aruba jonna's becomes less

and less the vibration becomes finer

your minds attention is actually folks

there is present only this amount of

disturbance namely the singleness

dependent on the perception of the base

of infinite consciousness he understands

this field of perception is void of the

perception of earth this field of

presumption is void of the perception of

infinite space there is only this

non-void pneus mainly the singleness

dependent on the perception of the base

of infinite consciousness thus he

regards it as void of what is not there

but as to what remains there he

understands that which is present bus

this is present the sananda this too is

his genuine undistorted pure descent

into voidness again and under a month

not attending to the base of not

attending to the perception of the base

of infinite space not attaining to the

perception of the base of infinite

consciousness attends to the singleness

dependent on the perception of the base

of nothingness his mine enters into that

perception of the base of nothingness

and acquires confidence Teddy and

steadiness and decision he understands

thus whatever disturbances there might

be dependent on the perception of the

base of infinite space those are not

present here whatever disturbances there

might be dependent on the perception of

the base of infinite

consciousness those are not present here

there is present only this amount of

disturbance namely the singleness

dependent on the perception of the base

of nothingness he understands this field

of perception is void of the perception

of the vase of infinite space this field

of perception is void of the perception

of the base of infinite consciousness

there is present only this non-void

pneus namely the singleness dependent on

the perception of the base of

nothingness thus he regards it as void

of what is not there but as to what

remains there he understands that which

is present us this is present thus

Ananda this too is his genuine

undistorted the spear descent into

voidness again an odd not attending to

the perception of the base of infinite

consciousness not attending to the

perception of the base of nothingness

attends to the singleness dependent on

the perception of the base of neither

perception or non perception his mind

enters into that perception of the base

of neither perception nor non perception

and acquires confidence steadiness and

decision he understands thus whatever

disturbances there might be dependent on

perception of the base of infinite

consciousness those are not present here

whatever disturbances there

might be dependent on a perception of

the base of nothingness those are not

present here there is present only this

amount of disturbance namely the

singleness dependent on the perception

of the base of neither perception nor

non perception he understands this field

of perception is void of the perception

of the base of infinite consciousness

this field of perception is void of the

perception of the base of nothingness

there is present only this non-void 'no

stainle the singleness dependent on the

perception of the base of neither

perception or non perception thus he

regards that his voice not there but as

to what remains there he understands

that which is present thus this is

present the sananda this too is as

genuine undistorted pure descent into

voidness again ananda amount not

attending to the perception of the base

of nothingness not attending to the

perception of the base of neither

perception or non perception attains to

the singleness dependent on the sign

less concentration of mine what is the

sign less concentration of mine

cessation deception of perception

feeling and consciousness his mind

enters into that sign less concentration

of mine and acquires confidence

steadiness and decision I don't think

that that's really true I think that

he's just following the formula ah how

do you obtain confidence and steadiness

when you don't have any perception

feeling or consciousness yeah he's just

he's just caught in in following the

formula that he used in the other the

other first huh well even there it could

be a little bit odd

did

it got into stands thus whatever

disturbances there might be dependent on

the perception of the base of

nothingness those are not present here

whatever disturbances there might be

dependent on the perception of the base

of neither perception or not perception

those are not present here I again I

don't see how this could possibly be but

there is present only this amount of

disturbance namely that connected with

the six bases that are dependent on this

body and conditioned by life what we're

talking about here is getting into the

cessation of perception feeling in

consciousness and still having eat and

vitality and this is another way of

describing that he understands the Fiat

the field of perception is void of the

perception of the base of nothingness

this feel the perception is void of the

perception of the base of neither

perception nor non perception there is

present only this non-void pneus namely

that connected with the sixth sense

bases that are dependent on this body

and conditioned by life thus he regards

it avoid as as void of what is not there

but as to what remains there he

understands that which is present thus

this is present the sananda this too is

his genuine undistorted pure descent

into

witness again an odd amount not at

aiming at not attending to the

perception of the vase of nothingness

not attending to the perception of the

base of neither perception or non

perception attends to the singleness

dependent on the sign less concentration

of mind his mind enters into that sign

less concentration of mine and acquires

confidence that eNOS and decision he

understands thus the sign lyst

concentration of mine is conditioned and

volitionally produced but whatever is

conditioned and volitionally produced is

impermanent subject to cessation when he

knows and sees thus his mind is

liberated from the taint of sensual

desire from the taint of being from the

taint of ignorance when it is liberated

there comes the knowledge it is

liberated he understands birth is

destroyed the holy life has been lived

what had to be done has been done there

is no more coming to any state of being

he understands thus whatever

disturbances there might be on the tank

of central desire those are not present

here whatever disturbances there might

be dependent on the taint of being those

are not present here whatever

disturbances there might be dependent on

the taint of ignorance those are not

present here there is present only this

amount of disturbance namely that

connected with the six bases that are

dependent on this body and

by life he understands this field of

perception is void of the taint of

sensual desire this field of perception

is void of the teams of being this field

of perception is void of the taint of

ignorance there is present only this

only this non voidness namely that

connected with the sixth sense bases

that are dependent on this body and

conditioned by life thus he understands

it as void of what is not there but as

to what remains there he understands

that which is present thus this as

present thus Ananda this is the genuine

and distorted pure descent into voidness

supreme and unsurpassed Ananda whatever

recluses and brahmins in the past

entered upon and abided in pure supreme

unsurpassed voidness all entered upon an

invite and abided in this same pure

supreme unsurpassed voidness whatever

recluses and brahmins in the future will

enter upon in abide in pure supreme

unsurpassed voidness all will enter upon

and abide in the same pure supreme

unsurpassed voidness whatever recluses

and brahmins in the present enter upon

and abide in pure supreme unsurpassed

voidness all enter upon and abide in the

same pure supreme unsurpassed voidness

therefore Ananda

you should train thus we will enter upon

an abide in pure supreme unsurpassed

voidness that is what the Blessed One

said the venerable Ananda was satisfied

blessings on boys so what we're talking

about with voidness is different than

the normal language of what is void ok

we have a specific definition of the

void pneus it's void of this is void of

that but what's what is there is non

voice there's only this amount of mr.

bacon so the more you come to this quiet

still place in your mind and you can

stay in this quiet stillness your mind

is exceptionally pure at that time why

you don't have any craving

it's still you're buying

he's any slightest movement is seen and

relax

now the relaxed step here is

exceptionally important because you're

getting to a place now where neither

perception or non perception is becoming

more apparent for you

and when you just step out of that and

reflect what you saw in it there might

be some fine little things that arise

and you relax relax everything that

arises has some movement in it what you

want to do is keep relaxing until there

is no movement

and when there is no movement that is

the cessation of perception feeling and

financial stuff

when you come out of that state that's

when you see the length of dependent

origination you see how they arise and

you see how they cease when you let go

of that little bit of ignorance you let

go of all conditioned things and that's

when you've experienced the

unconditional

it's real whoopee it's a real it's a

real release

realizing

more and more that the links of

dependent origination are not a

philosophy there are a reality and you

are able to see them

it's real insights arise it

when you have a hindrance arise in your

mind gets pulled away why did that

happen because your mindfulness slipped

a little bit your attention slipped a

little bit

your interest in staying on your object

of meditation slipped a little bit

there's nothing there it's to stillness

I'm bored I want excitement

selling with the mind that doesn't move

is real fun it's really good

but we do have the habit of causing our

own excitement I will try to distract

you in whatever way you can so that

there is some movement it's used to

moving it's been moving since time

immemorial from lifetime after lifetime

after lifetime it's always moving and

it's not just moving its flip flopping

there's big movements and then there's

that rollercoaster ride with your

emotions I like this I don't like that I

like this I don't like but now as you

start to gain more balance in your mind

from doing the practice those real high

highs and those real low lows start

disappearing then it starts to be little

waves of pleasant painful buzz

as you continue on with your practice

and your mind becomes more and more

still those waves become little teeny

ripples in the water

now some people have been asking me if

they're going to be able to carry this

with them when they get home and the

simple answer is no why because you're

going to get attacked by your daily

activities and all the stuff that you do

you're going to have a dip in your

practice it's not going to be as good as

it is here sorry I wish it would be but

when you get back out there you're going

to have stronger equanimity than you've

ever had before but you're still going

to have this little dip in your practice

and then you practice every day you sit

one hour two hours a day you keep your

six hours going all day you'll get back

up to where you are and you'll be able

to go further now something that you

want to realize is if you have the

desire to get back to the way you were

before retreat you're going to lose the

advantage of doing the meditation

let go of the things that pull your mind

down keeping the vibe precepts very very

strictly is not a bad thing it is a good

thing

don't indulge in your old ways of

looking at things and your old ways of

doing things keep your mind uplifted as

much as you possibly can

you will be able to experience

liberation in this lifetime when will it

come I don't that's not up to me I have

gotten you to the doorway I've gotten

the door open now it's your turn to walk

for it when you decide to do that that's

up to you I can't help anymore I've

given you all that much as we can the

rest is up to

when will it happen your choice not mine

sometimes people will feel that they're

mine is going super deep and they they

have this idea it's about ready to

happen and what happens is the lunge for

fastest way to not have it happen some

people have oh I won my team Devon I

really want to take me but I want it I

want it I want it I want it doesn't

you have to keep the mind open

and realize that you don't know what's

going to happen next so quit trying to

guess it well my mind starting to go

real deep this might be it okay wait and

see for the hundredth time now is the

time for you to ask the questions of

yourself or whatever I still have some

attachments to something what kind of

attachments are stopping me from gaining

liberation

what's the cause what's the condition of

this restlessness it comes up or this

pain in my head from trying too hard

what is the cause and condition why am I

going through the trick

when you ask those kind of questions

your intuition will give you the answer

it has to be your intuition

some people are starting to develop the

ability to have a divine here or divine

I so they'll ask Davis what do you think

what do I need to do but actually they

don't know the trip you have to ask your

own intuition your intuition knows

everything about you it knows what you

need what you're hanging on to and how

to let it go it will tell you

but stay with meditation

don't distract and try to do something

else stay with this one meditation that

no no if you need to six are things six

are things if you need to develop the

habit of saying not mine stop this isn't

like whatever arises isn't mine so

please and do that

use your own intuition

and it will guide you from here on out

okay anybody have any questions

now when you asked that question do that

like before acidity

experiment and see I know what I would

do but not everybody is the same so just

we can't depend on any other outside

sources for answers our answers have to

come by themselves to us

well when's the ants are going to be I

asked it yesterday whenever it's ready

to give you the answer and you pay

attention to it if you don't pay

attention to the answer it will get

quieter and quieter and then finally

intuition said well he's not going to

pay attention to me am NOT going to say

anymore you've opened the doorway and or

thickness to the threshold and open the

doorway is there a way we can get a push

pushing as hard as a kid like you put a

crack in your cosmic egg and you got a

hatchet if you can't go through it

nobody yeah I mean what if I still work

so this hire to do well in your job is

also a kind of attachment so how do you

have back home you need a job

heatherwood well that's not really

catchment I mean isn't I desire you

wanted yeah I guess it depends on what

your livelihood is but your desire to do

well means that you're using your

intuition and its guiding you and you

become more efficient as you get better

at doing the meditation you don't have

as many distractions pulling you away

don't have any thoughts pulling you away

the desire to do good is what they

called Honda and Polly Jean de means

wholesome desire that means the desire

for wholesome things without being

attached to it

I mean in my profession I don't have to

do but um but as a team hey this is okay

the other companies coming up your

something so we had to do better than

you knowing they'll both fit to help

whatever with you so I don't know that

the yeah that's not very shiny just well

there's competition along with greed

there's competition along with greed but

that isn't your greed but they asked us

to do barely knows it well they're

always going to ask you to do very well

even if you're just mowing a lot that's

right I mean you're you're expected to

do a drop well if they're going to be

paying you so do it well

we got some

there you go with your intuition and a

teacher till she returned tottenham in

question teachers my last day teacher

tells you what it's wrong go to the

teacher and you say my intuition says

this and the teacher says you're wrong

oh then what do you do he said question

the temperature you can you elaborate

again my question

when you tell a skater why ask them why

they said that I see have a discussion

yeah nicely Buddha spective tested does

it work

introduction right

stretch oh sorry say that a good the

boot is meant to test it and if it works

keep it and it doesn't let it go I fell

you're an individual right so you test

it then you do what about the teacher

right well that's why you talk with the

teacher about what he thinks or what she

thinks

I know it isn't very zen because the

teachers always right John never

believed for you yeah my fiber baki all

the time yeah really it's true hmm he's

always testing geez heroin usage at

sherwin had trouble believing his

experiences now it's starting to he's

starting to believe it whether he likes

it very much a certain point you have to

buy country

but everybody has to use their own self

responsibility that's one of the things

I really like about the Buddha's

teaching see for yourself test your

intuition to see whether it's correct or

not don't be afraid of making a mistake

it's okay to make a mistake because you

know what not to do next time if you're

paying attention you know I tried this

and it didn't work well let's not do it

anymore that's just causing more pain to

arise so you say okay that one didn't

work let's listen to the intuition see

if this one does it's right more often

than wrong just put it down

okay yeah okay so I followed your advice

and it work I hope and you said at the

end of the time might be for last okay

smile and have fun yes he said it like

that and so have fun that I took that as

a challenge so I've been how can I say I

kind of took this striving hard what I

was doing and decided that I would make

it try to have as much fun with it

because this is such a beautiful place

the energy in this room is just so

fantastic I had never been in a group of

meditating

I just feel so fortunate so I thought oh

I want to drink this up I've been having

as much kind of fun with it within the

context of the meditation and the

meditation has been more I can't wait to

do it all the time you know and then I

find it oh I'm doing it right now I

can't do it all the time and so but I

think that that fun factor really put a

lot of kind of juice in it and I don't

feel that I'm striving but i'm working

with it maybe even in all the context of

my waking hours the fun factor bills of

enjoy enlightenment factor the balancing

factor so you learn more and more subtly

what all of those enlightenment factors

are and that balance that joy gives with

that it takes out the seriousness

puts it a lighter more agile alert mind

I told you it was

can tell you some simple things that

possibly could help

then you see whether those are

if having fun doesn't help for you that

laughing doesn't help for you if smiling

doesn't help

because it's just a really good thing

honest and you won't smile at all and if

they hear you laugh you're out the door

then see whether this is no more

appealing go ahead and say it right now

good see like now your mind is very

agile your mind is very alert

I've had a lot of people over the years

complained to me that it was too hard to

laugh because this is serious that's

what I do I laugh at it so with a light

agile mind you can see where you're

attached to what you're doing

that

have things out of balance just a little

bit so this ends so fun with that it

takes the serious driving I mean navona

serious stuff in it it takes that Serena

seriousness out of the striving so that

your mind can be more agile and light

and alert to what what enlightenment

factor needs to be adjusted and it'll

come as an insight let's try this but it

seems like it's very low let's try to

see how it goes

okay anybody else

you

okay happy st. Patty's Day thus have I

heard on what Cajun the blessed one was

living in Swati in the eastern park and

the palace of mackerras mother the story

about Maga res mother megara was her

father-in-law Maga res mother was

actually her father-in-law magar does

mother was the soccer and bussaco wood

came from an extraordinarily wealthy

family and when she traveled and became

married to the son she traveled with a

brahmin to watch her behavior make sure

that she behave correctly when when

bussaco was 8 years old her mother took

her to see the buddha and she became a

soda pop just by listening to the

Buddha's talk so she's of 16 right

around that age and she got married and

moved

another town with with her husband and

there were some instances whether it was

kind of questionable that she had one

night she went out and spent the whole

night away from the house which is kind

of unheard of in the Buddhist culture or

in the the the Brahmin culture but what

she was doing her favorite mare was

giving birth and was having a hard time

so she went there to help and she spent

the whole night to make sure that the

Mayor was ok and the colt was ok and the

father-in-law noticed that and saw

thought that that was really not good so

he started holding a grudge against her

and then there was one day while he was

eating his meal that a month came up to

the door so you give he could give alms

and he didn't pay attention to the monk

so she waved the monk in and he still

didn't pay attention to the monk so this

acha said he's satisfied eating stale

fair stale food

and I told the monk that he should leave

and the father in law got really upset

and told her that she had to leave can't

be in this house and she told him that

she was she had eight Brahmin that came

and they would judge whether her

behavior was good or not got her hair

anyway

the father-in-law said that one night

she spent the whole night outside of the

house and that was really into improper

behavior so she should leave just

because of that reason and the Brahmin

ask her was that true and she said yes

and they said why did you leave the

house all night and she said I was with

a lot of attendance and we're taking

care of a mirror so that she wouldn't

die and she was giving birth and took

care of all of that and the Brahmin said

well that's that's no reason to banish

her from the house and then he said well

I was eating a meal wait one day and she

told a monk that I was eating stale food

and the Brahmin said is that right and

Busacca said well actually what I said

was it was eating stale fair and what I

meant by that was he was eating from the

karma of past actions and he didn't want

to make any good actions to continue

being able to eat good food so there's

no reason the Brahmin said there's no

reason to be expelled from the house for

that and then visakha said but i'm going

to leave and the father in law got down

on his knees and ask her to forgive him

and said you are such a wise person and

he opened up her sari and he started

suckling on her and said from now on I'm

going to call you my mother

that's the story that's why we have

madara's mother those Brahmins say they

were kinda strong then when it was

evening the venerable ananda rose from

meditation went to the Blessed One after

paying homage to him sat down at one

side said to the blessed one venerable

sir on one occasion the blessed one was

living in the sake and clan at a town of

the sake ins named Naga raga their

venerable sir I heard this from the

blessed one's own lips now Ananda I

often abide in whiteness did I hear that

correctly venerable sir did I learned

that correctly attend to that correctly

remember it correctly certainly Ananda

you heard that correctly learned that

correctly attended to that correctly and

remembered it correctly as formerly

Ananda so so now too I often abide in

voidness Ananda just as this palace of

majora's mother is void of elephants

cattle horses and mayor's void of silver

and gold void of the Assembly of men and

women and there is present only this non

voidness namely the singleness depended

on the Sangha of monks so to a monk not

attending to

perception of a village not attending to

the perception of people attends to the

singleness dependent on the perception

of forest his mind enters into that

perception of forest and acquires

confidence steadiness and decision he

understands thus whatever disturbance

there might be dependent on the

perception of village those are not

present here whatever disturbance there

might be dependent on the perception of

people those are not present here

there's only present this amount of

disturbance namely the singleness

dependent on a perception of forest he

understands this field of perception is

void of the perception of the village

this field of perception is void of the

perception of people there is only this

amount of non voidness namely the

singleness dependent on the perception

of the forest thus he regards it as void

of what is not there but as to what

remains he understands that which is

present thus this is present the sananda

this is his genuine

undistorted true descent into voidness

this is a pretty

amazing concept because there's an awful

lot of talk about voidness and emptiness

and hear what the Buddha is saying that

it doesn't mean being completely empty

there is nothing there in the void pneus

it's void of everything he's saying is

void of particular things but as to what

is there there is that amount of non

voidness so it's a pretty different

approach to what the word voidness is

talking about and we'll get it more into

that right now again and under a month

not attending to the perception of

people not attending to the perception

of forest attends to the singleness

dependent on the perception of Earth now

this is talking about the earth cocina

how do you do that meditation I don't

know the only kind of cocina meditations

that I know have to do with absorption

concentration

I practiced them for about six weeks and

then I didn't feel right so I quit but I

don't know exactly what it's talking

about when when is talking and I've

never read run across any teacher that

that knows exactly except through

absorption concentration now Cassina is

is a cert as a circle that's about this

big and then you put it on a ring piece

of wood something like that you put a

piece of cloth over it you take mud and

you put it on like and put butter on

bread so it's covered completely with

the dirt and then you let it dry and you

hang it up if you're sitting on the

floor right it right at head level and

then you look at that and you just start

repeating the word earth earth earth

earth earth earth

and then you close your eyes and try to

visualize that cocina there's eight

casinos earth water and take a circle

and you you have it covered on the

outside of the circle so it's like over

you take a piece of cloth and just got a

hole in the middle of it and then you

spread it over where water is of the

fire cocina and the air cuisine I don't

know how to make an air cuisine the

nurse for color casinos red white blue

yo

I can't tell you any more about it I

when I did it I didn't do the earth

cocina I did the white cocina I had a

lid from my bowl and I put the cloth

over the top of it but it so it was real

tight and then sat and I was continually

working with trying to visualize that

and I got so that I could and then I was

using the Missouri maaga at the time and

they say you have to do this until you

see the countersign arrive which is like

a very shiny it's almost like a moon as

the luminescence ball and then there's

things about making it big been making

and small and making it bounce around

and do all kinds of different things

with it but keeping your mind just

focused on that so it's a mental object

interesting thing happened when I was

doing that I was we're getting fairly

focused on this white cocina and an aunt

started walking across it and I saw the

end but I wasn't concentrating on it and

it closed my eyes and I saw the white

casino with the an interesting at these

anyway that the story that I got from

people that hadn't practiced that but

all kinds of stories actually come out

of meditation and monks talk about this

sort of thing and they said if you

really develop the monk or the white

cocina that you will start gaining

psychic powers psychic abilities and you

can turn a river into milk so people

would never start that's what they said

whether I really believe that or not is

another story I've never seen anything

like that I think it's just somebody's

imagination to be quite honest I just

don't believe it personally

but how do you do the earth cocina and

why you do the earth cocina they don't

know and i haven't been able to find out

so if anybody does run across somebody

that knows let me know and I'll go

doctor

his mind enters into that perception of

Earth cocina acquires confidence

steadiness and decision just as the

Bulls hide becomes free from folds when

fully stretched with a hundred takes so

to not attending to Enys any of the

ridges and hollows of the earth in the

rivers and ravines the tracks and stumps

of thorns the mountains and the uneven

places I don't know why you want to do

that and this is almost exactly from the

Vasudha manga what they're talking about

but they don't tell you how to do it in

the city

attends to the singleness dependent on

the perception of earth his mind enters

into that perception of Earth requires

confidence steadiness and decision he

understands thus whatever disturbances

there might be dependent on the

perception of people those are not

present here whatever disturbances there

might be dependent on the perception of

forest those are not present here there

is only this amount of disturbance

namely the singleness dependent on the

perception of earth he understands this

field of perception is void of the

perception of people this field of

perception is void of the perception of

forest there is present only this non

voidness namely the singleness did

on the perception of her thus he regards

it as void of what is not there but as

to what remains there he understands

that which is present us

is present

in this too is his genuine undistorted

pure peasant and voidness again not

attending to the perception of whiteness

not attending to perception of Earth

Makka tends to the single is dependent

on the perception of the base of

infinite space what we're talking about

here is doing the earth cocina until you

get to the 4th jhana and then I I

suppose I'm not really sure i know this

is what it says in the viscera maaga it

says that you can get all the way up to

the 8th drama by doing the earth cocina

so if that's your object a minute

that's the way you

but as we are practicing the Brahma

viharas that would be our object of

meditation so you would still be able to

see the base of infinite space his mind

enters into that perception of the base

of infinite space and acquires

confidence steadiness and decision he

understands thus whatever disturbances

there might be dependent on the

perception of forest those are not

present here whatever disturbances there

might be dependent on a perception of

earth those are not present here there

is present only this amount of

disturbance namely the singleness

dependent on the perception of the base

of infinite space he understands this

feel the perception is void of the

perception of forest this field of

perception is void of the perception of

Earth so I guess what they're talking

about it just getting to the 4th jhana

and then using infinite space as a

object of meditation I guess that's what

it's saying I'm not positive

there is present only this non-void 'no

snavely the singleness dependent on the

perception of the base of infinite space

thus he regards it avoid as void of what

is not there but as to what remains

there he understands that which is

present thus this is present the sananda

this too is as genuine undistorted pure

descent into voidness again ananda monk

not attending to the perception of earth

not attending to the perception of the

base of infinite space attends to the

singleness dependent on the perception

of the base of infinite consciousness

his mind enters into that perception of

the base of infinite consciousness and

acquires confidence Teddy and steadiness

and decision he understands thus

whatever disturbances there might be

dependent on the perception of Earth

those are not present here whatever

disturbances there might be dependent on

the perception of the base of infinite

space those are not present here there

is present only this amount of

disturbance and the disturbance when you

get into the aruba jonna's becomes less

and less the vibration becomes finer

your minds attention is actually folks

there is present only this amount of

disturbance namely the singleness

dependent on the perception of the base

of infinite consciousness he understands

this field of perception is void of the

perception of earth this field of

presumption is void of the perception of

infinite space there is only this

non-void pneus mainly the singleness

dependent on the perception of the base

of infinite consciousness thus he

regards it as void of what is not there

but as to what remains there he

understands that which is present bus

this is present the sananda this too is

his genuine undistorted pure descent

into voidness again and under a month

not attending to the base of not

attending to the perception of the base

of infinite space not attaining to the

perception of the base of infinite

consciousness attends to the singleness

dependent on the perception of the base

of nothingness his mine enters into that

perception of the base of nothingness

and acquires confidence Teddy and

steadiness and decision he understands

thus whatever disturbances there might

be dependent on the perception of the

base of infinite space those are not

present here whatever disturbances there

might be dependent on the perception of

the base of infinite

consciousness those are not present here

there is present only this amount of

disturbance namely the singleness

dependent on the perception of the base

of nothingness he understands this field

of perception is void of the perception

of the vase of infinite space this field

of perception is void of the perception

of the base of infinite consciousness

there is present only this non-void

pneus namely the singleness dependent on

the perception of the base of

nothingness thus he regards it as void

of what is not there but as to what

remains there he understands that which

is present us this is present thus

Ananda this too is his genuine

undistorted the spear descent into

voidness again an odd not attending to

the perception of the base of infinite

consciousness not attending to the

perception of the base of nothingness

attends to the singleness dependent on

the perception of the base of neither

perception or non perception his mind

enters into that perception of the base

of neither perception nor non perception

and acquires confidence steadiness and

decision he understands thus whatever

disturbances there might be dependent on

perception of the base of infinite

consciousness those are not present here

whatever disturbances there

might be dependent on a perception of

the base of nothingness those are not

present here there is present only this

amount of disturbance namely the

singleness dependent on the perception

of the base of neither perception nor

non perception he understands this field

of perception is void of the perception

of the base of infinite consciousness

this field of perception is void of the

perception of the base of nothingness

there is present only this non-void 'no

stainle the singleness dependent on the

perception of the base of neither

perception or non perception thus he

regards that his voice not there but as

to what remains there he understands

that which is present thus this is

present the sananda this too is as

genuine undistorted pure descent into

voidness again ananda amount not

attending to the perception of the base

of nothingness not attending to the

perception of the base of neither

perception or non perception attains to

the singleness dependent on the sign

less concentration of mine what is the

sign less concentration of mine

cessation deception of perception

feeling and consciousness his mind

enters into that sign less concentration

of mine and acquires confidence

steadiness and decision I don't think

that that's really true I think that

he's just following the formula ah how

do you obtain confidence and steadiness

when you don't have any perception

feeling or consciousness yeah he's just

he's just caught in in following the

formula that he used in the other the

other first huh well even there it could

be a little bit odd

did

it got into stands thus whatever

disturbances there might be dependent on

the perception of the base of

nothingness those are not present here

whatever disturbances there might be

dependent on the perception of the base

of neither perception or not perception

those are not present here I again I

don't see how this could possibly be but

there is present only this amount of

disturbance namely that connected with

the six bases that are dependent on this

body and conditioned by life what we're

talking about here is getting into the

cessation of perception feeling in

consciousness and still having eat and

vitality and this is another way of

describing that he understands the Fiat

the field of perception is void of the

perception of the base of nothingness

this feel the perception is void of the

perception of the base of neither

perception nor non perception there is

present only this non-void pneus namely

that connected with the sixth sense

bases that are dependent on this body

and conditioned by life thus he regards

it avoid as as void of what is not there

but as to what remains there he

understands that which is present thus

this is present the sananda this too is

his genuine undistorted pure descent

into

witness again an odd amount not at

aiming at not attending to the

perception of the vase of nothingness

not attending to the perception of the

base of neither perception or non

perception attends to the singleness

dependent on the sign less concentration

of mind his mind enters into that sign

less concentration of mine and acquires

confidence that eNOS and decision he

understands thus the sign lyst

concentration of mine is conditioned and

volitionally produced but whatever is

conditioned and volitionally produced is

impermanent subject to cessation when he

knows and sees thus his mind is

liberated from the taint of sensual

desire from the taint of being from the

taint of ignorance when it is liberated

there comes the knowledge it is

liberated he understands birth is

destroyed the holy life has been lived

what had to be done has been done there

is no more coming to any state of being

he understands thus whatever

disturbances there might be on the tank

of central desire those are not present

here whatever disturbances there might

be dependent on the taint of being those

are not present here whatever

disturbances there might be dependent on

the taint of ignorance those are not

present here there is present only this

amount of disturbance namely that

connected with the six bases that are

dependent on this body and

by life he understands this field of

perception is void of the taint of

sensual desire this field of perception

is void of the teams of being this field

of perception is void of the taint of

ignorance there is present only this

only this non voidness namely that

connected with the sixth sense bases

that are dependent on this body and

conditioned by life thus he understands

it as void of what is not there but as

to what remains there he understands

that which is present thus this as

present thus Ananda this is the genuine

and distorted pure descent into voidness

supreme and unsurpassed Ananda whatever

recluses and brahmins in the past

entered upon and abided in pure supreme

unsurpassed voidness all entered upon an

invite and abided in this same pure

supreme unsurpassed voidness whatever

recluses and brahmins in the future will

enter upon in abide in pure supreme

unsurpassed voidness all will enter upon

and abide in the same pure supreme

unsurpassed voidness whatever recluses

and brahmins in the present enter upon

and abide in pure supreme unsurpassed

voidness all enter upon and abide in the

same pure supreme unsurpassed voidness

therefore Ananda

you should train thus we will enter upon

an abide in pure supreme unsurpassed

voidness that is what the Blessed One

said the venerable Ananda was satisfied

blessings on boys so what we're talking

about with voidness is different than

the normal language of what is void ok

we have a specific definition of the

void pneus it's void of this is void of

that but what's what is there is non

voice there's only this amount of mr.

bacon so the more you come to this quiet

still place in your mind and you can

stay in this quiet stillness your mind

is exceptionally pure at that time why

you don't have any craving

it's still you're buying

he's any slightest movement is seen and

relax

now the relaxed step here is

exceptionally important because you're

getting to a place now where neither

perception or non perception is becoming

more apparent for you

and when you just step out of that and

reflect what you saw in it there might

be some fine little things that arise

and you relax relax everything that

arises has some movement in it what you

want to do is keep relaxing until there

is no movement

and when there is no movement that is

the cessation of perception feeling and

financial stuff

when you come out of that state that's

when you see the length of dependent

origination you see how they arise and

you see how they cease when you let go

of that little bit of ignorance you let

go of all conditioned things and that's

when you've experienced the

unconditional

it's real whoopee it's a real it's a

real release

realizing

more and more that the links of

dependent origination are not a

philosophy there are a reality and you

are able to see them

it's real insights arise it

when you have a hindrance arise in your

mind gets pulled away why did that

happen because your mindfulness slipped

a little bit your attention slipped a

little bit

your interest in staying on your object

of meditation slipped a little bit

there's nothing there it's to stillness

I'm bored I want excitement

selling with the mind that doesn't move

is real fun it's really good

but we do have the habit of causing our

own excitement I will try to distract

you in whatever way you can so that

there is some movement it's used to

moving it's been moving since time

immemorial from lifetime after lifetime

after lifetime it's always moving and

it's not just moving its flip flopping

there's big movements and then there's

that rollercoaster ride with your

emotions I like this I don't like that I

like this I don't like but now as you

start to gain more balance in your mind

from doing the practice those real high

highs and those real low lows start

disappearing then it starts to be little

waves of pleasant painful buzz

as you continue on with your practice

and your mind becomes more and more

still those waves become little teeny

ripples in the water

now some people have been asking me if

they're going to be able to carry this

with them when they get home and the

simple answer is no why because you're

going to get attacked by your daily

activities and all the stuff that you do

you're going to have a dip in your

practice it's not going to be as good as

it is here sorry I wish it would be but

when you get back out there you're going

to have stronger equanimity than you've

ever had before but you're still going

to have this little dip in your practice

and then you practice every day you sit

one hour two hours a day you keep your

six hours going all day you'll get back

up to where you are and you'll be able

to go further now something that you

want to realize is if you have the

desire to get back to the way you were

before retreat you're going to lose the

advantage of doing the meditation

let go of the things that pull your mind

down keeping the vibe precepts very very

strictly is not a bad thing it is a good

thing

don't indulge in your old ways of

looking at things and your old ways of

doing things keep your mind uplifted as

much as you possibly can

you will be able to experience

liberation in this lifetime when will it

come I don't that's not up to me I have

gotten you to the doorway I've gotten

the door open now it's your turn to walk

for it when you decide to do that that's

up to you I can't help anymore I've

given you all that much as we can the

rest is up to

when will it happen your choice not mine

sometimes people will feel that they're

mine is going super deep and they they

have this idea it's about ready to

happen and what happens is the lunge for

fastest way to not have it happen some

people have oh I won my team Devon I

really want to take me but I want it I

want it I want it I want it doesn't

you have to keep the mind open

and realize that you don't know what's

going to happen next so quit trying to

guess it well my mind starting to go

real deep this might be it okay wait and

see for the hundredth time now is the

time for you to ask the questions of

yourself or whatever I still have some

attachments to something what kind of

attachments are stopping me from gaining

liberation

what's the cause what's the condition of

this restlessness it comes up or this

pain in my head from trying too hard

what is the cause and condition why am I

going through the trick

when you ask those kind of questions

your intuition will give you the answer

it has to be your intuition

some people are starting to develop the

ability to have a divine here or divine

I so they'll ask Davis what do you think

what do I need to do but actually they

don't know the trip you have to ask your

own intuition your intuition knows

everything about you it knows what you

need what you're hanging on to and how

to let it go it will tell you

but stay with meditation

don't distract and try to do something

else stay with this one meditation that

no no if you need to six are things six

are things if you need to develop the

habit of saying not mine stop this isn't

like whatever arises isn't mine so

please and do that

use your own intuition

and it will guide you from here on out

okay anybody have any questions

now when you asked that question do that

like before acidity

experiment and see I know what I would

do but not everybody is the same so just

we can't depend on any other outside

sources for answers our answers have to

come by themselves to us

well when's the ants are going to be I

asked it yesterday whenever it's ready

to give you the answer and you pay

attention to it if you don't pay

attention to the answer it will get

quieter and quieter and then finally

intuition said well he's not going to

pay attention to me am NOT going to say

anymore you've opened the doorway and or

thickness to the threshold and open the

doorway is there a way we can get a push

pushing as hard as a kid like you put a

crack in your cosmic egg and you got a

hatchet if you can't go through it

nobody yeah I mean what if I still work

so this hire to do well in your job is

also a kind of attachment so how do you

have back home you need a job

heatherwood well that's not really

catchment I mean isn't I desire you

wanted yeah I guess it depends on what

your livelihood is but your desire to do

well means that you're using your

intuition and its guiding you and you

become more efficient as you get better

at doing the meditation you don't have

as many distractions pulling you away

don't have any thoughts pulling you away

the desire to do good is what they

called Honda and Polly Jean de means

wholesome desire that means the desire

for wholesome things without being

attached to it

I mean in my profession I don't have to

do but um but as a team hey this is okay

the other companies coming up your

something so we had to do better than

you knowing they'll both fit to help

whatever with you so I don't know that

the yeah that's not very shiny just well

there's competition along with greed

there's competition along with greed but

that isn't your greed but they asked us

to do barely knows it well they're

always going to ask you to do very well

even if you're just mowing a lot that's

right I mean you're you're expected to

do a drop well if they're going to be

paying you so do it well

we got some

there you go with your intuition and a

teacher till she returned tottenham in

question teachers my last day teacher

tells you what it's wrong go to the

teacher and you say my intuition says

this and the teacher says you're wrong

oh then what do you do he said question

the temperature you can you elaborate

again my question

when you tell a skater why ask them why

they said that I see have a discussion

yeah nicely Buddha spective tested does

it work

introduction right

stretch oh sorry say that a good the

boot is meant to test it and if it works

keep it and it doesn't let it go I fell

you're an individual right so you test

it then you do what about the teacher

right well that's why you talk with the

teacher about what he thinks or what she

thinks

I know it isn't very zen because the

teachers always right John never

believed for you yeah my fiber baki all

the time yeah really it's true hmm he's

always testing geez heroin usage at

sherwin had trouble believing his

experiences now it's starting to he's

starting to believe it whether he likes

it very much a certain point you have to

buy country

but everybody has to use their own self

responsibility that's one of the things

I really like about the Buddha's

teaching see for yourself test your

intuition to see whether it's correct or

not don't be afraid of making a mistake

it's okay to make a mistake because you

know what not to do next time if you're

paying attention you know I tried this

and it didn't work well let's not do it

anymore that's just causing more pain to

arise so you say okay that one didn't

work let's listen to the intuition see

if this one does it's right more often

than wrong just put it down

okay yeah okay so I followed your advice

and it work I hope and you said at the

end of the time might be for last okay

smile and have fun yes he said it like

that and so have fun that I took that as

a challenge so I've been how can I say I

kind of took this striving hard what I

was doing and decided that I would make

it try to have as much fun with it

because this is such a beautiful place

the energy in this room is just so

fantastic I had never been in a group of

meditating

I just feel so fortunate so I thought oh

I want to drink this up I've been having

as much kind of fun with it within the

context of the meditation and the

meditation has been more I can't wait to

do it all the time you know and then I

find it oh I'm doing it right now I

can't do it all the time and so but I

think that that fun factor really put a

lot of kind of juice in it and I don't

feel that I'm striving but i'm working

with it maybe even in all the context of

my waking hours the fun factor bills of

enjoy enlightenment factor the balancing

factor so you learn more and more subtly

what all of those enlightenment factors

are and that balance that joy gives with

that it takes out the seriousness

puts it a lighter more agile alert mind

I told you it was

can tell you some simple things that

possibly could help

then you see whether those are

if having fun doesn't help for you that

laughing doesn't help for you if smiling

doesn't help

because it's just a really good thing

honest and you won't smile at all and if

they hear you laugh you're out the door

then see whether this is no more

appealing go ahead and say it right now

good see like now your mind is very

agile your mind is very alert

I've had a lot of people over the years

complained to me that it was too hard to

laugh because this is serious that's

what I do I laugh at it so with a light

agile mind you can see where you're

attached to what you're doing

that

have things out of balance just a little

bit so this ends so fun with that it

takes the serious driving I mean navona

serious stuff in it it takes that Serena

seriousness out of the striving so that

your mind can be more agile and light

and alert to what what enlightenment

factor needs to be adjusted and it'll

come as an insight let's try this but it

seems like it's very low let's try to

see how it goes

okay anybody else

you