WEBVTT 00:02.647 --> 00:03.688 Good evening, everyone. 00:04.930 --> 00:06.572 Welcome to our live broadcast. 00:10.978 --> 00:12.360 We're going to skip ahead tonight. 00:13.662 --> 00:15.945 Let's continue on to the Book of Twos. 00:17.727 --> 00:26.038 I'm just going to skip ahead to, so does that seem a little more relevant to actual meditation practice? 00:30.473 --> 00:44.149 So we're skipping on to Anguttara Nikaya, Book of Twos, first chapter, number five, the Upanyata Sutta. 00:44.169 --> 00:52.318 It is an example of one of the more well-known quotes of the Buddha. 00:54.741 --> 00:56.202 Book of Twos, so there's two things. 00:56.342 --> 00:58.725 The Buddha says, I've personally known two things. 01:00.933 --> 01:03.517 Upanyasing, I have come to know. 01:03.577 --> 01:08.025 Upa means to come or to arrive. 01:08.806 --> 01:09.668 Nyah, to know. 01:11.450 --> 01:12.673 Come to know two things. 01:14.035 --> 01:15.597 Things by things are dammas. 01:15.617 --> 01:21.307 In regards to two dammas, I have come to know. 01:22.248 --> 01:23.470 I have come to knowledge. 01:25.314 --> 01:26.215 I have come to know two things. 01:32.557 --> 01:34.883 And the meaning here is these are two important things. 01:35.485 --> 01:49.401 These are two things that the Buddha singles out, not perhaps as being the only central important things, but these are 01:52.857 --> 01:58.283 two qualities that impact one's practice. 01:58.864 --> 02:10.677 So they aren't the practice themselves, but these are two things that determine success or failure, have an important, plain important part. 02:11.158 --> 02:16.664 And in fact, these two things are similar and a part of the same thing. 02:17.025 --> 02:17.685 So what are they? 02:17.725 --> 02:22.611 Asantuttita kusalesu dhammesu. 02:24.734 --> 02:29.199 Discontent in regards to wholesome dhammas, wholesome things. 02:31.742 --> 02:40.252 And by things here is, in an ultimate sense, referring to mind states, mental qualities. 02:43.456 --> 02:44.096 Discontent. 02:44.597 --> 02:50.844 This is one of the rare usages of the word discontent in a positive sense. 02:50.864 --> 02:54.268 Buddhism is very much about contentment, santutthita, 02:57.438 --> 03:05.035 in regards to your possessions, in regards to your lodgings. 03:08.002 --> 03:13.433 in regards to experiences, but not in regards to mind states. 03:14.695 --> 03:28.002 You should not be content with your unwholesome mind states, and you should also not be content with your wholesome mind states, thinking I've gone far enough, this is good enough. 03:32.926 --> 03:54.180 And the other one is, the other of the two Dhammas that the Buddha mentions is apati vanita padhanasmi, unrelenting or unshrinking effort, exertion, never giving up. 03:56.644 --> 03:57.886 So they're very similar, actually. 03:57.906 --> 04:00.570 They're parts of the same thing. 04:08.431 --> 04:14.298 But you can give up for many reasons, and you can slack off for many reasons. 04:14.378 --> 04:22.528 But Buddha singles out one specific reason, and that's being content, being complacent. 04:22.548 --> 04:23.890 Very common in meditation. 04:23.930 --> 04:26.893 You'll make this mistake again and again in practice. 04:27.514 --> 04:31.519 It'll get easy, and you'll begin to slack off. 04:32.528 --> 04:39.180 confusing what this is is confusing the practice and the fruit 04:41.692 --> 04:44.975 You practice mindfulness, and it brings about fruit. 04:45.035 --> 04:47.437 And then you get excited, and you fixate. 04:47.477 --> 04:56.465 Rather than on the practice, you fixate on the fruit, which, if you think about it, is kind of silly, because it's clear that the fruit came from the practice. 04:57.506 --> 05:04.973 And as soon as you focus on the fruit, thinking, oh, this is easy, this is great, being content with that, you stop practicing. 05:05.914 --> 05:10.618 If you stop practicing, you lose the benefit of the practice. 05:11.392 --> 05:13.497 At least until you reach Nibbana. 05:15.121 --> 05:23.601 It's actually a different level of this problem for Sotapanna. 05:24.463 --> 05:27.250 Because Sotapanna has some kind of reassurance. 05:27.571 --> 05:29.856 They have some strong stability of mind. 05:31.321 --> 05:40.251 So the Buddha was actually specifically singling out, not here perhaps, but he at times would single out even anagami. 05:41.272 --> 05:46.798 The anagami are those who have no more greed or anger, but they still have delusion. 05:50.562 --> 05:59.252 No more greed or anger for sensuality, anyway, towards sense experience. 06:01.477 --> 06:13.474 And the Buddha scolded them, scolded a group of anagami for being complacent, which is a really good example for us. 06:13.574 --> 06:22.226 An anagami is someone who is so pure, so pure they can never be reborn in the world of sensuality. 06:22.807 --> 06:27.754 They'll be born in a very pure realm called the sudhāvasa, the pure realm. 06:30.265 --> 06:32.208 And they'll become enlightened as arahants there. 06:32.248 --> 06:39.338 They'll never come back to be born as human beings or animals or in hell or whatever. 06:39.358 --> 06:49.874 But even they can become complacent, can be even conceited about their attainment. 06:49.894 --> 06:54.140 How much more should we not be complacent about our attainment? 06:54.160 --> 06:57.325 It's something to watch out for in all regards. 06:57.505 --> 06:59.648 When things are good, it's very difficult to 07:00.860 --> 07:03.363 put out effort to make things better, right? 07:03.383 --> 07:04.705 Things are good, good enough. 07:06.968 --> 07:27.154 And if we're unable to remind ourselves or be reminded of the impermanence of our state, impermanence of our situation, potential for further suffering and falling back, we can become complacent and overestimate our progress. 07:29.125 --> 07:30.607 That's the first part of this teaching. 07:30.647 --> 07:33.130 The second part is where the quote comes in. 07:34.432 --> 07:54.778 The quote is, and it's an instructive quote for meditators complaining about their problems in meditation or the situation that they're in, the environment that they have to be in and the state of their body with pain and so on. 07:58.403 --> 08:02.845 The Buddha says, if you would strive indefatigably 08:09.575 --> 08:28.939 resolving to yourselves, and this is the quote, willingly let only my skin, sinews, and bones remain, and let the flesh and blood dry up in my body, but I will not relax my energy so long as I have not attained what can be attained by heroic strength. 08:28.959 --> 08:31.482 I don't think it's manly strength, but I'm not sure. 08:31.462 --> 08:42.019 Now it might actually be, yeah, purisatamina, purisavirina, manly strength, energy and exertion. 08:43.281 --> 08:44.103 That's how you should think. 08:45.585 --> 08:54.600 If you do that, you too will in no long time realize for yourself, with direct knowledge in this very life, the unsurpassed consummation of the spiritual life. 08:57.550 --> 08:59.312 Therefore you should train yourselves thus. 09:00.514 --> 09:02.997 We will strive indefatigably. 09:04.899 --> 09:06.461 Not slacking off. 09:07.783 --> 09:10.246 You have to consider where is the Buddha coming from? 09:10.306 --> 09:12.809 I mean he actually lived this. 09:13.550 --> 09:15.011 He left his life. 09:15.752 --> 09:19.137 He did something that most people would never dream of doing. 09:19.177 --> 09:24.003 And even those who dream of it would never actually dare to do it. 09:24.864 --> 09:26.005 And those who dare to do it 09:27.554 --> 09:33.681 Very few would actually succeed in finding success in it. 09:36.184 --> 09:54.827 But he left, and he put himself through such torture, pushing himself to the extreme, doing all sorts of practices just to try to, in a sense, being willing to 09:57.743 --> 10:06.195 to make the ultimate sacrifice, any sacrifice, to do anything, basically, to attain the truth. 10:06.215 --> 10:21.017 This is the sort of incredible resolve that is possible, that exists, that we can strive towards. 10:22.820 --> 10:24.944 that we should strive to emulate. 10:26.226 --> 10:31.556 This is not a teaching for a weak person. 10:32.518 --> 10:38.328 This is a teaching for someone who is bold and brave. 10:40.673 --> 10:44.760 It's quite refreshing, actually, to be able to be so bold. 10:45.652 --> 10:46.693 Religion does this. 10:46.994 --> 10:49.296 Religion has this great power to it. 10:49.536 --> 10:56.124 In Christianity, you have many bold statements by Jesus that are similar in nature to this. 10:57.265 --> 10:59.968 Jesus said, let the dead bury their dead. 11:01.069 --> 11:04.093 One should discard one's family and follow me. 11:04.814 --> 11:08.638 He made these bold statements that give people such faith and encouragement. 11:11.251 --> 11:23.206 They give us the opportunity to be real, to reach our potential, to go jump headfirst into something that feels meaningful. 11:24.487 --> 11:34.339 Obviously, I don't particularly agree with Christian concepts of meaning. 11:37.846 --> 11:39.549 Certainly in Buddhism you have this. 11:39.850 --> 11:40.592 You have the path. 11:41.213 --> 11:41.954 The path is here. 11:41.994 --> 11:45.261 The path is open. 11:47.285 --> 11:48.347 Nibbana exists. 11:48.467 --> 11:49.970 The path to Nibbana exists. 11:52.014 --> 11:52.856 What are you waiting for? 11:57.806 --> 11:58.808 And so this is the 12:01.235 --> 12:03.379 You have to understand this isn't a hobby. 12:03.399 --> 12:05.944 This isn't something that you can't have your cake and eat it too. 12:06.765 --> 12:12.936 If you're not willing to give up everything, you can't ever hope to be truly happy. 12:14.640 --> 12:15.441 There's no halfway. 12:19.268 --> 12:22.233 So just a little dhamma for tonight. 12:23.576 --> 12:24.778 Every night we give a little bit. 12:26.868 --> 12:30.433 Eventually we'll skim through the entire Anguttara Nikaya. 12:30.814 --> 12:31.856 This is our next task. 12:33.538 --> 12:36.242 And the Dhammapada, I will try to do Dhammapada videos. 12:36.262 --> 12:38.766 I'll see about Mondays maybe. 12:38.866 --> 12:40.469 I don't have my camera all set up here. 12:40.489 --> 12:42.992 I have to set everything up. 12:43.012 --> 12:43.774 We'll get around to it. 12:46.758 --> 12:47.740 If we don't die first. 12:47.880 --> 12:48.861 If I don't die first. 12:49.482 --> 12:50.584 It's always a possibility. 12:51.886 --> 12:53.989 Anyway, tonight's theme is striving. 12:56.264 --> 12:58.046 Let's look and see if we have any questions. 13:03.854 --> 13:06.478 Hi, Robin, are you here? 13:06.498 --> 13:07.359 Yes, I'm here, Bante. 13:07.600 --> 13:08.881 We have questions. 13:08.901 --> 13:10.704 Give me some questions. 13:10.724 --> 13:15.070 I became a gardener recently, and I often destroy the insect habitat. 13:15.090 --> 13:20.337 I don't intend to kill these insects, but by moving the earth or stones, I know I kill some. 13:21.158 --> 13:25.444 Sometimes when I can, I move bigger insects to other places, but I can't always do that. 13:25.660 --> 13:26.467 What can I do? 13:26.487 --> 13:29.007 Is Gardner right livelihood? 13:29.048 --> 13:30.157 Thanks, Bonte. 13:30.338 --> 13:30.439 Well, 13:31.178 --> 13:32.279 It's problematic. 13:32.419 --> 13:34.421 Being a gardener is a real problem. 13:35.442 --> 13:37.584 There are ways, I suppose, to get around it. 13:37.824 --> 13:41.868 But you could do hydroponics, maybe. 13:41.888 --> 13:43.770 I don't know. 13:44.430 --> 14:00.966 But yeah, you're always going to have that worry and that sadness in your mind at the unpleasantness that you're meeting out upon these living beings. 14:02.093 --> 14:11.112 You know, Moggallana once offered to, and it's a really strange passage, but apparently the earth has some nutriment in it. 14:13.317 --> 14:16.143 In northeast Thailand, actually, people are very poor. 14:16.203 --> 14:17.726 They actually do eat dirt. 14:17.766 --> 14:21.013 There's a certain kind of dirt that you can actually get nutrition from. 14:20.993 --> 14:31.647 So Moggallana offered to use his magical powers once to remove the nutriment from the earth and feed the monks that way. 14:31.727 --> 14:37.674 This was early on before there was rules and set up to not allow that sort of thing. 14:39.036 --> 14:43.542 But the Buddha said, no, you'll disturb many living beings that live in the earth. 14:43.522 --> 14:44.464 What do you do with them? 14:44.484 --> 14:56.103 I said, well, I'll take them out in one hand and I'll remove them from the earth in one hand and take the nutriment from the other hand. 14:56.123 --> 15:01.291 I mean, this is all, believe it or not, but this is in the realm of psychic powers. 15:01.331 --> 15:03.996 So he was able to do that. 15:04.316 --> 15:09.765 But even that, no death, no suffering to these beings, the Buddha wouldn't allow because it would disturb them. 15:11.028 --> 15:13.902 even disturbing the home of these beings. 15:15.248 --> 15:20.312 So there's definitely something there that you have to be aware of. 15:22.503 --> 15:36.123 It doesn't make you not a Buddhist to harm other beings, especially when your intention, your direct intention is not to do that. 15:37.505 --> 15:47.059 Obviously killing, if you intentionally kill beings, if you intentionally kill beings, you can't be said to be really, truly Buddhist. 15:47.039 --> 16:03.368 But if you have a borderline case here where you're not intentionally killing, but you're doing something that you know is going to lead to death, there's a pretty much 100% chance that you're going to kill something. 16:05.732 --> 16:06.193 Not good. 16:07.234 --> 16:10.179 Not really on the up and up. 16:10.200 --> 16:12.203 It's like manslaughter rather than murder. 16:14.714 --> 16:25.223 You could argue you're not guilty of killing, but the precepts, I've said this before, precepts are just fence posts. 16:25.344 --> 16:26.547 They don't make the fence. 16:27.775 --> 16:34.461 So killing is definitely a fence post that you don't want to cross, but there's a lot of fence in between that you also shouldn't cross. 16:35.842 --> 16:40.166 If you really want to have a perfect fence, you have to be very careful about the things you do. 16:41.507 --> 16:44.490 I think Gatakara is another example. 16:45.391 --> 16:53.058 He made pots, but if I remember the story correctly, and I may not, but it seems to me that he wouldn't... 16:53.198 --> 16:55.740 He had to get clay for these pots, but he wouldn't dig... 16:56.311 --> 16:58.814 clay from the ground because he knew there would be... 17:00.456 --> 17:05.682 He got it from termite mounds, I think, like old termite mounds that were deserted or something like that. 17:06.643 --> 17:18.938 But I thought I read he also would get it from the bank of rivers when the banks of the rivers would be crumbling and there would be clay that had no insects or no animals living in it, that kind of thing. 17:20.240 --> 17:21.461 So there's definitely something there. 17:22.683 --> 17:25.626 Gardening is a really tough one. 17:27.007 --> 17:29.850 I wouldn't worry intensely about it. 17:30.071 --> 17:36.058 As I said, just because you're harming other beings doesn't mean you can't progress in meditation. 17:36.098 --> 17:41.704 But you're always going to have that sense and sensitivity if you're practicing meditation. 17:42.425 --> 17:47.892 You'll have the sensitivity towards their suffering. 17:47.992 --> 17:50.635 I mean, when I was living in Sri Lanka in a cave, 17:51.458 --> 17:58.969 Lots of animals and you'd often feel guilty about the harm that you did towards like chasing us. 17:59.049 --> 18:00.091 I chased a snake out. 18:00.712 --> 18:08.303 There was a snake in my room once and a big snake, like a long three foot long snake. 18:08.283 --> 18:37.058 and I don't think I don't remember it was poisonous or not yeah I think it was poisonous anyway dangerous snake but it had eaten it had eaten a rat or something or maybe a frog and so its stomach was big and I chased out the room with a broom but it got stuck it went in between the door and it got stuck at the rat this big bulge in its stomach and it 18:37.038 --> 19:06.285 barely got through but I think it was quite hurt by doing so and it was definitely scared sometimes you can't avoid harming beings dealing with termites you know trying to get termites out of the cave because they were eating up my book and my books in my tent and I had to take them out one by one by one and put them in another termite now and then sometimes the other termites would bite them as they came in it was just kind of awful 19:10.535 --> 19:16.568 So there's no easy, sometimes it's messy, especially for lay people. 19:16.708 --> 19:18.151 Is gardening wrong livelihood? 19:19.134 --> 19:24.004 No, not unless you use pesticides that actually kill living beings, but 19:25.368 --> 19:26.229 It's not perfect. 19:27.290 --> 19:29.974 It's not perfect livelihood. 19:29.994 --> 19:32.116 It's probably not up there with the best livelihoods. 19:32.477 --> 19:38.524 I mean, many people would be upset to hear that, because gardening is seen as such a wonderful occupation. 19:38.564 --> 19:41.208 But it's generally not. 19:41.228 --> 19:44.872 Farmers can be some of the cruelest people around. 19:47.175 --> 19:52.041 Even vegetable farming is not perfect, unfortunately. 19:52.101 --> 19:52.962 It's very difficult. 19:57.245 --> 19:58.188 OK, next question. 19:59.130 --> 20:03.482 I have a strong inclination to shave my head, but I'm insecure about myself. 20:03.803 --> 20:07.172 And always turning the clipper on, my body just freaks out. 20:07.733 --> 20:13.549 How can I become less attached to becoming ugly and being judged and shyness? 20:14.137 --> 20:15.379 Well, those are all emotions. 20:16.119 --> 20:16.580 Practice. 20:16.640 --> 20:18.543 Have you read my booklet on how to meditate? 20:18.643 --> 20:21.186 If not, that's where I'd recommend you start. 20:21.206 --> 20:26.212 If you have, then definitely all of that is meditation fodder. 20:27.654 --> 20:28.375 Meditate on it. 20:29.596 --> 20:31.078 Don't react to your reactions. 20:31.158 --> 20:31.979 Just learn about them. 20:33.521 --> 20:37.326 If you're afraid or worried, say afraid, afraid, or worried, worried. 20:39.432 --> 20:40.774 But you also have to get around the view. 20:40.854 --> 20:44.999 The question is, do you really believe that it's good for you to shave and important for you to shave your head? 20:45.039 --> 20:45.520 It's not. 20:45.540 --> 20:47.602 I mean, shaving your head isn't really that important. 20:47.662 --> 20:52.989 But you have to decide for yourself, are you sure this is what you want to do? 20:53.209 --> 20:57.014 Intellectually, I mean, don't worry about your emotions. 20:57.195 --> 21:02.301 But intellectually, if you've set yourself on doing it, then focus on the emotions and just let them go. 21:06.162 --> 21:08.546 I think there is a bug with the meditation timer. 21:08.887 --> 21:14.796 When I put a number in and click start, it immediately shows the number, but with 10 reduced. 21:14.817 --> 21:16.159 Is this going to be fixed? 21:16.940 --> 21:22.590 I haven't noticed that bug, but this whole platform is going to be changed hopefully fairly soon. 21:23.311 --> 21:25.454 We're just finalizing the new platform. 21:25.535 --> 21:26.696 It's really ready to go. 21:26.797 --> 21:32.406 It's just a matter of switching, which should happen in the next month, I hope. 21:39.389 --> 21:43.253 How close is the Buddhist teaching to Maslow's hierarchy of needs? 21:45.795 --> 21:46.656 That's a good question. 21:48.358 --> 21:50.180 Maslow's hierarchy of needs. 21:51.201 --> 21:54.804 Yeah, there is a sense of the hierarchy of needs. 21:55.465 --> 22:07.877 It's not an incredibly important teaching, but there is a sense of the need for certain things before you can get to spiritual practice. 22:09.106 --> 22:23.674 I wouldn't want to overplay the importance because there's also a sense that when you have to do without, it's an important part of the practice to be content to do without. 22:25.558 --> 22:30.608 But there's also a sense that without certain requisites, practice becomes increasingly difficult. 22:32.512 --> 22:34.335 I just wouldn't overemphasize it. 22:34.496 --> 22:40.687 If you get attached to that idea, then you'll make excuses. 22:40.907 --> 22:42.390 I'm hungry, so I can't practice. 22:42.470 --> 22:44.554 I'm hot, so I can't practice. 22:44.694 --> 22:46.157 I'm tired, so I can't practice. 22:46.197 --> 22:47.359 None of which is really valid. 22:51.787 --> 22:56.916 If a human keeps the five precepts, he is basically guaranteed to be reborn human. 22:57.419 --> 23:02.478 What does a human have to do to be reborn as a Deva or a Brahma? 23:03.161 --> 23:06.433 And is it easier to become enlightened as a Deva or a Brahma? 23:09.670 --> 23:15.419 I'm not guaranteed, but it's a general rule of thumb. 23:15.519 --> 23:23.091 If you're keeping the five precepts and not doing anything, not engaging even in mental activity that is regarding breaking the precepts. 23:23.111 --> 23:27.318 Like if you think about killing someone, you don't really have to kill someone to go to hell. 23:28.179 --> 23:30.803 If you've got terrible anger in your mind, it can be enough. 23:32.506 --> 23:35.050 But generally, generally not. 23:35.771 --> 23:36.572 Generally, if you're, 23:37.109 --> 24:00.012 if you're of a mind state not to kill and steal and lie and cheat then or take drugs and alcohol then generally you're you're pretty good to go to become a human being it's necessary if you're not keeping the five precepts and you're intent upon breaking them then it's really not conceivably possible to be born a human 23:59.992 --> 24:29.998 and it's still it's these aren't magic it's just a general rule of thumb as far as becoming an angel it requires what we call maha kussala so goodness beyond just not doing bad things you have to actually be charitable you have to be learned you have to be you have to have a sense of confidence and composure of mind so you have to do lots of good deeds you have to be generous and moral 24:29.978 --> 24:34.842 and keeping religious practices. 24:36.880 --> 24:37.981 helpful to people. 24:39.022 --> 24:41.505 You have to have love and kindness and all those things. 24:42.426 --> 24:46.490 To be born a Brahma, you have to enter into tranquility, absorption. 24:47.471 --> 24:54.359 You have to fix your mind on a single pointedness that takes you out of the sensual realm, takes you away from the senses. 24:54.679 --> 24:59.084 So you're no longer hearing or seeing or tasting, smelling or tasting or feeling. 24:59.124 --> 25:04.710 And then if you die in that state, you'll be born in the Brahma realms. 25:09.314 --> 25:15.297 Are there any other beings other than Buddha that reached the state of enlightenment in the Buddhism history? 25:16.140 --> 25:19.915 If yes, did they come to the same conclusions as Buddha did about life? 25:21.295 --> 25:26.201 Anyone who becomes enlightened is either an arahant or a Buddha. 25:26.762 --> 25:28.104 Depends what you mean by enlightened. 25:28.865 --> 25:33.531 So all of his followers who were called arahants were considered enlightened. 25:34.693 --> 25:37.256 But there's a special kind of enlightenment that makes you a Buddha. 25:37.276 --> 25:40.540 And anyone who attains that is a Buddha. 25:40.560 --> 25:44.265 Yes, we have lots of stories of past Buddhas, but they're still called Buddhas. 25:45.832 --> 25:52.669 And just anytime anyone realizes that, they become a Buddha, either a private Buddha or a fully enlightened Buddha. 25:54.734 --> 26:00.448 A private Buddha doesn't teach, and a fully enlightened Buddha does. 26:02.092 --> 26:02.794 Fully you mean. 26:06.571 --> 26:08.774 I have a question regarding the idea of self. 26:09.615 --> 26:19.967 So as you said, in one of the live broadcasts, if we consider every moment of the present as discrete experience, why do we still remember the experience that happened previously? 26:20.007 --> 26:23.391 There should be something that unites these experiences together. 26:23.792 --> 26:25.534 Thank you for addressing this question. 26:26.895 --> 26:27.796 I don't know. 26:27.816 --> 26:30.680 I don't know the answer to that. 26:31.000 --> 26:31.701 There just isn't. 26:32.407 --> 26:38.164 The only answer I could offer is that Buddhism doesn't exactly talk about what's out there. 26:38.802 --> 26:40.463 You have to get a new paradigm. 26:40.824 --> 26:48.791 It's not the paradigm of this thing exists or this thing exists. 26:49.011 --> 26:54.796 It's completely based on empirical observation of experience, and that's it. 26:55.717 --> 27:08.809 So it's not saying that there is or isn't something uniting or that even that these mind states are like billiard balls that click, touch each other. 27:08.789 --> 27:38.779 it's just saying that there is this experience and it leads to this experience to that experience this leads to this and that there are patterns that you can find between mind states experiences rather than things they're not exactly things so the idea you know because we have this paradigm of thinking of things reacting to other things it's not really like that so the argument would be that the universe is not made up of things 27:38.759 --> 27:42.633 It's made up of experiences. 27:42.894 --> 27:46.005 Like Buckminster Fuller said, I am a verb. 27:46.066 --> 27:49.478 It's a little bit more like that, I would say. 27:54.014 --> 28:01.962 Pante, is there any benefit or any appropriate reason to focus on noting one of the Satipatthana instead of noting all four of them? 28:02.843 --> 28:08.909 There are passages in the Canon where someone talks about practicing just mindfulness of the body, for example. 28:15.395 --> 28:20.460 Yes, well, first of all, the body is a good place to start, the body specifically. 28:20.997 --> 28:23.721 sort of encompasses all the other three, right? 28:24.462 --> 28:29.909 Because if you're focusing on the body, you're going to be aware of the feelings, the mind, and the dhammas. 28:30.610 --> 28:33.514 They're all going to come within this frame, this bodily frame. 28:34.415 --> 28:40.423 The body is just therefore the greatest of all meditation objects because it's 28:40.403 --> 28:42.487 It's our universe, really. 28:44.450 --> 28:49.720 But that being said, focusing on one or the other actually relates to your character type. 28:50.121 --> 29:00.340 If someone is lustful or passionate, if someone is passionate, as opposed to intellectual, there's passionate and intellectual. 29:00.360 --> 29:01.602 If someone's passionate, 29:01.582 --> 29:05.688 but they have weak wisdom, they should focus on the body. 29:06.629 --> 29:12.697 If someone is passionate, but they have strong wisdom, they should focus on feelings, vedana. 29:12.717 --> 29:17.664 If someone is intellectual, but they have weak wisdom, they should focus on the mind, citta. 29:17.684 --> 29:23.252 If someone is intellectual, but they have strong wisdom, they should focus on dhamma. 29:23.232 --> 29:26.940 Generally speaking, absolutely you should focus on all four. 29:27.000 --> 29:28.583 No one should ever give up all four. 29:28.624 --> 29:35.418 But it does help you sort of get a sense of which one is going to give you the most trouble and which one is going to be the most fruitful. 29:36.140 --> 29:38.625 Don't ever just do one of the four satipatthanas. 29:41.288 --> 30:00.883 and the other one is if you practice samatha before and you have weak wisdom you do body if you practice samatha before and you have strong wisdom you do vedana if you practice vipassana only not ever practice samatha and you have weak wisdom you focus on citta strong wisdom you focus on dhamma 30:04.171 --> 30:08.817 Fante, would a meditator be able to figure out for themself which character type they are? 30:08.857 --> 30:10.339 Or is that something? 30:10.720 --> 30:11.140 You can. 30:11.240 --> 30:13.143 But yeah, they're much better to worry about. 30:13.864 --> 30:15.126 Let the teacher worry about that. 30:15.266 --> 30:20.413 And even the best, Ajahn Tong, he would give this teaching and then explain them. 30:20.433 --> 30:23.597 And then he'd say, but we just give all four to everyone. 30:25.045 --> 30:26.228 That's true. 30:26.308 --> 30:27.973 Don't pay too much attention to that. 30:28.835 --> 30:38.420 It's interesting and it gives you a little bit of inclination or a little bit of information about how to go. 30:40.605 --> 30:42.109 But in the end, you have to use all four. 30:46.375 --> 30:52.102 Could you explain the difference between a Theravada bodhisattva and a Mahayana bodhisattva? 30:52.823 --> 30:56.007 I have taken the vow myself, but I don't know if I'll stick to it. 30:57.349 --> 30:58.790 So there is quite a difference. 30:59.391 --> 31:04.317 A bodhisattva in Theravada is someone who's going to become a Buddha. 31:05.819 --> 31:08.563 I mean, it's arguable that there may not be. 31:08.683 --> 31:11.286 It's funny because the Mahayana in India 31:12.177 --> 31:18.204 is a little bit disjointed and we don't really have a strong sense of what the Mahayana actually was. 31:18.244 --> 31:27.054 There's just too many suttas and a lot of them are apocryphal and the Theravada we have a really good sense of what it is. 31:27.354 --> 31:30.618 We have two versions of the Theravada Tipitaka. 31:31.179 --> 31:34.843 We have the Chinese one, we have the actual Theravada Pali one, but 31:35.768 --> 31:39.512 The Mahayana sutras are kind of all mixed up. 31:40.152 --> 31:42.235 And they do say different things. 31:42.615 --> 31:48.120 And in China, they were put together and fused into one religion. 31:48.201 --> 31:50.062 But that doesn't mean that that's actually what they were. 31:51.224 --> 32:02.535 But the big difference, as it's presented today, is that Mahayana bodhisattva makes a vow to not enter into nibbana until all beings are capable. 32:02.515 --> 32:07.898 Now, I do know that many Mahayana practitioners will say that that's just a vow that you take. 32:07.938 --> 32:08.982 You don't actually mean it. 32:10.683 --> 32:18.057 Keep this in mind that they will say that you don't actually mean it You know that it's impossible because what does the vow say beings are endless. 32:18.177 --> 32:22.885 I vow to save them all So you immediately it's a paradox, right? 32:23.146 --> 32:24.048 It's not possible. 32:24.068 --> 32:33.585 You're making about it's not possible What that means is the idea I understand is it's to give you unlimited energy it's to not put a limit on your effort and 32:33.565 --> 32:36.931 So that you'll go all out is the idea. 32:37.793 --> 32:43.383 Criticism being that we put some limit on our effort and therefore are complacent, lazy, selfish, etc. 32:45.247 --> 32:45.868 That's the big one. 32:47.130 --> 32:51.599 And then, you know, the bodhisattva in Mahayana actually gets a lot more complicated than that. 32:51.679 --> 32:56.147 There's weird teachings and esoteric teachings that I really don't know anything about. 33:02.084 --> 33:08.593 Yesterday you said that the internet is a great way to disseminate the Buddhist teaching, but that it's certainly not going to last in the future. 33:09.415 --> 33:09.635 Why? 33:09.655 --> 33:10.897 Internet control? 33:11.778 --> 33:14.422 No, I was just suggesting that the internet's not going to last. 33:14.682 --> 33:20.350 I mean, eventually there's going to come a time where this is all going to collapse and it's incredibly unstable. 33:20.431 --> 33:28.362 All it would take is a very strong solar flare, apparently, or some burst from the sun to destroy absolutely everything. 33:28.342 --> 33:53.016 electronic device as I've heard this may be wrong but my understanding is it's possible that there could be some solar occurrence that's happened in the past that would just totally wipe out all of our electronics it's just an example I suppose that's not even the big one but there's going to be wars there will eventually be a breakdown of society and you know whatever 33:53.637 --> 34:03.550 20 years, to think that something that's lasted 20 years gives us any indication of whether it's going to last 1,000 years. 34:04.772 --> 34:06.454 Nothing lasts even 1,000 years. 34:06.895 --> 34:08.136 And 1,000 years is nothing. 34:08.156 --> 34:09.979 10,000 years. 34:09.999 --> 34:14.044 10,000 years from now, you think the internet's still going to be here? 34:14.064 --> 34:17.829 We probably won't even be here. 34:18.210 --> 34:20.573 The earth is going to look a lot different in 10,000 years. 34:23.320 --> 34:28.128 I think even the electrical grid is kind of questionable in the US, at least. 34:29.250 --> 34:31.333 Yeah, I mean, it's so, so ephemeral. 34:31.854 --> 34:32.716 It's becoming more. 34:32.756 --> 34:36.322 This is what the singularity is doing, this talk of a singularity. 34:36.722 --> 34:38.866 It's not just making things more and more impressive. 34:39.226 --> 34:41.089 It's making things more and more unstable. 34:41.911 --> 34:44.796 Whereas before, a book, you have to burn it, right? 34:45.597 --> 34:46.198 A hard drive? 34:47.160 --> 34:49.243 Just a moment, and all the information is gone. 34:51.535 --> 34:53.799 All it takes is a little bit of damage and poof. 34:56.724 --> 35:02.574 Anyway, I guess the point is that everything's impermanent. 35:02.594 --> 35:04.257 When Mara dies, what happens? 35:04.858 --> 35:06.781 Would another Deva take his place? 35:07.662 --> 35:10.928 Would Mara go to the realm of hell or some other lower realm? 35:11.178 --> 35:14.203 Well, apparently there is a class of angels called Maras. 35:14.683 --> 35:22.275 They are the paranimita-savati, meaning they rejoice in the creations of others. 35:23.557 --> 35:26.262 So what that means is they want us to be reborn. 35:26.422 --> 35:29.407 That's why Mara is such a thorn in the Buddhist side. 35:29.427 --> 35:31.650 Well, not exactly, but he tries to be. 35:31.630 --> 35:39.018 because the Buddha is actually a thorn in Mara's side, because the Buddha is taking people out of samsara, so they're not going to create things anymore. 35:39.038 --> 35:40.760 He's trying to encourage people to do things. 35:42.121 --> 35:44.664 Maras are not actually really evil. 35:45.445 --> 35:51.051 They just delight, they just try to encourage people to do things, good deeds, bad deeds, whatever. 35:51.091 --> 35:52.333 They like to see action. 35:53.594 --> 35:55.516 Buddhists are kind of boring. 35:56.577 --> 35:58.279 What kind of Mara would like to see that? 36:00.588 --> 36:01.390 That's the point. 36:01.410 --> 36:09.109 So there's a whole class of them and they're born and die just like every other being. 36:09.129 --> 36:11.575 What is the difference between vedana and feeling? 36:11.616 --> 36:12.919 Is it the same thing? 36:13.641 --> 36:18.192 Is vedana about emotional feeling, physical feeling, both or neither? 36:18.965 --> 36:21.250 Emotional feeling, that's a slippery term. 36:21.811 --> 36:23.896 It's about physical and mental feeling. 36:24.597 --> 36:28.044 And the mental feelings are associated with emotions. 36:28.966 --> 36:36.482 But the positive, at least, like a happy feeling in the mind, that's just a feeling. 36:36.522 --> 36:39.589 And it can be associated with wholesomeness or unwholesomeness. 36:39.569 --> 36:43.014 An unhappy feeling in the mind can only be associated with unwholesomeness. 36:43.074 --> 36:47.340 But the unwholesomeness and the wholesomeness, those are the emotions, anger and greed. 36:48.081 --> 36:51.325 The happiness is just the feeling part. 36:51.346 --> 36:53.669 Feeling is just a word, but that's what Vedana means. 36:54.610 --> 36:58.015 It also refers to physical, so pleasure and pain are also Vedana. 36:58.035 --> 36:59.337 There's five types of Vedana. 37:00.238 --> 37:05.405 Physical pain, physical pleasure, mental pain, mental pleasure, and equanimity. 37:06.046 --> 37:06.707 Those are the five. 37:14.483 --> 37:16.605 She possibly harbors souls. 37:17.727 --> 37:18.207 Possibly. 37:18.247 --> 37:21.891 Actually, I think that's possible. 37:21.971 --> 37:26.256 It's unlikely, but for the most part, they don't. 37:26.416 --> 37:37.468 And the idea of a mind actually being able to manipulate, like you create a cyborg or an android, and somehow it's about consciousness, it's not quite that. 37:37.669 --> 37:42.634 But certainly, the mind can inhabit anything. 37:49.887 --> 37:52.872 I only ask this because of all the horrible news stories. 37:52.932 --> 37:54.615 This was the question about Mara. 37:55.637 --> 37:56.658 Oh, I'm sorry. 37:56.779 --> 37:57.540 No, different question. 37:57.700 --> 38:00.966 What is the karmic or past life connection in a mass shooting? 38:01.607 --> 38:04.652 I have heard it said in Buddhism, we get what we deserve always. 38:05.293 --> 38:07.817 So why does a person shoot a room full of strangers? 38:08.599 --> 38:13.106 Could you give a Buddhist explanation for this disturbing mass shooting epidemic? 38:13.126 --> 38:15.270 I've stopped watching the news because of this. 38:15.470 --> 38:16.652 No, that's not true. 38:16.833 --> 38:18.275 New karma can be created. 38:18.336 --> 38:26.331 Now, there is some connection usually with past karma, but there doesn't have to be. 38:26.371 --> 38:28.676 New karma can be created. 38:28.696 --> 38:30.239 This is an important point. 38:30.900 --> 38:34.407 So a person who goes into a theater and kills a theater full of people, now, 38:35.180 --> 38:47.109 There may be and there likely is some connection, but there is also this new creation that can start something fresh that wasn't there before. 38:48.191 --> 38:50.978 And much more common would be to increase it. 38:50.958 --> 38:56.185 So maybe in past life, all these people got together and laughed at this guy or something. 38:57.006 --> 39:02.494 And that fed this anger that he had towards them and this vow that he made to one day get them back. 39:02.574 --> 39:05.458 But he took it to the next level, right? 39:05.478 --> 39:07.240 That's a potential situation. 39:07.320 --> 39:08.001 I mean, who knows? 39:08.141 --> 39:14.670 But it certainly is possible to create karma towards people who never did anything to deserve it. 39:15.663 --> 39:24.231 Arguably, I guess I don't want to quite be so extreme, but there is definitely a sense of being able to create. 39:24.371 --> 39:27.073 Not everything is because we did something bad in the past. 39:29.635 --> 39:34.279 It can just be the chance we got there. 39:34.760 --> 39:44.168 Much more telling is the reactions that people have when they're in those situations, how they react to being killed, being shot. 39:48.451 --> 39:55.913 The ones that already attained enlightenment, who left the earth plane, are they now helping us in some ways, or are we on our own? 39:56.720 --> 39:58.402 There is a sense that they might help. 39:59.583 --> 40:05.208 There are many stories, of course, of Brahmas even coming down to help humans. 40:05.989 --> 40:07.971 I don't know how reliable those stories are. 40:08.171 --> 40:11.114 I mean, generally speaking, they don't. 40:11.454 --> 40:14.297 Generally speaking, they don't have much to do with the human realm. 40:15.258 --> 40:18.160 The human realm is just so fast-paced. 40:18.180 --> 40:26.068 A day in the life of an angel is 100 years as a human. 40:27.905 --> 40:31.108 So the Brahma realms are even more so, even longer. 40:32.289 --> 40:35.533 So they don't really, there's not really that connection. 40:35.593 --> 40:40.658 The time scale is just so much different that they couldn't keep up with us. 40:40.758 --> 40:41.679 We move so fast. 40:49.987 --> 40:50.988 Thank you, Bhante. 40:51.228 --> 40:52.609 I think you're caught up on questions. 40:52.950 --> 40:56.393 I have to go anyway, so let's stop it there. 40:57.098 --> 40:58.701 Do you have just one moment, though? 41:00.284 --> 41:00.464 Sure. 41:00.504 --> 41:11.583 Some of us in the volunteer group, we were, as usual, concerned of you having enough food, as it's always challenging being in Canada. 41:11.603 --> 41:14.348 It's not like a Buddhist country where you can go on alms rounds. 41:14.388 --> 41:19.377 So we've put together an online campaign for 41:19.357 --> 41:26.009 For anyone who's interested in sending food, Donna, to Bhante, I'll paste it into the comments section. 41:26.570 --> 41:38.151 It's an online campaign, like other ones we've done through YouCaring, and it would enable you to send funds to an account, which we'll put on Bhante's student account at McMaster University. 41:38.612 --> 41:41.297 So he'll have access to fresh, healthy food, 41:41.277 --> 41:45.603 paid for by supporters, by anyone who's interested in doing so. 41:46.144 --> 41:51.671 And that way he doesn't have to ever get involved in things that he wouldn't get involved in, such as using cash or anything like that. 41:51.751 --> 41:56.578 So anyone who's interested, I will paste those links into the comment section. 41:58.981 --> 41:59.802 Keeping me alive. 42:00.824 --> 42:01.585 Keeping you alive. 42:01.705 --> 42:02.666 It's an honor, Bante. 42:04.929 --> 42:05.029 Okay. 42:05.049 --> 42:05.410 Thank you. 42:05.430 --> 42:06.131 Thanks, everyone. 42:06.592 --> 42:07.973 Have a good night. 42:07.993 --> 42:08.654 Good night, Bante. 42:08.674 --> 42:09.175 Thank you.