Pāramitā (Perfections) Challenge (Month 4 - December 2021)

This month includes the Pāramitā on diligence, the Right Speech precept, and the middle stages of the 10 Abodes from the 52 Stages of the Bodhisattva addressing the emptiness.

Speech:
Truthful, kind, harmonious/unifying, beneficial, timely

Transcript

This is month four of the Paramita Challenge, December 2021. There was a month off last month in November. And here we have the first week being the six perfections in their subdivision from the Sutra on Understanding the Profound and Esoteric Doctrine. Number four, Diligence. Also, Effort and zeal. And these pervade all the precepts it says here. And there's three subdivisions. Zeal to exert effort like one who has put on an armor. Zeal to exert effort in engendering good. Zeal to exert effort in benefiting sentient being. So first off, This word zeal. It's interesting how there's also a similar word called zealot. And I think it's beyond the scope of this podcast to go into that, But I just point it out as interesting. Diligence and effort is the one I'm inclined more to. This first one, Zeal to exert effort like one who has put on an armor. It's interesting this image of armor, Right? So in the positive sense, This is someone who feels protected. So there's really a lot less fear, Right? Because there's a protection already in place. So there's less apprehension that they're going to get it wrong and something might backfire and get hurt really easily. So that's the upside. Now, Maybe the drawback of this image of armor is that we can kind of shut down and protect ourselves from opening our heart, Right? For armoring up, Then there's no vulnerability there to possibly feel deeply and also connect deeply with others that comes from that vulnerability. Lack of armoring and defensiveness and closing down and shutting and placing an artificial barrier between us and the world. But let's just go with the protection thing and say, Yes, The kind of unifying idea that makes sense to me here is what's needed to be able to feel safe enough to arouse and sustain energy, Effort and diligence for what's needed. You know, The four right efforts are eliminating unwholesome states, Preventing unwholesome states from arising, Maintaining wholesome states that have arisen and generating wholesome states that have yet arisen. So the second one here is zeal to exert effort and engendering good. Now, It's interesting here. They got the two kind of energizing words, Zeal to exert effort. So in one way, Maybe that's a little bit redundant. It's basically motivation, Though, To amp up the energy, The effort, The diligence to do good. And this engendering, It's interesting how popular this gender thing has become, Like out of the blue all of a sudden, Relatively speaking here. And of course, Engendering. So interesting choice of word there. But this just speaks in general the way I take it to our goodness. And how that's what it's all about. You know, Goodness. And raises the questions, Well, What is goodness? How do I recognize that? How do I promote that? How do I serve that? How do I increase that with effort? There's this interesting phrase called the greater good. And I think this is important enough to point out now. And I don't think it's been used as much recently as it has in the, I don't know, Recent memory before that. So for me, It's like a kind of a red flag. If somebody just says greater good, Do it for the greater good. Well, The obvious question there is the greater good of who? And then this can, If it's not specific, It can allude to, Well, There's good, But this group here is a greater good. You know, So when I see that, I, Oh, It could very well have good intentions, But it could also not so much. So that is why I place importance on, Well, The greater good of who? And if I had to answer that myself, It would be the greater good of all, Greater good of all beings everywhere. So this third one, Zeal to exert effort and benefiting sentient beings. So this ties in with goodness. And again, This zeal to exert effort. Zeal and then exertion and then effort. So this is like, I guess it was my bad on the previous thing. So it's actually like a triple energy thing here. Yeah. And I've spoke to this before. Once we're in a good enough space to help ourselves, Then it just really doesn't make sense to really do much anything else but be of service, Right? To share what we know with others, Because what are the other options? We can just keep piling up merit and goodness and good for ourselves, But that would be service to self. And, You know, We can't take that all with us, Right? So what do we do? It seems like the really only option is service. And it doesn't have to be necessarily, You know, Service with time or money. It can just be an energetic thing, A consciousness thing, Or not just, But in addition to, A presence, Intent too. It can be in our choices. And knowing that even if we don't see an immediate effect or think it's insignificant, Know that a bucket of water is filled up drop by drop. The classic saying that don't think bad will come to you as drop by drop of water buckets filled in the same as the opposite. Don't think that goodness won't come because again, A bucket is filled up drop by drop. And this is the first week of the fourth month of the Paramita Challenge, December 2021. So week two of the Paramita Challenge. This is month four, December 2021. This is from the Ten Paramitas in the Doctrine of Mere Consciousness. The ten excellent moral exercises are the ten paramitas. This is number four. English translation is zeal in making progress. And the commentary is zeal in making progress is of three kinds. Zeal in producing great resolutions, Zeal in acquiring good spiritual dharmas, And three, Zeal in promoting the wellbeing and happiness of sentient beings. So zeal in producing great resolutions. So maybe in the West, We hear the word resolutions. Perhaps we're thinking of like New Year's resolutions, Things we hope to accomplish, Maybe goals that are more serious and that involve effort and zeal to accomplish. But what is a great resolution? What are the criteria and how is the zeal, Effort or energy involved in these great resolutions and in producing great resolutions? Most obvious one would be making a resolve for again, Right effort. These are the things that are clearly laid out. Preventing unwholesome states from arising, Eliminating unwholesome states that have arisen before that even, Maintaining wholesome states that are present and generating, Producing wholesome states that have yet arisen. And where wholesome can also be skillful as a substitute. This is the word kuselah and then the opposite, A kuselah. This effort and zeal and resolution perhaps can be applied to much of the path, Especially where effort and energy is required. It's like the eightfold noble path, They all interweave within each other, Kind of all interdependent and boost and support each other really aren't that separable in a way. So when are resolutions needed? When is resolve needed? And when does resolve need to be backed up a little bit, Backed down from a little bit? And this is where wisdom and discernment can come in to set the bar for what is a great resolution, What is not, What new resolutions need to be produced and what current ones need to be given more energy and effort. So number two, Zeal in acquiring good spiritual dharmas. Acquiring good spiritual dharmas. So it's interesting. At one point or at some point, I feel acquiring is a good thing to have for spiritual dharmas because there's just kind of this natural or maybe unnatural energy to acquire things, Right? In everyday life, People are trying to acquire a paycheck, Acquire a partner, Acquire a living place or a better living place, Acquire cars, Investments and acquire this and that, Acquire experiences and knowledge and wisdom. So this acquisition, There's a lot more wholesome acquisitions than others. And in this instance, Yeah, Spiritual dharmas, Good spiritual dharmas would be something beneficial to acquire at least for a while. It's also contrasted with relinquishment, Letting go, Abandoning. So these are perhaps paradoxical values that are also wholesome and beneficial. But again, It depends on what's being acquired and what's being relinquished, Let go of, Abandoned. So yeah, Eventually even good spiritual dharmas will likely have to be abandoned too, Just like the parable of the raft, The Dharma being the raft. Once across the flood, The river, The further shore, There's really no need to carry it around anymore. So acquiring good spiritual dharmas. So what is a bad spiritual Dharma? Maybe these are just wrong teachings or wrong paths or things that lead towards more suffering and away from long-term happiness and wellbeing for ourselves and others. And of course the word spiritual is an interesting one now because it's been used a lot. Its potency has been diminished a lot. And of course, Dharmas here, I guess, Refers to as the teachings of the Buddha or also the truth of the way things are. So for me, The spiritual dharmas would be kind of a redundant usage here. But so with the criticism aside, What does this mean? How can we put effort into acquiring good spiritual dharmas? Well, In today's day and age, There's so many different teachings out there at our fingertips. So there's really not much excuse to dive into them, Study, Familiarize yourself with teachings and truth of reality. No really shortage of ways to share these and actually seek them out, Invite them in, Put out calls for these for things that aren't already in existence. And the energy and effort and zeal behind this can get momentum. So when we use kind of review knowledge or just reflection on the benefits of good teachings, Knowing the benefits of how certain teachings and ways to see reality can benefit not only us, But other people. Notice the changes in our lives for the better. And perhaps this plays into more of like some addictive tendencies, But in a good way. So instead of putting a lot of energy into acquiring things that probably won't do us much good, We can, If that energy is there, Redirect it into things more beneficial and wholesome. Finding a good teacher or teachers that we resonate with and spiritual friends to pouring our energy and effort into that and reveling in the goodness, The rewards of this. So number three, Zeal in promoting the well-being and happiness of sentient beings. As I've mentioned before, Once we're at a certain spot in our lives where our well-being and happiness is at a place that's adequate, We can experience even more happiness and well-being by promoting the well-being and happiness of others. So it's just this constant reinforcing feedback loop of the good sort. As we help ourselves, We help others. As others are helped, We're helped, Benefited. So anything we acquire in life, We eventually can't take with us. And while we continue to increase our well-being and happiness, It just doesn't make sense to me to just serve ourselves at some point. We have so much to share and so many things we can do to help. And at the same time, Not stepping on anybody's journey as well. So just being open when the chance presents itself, When someone comes to us asking for help, Well-being, Specific wisdom, And also having online platforms where we can do this as well and so we don't have to wait for specific things we can share in public without forcing it on anybody. And then if anybody's interested, Perhaps they'll come across it online that way. One specific example that comes to mind is, I can't remember where I heard this, Is how many times do we take for granted that we haven't taken another human life today? More than likely anybody that's listened to this hasn't done that, Right? And I mean, It seems kind of absurd in one way, But just think if everybody on Earth would just refrain from taking human life for one day, How different this world would be. And knowing that we, Like everyone else, Desire well-being and happiness. We all have that in common. I don't think anybody wakes up in the morning and says, I don't want to be well, I want to be shitty today. I want to be sad and miserable. So in this way, We all have this in common and we can remember this when we see someone having a bad day or we're having a bad day or we fall short of our goals and expectations. And also celebration too, When things are calling for celebration because it's really challenging to be upset at something when we're celebrating it. Tying back into resolutions so we can resolve and intend for well-being and happiness for ourselves and others. We can invite that in, Use the Four Right Efforts to promote this as well. And that's week two, December 2021, Month four of the Paramita Challenge. Hold us and welcome. This is Josh Deppel from Integrating Presence and today is mindfulness of speaking. And the description for this event, I've got, Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Is it helpful? Is it the right time? We'll explore these guidelines for wise and skillful speech and share stories, Challenges, Insights, And do some practices. So this is also going to double as the Paramita Challenge that I've done one podcast on for the previous three months. And I'll just fly through that real quick. Reading what's of that pertaining to this and happened to line up. So this is week three, The fourth month of the Paramita Challenge that deals today's topic. The 10 non-virtuous and 10 virtuous actions divided into the unwholesome and wholesome with speech. So number four is false speech or lying contrasted with speaking only what is truthful. Five is harsh words contrasted with speaking with a tone of gentle caring. Six, Divisive speech and slander contrasted with harmonious unifying speech. Seven, Idle speech and gossip contrasted with discuss beneficial topics. It's also one of the 58 bodhisattva vows, Which I haven't taken, But I'm interested in studying them. It's fourth, Don't lie or engage in wrong speech. And this is from the Brahmas, The Brahmas Natsutra prohibition on intentional lying. My disciples, If you engage in lying on your own, Encourage others to lie or lie through deception, Then you are involved in the causes of lying. Conditions of lying, The methods of lying and the act of lying also include saying that one has seen what one has not seen, Saying you have not seen something you have seen or lying implicitly through bodily actions or within one's own mind. Bodhisattvas always give rise to right speech, Right views, And also lead all sentient beings to practice right speech and right views. If on the other hand you lead sentient beings to wrong speech, Wrong views, And wrong activities, This constitutes a bodhisattva prajika offense. And then the fourth major precept prohibits false speech. A disciple of the Buddha must not himself engage in false speech, Encourage others to do so, Facilitate false speech, Nor may he involve himself in the causes, Conditions, Methods, Or karma of false speech to the extent of saying that he has seen what he has not seen, That he has never seen what he's actually seen, Or lying through physical or mental deeds. A bodhisattva should always maintain proper speech and proper views and lead all other beings to maintain them as well. If instead he causes all beings to give rise to deviant karma, He thereby commits a bodhisattva prajika offense. And those are really the last two paragraphs that are very similar in language. So we'll come back to some of that stuff. I will probably put some stuff under a microscope here, But just know that when we speak, And it's coming from a place of kindness and care, That usually supersedes all this other stuff that I'm going to mention. It's really quite simple. Can be. But just for Theronah's sake, I'll dive into this. So one of the things around that's happening, I think I've noticed, And maybe somebody has too, Is the millennial texting with the millennial generation. And, You know, I think I've even seen people that are sitting right next to each other, Instead of speaking to each other, They're texting each other, Right? And so this has just become a culture. If I had to take a wild guess, I would say texting takes a level of intensity out of interaction, Perhaps. You know, It's closely intertwined with our devices as well. Now there can be emotional charge interwoven within text, But sometimes it's not coming directly with the person they're texting. You know, It could be something that's recently happened or something that's happened in the past. You know, There could be so many things that go into, Like, Emotionality and emotional charge around texting. So it's really complex. I know I have challenges when texting of misinterpretation both ways, Of what I'm getting as a text and what I'm sending out. Sometimes I read way more into what the text is, Or sometimes, Yeah, I misinterpret it, And then my response is off. You know, Today in speaking, I used to not see this so much, But now it's obviously become more apparent that there can be a lot of pain involved in speech, Especially people, You know, Acting out things that have been done to them. Usually when somebody says something hurtful or negative or whatever harm is done spoken to us, And things we rightfully say to others, It's usually a reflection of what's already been done to us. And so this is kind of the victim-victimizer cycle. So when we're not aware that what others say to us really doesn't have much at all to do with us, It's showing us where the other person is at on their path and what's been done to them, Both negative and positive. And so becoming aware of that, And when we have a choice to break these victim-victimizer cycles and this victim-programming and victimizer-programming, And also victim-shaming, Too, That's another thing. Of course, The most obvious is when people lash out with speech. I'm sure we've all done that as well, Because a lot of us are just going through so much pain, It's almost like an outlet, As well as anger. So it can be a double-edged sword, You know. Some people deal with it by just shutting down. And sometimes that can be the most helpful thing for a little while instead of hurting others. But then if we internalize it, Then we can hurt ourselves, Too. So it's about finding a space and a way to release what's saying in a skillful way, In a skillful environment, With friends, Maybe with professionals, Just with practice, Even maybe monologuing like this, I don't know. So I'll just share some of my background with this. I guess maybe in high school, Maybe even grade school, I wasn't really comprehending why people weren't paying attention to what I was saying. And it finally dawned on me, They were paying more attention to how it was being said, And it seems so obvious now. But it's even more noticeable when someone is speaking very emotionally, And they're really heated. And it can also be when clinging to views and opinions and ideas, Like I used to do, Even more so than now, Right? And so I realize, Especially people that identify more with emotions, They'll tend to pay just as much, If not more attention to the conveyance and the emotion behind the words than the actual content itself, Right? So this expression. And another thing, I used to abuse speech by just kind of having a decent grasp of the English language, And using it to really not respect its power, But only using it to gain influence, And gain and influencing people. And so, You know, Like the silver tongue, Right, And way with words. And so that's kind of an underlying thing. At that point, There was really no notice of an emphasis on non-harming. Okay, So a lot of times also, Be quick to speak, Because we don't want to, Or at least I know in my experience, That I don't want to look like I don't know, Or I'm stupid or something or not helpful. So sometimes I will just forget to say, Oh, Well, I don't really know, Here's my best guess. I'll just jump into just saying whatever in order to look intelligent, Or come off as not stupid or not helpful. So I'll just kind of jump in and say something. And then I guess there's the opposite, Where people are kind of more standoffish and maybe indifferent to something they possibly could help out, But for whatever reason, They just are indifferent towards it. And another thing that happens quite regularly in my experience is I will forget significant key points in what I'm trying to say, And then I remember later, And then wondering if I should go back and say that. Now, Sometimes it comes into where, Okay, Yeah, I really need to go say that, Because it will completely change what I really meant to say, But it was an oversight, Or something wasn't remembered, And then it was. But then a lot of times you go back and you say that, And they're like, Well, I don't even remember what you were saying. And then, So it's like we put, Sometimes too much emphasis can be said, But other times it's like, Oh, We just blow stuff off, And then where we could easily, You know, It wouldn't take but a second to go back and go back and backtrack and clear things up, Say things more wisely, Skillfully and kindly, Or just things that have been forgotten. Okay, So now I'm going to talk a little bit about public speaking. It might not apply to too many people, But I'm sure we've all had to do some kind of public speaking, And whether at job or school, Or maybe we're considering more of it or whatever. I worked in online marketing for a while, And I was behind the scenes, You know, Organizing and editing podcasts and whatnot, Promoting them. And I was pretty much, I mean, I would have never considered going in front of a camera or a microphone. I mean, Just, I don't know if it terrified me, I just, Maybe, I don't know. I really didn't have much interest in it at all. I was just content with just, You know, Doing the behind the scenes work. One of the things that was really awkward was hearing my own voice played back, And I'm sure we've all experienced this too. And it's interesting just to hear your own voice played back, And what kind of response and reaction we have to that. And now it's almost like, Okay, There's a lot of room for improvement. And that's okay. It's just being okay with stuttering and stammering a lot of uh's and ah's and, You know. So, I mean, That helps me in one way, But in another way, It's like, Okay, Well maybe there needs to be more practice with this. You know, In order to improve on that aspect. And then also now, You know, It's more of a spiritual ego than an inferior or superior ego. So now you've got things like balancing well. You know, As long as I have this intention of not harming, Then it's pretty much all okay. I can just either be guided or trust that whatever I'm going to say is just going to come out, And it's what's meant to be said. And so there's that side with, Okay, Am I being a little bit overly loose with speech? And so then I start over-regulating, Self-censoring, And putting all my speech and actions and intent under a spiritual microscope, And just process, Process, Process, Instead of just trusting. So there's that dynamic. And then when it comes to actually recording itself, There's some days where when I do recordings offline that aren't live, I can get kind of into a meditative state. And I just talk very slow and deliberately. It can take long pauses of contemplation until the next dawning of realization happens, Right? And then in the editing, There's this thing where you can remove silences. So you can, You know, Get kind of almost where you want to be. You can represent yourself that you wouldn't normally represent in just kind of other modalities or other situations or places in life. And so you could take like a 20-minute recording and cut it down maybe by a half or two-thirds with the silences removed. So another thing is, You know, How much time do we have in a public speaking? That's obviously going to affect how maybe anxious we'll get to get through everything or if we'll just, You know, There's so much with that, Right? So are we going to just speed up and try to get everything done? Just say, Nah, Skip it. Just got to stop here. So what amount of relaxation needs to be involved? What amount of energy? I tend to be a little more animated, A little more energy when speaking. And, You know, But some people, They're really kind of, You know, Grasping for words. And I can be like that, Too, On some days, Right? It's like, Oh, The brain just mind isn't really kicked in yet and kind of, Oh, You know, What's the right word here? And am I slowing down too much? Right. Locking up, Freezing up, But usually performance anxiety, Things like that. And of course, Identifying the words that may service better and an audience better to be more mindful of when they're spoken. Like for me, There's ums, Like, Uh, Ah, You know, Right. So there's a balancing act between doing those and how much emphasis do we want to put on that? So if we put a lot of emphasis on, Okay, Those are my challenges, And then we put so much energy into, Oh, You know, These are so negative. I should just, Oh, Why do I do this? And so we have, We build up this energy and this mindset of the things that we have challenges with, With speech. And then that will seem to come across even more so when we speak. Right. And so we can become unconscious of those challenges, But they're still there amplified. Right. So sometimes we don't realize those, That unconsciousness is amplified. So when we go back and listen to how we talk, It seems like if they weren't as amplified, They're not as noticeable. So it's okay if you do a little bit of stuttering like it, But when it starts to make a big deal out of it, Right, That's when it becomes even more noticeable. So it's balancing that with, Okay, Well, How do we work on that without denying it? And also, You know, Not giving it too much energy. Okay. So the Buddha's guidelines for speech, Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Is it helpful? And is it the right time? What is the priority? What is our priority for this, These five things? In general, Like if you summed up your speech, Our speech, Speech in general, You know, Which one of these comes to the top of the list of which one I feel confident in succeeding at, And which one needs a little more attention? And then we can also do this in certain situations because certain situations, Some might have more precedence over others. So with the truth one, You know, For me, That's always been, I guess, Maybe uncommonly, That's been not a thing with me. I would just, Other than when other people can detect when they're, You know, Just kind of not really respecting truth and little white lies and, You know, Even BSing and stuff like that at a certain point, Especially if you can't tell they're doing that. And then other, You know, That gets, There's a fine line there because we can say things that lack other truths, Right? You can say something that's true, But you're deliberately leaving out another part of something truthful that's vital that would also be kind to the other person, Necessary for the other person, Helpful, And it would be timely, Right? So why it's still accurate in one sense, It's not the full thing. But then you balance that with, Okay, Well, How long am I going to have to stay here to give the entire truth? Are we going to be like in a court of law where I have to just go through everything? So again, That's where discernment comes in. Some miscellaneous things. There's this acquaintance who just, I guess one of my triggers, He just seems to love the sound of his voice. It's almost like when public speaking, It's just like on a stage and, Oh, Listen to the golden sound of my voice. It's so amazing. And I have everybody's attention just captivated listening to me. And it's very important. And of course, I'm being sarcastic to illustrate a point here. But, You know, So why does that trigger me? There's these teachings in spirituality about things being a mirror, Right? And, You know, The kind of the negative part of that, Well, Would say, Oh, Well, That's what you're showing what you need to work on. Or, You know, That's you being reflected back to you. And, Well, Maybe I'm not going to say it's totally wrong. I like this tweak on it by saying what we notice in others is what we've already addressed in ourselves. So see others kind of a slight more positive or at least neutral thing instead of using it as a reward and punishment system. This mirror, Mirror teachings. And, You know, Eventually it can get to a point where we can see other people reflecting back our own light. So that's kind of like a higher version of the mirror teaching. I would say, You know, For that you would just be possibly, You know, Kind of a self respect and, You know, Wanting honor, Confidence perhaps. Another thing is it was a time where I'd be joining groups and I would be just kind of foisting unrequested wisdom in real life on people and just kind of dominating the group. And it easily caught up to me. And, You know, For whatever reason, Some people aren't ready to hear certain things. Some people don't have the tools and a way to manage or address or how to deal with something that would come up, Possibly sharing certain things. One of the great things about Insight Timer and the Wisdom App is that it can be, Just online in general, Is we can share and not, You know, Force it on someone. And if someone's interested, They can come to the platform instead of me going out and just, You know, Being like a manic street preacher or something. Yeah. And then also, Especially in real life, Is not sharing wisdom unless it's specifically requested. And this is a really hard thing for me to come to terms with because, You know, The masculine just wants to jump in and fix everything, Right? Or, Okay, I've got all this wisdom. Here's what you need. I still struggle with this. I can see this, This, This. And so another suggestion is you go in, You actually practice what you would advise somebody else to do even more so before you would advise them. I think it was over Thanksgiving, Something came up and I was talking. It's kind of a challenging thing to say and my dad came in and he said, Josh, You need to think a little bit more before you talk so much. And I said right away, Yes, I agree. Thank you. It really just kind of cut the tension of what was going on. And then my mom actually said this today, Though. She said, And it's maybe a little personal, So I probably, But I'll just say it anyway. She says, Why do I need to think before I speak? You know, Why can't I just talk? And I won't say that, Who that's in reference to or whatever. But, You know, This speaks to righteousness. You know, This is, This is a righteous, Sometimes an indignation. But it's just kind of me being righteous just saying that too, Right? So this, It brings to mind, Some people have to walk on eggshells to say something. You know, Can there be an ease with saying things, But also, You know, With this freedom of speech we have, It also carries a big responsibility. So I think it's balancing that because they're, You know, Like I said earlier, Repression versus excessiveness. We can shut down and repress what we want to say, But there's the other end of where just speaking excessively and compulsively too, Right? Steve says, I find those transition words so right are not even noticeable unless spoken very often. When a person never uses them, It's even more distracting. That's interesting. Yeah. When a person never uses them, Then it's more, It's even more distracting. So that's interesting. I have to pay more attention to that when people usually don't do them. And then all of a sudden, Maybe they'll come in there and, You know, Throw those in maybe just to match who they're talking to, To make them feel more comfortable or something. One of the practices here is reading neutral text with the main intention to hear your voice. So actually the content will be secondary to what's going on in your experience. So if we read a script, Then we can focus on other aspects besides the meaning, Trying to put together what we're going to say next, You know, Thinking about what's been said, You know, All this stuff, What they've said before, What I said in the past, How are they going to perceive this, On and on and on. So if we read a script, Then we can pay more attention to kind of how we're speaking and kind of our own experience of just letting words out. And then we can also read something very charged and contrast it with something read neutrally. There's something called contract revocations, And possibly I'll link those in the show notes if I include this portion in a podcast, Which can really get lit up with emotions. So I'll just read, This is a sutta here, And this is actually kind of beautiful. Monks or practitioners, There are these five aspects of speech by which others may address you. Timely or untimely, True or false, Affectionate or harsh, Beneficial or unbeneficial, With a mind of goodwill or with inner hate. They may address you with what is true or what is false. They may address you in an affectionate way or a harsh way. They may address you in a beneficial way or an unbeneficial way. They may address you with a mind of goodwill or inner hate. In any event, You should train yourselves. Our minds will be unaffected and we will say no evil words. We will remain sympathetic to that person's welfare with a mind of goodwill and with no inner hate. We will keep pervading him with an awareness imbued with goodwill. And being with him, We will keep pervading the all-encompassing world with an awareness imbued with goodwill. Abundant, Expansive, Immeasurable, Free from hostility, Free from ill will. This is how you should train yourselves. Suppose that a man were to come along carrying a hoe and basket saying, I will make this great earth be without earth. He would dig here and there, Scatter soil here and there, Spit here and there, Urinate here and there saying, Be without earth, Be without earth. Now, What do you think? Would he make this great earth be without earth? No, Lord. Why is that? Because this great earth is deep and enormous. It can't easily be made to be without earth. The man would reap only a share of weariness and disappointment. In the same way, Monks or practitioners, There are these five aspects of speech by which others may address you, Timely or untimely, True or false, Affectionate or harsh, Beneficial or unbeneficial, With a mind of goodwill or with inner hate. Others may address you in a timely way or in an untimely way. They may address you with what is true, What is false. They may address you in an affectionate way or a harsh way. They may address you in a beneficial way or an unbeneficial way. They may address you with a mind of goodwill or with inner hate. In any event, You should train yourselves. Our mind will be unaffected. And when we say no evil words, We will remain sympathetic to that person's welfare with a mind of goodwill and with no inner hate. We will keep pervading him with an awareness imbued with goodwill. And beginning with him, We will keep pervading the all-encompassing world with an awareness imbued with goodwill, Equal to the great earth, Abundant, Expansive, Immeasurable, Free from hostility, Free from ill will. This is how you train yourself. And speaking, You know, The inverse of that is, Well, What are we listening to? What are we taking in? You know, Are we listening to like really crappy programming on television or media? Right? A lot of times we wouldn't listen to something. It's flipping that and saying, Well, Do we want to be putting out something that isn't beneficial, That isn't helpful, That isn't timely, That isn't true, That isn't kind? The timely thing is interesting. I don't think that gets mentioned enough. It's just like you wouldn't really kind of badmouth somebody at a funeral, Right? Or gossip about them and say how all the bad things they did, Like right next to their immediate family at their funeral, It just doesn't seem timely, I guess. But it's also unkind. And, You know, Even this talk, Maybe there might have been a more beneficial talk closer to Christmastime with speaking when people aren't really focused as much on speaking, As all the other stuff going on. Maybe caroling or something, But this is more experimental for a practice. So can we identify our challenges with being down on ourselves and then just start talking, Focusing mainly on them? So we identify what, Where we think we have challenges, Where we feel we have challenges in our speech, Make it an intent, Maybe in regular conversation instead of focusing so much on how we usually go about our speech. In the background, Now this is challenging, You might have to do this with a friend, Focus on those challenges. See when they start to come up, What our response is to them. And so we can put more maybe emotional energy, Mental energy into those challenges, Just kind of like a laboratory to study them through our speech. I know it's kind of challenging, So for me it would be like just talking and now just focusing on whether I'm going to say, Like, You know, Right, And other stutterings. However, I won't waste your time by, Just getting ready to say, Right, There, Said right again. So probably need to practice my own suggestions before I ask others to do the same. So it's an idea. Perhaps I'll practice that and share it at some other point in time. And then again, Reentering this point of how much do we want to amplify this unskillfulness in these perceived challenges, And then how much are we going to balance that with not being in denial about them, Being conscious about them too. And Maria says, This talk is very timely, Especially right before the holidays where I can practice being more skillful with kinds. Of course, Yeah, I stand corrected because of course we're all going to be socializing around the holidays. Maybe some people are already there and have got all their preparations made. Of course, That's a no brainer, Right? Way under my radar. Thank you. San, I found it effective to work on my throat shock area. I'd recommend others looking to. Yeah, And that's another thing. There's like generational trauma in my family around the throat and neck. Like broken necks, Or a broken neck, Not for me, But thyroid conditions, Spots on the thyroid, Throat cancer was one. So yeah, Plenty of that stuff, Not to mention just harshness and the connection between the head and the heart, Right? That's the bridge. Some people not expressing enough, Some people expressing very unskillfully, Unwind. And communication, Right? Yeah, I mean, Even if it's nonverbal communication, That's how we're in relationship in the world, Not just to others, But to all kinds of things, Especially with ourselves. A brief addendum here on the omitted decisive speech in slander, Balanced with harmonious unifying speech, Or maybe not balanced so much as abandoning one for the other. And how relevant is it to completely forget about unifying speech in the United States? The United States, Not the divided states. However, It seems almost more accurate these days to be a divided states, Divided amongst ourselves, Divided within ourselves in this country. How many times do we, Or at least I know I do, Prioritize certain views, Opinions, Agendas, Preferences, In doing so in a righteous or entitled way, Or maybe even just out of pain, Lashing out, Maybe doing what's been done to us, Maybe doing what's been done to me before. And so we lose sight of concord, Unification, Togetherness, Maybe some call it oneness. More accurately, I find interconnectivity, Interconnectedness, Interrelated, Unable to exist in a vacuum for long anyway. And so what can we do to bring more concord to speech? How can we unite instead of divide? How can these choices be made? How can we choose the opposite? How can we choose not to cause polarization, Division, Separation, Alienation, Conflict, Pushing people away and apart, Elevating some over another, Compartmentalizing this and that as it's desired or needed or fitted, To how we feel things ought to be our preferences? And how do we not get down on ourselves and beat ourselves up when we fall short while resolving, Intending, Concord, Unification, And also noticing what effects unifying speech has on ourselves and others, And noticing the opposite, Where we can see and know in this life we have now. And that's week three for December 2021 of the Paramita Challenge. Month four of the Paramita Challenge, December 2021. This is from the ten abodes, Stages four through seven. I'll read these and the brief description or explanation, And then we'll come back to them individually. Number four, The abode of producing virtues. We abide peacefully in the principle of quote unquote, No self, Where the seed natures are purified. Five, The abode of being endowed with skillful me. We abide in innumerable good roots and use expedient me to aid in the view of emptiness. Number six, The abode of correct mind. We abide in the completion of the wisdom of emptiness as found in the Prajnaparamita Sutas. Seven, The abode of no backsliding. We abide wherein one does not retrogress from the experience of the three gates of liberation, Wishlessness, Signlessness, And emptiness. And in all four of these, The common theme is emptiness. And I've likely mentioned this before. Some of the things I'm ready to talk about, Maybe some new things as well. So in Pali, It's sunnata, Sanskrit, Srunyata, If I'm pronouncing this right. They're often translated, Like I said, As emptiness, Stillness, Even heard maybe light of presence. So I'll offer this up, Maybe in addition to those, Or maybe this would be more accurate for some similar notions of sunnata. I don't know, But how about this? Impending immediacy. So I'll just leave it at that without really going into explanation. Maybe if that deserves unpacking later, That will happen then. So I always wonder, Empty of what? If there's emptiness, That means there's been some emptying done, Right? But what's been emptied out? And what remains? I've heard some of the teachings on emptiness are really only encouraged to practice, Study, And contemplate this concept, Maybe this truth, This notion of emptiness, Only when we're in a very stable, Gathered, And collected, In a unified state of being and state of mind. Because it has the possibility to destabilize, To scatter, To fragment, And to divide the mind and being potentially. However, With my understanding, If there's some stability to be able to look at this, Then a deeper truth about reality can be seen in this notion of emptiness. So one way we can investigate this is by investigating phenomena. And whatever phenomena is experienced, We can keep going behind, Behind, Behind. And so something is presented and then, Well, What's behind that? Through investigation, Maybe get an answer and well then what's behind that? And behind that? And behind that? Underneath that? Underneath that? Underneath that? And I'll just leave that there without coming up with any conclusions for you to try for yourself. And also beyond, Beyond, Beyond. So instead of the more deconstructive, Taking away method, The going beyond. So what lies beyond, Beyond, Beyond? And this ties right into the third one, Or the sixth one here. Viting in the contemplation of the wisdom of the emptiness found in the prajna-paramita-suttas. So there's a culminates in the line, Gatte, Gatte, Paragatte, Bodhisvaha. And I have a couple of translations here, But I'm not really fond of either one. Gone, Gone, Everyone gone to the other shore, Awakening, Svaha. Or gone, Gone, Gone beyond, Gone utterly beyond, Enlightenment, Hail. I don't know about this word, Hail. It's just kind of an awkward, Unused phrase in current English, Especially at the end of a sentence. But anyway, You kind of get the idea. So mentioning previously this emptying version I recently heard, I believe it was Gil Fronsdal, When speaking on the shorter discourse on emptiness, The sutta, He looked at emptiness as a verb of emptying. So this process or act of emptying, Instead of looking at it like a thing, Another thing, Objectifying emptiness, Which is kind of contradictory, Maybe a misnomer. So this process of, Well, What's extra, What's not needed, And what is the relationship like for emptying? Do we take it as grief and loss, Lack, Or is it a clearing, A releasing, A freeing, An unbinding, A shedding off of that which no longer serves us, Nor those we love, Especially in the long term? Perhaps another concept to explore with emptiness is essence. So can we really tune into an unchanging, Static essence of anything that can be captured and reproduced just the way we like it for as long as we like it? And I would say, Probably not in the long run that I know of, But how much do we try to do something like this, To really pin something down and say, That's the way it is, Or I know this, I'm going to get exactly what I want from this and act on the way that I want, And this is going to have the certain outcome that I desire. And then, Well, We might be able to do that for a while, But is that a long-term solution for happiness? I don't know. I invite you to investigate that for yourself. It's a little vague and it would help to illustrate this with specific examples, But maybe we can use our imagination here, Or memory, Or theory on real-life examples of that. Well, One way is expectations, Right? If, Let's say, Your expectations are met, Is that going to really provide ultimate lasting happiness, Or is it just going to be on to the next expectation under the guise of, Oh, That might do it for me, Really, Or maybe if I can just get enough expectations met in a certain amount of time, Then that'll do it and I can just keep that up. And so, That turns kind of into micromanaging with a lot of energy. And of course, Not all of our expectations are always met. And then, When we're not aware of that truth, Then there can be disappointment let down. This kind of deluded thought that it should have went one way, But it didn't go that way. And so, We don't realize that that's not a lasting long-term strategy for satisfactoriness. And just think for a moment, If you would get your way all the time, Then how boring would that be? Or would there be low growth in learning being that? Okay, So another notion of emptiness is unbalance. That can come with this misunderstanding notion of having carte blanche, Because nothing is really real and substantive. So, What does it matter? What happens? Or anything I do or anything happens, It's all empty. There's nothing to it. So, What does anything matter? Just kind of this nihilistic misunderstanding. And maybe that is on an ultimate level, But until I get there or we get there, That kind of line of thought doesn't really apply. You get pulled over by authority or you come in with authority and you start saying something like that. And you see how that's going to help you out. Probably not too much or anybody else around you. And then there's also this unbalance of the inferior ego, Because of this notion of, Oh, I'm insignificant. I'm less than. Everything's futile. Nothing I do matters. Nothing matters. And then there's this kind of small me, Which is actually still an ego. And this is not a helpful, Wise or skillful view of life and reality and the world. And of this notion of self we have. But sometimes it doesn't help either to just say, Condemn somebody for having this view either, Right? So, How do we convey that and resolve that and turn towards a more helpful view? So, There's this lovely quote by Nisargadatta Maharaj. Something like, Wisdom tells me I'm nothing. Love tells me I'm everything. Between these two my life flows. I just love the truth of that. So, Another notion of emptiness is like this womb-like nature. A womb where something is born from. Where sometimes it can be empty of life and sometimes it can be incubating, Growing, Preparing for life to launch into this world, Right? Not like a dot-com so much, But we all understand this, Right? To some degree anyway. And then, When investigating emptiness, Consider pairing it with non-emptiness. Because, Without exist- the way existence is now, How it is now, How would we know one without the other? How would we know emptiness without non-emptiness? And then, What kind of reference points do we have for emptiness? I think the most- the classic example I can think of is a cup being full, Filled and full, And then it being turned and emptied out. So, Once it held water, Or liquid of some sort, Now after it's been emptied, It becomes emptied. It becomes empty. So, Now going back to each individual one. Number four, The abode of producing virtues. We abide peacefully in the principle of no-self, Where the seed natures are purified. The abode of producing virtues. We pretty much know what an abode is. It's kind of a living place, A dwelling place, A location where one abides. And producing virtues. So, Virtues will just kind of maybe sub out goodness that can be put into action. Kind of like a value or an ethic that can be played out in real life, And also as an ideology. But, I guess the question is, Can these be produced? Don't they inherently exist? Aren't they there? So, Do they really need producing? Or perhaps they need kind of more realizing, Knowing and then implementing. But I guess it can be said that, Okay, If they're not there, Then they need to be brought into being. And that can be a production of sorts. This word of production has these kind of mechanistic, Capitalistic, Maybe. The bad parts of capitalism, Anyway. Or the unhelpful parts of capitalism. It's machine-like nature of production. So, I don't know if, Maybe I'm reading too much into that, But I like exemplifying virtues or realizing virtues would be a preference. And then we abide peacefully in the principle of no-self, Where the seed natures are purified. So, We abide peacefully, That's pretty straightforward. In principles, So, In the principle of no-self. So, This might have been also said before, But if something is true, Does it need to be a principle? Or what are principles? And then, Of course, I prefer not-self to no-self, Because not everybody can immediately see a no-self, Right? You tell people, Oh, Who are you? Oh, There's no self. Okay, What are you talking about? But not-self is more of like a strategy. Can we really pin down a self? This has been gone over before. So, If you investigate what we normally take for self as the five aggregates of body, Feeling, Or hedonic tone, Perceptions, Sankara, Perhaps fabrications or formations, Volitional formations, Mental formations, And then the last one is consciousness. And then further look into those by each one saying, Well, Am I the body? Do I own the body? Is the body in me? Am I in the body? So, After investigating all those and coming to the knowledge you have of those now, What exactly is a self? Of course, We have some kind of notion. That's how we navigate the world. So, In one respect, There's a self. This I, I call Josh. I go through the world and people call me Josh. I'm Josh. In one respect, That's that. But if you go deep, Deep, Deep into it, None of those things, They're not self. So, In the respect that they're always the same and that we have control over all those different aspects of it. Okay, So, Spiraling back around to the rest of this, We abide peacefully in the principle of no-self where the seed natures are purified. So, Again, I think the seed natures are a Mahayana term, But a laya consciousness. And I'm still very unclear. Of course, A seed contains within it all the, I guess, Instructions or information to grow the full plant within that, Given the right causes and conditions. But, You know, Where are these? How do we pin them down? How can we investigate these? Especially with the current state of consciousness and conditions for investigating something like this. You know, Why are these, Why is this concept so important? Especially that it's its own delineation of consciousness. And then, This notion of purity. So, Obviously, We can see certain things on a relative level that are cleaner than other things, That have more purity levels than contamination levels. But how are seed natures purified? If something's truly natural in its natural state, What needs to be purified and what doesn't? And who's to say or what's to say what does or doesn't? And how does this notion of no-self, Self and no-self, Not-self, Come into seed natures and purification? We abide peacefully in the principle of no-self where the seed natures are purified. So, If I had to guess what this means is, If we don't have this entrenched story, Notion and solidification of a I am, This me, This is who I am, This is the way it is, And that's just how it is, Without, You know, Questioning or being open to looking deeper, Then that can potentially cause problems. And so, Maybe the longer we keep that notion and keep reinforcing that notion and disseminating that notion like a seed, Then we plant those seeds and then they have a potential to either bear bad fruit or not sprout at all and not be helpful. So, Maybe that is meant by seed natures. And then, So if we give that up, Those entrenched stories and notions, Then perhaps that's how they're purified. By not clinging to a fixed notion of self. This is who I am, This is how it is, This is mine, I'm made of this. So, When we can lessen those bonds, Then there's a type of purification that takes place. Okay, Number five, The abode of being endowed with skillful means. We abide in the innumerable good roots and use expedient means to aid in the view of emptiness. The abode of being endowed with skillful means. So, Endowment means, Right, You're given something, Something is bestowed upon you, If I'm getting that right. And skillful means, It's pretty straightforward, Like there's certain ways a goldsmith would operate that will produce a beautiful finished piece of gold, And whatever is being done, Like a piece of jewelry or an adornment on some other object. And there's ways that could happen where that wouldn't be the outcome or the case at the end. So, Are we actually endowed with these skillful means? Well, Some people would say, Yes, There's a certain degree that you're born with certain talents and proclivities and predisposition towards certain things, Perhaps because of genetics, Maybe if you're into previous lives and maybe you've already had tons and tons of practice and training for that. But that gets into, Well, Is it really endowed or is it come by association, By associating with people who will support and nurture and foster those things? And or has there been a lot of effort and desire to develop skills? So, That's the question I have with the being endowed with skillful. And then we abide in innumerable good roots and use expedient means to aid in the view of emptiness. This whole notion of abiding in roots, That's really interesting, Right? So, I love this notion of roots, How it's kind of underground and dark, Yet it's a huge support and necessary part for the rest of the plant. This spreading out, This absorption, Being able to take in nutrients, Goodness, While still completely in the dark. So, What would a bad root be? Well, You know, There's the poison roots, Which I think is more accurate than bad roots of greed, Ill will and ignorance or delusion. And the good roots are the opposites of those. So, Generosity, Loving kindness, Wisdom. So, Innumerable good roots, I love that, It kind of expands on those. So, I guess it's just variations of those. There's all kinds of other good qualities too, I would suppose. And use expedient means to aid in the view of emptiness. This notion of expedient means kind of comes back to this impending immediacy. But there's also expedient means, There's also this notion of spiritual urgency. So, Yes, We can use quickness and speed without being in a hurry. That's possible. I would like to know what these expedient means might be. And if there's also an upside to having slower means, Or if both can be possible. And the view of emptiness, It's interesting how it's mentioned as a view here. So, When would be skillful to use a view of emptiness? And when would it be skillful not to have a view of emptiness? Or once it's fully realized, How would that affect things? Okay, Number six, The abode of correct mind. We abide in the completion of the wisdom of emptiness as found in the Prajnaparamita Sutras. So, I haven't read all these. I've just pretty much heard the Heart Sutra, Which includes what I've gone over before here. The Ghati Ghati, Paraghati, Bodhisvaha, Gone gone, Gone beyond, Gone utterly beyond, Enlightenment, Hail. So, It's hard for me to comment on the completion of the wisdom of emptiness found in those Sutras, Because that would take a lot of study and commentary to go over. Just trying to verbalize the penetration and knowledge and realization of the wisdom contained there. And so, How do you really talk about abiding in the completion of that? I guess you can point at it, But more than likely it would be an exemplification in state of being. How we conduct ourselves in life that would show an abiding in that wisdom and also in actions, In speech and thought of those. So that is the abode of correct mind, Right? Right view, Right intention. What am I missing here? Basically, The wisdom part. Okay, Number seven. Well, Before that, Correct mind. So, What would be an uncorrect mind, Right? A non-correct mind. And of course, I don't know if anybody really can just give a definition of mind that's just immediately apparent and realizable to everybody everywhere. It's kind of a complex thing, To say the least. But I'm not saying it's not possible. It's just kind of out of the scope of this podcast to define correct mind and expound on the wisdom of emptiness and the Prajna Paramita. Anyway, Seven. The abode of no backsliding. We abide wherein one does not retrogress from the experience of three gates of liberation. Wishlessness, Signlessness, And emptiness. So we've gone over the emptiness quite a bit, So we'll just set that aside for now. And I've kind of mentioned the wishlessness and signlessness before about this notion of self, No self, Not self, And how having views of the solid self and having things remain the way we want them in the long term is a setup for disappointment or at best just keeps self-perpetuating. So that's what leads to Dukkha and Dukkha as stress or unsatisfactoriness. And so when we see that nothing really can provide lasting satisfaction in the long run, At least in this world, The worldly realm, Then we don't get so attached to our wishes. And so it's okay if things come. It's also okay if things don't come. So this wishlessness, This non-devastation for not having our preferences met, What we really want, Not getting what we want, Getting what we don't want, Emotional charge tends to leak out of that. And where we really yearned and wanted something so bad before, Lessons, And where a wish can become less of a wish and not as big as a deal, Doesn't mean we still can't have choices and preferences and make goals, Achieve things, But we're not clinging to that or what happens or doesn't happen. So it's a wishlessness, Signlessness. This one, I have more challenges of understanding this term, But it goes to Anicca, This notion that in constancy, So maybe a sign, So we see a sign and it's not exactly what it is. It represents something else, Right? So one thing stands for another. One thing will inform us or we think it will inform us of what we need to do or don't need to do. So what happens when signs lessen and we come into seeing more of things the way they are instead of representation or ideas of one thing? Again, The story of living in story instead of reality, Living in an interpretation of reality instead of direct reality. So maybe we'll just, Maybe this is a bad example, Take a road sign. So it will give directions to turn right. But if you actually go up to that sign, Maybe it's made out of metal and you can hit it with a hand. It'll make it a loud sound that has paint and maybe an arrow on it, Maybe some letters in a language. And it's a certain shape and it's on a certain signpost and maybe it's attached to another post or the ground. And so that would be kind of more the reality of that sign, Even though it may contain some kind of information and then prompting for a choice or an order to follow or a recommendation to follow. But the actuality of that sign is one way, Is the physical description I gave. So that would be maybe one notion of what is the actual reality of that sign and what is our story about that sign? Or what are we taking that sign to mean or be? And what aren't we taking that sign to mean or be? And how helpful is this or not? Or what's beyond and behind these things? And how relevant is that or could that be? So yes, We take the practicality of the information and then in times of reflection, We can realize there's so much more to existence than reality. That a lot of times we've been taught or led to believe or the current capacity that we have. And instead of this being another thing to fall short of, Turn into a project, Strive or fail at, It can be, Wow, That's amazing. How amazing. So that's week four of the Paramita Challenge, December 2021.