prior to mind

00:00

I wanted to discuss meditation from

00:05

Friday so as we were letting things fall

00:16

away allowing things to fall away senses

00:21

thoughts relationships and standing as

00:31

emptiness then I heard you say maybe you

00:38

said it or maybe I just heard it but I

00:40

heard you say allow the feelings to die

00:46

in you allow the feelings to die in you

00:54

and that was a little different for me

00:59

so instead of things dissolving away

01:05

there was this opening of capacity to

01:10

allow things to die into me and I felt

01:21

this expanded capacity apparent expanded

01:25

capacity of awareness to allow these

01:30

feelings to come very close and die into

01:33

me and with that I realized everything

01:38

dies into me

01:44

and it was such a close and intimate

01:48

experience intimate was the word that

01:50

came and this sense that there's no

01:55

reason to fear death but no reason to

01:59

fear death because everything dies right

02:04

into you but the you never dies never

02:10

and it's never born yes everything is

02:15

born in you but the you isn't born

02:18

everything exists in you but you don't

02:21

exist

02:22

yeah and everything dies in you but you

02:24

don't die yeah yeah just there's

02:29

awareness as an infinite capacity yes

02:35

yeah yes so that was like a a visceral

02:42

version of what we did this morning

02:55

and I noticed I'm sure that many of you

02:59

noticed too in that meditation and this

03:03

is how the teaching evolves we started

03:08

off in that meditation if I remember I

03:11

di said something like remove your

03:17

thoughts remove your feelings and then

03:22

at a certain point because these

03:24

meditations they just come spontaneously

03:27

in the moment I'm there they're

03:29

appearing in the moment and I'm doing

03:32

them like like all of you and I'm always

03:36

trying to use language as you know to

03:38

get as close as possible to the reality

03:42

of experience and some stage halfway

03:45

through the meditation the meditation

03:47

changed from remove your thoughts remove

03:52

your feelings many of you in the past

03:55

have been here when we've done yoga

03:56

meditations when we've removed our eyes

03:58

and our ears and our tongues and we've

04:01

placed them on a piece of silk cloth

04:03

next to us but halfway through this

04:06

meditation did it changed and some point

04:10

instead of saying remove your feelings

04:14

and said let your feelings dissolve in

04:16

you which is closer because we can't

04:20

really remove anything from ourselves

04:23

because we are that in which all

04:25

experience if there is no outside of you

04:29

it's not possible to take an object out

04:31

of space where would you put that object

04:35

a circle object at a physical space

04:36

where would you put the object that you

04:39

removed from space so so the meditation

04:44

just spontaneously change it's not our

04:47

experience that objects are removed from

04:49

us although that is a legitimate

04:54

formulation at a certain stage it's

04:59

closer to our experience to say it that

05:01

the thought die or dissolve in you let

05:06

the sound of the airplane dissolving you

05:08

and the sensation of the soles of your

05:10

feet dissolving you because that is

05:12

actually our experience everything that

05:15

vanishes vanished then she's not active

05:17

ourselves but into herself great and

05:21

that's what was so helpful for me was

05:22

before everything was dissolving kind of

05:25

away in a subtle way yes yes and

05:29

likewise when any experience arises it

05:32

doesn't our experiences are not lined up

05:36

waiting in the wings just outside

05:39

awareness ready to make their appearance

05:42

on stage there is no such place in her

05:44

experience outside awareness so it is

05:47

our experience that the sound of our

05:50

voices the sensation of feet on the

05:53

floor the sound of the airplane the

05:55

sight of this room it arises in what we

05:59

call I in our self not our self this

06:02

limited body mind but our self this open

06:08

empty luminous presence of awareness

06:10

that is our experience and when any when

06:14

any experience exists take the sound of

06:16

the plane now anything that appears or

06:19

exists must exist there must be some

06:21

medium present for the object to appear

06:25

in like the sound of the plane it is an

06:30

object that appears exists and vanishes

06:32

in what is it appearing in what we call

06:36

myself what what did it emerge out of in

06:41

what we call myself right and and suffer

06:45

me the words I am that came you know as

06:50

that infinite capacity I am that yes I

06:54

am that is the

07:02

you remember that at some stage we at

07:05

this week we we we looked at these three

07:07

stages I am that - ritual experience

07:13

appears or with which all experience is

07:15

known I am that in which your experience

07:20

appears I am that of which your

07:23

experience is a play or the activity so

07:25

the statement I am that is the is the

07:28

culmination of the second step but there

07:33

is still a distinction between I and

07:36

that albeit we have stated our identity

07:41

but we're still referring to I and that

07:45

so in this third step the iana that to

07:48

that collapse and we can no longer

07:51

conceptualize either the I although that

07:56

which are either the same or not the

08:00

same I think I think the way I felt it

08:04

was I am that which is which is it

08:09

became was more of a this feeling but

08:11

yeah it was it was just really seen it

08:13

and recognizing that it is me it's all

08:16

in you so when the I am the that can no

08:19

longer be conceptualized as two things

08:22

we previously thought they were two

08:24

thing now them they're they're one thing

08:27

what can we call that one thing it has

08:31

no name you drop words you drop that and

08:33

then you can even drop the I but without

08:35

them without that without that that what

08:38

is the need for the word I so that is

08:44

truly nameless but as soon as we begin

08:46

to speak of it it is legitimate to give

08:49

it a name and depending on the time and

08:52

the place in which this understanding

08:54

arose it was given a name that was

08:57

consistent with the local cultural

09:02

linguistic tradition

09:06

so in some traditions they call it the

09:08

Buddha nature in other traditions they

09:10

call it the Christ consciousness in

09:12

other traditions they call it the self

09:14

you know the traditions they call it the

09:16

beloved in other contradictions they

09:18

call it the heart electrician's they

09:20

call it I or the self or all these words

09:23

are inaccurate but legitimate and

09:27

provisional names like you said how the

09:30

jewel is wrapped it they - they are the

09:33

packaging the different colored tissue

09:36

paper in which the the colorless and

09:40

nameless and priceless jewel is rant and

09:49

sometimes theme the wrapping paper is so

09:57

colorful and so interesting and so

10:00

exotic and it sparkles and and then it's

10:03

got gold dust all over it and anything

10:06

that that we were given the present the

10:09

gift we don't even open the package we

10:13

just become infatuated with the with the

10:17

packaging and then we take off the first

10:20

layer of packaging and then there's

10:21

another layer of packaging under then we

10:23

become absorbed in that we we forget

10:25

that the only purpose of the packaging

10:28

is the the nameless priceless jewel the

10:32

packaging is to be discarded it's

10:35

supposed to be thrown away including the

10:39

packaging which this teaching is wrapped

10:42

in which doesn't have much tinsel on it

10:45

but nevertheless it is still

10:48

local cultural packaging we are using

10:52

the packaging of our culture the

10:54

everyday language of our culture but

10:59

it's still packaging I've appreciated

11:02

this week how you've seems like you've

11:04

talked more about emphasizing how this

11:08

is not extraordinary this experience

11:13

it's natural it's an ordinary yes I feel

11:17

that so many people in the world would

11:20

be so yes that that is that is said in

11:27

response to two situations one for those

11:30

of us that as many people here have been

11:32

who have been on a on a spiritual deeply

11:36

involved in a spiritual path for for

11:38

many years for many decades in in some

11:41

cases so it is I'm trying to draw

11:44

attention to the the the essence of each

11:50

of these traditions I'm trying to speak

11:52

about what is common to them not what is

11:54

different about them somebody once asked

11:56

me what is that what is the connection

12:00

between this teaching and Tibetan

12:02

Buddhism and I said if you remove

12:04

everything Tibetan and everything

12:06

Buddhist from Tibetan Buddhism you get

12:09

this teaching what is the what is the

12:17

connection between this teaching and

12:20

Christian mysticism

12:22

if you remove everything that is

12:25

mystical and everything that is

12:27

Christian from Christian mysticism you

12:29

get this teaching this this I should say

12:32

this understanding and everything that

12:35

is now door and if you remove everything

12:39

that is at vitac and vedantic from the

12:46

Advaita Vedanta tradition you get this

12:49

teaching and if you remove all the

12:52

packaging the cultural packaging that

12:54

the 21st century Western cultural

12:56

packaging from this teaching you get the

12:59

that the the nameless priceless jewel

13:03

that is the foundation of all religious

13:07

and spiritual traditions and is not only

13:10

the foundation of peace in all

13:13

individuals it is the one knowledge upon

13:18

which world peace could be based because

13:25

this is the only experience that all

13:28

people irrespective of their the

13:35

nationality their race their creed their

13:38

gender their political persuasion

13:41

irrespective of all that condition it's

13:44

the one experience upon which everyone

13:47

with that exception can agree and

13:49

therefore it must be the basis the

13:51

starting point for world peace so that

13:56

leads on to the second reason that I

14:02

have referred several times in this

14:07

retreated as you mentioned to talk to

14:11

them this essential understanding that

14:14

wanted to connect those of us in this

14:16

room from different traditions but also

14:18

to make it available to all the people

14:24

who would be interested in it but are

14:26

put off this understanding for fear of

14:31

having to subscribe to some kind of

14:34

religious or spiritual doctrine or

14:36

person the people that are that are

14:41

basically all seven billion of us are

14:44

interested in peace and happiness above

14:46

all else and that's what this teaching

14:49

is about it's why I prefer the term

14:50

peace and happiness to enlightenment how

14:54

many people in the world are interested

14:55

in enlightenment I mean what fraction

15:01

are they

15:02

another single percentage of people that

15:05

are interested in my comment

15:08

hardly any how many people in this world

15:10

are interested in peace and happiness is

15:13

that anyone is there any single person

15:17

any single person of the seven billion

15:21

of us who are not interested in peace

15:24

and happiness above all else

15:27

not a single person peace and happiness

15:33

is just another name for enlightenment

15:35

it is the common name for enlightenment

15:38

so I also I also speak of this

15:44

understanding in the way I do because I

15:46

want to to make it available to to

15:49

everyone not just to show that it is the

15:53

foundation of all the great religious

15:55

and spiritual traditions but it is

15:57

actually the foundation of what

15:58

everybody longs for above all else and

16:02

it doesn't require it doesn't require

16:06

any special practice it doesn't require

16:10

any special qualifications it doesn't

16:12

require a certain level of intelligence

16:14

it doesn't require a certain political

16:16

orientation or sexual orientation it

16:19

doesn't require subscribing to any

16:24

belief at all it doesn't require being

16:29

devoted to a teacher or to a tradition

16:32

it doesn't require affiliating oneself

16:35

with any particular teacher or any

16:37

particular teaching it it is it is

16:41

freely available to everyone so that's

16:44

why I try to speak of it in these ways

16:48

to show that it is not something beyond

16:52

the experience we so often hear this

16:56

phrase in the spiritual traditions

16:57

beyond the mind there is nothing beyond

17:00

the mind try not to leave the field of

17:04

mind in which your experience appears

17:06

it's like trying to leave space there's

17:09

nothing beyond the mind it is prior

17:11

to mind it is not something we have to

17:16

go to war words it is something that

17:17

everybody can find just by taking the

17:21

thought I am and going to that in their

17:26

experience to which that thought refers

17:30

it is not an enlightened self it is the

17:33

light of the self and that light shines

17:38

equally brightly in all people at all

17:42

times under all circumstances and in all

17:46

situations

18:00

you