Having interceded and listened to, to remember and accept, I vow to taste the truth of the Dalai Lama's teachings for the rest. Evening. I think I must be tired of trying to give talk about Zen, even though I haven't done very many talks this summer.

[01:18]

But at some point I find it frustrating or difficult to keep trying to give how-to talks. You know, how to sit while you're angry, or what to do when the flies are bothering you, or how to be mindful or concentrated and so on. And at some point I feel like just to talk about how to...

[02:34]

or what to do. It's so easy to stay with that kind of mind, the mind that is figuring out how to, what to do. And I think I said one or two lectures ago, you know, how difficult it is to change because we have to, we stop being the person we've been. And that expression, everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die. So tonight, rather than try to talk about how to,

[03:47]

I thought I would, I decided to give you some poems. These poems are by Rumi, who lived in the 13th century. He was born in 1207. When he was 37 he met a man named Shams of Tabriz, and he said later about this person he met, that what I had thought of before as God, today I met in a person. That must have been quite a meeting. How is it, you know, to meet someone like that? Do you think it could happen any day, any moment?

[04:51]

And it doesn't even have to be anyone special that you meet. Thank you. So the first poem is a short one. It goes like this. Take someone who doesn't keep score, who's not looking to be richer, who's not afraid of losing,

[05:58]

who has not the slightest interest even in her own personality. She is free. I think it's difficult for any of us, you know, we practice a Zen. How is it to not be interested in your own personality? How would it be? You know, all the time we're thinking, oh, I'm so angry or I'm sad or I'm this or I'm that. What do I do about it? Take someone who doesn't keep score, who's not interested or looking to be richer, who's not afraid of losing,

[07:08]

who has not the slightest interest even in her own personality. She is free. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Do you know about that, keeping score? How I'm doing today, how other people are doing today, how I'm doing compared to other people? Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened.

[08:14]

Don't open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down the dulcimer. Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground. Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

[09:42]

The clear bead at the center changes everything. There are no edges to my loving now. They say that there's a window that opens from one mind to another. But if there's no wall, there's no need to fit the window or the latch. The clear bead at the center changes everything. There are no edges to my loving now. They say that there's a window that opens from one mind to another. But if there's no wall, there's no need to fit the window or the latch. We've given up making a living.

[11:02]

It's all this crazy love poetry now. Our eyes and our feelings focus together with our words. We've given up making a living. It's all this crazy love poetry now. Our eyes and our feelings focus together with our words. We've given up making a living.

[12:16]

It's all this crazy love poetry now. Our eyes and our feelings focus together with our words. We've given up making a living. It's all this crazy love poetry now. We've given up making a living. It's all this crazy love poetry now. Our eyes and our feelings focus together with our words. We've given up making a living. It's all this crazy love poetry now. Our eyes and our feelings focus together with our words. Our eyes and our feelings focus together with our words. We've given up making a living. It's all this crazy love poetry now. Our eyes and our feelings focus together with our words. We've given up making a living. It's all this crazy love poetry now. Our eyes and our feelings focus together with our words. We've given up making a living.

[13:30]

It's all this crazy love poetry now. Our eyes and our feelings focus together with our words. We've given up making a living. It's all this crazy love poetry now. Our eyes and our feelings focus together with our words. It's all this crazy love poetry now. Our eyes and our feelings focus together with our words. It's all this crazy love poetry now. Our eyes and our feelings focus together with our words. grows warm, kindled. Let the landscape be a thorny crust. We have a soft garden in here. The continents blasted cities and little towns. Everything becomes a scorched, blackened ball. The news we hear has so much grief for this future. The news inside is that there's no news at all. Outside the freezing desert night, this other night inside grows warm, kindling. Let the

[14:50]

landscape be a thorny crust. We have a soft garden in here. The continents blasted cities and little towns. Everything becomes a scorched, blackened ball. The news inside is that there's no news at all. Outside the freezing desert night, this other night inside grows warm, kindling. Let the landscape be a thorny crust. We have a soft garden in here. The continents blasted cities and little towns. Everything becomes a scorched, blackened ball. The news inside is that there's no news at all. Outside the freezing desert night, this other night inside grows warm, kindling. Let the landscape be a thorny crust. We have a soft garden in here. The continents blasted cities and little towns. Everything becomes a scorched, blackened ball. The news inside is that there's no news at all. Outside the freezing desert night, this other night inside grows warm, kindling. Let the landscape be a thorny crust. We have a soft garden in here. The continents blasted cities and little towns. Everything becomes a scorched, black The news inside is that there's no news at all. Does the sunset sometimes look like the sun is coming up?

[16:20]

Do you know what a faithful love is like? You're crying. You say you've burned yourself. Can you think of anyone who's not hazy with smoke? Can you think of anyone who's not hazy with smoke? Can you think of anyone who's not hazy with smoke?

[17:39]

Can you think of anyone who's not hazy with smoke? Can you think of anyone who's not hazy with smoke? Can you think of anyone who's not hazy with smoke?

[19:09]

Anyway, I have one more poem. To try to give a little perspective. It goes like this. Praise to the emptiness that blanks out existence. Existence, that place made out of our love for emptiness. Somehow comes emptiness. Existence goes away. Praise to that happening over and over. For years I tried to pull my life out of emptiness. For years I tried to pull my life out of emptiness.

[20:15]

Then one swing of the arm, that work is over. Free of who I was. Free of presence. Free of dangerous fear, hope. Free of mountainous wanting. The mountain of here and now is a tiny piece of a piece of straw blown out into emptiness. The mountain of here and now is a tiny piece of a piece of straw blown out into emptiness. These words I'm saying, these words I'm saying so much begin to lose their meaning.

[21:21]

Existence, emptiness, mountain, straw, words and what they say swept out the window down the slant of the roof. Praise to emptiness. Praise to the emptiness that blanks out existence. Existence, this place made of our love for emptiness. Somehow comes emptiness. This existence disappears. Praise to that happening over and over and over. For years I tried, I tried to pull my life out of emptiness, away from emptiness. I didn't want emptiness. Then one swoop, one swing of the arm, that work was over.

[22:28]

Free of who I was. Free of being present. Free of dangerous fear, hope. Free of mountainous wanting. And this mountain of the here and now is but a tiny piece of a piece of straw blown out into emptiness. These words I say so much begin to lose their meaning. Emptiness, existence, mountain, straw, words and what they say swept out the window down the slant of the roof. Do you breathe more easily after that?

[23:39]

Do you let go? Do you let go of this tiny piece of a piece of straw? Thank you. Thank you.

[24:51]

Be someone who's not keeping score. Be someone who doesn't keep score. Who's not looking to be richer or afraid of losing. As someone who's not even interested in it. Who has not the slightest interest. In one's own personality. That's someone who's free. Oh, what a task. Thank you.

[26:50]

Thank you for taking up this task. We don't have so much choice about it, but anyway, thank you. Thank you.

[27:21]

@Text_v004
@Score_JC