B. Alan Wallace, 16 May 2016
The “four immeasurables” we meditated on last week are common to many Buddhist and non-Buddhist traditions. They can be cultivated while striving for individual liberation. Today, however, we cross the “continental divide” - as Alan calls it - to the “four greats”. Starting with the great compassion, Maha Karuna. It is sometimes referred to as “unbearable compassion”, as even an arya bodhisattva, overcome by compassion, can burst into tears. Especially in the 21st century, in face of so much suffering, so much inequality in the world, one may easily feel disempowered - says Alan. One may therefore wish to become rich, powerful and famous in order to be able to do something to alleviate this suffering. Hence one looks outside for greater wealth, power and prestige - and this attitude is encouraged by the prevailing materialistic worldview. So what can we do to move from immeasurable compassion to great compassion? From the wish and aspiration that all sentient beings be free from suffering and its causes to an actual pledge, a resolution to make this happen? The only way we can do it is from the perspective of rigpa, of our Buddha nature. To make this possible we need to adopt pure vision, to realise our Buddha nature. To illustrate this theme, Alan reads the famous parable of a prince who became a beggar and forgot about his royal origin (the parable is found in Karma Chagme’s “Naked Awareness”, chapter 4), followed by Karma Chagme’s commentary. “Sometimes a story is worth a thousand words of philosophy” - concludes Alan.
The meditation is on the cultivation of Great Compassion
Basta! If you are tired of being a sentient being, just dissolve it, shatter it, release it - says Alan after the meditation. You don’t have to wait three countless eons. There is a faster way. “There is no way to enlightenment, enlightenment is the way”.
The meditation starts at 25:30
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Olaso. So this morning we… we crossed the… another one of those continental divides. The four immeasurable are common, we find them in the yoga tradition of Hinduism and of course from the Theravada tradition, the Pali Canon, they’re common to the Mahayana. And if not in that sequence and so forth, certainly we find these virtues taught in other religions around the world. And so they’re sublime, they’re universal, and they can be cultivated as an adjunct to achieving one’s own liberation, one’s own individual liberation, and that’s how they are practiced in the Theravada tradition. There’s nothing wrong with that whatsoever, it’s all good, it’s all benevolent, yeah, it’s all good. But today we cross the continental divide, of course, over into the… into the bodhisattva ideal, the Mahayana. And with this platform, as I’ve emphasized so much before, this… this equanimity, this even-heartedness is the indispensable foundation – literally big emphasis on indispensable foundation – for cultivating bodhichitta, for cultivating any of the four… the four greats.
[01:20] And I’ll begin once again with great compassion and I think it’s again – I’ve never heard this to be the case that, you know, that’s the sequence of the four greats, that it starts with great compassion. I think probably, normally, in the liturgy it starts with great loving-kindness. But I’m just choosing to. I don’t think there’ll be any harm in starting with the great compassion because it just is… it finds what really comes to mind very strongly insofar as when you can cultivate this even-hearted, even-hearted concern or care – there’s a word – this even-hearted sense of caring for everyone around. And then, one begins to take in just how much need there is, how much suffering to be… how much suffering there is and how much needless suffering there is and then how much in the magnitude of mental afflictions and vices and so forth in the world. It can really be quite overwhelming. Even… even, it’s said, the tenth-stage arya bodhisattva burst into tears, you know. And they call it unbearable, unbearable compassion [Tibetan 02:25], unbearable compassion is how they refer to it. And here we are, once again, at the 21st century and we are faced to an unprecedented degree. I know this is a… it’s a litany I keep on reciting. But to an unprecedented degree in history of humanity, we are exposed to the amount of need there is in the world, how much poverty there is. Over three billion people on the planet living on less than two and a half dollars a day, over 1.5 billion living… living on less than one dollar 25 cents a day, in the meantime, while 65 people own as much as the poor 3.5 billion.
[03:04] So one sees this and it’s kind of just shatters the heart, you know, like. How is it possible that such… such profound and obscene an inequity of wealth can possibly occur. But seeing the need without getting all disgruntled and upset about this, just seeing the need, it can easily give rise to, very reasonably, give rise to a wish: Ah gosh I wish I were filthy rich, just incredibly rich, I could just distribute it, you know; I wish I were immensely powerful so I could… I could use my power to… to bring greater justice and equity and… and help to the world; I wish I’d tremendous status, prestige, reputation, I wish to be incredibly famous so I could use that and really do some good in the world. A number of Hollywood celebrities do that. It’s great. I won’t give any particular names but you know who they are, the number of them. You know, they’re incredibly attractive and then they’re wealthy, but most importantly they have this fame, you know. By being actors, it’s like being famous for being a plumber, you know. [laughter]. Because there’s… to be an actor doesn’t prepare you for anything, you know, on global activity. You know, why your political opinions matter, then, being a plumber or a baker? But they are famous and therefore people want to listen to them, you know. Okay, I’m not complaining, then wouldn’t be great to be, you know, really really famous so people would want to listen to what you have to say? And they would, they would actually listen. “Oh, he’s so famous! He must be really wise!” You know? And so those three, I call them the three jewels of a mundane world: wealth, power and prestige. And it’s very easy to see quite reasonably how might… one might wish: Oh, I wish oh if only I could have tremendous wealth and influence and prestige, status, reputation, I could be doing so much! And then I could really be effective whereas for me, you know, you know, not much of any of these three and not any more real prospects for getting much of this three. So it’s, you know, in this… in this world it’s very easy to feel incredibly disempowered… oh, disempowered by that. So insofar as one has a sense, tragically, powerfully reinforced by materialism, that one has no inner resources – and if you look within you just can be deluded anyway, so why bother? There really ain’t anything within because your mind is just what the brain does. Then naturally, if you believe that – and billions of people do – then when you’re looking for greater happiness, when you’re looking for greater fulfillment, you will look outwards and you will look outwards to greater wealth, power and prestige. Where… where else would you look?
[05:41] But then it’s – as we know and the scientific studies that have been done, they’re completely conclusive – that you’re never satisfied, never satisfied. It used to be 85 people who owned as much as the poorest 3.5 billion. When I learned about that I said one thing for sure: They want more. Those 85 want more, you know. And they got it. Now 65 people own as much as the poorest 3.5 billion. You want me to make another prediction? They want more. I wonder how long will be before the top 45 people own as much as the poorest 3.5 billion, you know. So there it is. So these are, these are just very sad facts of the world. But then how can we possibly move into this realm of great compassion, where one state… not only arousing this wonderful motivation this aspiration – May we all be free of suffering and its causes – but actually taking on responsibility, right? And yes, it was very clear the first time we ran through this, the only possible way and the only possible perspective from which it is realistic to make not only that aspiration, that resolve, is from the perspective of Buddha nature. And then it’s not only perfectly reasonable, it’s kind of like logically unavoidable.
[07:03] And so I’d like to in the mornings now for a little while [to] go back and… and just give oral transmission on one of my favorite chapters ever, it’s chapter four. So, and here Karma Chagmé Rinpoche gives a number of parables, which are all Dzogchen parables, highlighting our relationship to our own Buddha nature and our status as sentient beings. Chapter four, this is kind of story time. So relax, enjoy, enjoy one story. You only get one story today. So sorry. An introduction to parables and their meanings – Homage… Homage to Avalokiteshvara. These are the profound practical instructions of Avalokiteshvara, this is an introduction to parables in conjunction with their meanings for the purpose of identifying the ultimate reality of your own mind as the Dharmakaya. In other words to… with the purpose of identifying what you really are, knowing your own nature, while giving the complete combined empowerments and teachings on the secret peaceful and wrathful deities, Orgyen Rinpoche, Padmasambhava, taught the following:
[08:13] So here’s… here’s our parable for today. I’ve told that actually many times but here it is straight from this… from the source. It is said that long ago in [Hindi? 08:21], in the land of India in the center of the region of Orygen, there was a structure built of precious substances with five doors and inexhaustible wealth, a palace where indwelled a king, Akahsagarbha. With 84,000 districts he ruled over many subjects, his queen was named Vimana Prabhi [Hindi? 08:45], sorry, and his son, Prince Khirana had not come into his strength and was foolish. His queen was fine, it was his son who had the problem. [laughter] His son had not… has not matured and was foolish. His wise minister was named [Hindi? 09:01], in short he possessed splendid entourage realm subjects and wealth. Once, near the king’s palace, there was a great festival held in a marketplace and Prince Khirana, together with his entourage, went to see the show. The prince went to watch the various spectacles displayed by an illusionist and he was carried away by them. After getting separated from his companions, he became… became confused about the way back to the palace and lost his way. The prince wandered by foot in lands of people of more than one race and became a vagrant. He forgot his homeland and wandered from the gates of one city to another, eating beggar’s food and wearing beggar’s rags, living in the company of foolish derelicts. He found nowhere to sleep but on doorsteps and experienced great misery. Many months and years went by and the kingdom having lost its princely heir was on the verge of collapse. And there was fear that the royal line of King Akashagarbha had come to an end. At that time the young beggar prince, in roving about among these city-states, happened to arrive at the door of the wise Minister [Hindi? 10:15]. The minister recognizing him as the prince exclaimed: “Oh, our prince who was previously lost has returned! You need not beg, come to the palace!” And he began to lead him there. The beggar prince replied: “I’m no prince. When I search my memory, I recall being only a vagrant. You may bring me to the palace but I’m not fit to be king, so I shall not go.” The minister replied: “As a young foolish prince not come into your strength, you went to watch an illusionist show in the marketplace. Getting caught up in the spectacle, you left the dominion of the palace and went wandering. Now, even though you live as a vagrant, you are indeed the prince, so you will be given the seat of royalty. If you persist in your doubts about being the prince, I ask you: What was your original homeland? What was the palace? What was the city? What was your home? What was your class? Who was your father? Who is your mother? Who are your companions? What was your occupation?” The beggar found that he had nothing to say and he was stunned. “Well then, he requested, tell me in detail about all these things and grant them too to me.” The minister gave names to the realities and pointed out his homeland. And then likewise told the prince everything about his district, palace, city, home, sleeping quarters, family and parents. The wise Brahmin then bathed the prince, took him outside, placed him on the throne and established him in the palace. There he was crowned, with the diadem placed upon his head and clothed in royal garb. All at once he was offered the wealth of his domain. A coronation ceremony was held and he was given the kingdom and the royal palace. He became like his father. In an instant, even though he did not discard his identity as a beggar, he no longer lived in the manner of a beggar. The misery of being a vagrant disappeared by itself and the kingdom of all his subject without exception came under his rule. And they lived in great joy and happiness.
[12:32] I think that… so… that’s the parable and Padmasambhava himself will give a commentary. I’ll unpack it for you in case it’s not perfectly obvious, I’ll explain the meaning. Here’s a brief explanation of the meaning of that parable from Karma Chagmé Rinpoche. A long ago in [Hindi? 12:50], in the land of India, with the realization there is spiritual awakening. So what this means is: with the realization there is spiritual awakening but without realization there is the cycle, with realization there is spiritual awakening but without realization there’s samsara; what was then, what was before then no one knows, before the distinction between samsara and nirvana. Then the phrase “in the center of the region of Orygen” signifies an absence of size and dimensions; “there was a structure built of precious substances” refers to the empty essence of everything; “with five doors” refers to unimpeded openness; “inexhaustible wealth” refers to without decline to defaults and without increased due to excellent qualities; “a palace” refers to the all-pervasive essence of the ground; “King Akashagarbha” corresponds to not falling to the extremes of samsara or nirvana; “with 84,000 districts” refers to mastery over all types of realization and mastery over the 84,000 gateways to the Dharma; “he ruled over many subjects” refers to being invulnerable to all mental afflictions; “his queen was named Vimana Prabhi [Hindi? 14:09]”, this refers to dwelling together with the appearances of the displays of your own luminosity; “in a sense Prince Khirana” refers to neither realizing nor being confused by the momentarily arising expressions of your own creative power of pristine awareness; “have not come into a strength” means realization had not manifested; "I was foolish” means he was spontaneous and…that this awareness is spontaneous and ineffable; “his wise minister”, this is the spiritual mentor in whom realization is manifested; “was named [Hindi? 14:14]” means knowing how to manifest out of compassion; “in short he possesses splendid entourage realm subjects and wealth” refers to the revelation of the bountiful perfection of all the phenomena of samsara and… and Nirvana, from the expanse of the Alaya; and “that in there”, that means the ultimate ground; “once that is when there is an attraction to confusion near the king’s palace” means the proximity of the substrate consc…, the substrate with the proximity of the substrate with samsara; “in a marketplace” refers to the locus of distraction namely the five sense fields, which are your own appearances; “there was a great festival” means the arising of various objective appearances of the six fields of experience;
[15:32] “prince” refers to conceptual confusion namely momentarily arising conceptual dispersions; “Khirana” refers to numerous thoughts and analyses; “together with his entourage went to see the show” means together with ideation concerning the five senses; “illusion” refers to the arising of various appearances; “the various spectacles displayed by an illusionist” refers to all kinds of appearances of yourself and confusion; “the prince went to watch and he was carried away by them”, the creative power of awareness, pristine awareness, revealed itself by way of the momentarily arising five senses; “getting separated from his companions” means wandering off to the six fields of experience; “he became confused about the way back to the palace” means not ascertaining the ground; “lost his way”, he’s not having found the path to enlightenment; “which is the locus of the appearance of primordial consciousness”, you enter the suffering of activity due to reifying apprehended objects; “in lands of people of more than one race” refers to differentiating between samsara and nirvana; “the prince wandered by foot” means you circle around and the three realms of the six types of sentient existence and the fruits of confusion ripen; “became a vagrant”, like a vagrant you do not dwell on the ground, but circle around among the gates of the cities of the wombs of deceptive appearances; “he forgot his homeland” means forgetting the ground of the original nature of existence; “wandered from the gates of one city to another”, one becomes conceptually confused about activities and thoughts occurring due to dynamic karmic vital energies and you’re activated by grasping onto apprehended objects, one experiences the individual sufferings of the six types of sentient existence and becomes confused in the midst of dispersing thoughts and cravings; “eating beggar’s food” is experiencing various kinds of suffering; “wearing beggar’s rags”, entering into a dwelling among dualistic attachments and hatred and five poisons; “living in the company of foolish derelicts” means living in the company of confusion due to the deceptive appearances of the six types of objects; “he found nowhere to sleep but on doorsteps”, sleeping amidst the five poisons and external appearances due to habitual propensities; “and experience great mystery”, wandering in samsara while experiencing actions and their consequences; “many months and years went by” means with the separation from the… the total ground, the ultimate ground of great bliss, you are afflicted with immeasurable sufferings for eons; “the kingdom having lost its princely heir was on the verge of collapse”, you stray from your Buddha nature;
“there was fear that the royal line of King Akashagarbha had come to an end”, there is fear that the noble line of the speech of the family of the Buddha has come to an end; “at that time the young… young beggar Prince”, referring to the experience of momentarily arising thoughts, which is the very locus of confusion; “in roving about”, continuing in the suffering of all six types of existence; “among the city-states”, that is traveling to all favorable and miserable types of rebirth;
[18:51] “happen to arrive at the door of the wise minister [Hindi? 18:53]”, this indicates finally awakening from your karmic excursions and meeting with a realized guru who carries the practical teachings; “the minister” refers to this… to the guru who heals the confused mind of the student; “recognizing him as”, recognize our own mind as a Buddha, the prince momentary awareness; “exclaimed oh our prince who was previously lost has returned”, although the wandering substrate is the Buddha nature it wanders in the cycle of existence (I interject very briefly there: the substrate and then the rigpa. Rigpa is said to be the fluid state and the substrate and the coarse mind frozen, they’re not of different natures. One is crystallized, reified, caught up in grasping, but it’s not different than Rigpa.). So, whooo, although the wandering substrate is the Buddha nature, it wanders in samsara; “you need not beg” indicates that you need not wander in samsara; “come to the palace and they began to lead him there“ refers to leading you by identifying your own environment as a Buddha field; “the beggar prince replied”, this refers not believing in yourself, you think I am not a Buddha; “he says I am no prince”, you’re without, you are without the fruits of joy; “when I search my memory I recall being only a vagrant” means having forgotten your own basic mode of existence, you recall your habitual propensities pertaining to samsara, which only cause you to wander on; “you may bring me to the palace but I’m not fit to be king” means you think that your mind is not fit to be a Buddha; “so I shall not go” means you do not enter into altered reality but remain obsessed with inferior behavior; “the minister replied”, this refers of course to the guru; “as the young prince”, he said, indicates the vagrant wandering of the substrate, and the momentary arising of the creative power of the disciple; “foolish and not coming to your strength” indicates that realization had not yet become manifest; “he went to watch an illusionist show in the marketplace” means not knowing yourself you behave due to deceptive vital energies, just out of sheer habit your common propensities; “getting caught up in the spectacle” means getting caught up in the objects of the six fields of experience; “you left the domain of the palace and went wandering”, the ground, the substrate wanders in samsara due to grasping on to dispersing thoughts and to detach… attachment and hatred; and now “even though you live as a vagabond you are indeed the prince”, the essence of the substrate is the Buddha nature; “so you will be given the seat of royalty”, you’re brought to the ground, this is ultimate ground of reality dharmadhatu, dharmakaya; “if you persist in your doubts about being the prince” means thinking that your mind is not a Buddha.
[22:06] And then we have the questions – Here I’m going to interject you very briefly. [Tibetan 22:11] Investigating origin, location and destination of your own mind to see whether you’re inherently. Your mind is inherently the mind of a sentient being and whether you are inherently… your mind is inherently the mind of a sentient being and therefore whether you are inherently, truly, really a sentient being. So the questions: “What was your original homeland?” indicates that you are not born from the substrate and the dispersing thoughts are momentary arisings; “What was the palace?” means on what foundation do you exist, what’s your basis; “What was the city?”, what is the locus of your dispersing thoughts; “What was your home?” means where was the abode of your momentarily arising thoughts created; “What was your class?” means what kind of momentarily arising events are the dispersions of the mind; “Who’s your father?”, this refers to the primary cause; “Who is your mother?”, the contributing condition; “Who are your companions?” refers to the accompanying events; “What was your occupation?”, determining this with certainty, I ask this indicates seeking out the master of the psychophysical aggregates, by inquiring about the agent of behavior of hopes and fears and of ego grasping – hopefully this all very familiar. “The beggar found he had nothing to say” means upon the collapse of dispersing thoughts and obsessions, there is realization of the essential… of essential ultimate reality, which is not established as any essence, it’s not… doesn’t… it too does not exist by its own inherent nature; he was stunned”, this means that you do not know how to articulate, it’s ineffable; “well then tell me in detail about all these things”, and that is from the… from the lips of the prince, when you imagine the guru on the crown of your head you feel that it’s possible that you even… that even you might be a Buddha; “grant them to me”, this means that with confidence you ask your guru to reveal these things; “the minister” refers to the spiritual mentor who has genuine realization; “gave names to the realities”, this means that these are practical teachings that present a parable together with its meaning. Now the concluding paragraph and we’ll go to the meditation. Accordingly, just as “the prince did not know he was a prince and became a beggar”, you fail to recognize the ultimate reality of your own mind as the Dharmakaya and you wander in samsara; just as “the minister recognized the prince and brought him to the seat of royalty”, the guru identifies the ultimate reality of your mind as the Dharmakaya, and upon becoming freed from the suffering of samsara you achieve the excellent qualities of a Buddha.
[25:15] So sometimes a story is worth a thousand words of philosophy. So let’s rest quietly and go to the meditation.
[25:28] Meditation starts. The bell rings three times.
[25:57] With the aspiration to… to realize perfect virtual awakening, Buddhahood itself, let’s devote ourselves to the cultivation of great compassion, Maha Karuna. And with this motivation, settle your body, speech and mind in their natural states.
[27:06] Let the many crystallizations of your coarse mind, these myriad of thoughts, memories, fantasies, desires and so on, let them all melt… melt into a drop of pure awareness, resting silently, utterly at ease in the present moment.
[27:43] As you may imagine all of the coarse vital energies coursing through, flowing through your body, converging into the center, up through the central channel, to the heart chakra, converging in upon the indestructible drop, the vital essence, the energetic essence that we visualize, as a radiant incandescent pearl of white light, symbolic of this very subtle energy mind, pristine awareness and the energy of primordial consciousness, non-dual.
[28:54] So, unless we’ve realized Rigpa already and then we can simply imagine, viewing reality from that perspective, attending to the extent of suffering and the causes of suffering throughout the world, within the human population and all other populations, in our world and all other worlds.
[29:33] And we may very well wonder: Does it really need to be so? Does there need to be so much suffering and so much perpetuation of suffering?
[29:58] And at least to a question, a heart-wrenching question, in Tibetan [Tibetan 30:04]. Why couldn’t all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes?
[30:22] And from this perspective, your imagined perspective viewing reality from your own Buddha nature, ask this question and answer it: Is there any reason why we, each one, everyone, all of us could not be free, totally and irreversibly, from all suffering in its causes?
[31:07] We may reflect that while the forces of mental afflictions, delusion, craving, hostility and all of them, derivative mental afflictions, and all of the actions that are aroused by these poisons of the mind, although their magnitude is vast, the power of the Buddha nature is greater. All these afflictions are rooted in delusion in non-reality whereas the Buddha nature is reality. As the saying goes “The truth shall prevail”, so why couldn’t we all be free of suffering in its causes?
[32:27] If you see no reason why each sentient being, one by one, couldn’t even in principle ever be free, if there is no reason why each one couldn’t be free – given of course the fact that each one is imbued with the Buddha nature – if there’s no reason, then move to the aspiration because you see the possibility, you see hope, you see the possibility of freedom. From the depths of your heart, arouse the aspiration: May we all be free, may it be so.
[33:17] As you attend to the world of sentient beings, they are, we are the object of mindfulness, and we attend to them with the aspiration: may we all be free of suffering and its causes.
[34:03] Then designating yourself on the basis of designation, your own Buddha nature, or this very subtle energy mind, then if you will arouse the resolve, the promise, the pledge: I shall free us all.
[35:05] At this point, while we’re still confused about whether we are the beggar, the vagrant or the prince, and waver between these two in uncertainty, not yet come into our strength, still confused, given this being the current situation, then offer the prayer, the supplication: May the guru and the yidam bless me to enable me to do so. And with this request imagine from with each inbreath rays of light coming from all directions, above and below, and all about, all the way around, from the guru, the yidam, from all the buddhas, all the deities and dakinis, all the enlightened ones of the three times. Imagine these blessings converging in upon you from all sides. As they do so imagine your body being purified, transmuted into a Vajra body, empty, pure, luminous your speech transformed into the Vajra speech, your mind melted into dharmakaya, the Vajra mind.
[36:56] And with every outbreath, from your nucleus, from this indestructible bindu at your heart, this inexhaustible source of light, imagine light rays flowing out in all directions, enacting your resolve, caring through with your promise to liberate all beings from suffering and the causes of suffering. With each inbreath draw in the light, with each outbreath send out the light.
[38:25] As you continue practicing breath by breath, if specific individuals or communities or domains of sentient beings come to mind, rather than regarding these images or thoughts as distractions, transform them into the path. With every out breath sent out the light of compassion and imagine alleviating the suffering and the causes of suffering of everyone who comes to mind.
[41:18] Breath by breath imagine all the world becoming free.
[41:43] Breath by breath purify your vision, your perception of all sentient beings, including specific individuals you know. Exercise, purify your mind and see them as pure, as free. Their Buddha nature is unveiled.
[42:46] By purifying your vision of all those around you, you purify your vision of yourself; by purifying your vision of yourself, you purify your own mind.
[45:24] Melt all of your reified concepts about others, who you think they really are. Melt them until you see who they really are. And only in this way can you see who you really are. And the separation of I and you, subject and object, which was constructed, dissolves away.
[46:43] Bring your awareness now in upon yourself, your own body, speech and mind, in substantial, translucent hollow, appearing and yet not really there. A body of light taking on your normal form, a normal appearance but seen as a pure effulgence, or an expression of your own Buddha nature. Hold that appearance and hold the sense “I am pristine awareness”.
[48:02] And release the appearance and release the thought. And effortlessly allow your awareness to rest, clear, still, non-conceptual and cognizant.
[49:23] Meditation ends. Bell ring three times.
[49:49] Olaso. Oh I don’t know if… I don’t know if you’re like me in the following way, but sometimes I get very tired of being myself. [laughter] The same old person, same old beard, every morning you have to shave it off, the same old same old same old load, the same old same old, just kind of goes on and on and on. And I think about how much transformation is needed just to complete three countless eons or if I am one of those unlucky ones, seven countless eons, you know. How long does this go on, it gets so tiring being a sentient being, really. That Stanford diploma didn’t help me that much in that, it’s kind of… just, you know. And so sometimes you just get fatigued with being a sentient being then: Basta! [laughter] Enough already! You don’t have to transform it, you don’t have to modify it, you don’t have to purify it, you don’t have to improve it, just: Basta! You know. Bring out the… the sentient being Buster. [laughter] Basta! Basta! And just dissolve, disintegrate, shatter it, you know, just: basta! Release, so you’re nobody. And then reform when this in a way that’s already free. Such a relief. So that’s a very direct path. I see, yes we have done our bumper stickers 45 years ago, there is no way to peace, peace is the way; there’s no way to enlightenment, enlightenment is the way. Enough clichés. Enjoy your day. [laughter]
Transcribed electronically by Bob Hiller
Revised by Sueli Martinez
Final edition by Rafael Carlos Giusti
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