Full Transcript for Question & Answer #201: from Thinking about the Future to Karma as Incidental Retribution

--> 00:02:14.949 because some of the comments in the chat 00:02:14.959 --> 00:02:17.430 did in fact disappear. 00:02:17.440 --> 00:02:19.830 It's just all kinds of weirdness go on 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:22.390 when I make these videos. Disappearing 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:26.790 comments, lag between sound and mouth 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:30.229 movement. Um, recently I had a few 00:02:30.239 --> 00:02:32.070 videos where it sounded like I was 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:34.309 talking from the bottom of a well. Just 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:37.030 the the audio just stopped working. I 00:02:37.040 --> 00:02:41.190 had to delete my video processing 00:02:41.200 --> 00:02:43.589 software and upload like an updated 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:45.750 version of it just to get it to work 00:02:45.760 --> 00:02:50.150 again. I hope it's working now. 00:02:50.160 --> 00:02:53.190 And before I started using OBS, 00:02:53.200 --> 00:02:55.910 I was using the default uh video 00:02:55.920 --> 00:02:59.110 recording software on the computer. And 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:01.270 it was there was one time I had to 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:03.910 record the entire Q&A three times 00:03:03.920 --> 00:03:05.509 because it said it was recording. You 00:03:05.519 --> 00:03:07.589 know, you see the little clock going, 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:09.509 all that stuff. Looked like it was 00:03:09.519 --> 00:03:11.589 recording. Said it was recording. And 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:13.990 then I get to the end, 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:16.630 didn't record. 00:03:16.640 --> 00:03:23.190 So, my recording of Q&A videos has been 00:03:23.200 --> 00:03:25.990 just as a I mean, as just a regular 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:29.350 occurrence, there's all this technical 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:34.309 difficulty stuff coming up that 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:35.750 I I'll have a little bit more to say 00:03:35.760 --> 00:03:37.830 about it in a minute. 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:40.149 But first, 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:44.070 um, it seemed like the live stream went 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:47.190 pretty well last weekend and despite the 00:03:47.200 --> 00:03:49.589 the lag that's wanting to happen now, 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:53.670 the CPU is up to 52%. 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:56.070 I don't know. I mean, should I talk 00:03:56.080 --> 00:03:58.550 slower? I don't know. I should probably 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:00.630 just get a new computer that's got more 00:04:00.640 --> 00:04:03.990 oomph to it. 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:06.949 This is a relatively old computer. So, I 00:04:06.959 --> 00:04:09.990 think probably next year after I'm 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:14.390 richer than I am now with my new job, 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:16.469 I'll just buy a computer that has more 00:04:16.479 --> 00:04:19.509 guts to it. 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:22.710 But, as I was saying, the Q&A worked. It 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:24.390 seemed to go pretty well, and I'm 00:04:24.400 --> 00:04:26.870 getting used to it now. So, I may start 00:04:26.880 --> 00:04:31.030 doing Q uh live stream Q&As's uh more 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:34.790 frequently in future, but it seems to me 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:38.710 that 2:00 PM American Eastern time 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:40.710 probably is too late because I have a 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:42.629 lot of people who watch my videos in the 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:44.710 Eastern Hemisphere 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:46.790 and they were like going to bed. They're 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:48.870 like saying good night everybody, you 00:04:48.880 --> 00:04:51.909 know, in midafter afternoon my time. So, 00:04:51.919 --> 00:04:55.590 I suppose I should probably 00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:57.510 if I do live streams in the future, 00:04:57.520 --> 00:05:00.950 maybe like around noonish. 00:05:00.960 --> 00:05:03.909 I'll let you know before it happens, but 00:05:03.919 --> 00:05:06.870 I think around noon would be possibly 00:05:06.880 --> 00:05:09.029 ideal. I get up earlier now because I 00:05:09.039 --> 00:05:11.350 have to get up at the god ungodly hour 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:14.150 of like 4:00 to go to work now. And it 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:15.350 looks like it's not going to be getting 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:17.510 any better soon. 00:05:17.520 --> 00:05:20.469 I mean, that's 4:00. Guess I' I mean 00:05:20.479 --> 00:05:21.909 there have been many more times I've 00:05:21.919 --> 00:05:25.029 gone to bed at 4:00 than getting up at 00:05:25.039 --> 00:05:27.909 4:00. I would much prefer I mean if I 00:05:27.919 --> 00:05:30.230 had my brothers, which I don't, but I 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:32.950 would prefer to go to bed at 4:00 a.m. 00:05:32.960 --> 00:05:40.150 rather than get up at 4:00 a.m. 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:43.510 But it's the curse of Adam. We must get 00:05:43.520 --> 00:05:47.029 up at 4:00 a.m. and uh earn our bread 00:05:47.039 --> 00:05:48.710 through the sweat of our brow and all 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:50.550 that. 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:53.110 So, let's see here. 00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:55.189 Oh, we're getting back to what I was 00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:56.710 threatening you that I was I was going 00:05:56.720 --> 00:05:59.430 to get back to, and that is certain 00:05:59.440 --> 00:06:02.390 philosophical reflection on the 00:06:02.400 --> 00:06:05.670 technical issues that have plagued my 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:07.990 channel, especially these Q&A videos. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:09.990 Like I've told you before, it's like a 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:12.469 lag between, you know, the audio and the 00:06:12.479 --> 00:06:14.870 video aren't in sync 00:06:14.880 --> 00:06:18.150 or a few videos in a row. Just recently, 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:19.749 it sounded like I was talking from the 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:23.110 bottom of a well because the the audio 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:25.670 soft or the the video like processing 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:28.390 software just the audio just died. I had 00:06:28.400 --> 00:06:31.670 to like delete the the

software and 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.309 upload like a different version of it. 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:36.790 Before that, I was using completely 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:39.270 different um audio record or video 00:06:39.280 --> 00:06:41.270 recording software that sometimes didn't 00:06:41.280 --> 00:06:44.469 work at all. On one infamous occasion, I 00:06:44.479 --> 00:06:48.629 had to do the same Q&A three times 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:50.790 before it finally recorded. It said it 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:52.790 was recording and everything, didn't 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:54.550 record. 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:56.629 And 00:06:56.639 --> 00:07:00.070 to me, doing these videos is a kind of 00:07:00.080 --> 00:07:03.350 spiritual practice. You know, it's like 00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:07.589 I'm directing my mind towards 00:07:07.599 --> 00:07:10.230 dharma in a way that I usually don't at 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:11.749 other times. You know, just being 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:14.550 mindful or spontaneously oming or 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:17.110 refraining from killing and lying and 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:18.950 stealing and and all that sort of stuff. 00:07:18.960 --> 00:07:21.189 I mean, that's just kind of chronic a 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:26.390 kind of uh baseline dhamma practice, but 00:07:26.400 --> 00:07:28.550 when I'm doing these Q&A videos, it's 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:31.749 more overt. You know, it really is a 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:33.510 significant spiritual practice for me 00:07:33.520 --> 00:07:35.189 and possibly for some of the people that 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:40.390 listen. And because I view these videos 00:07:40.400 --> 00:07:42.710 through a kind of spiritual lens, at 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:46.230 least a philosophical one, then my 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:48.629 philosophical view that everything has 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:50.629 to remain in balance. You know, for 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:52.150 every positive, you have to have a 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:53.990 corresponding negative just to keep the 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:56.469 cosmos in balance. 00:07:56.479 --> 00:07:58.869 So you've got goodness, you've got to 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:00.790 have badness to balance it with. You 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:02.070 know, you've got beauty, you have to 00:08:02.080 --> 00:08:05.189 have ugliness just to compare it with so 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:06.950 that there is a kind of cosmic balance. 00:08:06.960 --> 00:08:10.390 You know, that's how duality works. 00:08:10.400 --> 00:08:16.150 And I do think that just the the strange 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:19.350 technical difficulties that continually 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:22.469 happen with my videos are a kind of 00:08:22.479 --> 00:08:24.390 cosmic balance. You know, there's like 00:08:24.400 --> 00:08:27.589 the good aspect of me answering people's 00:08:27.599 --> 00:08:29.670 questions about dharma and then it has 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:31.110 to be balanced out with some kind of 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:35.430 negativity which manifests in the form 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:39.990 of crappy production quality. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:43.509 And I accept that. I mean, for me, the 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:45.910 purpose of these videos is, as I say, 00:08:45.920 --> 00:08:47.829 kind of spiritual practice, sharing what 00:08:47.839 --> 00:08:50.470 I've learned, that kind of stuff. And 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:53.190 and I'm not doing it to get to make 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:56.150 money or to get famous, that kind of 00:08:56.160 --> 00:08:57.750 stuff, you know, I'm doing it as a kind 00:08:57.760 --> 00:09:01.030 of public service. 00:09:01.040 --> 00:09:06.470 And so when like negative stuff, you 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:08.870 know, with regard to, you know, 00:09:08.880 --> 00:09:11.110 recording values or what is it 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:13.350 production values or lack of production 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:14.630 values, when that kind of stuff is 00:09:14.640 --> 00:09:17.430 happening, then I just kind of accept it 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:19.030 philosophically. It's like well you know 00:09:19.040 --> 00:09:21.990 it's like Mara the evil one you know the 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:24.389 cosmic balance you know everything has 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:28.310 to to balance out so the goodness of 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:30.630 sharing dharma just kind of gets 00:09:30.640 --> 00:09:33.590 counterbalanced by all these glitches 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:35.990 and complications and technicalities and 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:37.670 stuff. 00:09:37.680 --> 00:09:39.030 So, I just kind of accept it 00:09:39.040 --> 00:09:40.710 philosophically. 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:43.430 And it may be that, you know, George 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:45.590 Gerchef, I don't know if you're familiar 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:48.790 with George Gerchef, but he was um a 00:09:48.800 --> 00:09:51.190 western philosopher who kind of was 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:54.310 teaching eastern philosophy through a 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:56.710 kind of western approach. 00:09:56.720 --> 00:09:59.910 And he believed that 00:09:59.920 --> 00:10:02.470 you sh I mean, you shouldn't get your 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:05.110 dharma too easily. you know, he he made 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:08.230 his books deliberately difficult to 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:10.870 understand because he felt like you 00:10:10.880 --> 00:10:12.710 shouldn't just have dharma handed to you 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:14.150 on a platter. You shouldn't have any 00:10:14.160 --> 00:10:16.630 kind of profound truth or anything of 00:10:16.640 --> 00:10:19.829 value just given to you on a platter 00:10:19.839 --> 00:10:23.110 without you having to make any effort. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:25.110 And so, 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:27.990 um, I mean, I can kind of I can kind of 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:29.590 relate to that. I mean, it's it's sort 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:31.910 of like you listening to these Q&A 00:10:31.920 -->

00:10:34.310 videos. You have to exercise a little 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:37.509 bit of patience or a little tolerance of 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:40.230 my mouth not moving at at exactly the 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:43.670 same time as the words coming out or I 00:10:43.680 --> 00:10:45.350 sound like I'm talking to you from the 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:47.590 bottom of a well. 00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:49.110 I mean, if it just doesn't record at 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:50.389 all, then I just have to record the 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:51.829 whole thing over again so you don't see 00:10:51.839 --> 00:10:53.430 it. I mean, this is like the third or 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:56.310 fourth attempt even just this evening 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:59.190 trying to get the the lag, you know, the 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:01.750 the the get the the audio and video 00:11:01.760 --> 00:11:04.870 synchronized better has been it's been 00:11:04.880 --> 00:11:07.269 taking some time and it seems like it's 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:09.829 going pretty well right now. It's within 00:11:09.839 --> 00:11:16.150 a second anyway. 00:11:16.160 --> 00:11:18.310 But on the bright side, bright side, 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:21.190 just next year I'll probably get a 00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:23.190 better, stronger computer and then we 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:26.069 can have like some totally new kind of 00:11:26.079 --> 00:11:27.590 [ __ ] 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:30.630 interfering with these videos. 00:11:30.640 --> 00:11:32.790 But it's going to have to be something. 00:11:32.800 --> 00:11:34.389 That's just it just seems like that's 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:37.110 the way it is. And I sincerely believe 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:41.030 in, you know, this cosmic balance idea. 00:11:41.040 --> 00:11:43.350 This sort of dependent core rising in 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:45.509 Buddhism kind of works that way. Yin and 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:48.470 Yang and Dowoism works that way. Um, 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:50.310 karma to some degree works that way. And 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:52.389 there is a question about karma kind of 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:58.069 along those lines uh coming up. And uh I 00:11:58.079 --> 00:11:59.670 suppose I should uh just start answering 00:11:59.680 --> 00:12:02.310 questions then. 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:03.750 My golly, there's not a whole bunch of 00:12:03.760 --> 00:12:05.829 questions this time. I guess everyone's 00:12:05.839 --> 00:12:09.350 just basking in the the afterglow of the 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:14.230 live stream number 200 last weekend. 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:15.990 But one of the questions that was asked 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:18.790 at the end of the Q&A that I didn't get 00:12:18.800 --> 00:12:22.069 to is apparently from someone named 00:12:22.079 --> 00:12:24.389 Yatish. 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:27.110 And Yatish says, "Should one be 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:30.389 optimistic or realistic about the future 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:33.269 or should one not think about future 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:35.750 much altogether?" 00:12:35.760 --> 00:12:39.990 And if you're doing intensive practice 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:43.350 like really intensive dharma practice 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:45.190 then as a general rule you should be in 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:48.389 the present moment. Be here now as Rahm 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:51.509 Doss used to say or the power of now you 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:55.350 know Ehart Tollah's first famous book. 00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:58.870 So yeah, I mean if if you're doing 00:12:58.880 --> 00:13:03.190 intensive practice, you should be mainly 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:06.069 occupied with the present moment. And 00:13:06.079 --> 00:13:08.870 the Buddha as well as Jesus of Nazareth 00:13:08.880 --> 00:13:10.790 taught, you know, give no thought for 00:13:10.800 --> 00:13:12.389 tomorrow, what you will eat, where you 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:15.190 will sleep, you know, let tomorrow's 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:17.350 problems happen tomorrow. You know, you 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:20.389 can deal with them then. 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:24.230 So even if you are like doing intensive 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:26.790 mindfulness practice just be here now 00:13:26.800 --> 00:13:28.550 and you have to think about the future 00:13:28.560 --> 00:13:30.230 or you have to remember the past for 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:33.590 whatever reason then still there's this 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:36.150 mindfulness going on of now where it's 00:13:36.160 --> 00:13:39.030 like I'm thinking about the future now 00:13:39.040 --> 00:13:41.590 remembering the past now you know 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:44.230 there's still this now even if you're 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:45.670 thinking about the future or remembering 00:13:45.680 --> 00:13:47.590 the past 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:50.870 but if you're not doing intensive like 00:13:50.880 --> 00:13:53.590 like intensive practice 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:54.949 then you may have to think about the 00:13:54.959 --> 00:13:56.629 future more often. Let's say you work 00:13:56.639 --> 00:14:00.310 for some company you know you're like in 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:02.310 the environment health and safety 00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:06.870 department of some in like industry. 00:14:06.880 --> 00:14:09.509 So it's your job to be like 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:12.389 extrapolating into the future and seeing 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:15.030 what could possibly go wrong so that you 00:14:15.040 --> 00:14:18.470 can like prevent it from going wrong. 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:20.310 So, in a situation like that, you're 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:21.829 going to have to think about the future. 00:14:21.839 --> 00:14:24.310 I mean, sometimes you just have to think 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:27.910 about the future or the past. 00:14:27.920 --> 00:14:29.910 But if you're doing mindfulness really 00:14:29.920 --> 00:14:32.790 well, it's thinking about the future 00:14:32.800 --> 00:14:37.670 now. Remembering the past now,

00:14:37.680 --> 00:14:40.310 but it should be kept to a minimum. To 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:41.990 be in the present moment as much as 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:46.069 possible is an invaluable spiritual 00:14:46.079 --> 00:14:50.310 tool. 00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:53.189 But with regard to Yatish, Yates's first 00:14:53.199 --> 00:14:54.389 question and this is actually two 00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:57.030 questions. I just noticed that I don't 00:14:57.040 --> 00:14:58.470 know how that can get past me. There's 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:02.150 two question marks. So the first part of 00:15:02.160 --> 00:15:04.230 the question is should one be optimistic 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:07.829 or realistic about the future? And 00:15:07.839 --> 00:15:10.069 I mean 00:15:10.079 --> 00:15:13.110 to be realistic it's probably better. I 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:15.670 mean to be optimistic that's like being 00:15:15.680 --> 00:15:18.150 hopeful. I mean to the to the extent 00:15:18.160 --> 00:15:20.870 that being optimistic is being hopeful, 00:15:20.880 --> 00:15:23.189 you know, hoping for the best, just kind 00:15:23.199 --> 00:15:25.829 of having faith that things are going to 00:15:25.839 --> 00:15:30.949 turn out like well. Um the Buddha did 00:15:30.959 --> 00:15:33.829 teach that monks should not be hopeful, 00:15:33.839 --> 00:15:36.550 that hope is a kind of desire for the 00:15:36.560 --> 00:15:38.389 future. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:39.910 So I mean you can give the future the 00:15:39.920 --> 00:15:41.829 benefit of the doubt and that's about as 00:15:41.839 --> 00:15:44.790 optimistic as I would recommend. Or you 00:15:44.800 --> 00:15:47.189 can be optimistic in the sense of like 00:15:47.199 --> 00:15:49.990 whatever happens to me is going to be 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:52.550 the fruition of my own karma. Again, 00:15:52.560 --> 00:15:54.949 we're we're like seeking equilibrium. 00:15:54.959 --> 00:15:57.110 You know, karma is like water. It just 00:15:57.120 --> 00:16:00.230 kind of seeks its own level, so to speak 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:02.870 in a sense. 00:16:02.880 --> 00:16:04.870 So, it's like whatever happens to you is 00:16:04.880 --> 00:16:06.389 like 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:08.949 what should happen to you. I mean, from 00:16:08.959 --> 00:16:10.389 from a Buddhist point of view, it makes 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:12.389 perfect sense. People that don't have 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:14.470 much appreciation for dharma will say 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:16.550 you're victim blaming. You know this 00:16:16.560 --> 00:16:20.150 kind of stuff. But really 00:16:20.160 --> 00:16:22.310 um 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:24.870 even if something bad happens to you, 00:16:24.880 --> 00:16:28.550 it's like paying off a karmic debt 00:16:28.560 --> 00:16:31.030 so to speak. 00:16:31.040 --> 00:16:33.749 So I mean that's a kind of optimism you 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:35.670 can have that would be valid from a 00:16:35.680 --> 00:16:37.990 Buddhist point of view. Just bear in 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:39.590 mind, you know, whatever happens, you 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:40.949 know, everything happens the way it's 00:16:40.959 --> 00:16:42.790 supposed to happen. That was almost like 00:16:42.800 --> 00:16:44.629 a mantra for me. Sometimes it still 00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:47.189 comes out sometimes just spontaneously. 00:16:47.199 --> 00:16:48.550 Everything happens the way it's supposed 00:16:48.560 --> 00:16:53.990 to happen, which is kind of optimistic, 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:56.949 but you know, it's with regard to 00:16:56.959 --> 00:16:59.189 realistic. I mean, that's just sort of 00:16:59.199 --> 00:17:01.749 being objective. I think it might have 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:05.110 been uh a better choice of words to give 00:17:05.120 --> 00:17:06.870 give the choice between being optimistic 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:11.429 or being objective 00:17:11.439 --> 00:17:13.029 and you can kind of be both at the same 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:15.189 time so long as you bear in mind you 00:17:15.199 --> 00:17:17.189 know everything is just happens the way 00:17:17.199 --> 00:17:21.110 it's supposed to happen and you know I 00:17:21.120 --> 00:17:22.470 you know there there's a lot of 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:25.429 optimistic things you can say you know 00:17:25.439 --> 00:17:29.590 like um you can say that like you never 00:17:29.600 --> 00:17:32.470 get what you're not ready for that you 00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:34.310 maybe you have some karma that something 00:17:34.320 --> 00:17:37.590 bad is going to happen to you but it's 00:17:37.600 --> 00:17:40.150 like the universe postpones it until 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:43.350 you're I mean you're ripe for it in a 00:17:43.360 --> 00:17:45.909 sense that you're more able to deal with 00:17:45.919 --> 00:17:47.830 it 00:17:47.840 --> 00:17:50.230 which sounds kind of woowoo and all that 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:53.510 and we shouldn't really dwell on it but 00:17:53.520 --> 00:17:55.750 there is that 00:17:55.760 --> 00:17:57.590 so getting back to Yatisha's first 00:17:57.600 --> 00:17:59.270 question should one be optimistic or 00:17:59.280 --> 00:18:02.310 realistic about the future. I mean, 00:18:02.320 --> 00:18:05.669 realistic is probably the best your best 00:18:05.679 --> 00:18:08.950 bet, but realistic isn't pessimistic. I 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:11.029 mean, realism and optimism are not 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:12.710 opposites. 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:14.630 You know, the opposite of optimism is 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:17.590 pessimism. You shouldn't be pessimistic. 00:18:17.600 --> 00:18:19.350 I mean, to remind yourself that you're 00:18:19.360 --> 00:18:21.190 not going to live forever, that you're 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:23.110 going to die someday. I mean, that's 00:18:23.120 --> 00:18:25.750 more realistic than pessimistic. You 00:18:25.760 --> 00:18:27.350 know, sort of like a lot of people 00:18:27.360 --> 00:18:29.430 accuse Buddhism of being pessimistic 00:18:29.440 -->

00:18:31.029 because, you know, the first noble truth 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:33.830 to exist is to suffer, but that's just 00:18:33.840 --> 00:18:39.190 observing the way things are. 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:41.669 So, you can have a certain philosophical 00:18:41.679 --> 00:18:43.350 optimism. You know, everything happens 00:18:43.360 --> 00:18:44.950 the way it's supposed to happen. It's 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:47.190 the fruition of my own karma, that kind 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:50.310 of thing. But aside from that, you're 00:18:50.320 --> 00:18:54.549 better off just being objective and not 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:56.150 like 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:58.230 slathering value judgments all over 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:00.710 everything. You know, optimistic is sort 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:05.270 of like putting a like a positive spin 00:19:05.280 --> 00:19:07.909 on things and positive and negative have 00:19:07.919 --> 00:19:09.669 to balance out. 00:19:09.679 --> 00:19:12.549 So you're better off just 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:16.150 leaving like the facts of your existence 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:18.789 as unadorned with value judgments as 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:21.990 possible. 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:23.909 And with regard to Yatish's second 00:19:23.919 --> 00:19:26.390 question, should one not think about the 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:28.150 future much altogether? I pretty much 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:30.470 pretty sure I already answered that one 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:32.870 more or less. So I'm just going to move 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:35.110 on to the next question. 00:19:35.120 --> 00:19:37.350 And if there was another person who 00:19:37.360 --> 00:19:40.390 asked a question at the end of last 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:44.470 week's live stream and the comment just 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:46.070 disappeared because some of the comments 00:19:46.080 --> 00:19:48.070 did disappear. 00:19:48.080 --> 00:19:51.909 I remember uh somebody suggesting that I 00:19:51.919 --> 00:19:55.430 turn that fan on. And I I addressed it 00:19:55.440 --> 00:19:58.390 in the video. I pointed out that the 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:00.789 ceiling fan's already going, so it's not 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:03.990 necessary to turn that one on. And then 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:05.990 I was looking for it to see who who it 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:10.230 was that made that that suggestion and 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:14.070 it was gone. But I I distinctly remember 00:20:14.080 --> 00:20:16.230 seeing it in the in the comments in the 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:20.870 chat and responding to it on the video. 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:24.390 So it's it's just who knows it's just 00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:26.549 weirdness. 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:28.310 But getting back to sea of action cipad 00:20:28.320 --> 00:20:32.390 zena his question is thoughts 00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:36.630 and he uh included a a YouTube short 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:41.430 video of salivage zek. I don't know how 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:44.149 to pronounce the names. I mean I I 00:20:44.159 --> 00:20:46.470 understand the salivage part because he 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:49.750 kind of like sprays when he talks. the 00:20:49.760 --> 00:20:53.510 zijek I'm not sure about but he it's 00:20:53.520 --> 00:20:55.830 just him 00:20:55.840 --> 00:20:57.750 discussing 00:20:57.760 --> 00:21:01.669 um like introspection 00:21:01.679 --> 00:21:04.310 salivage says that you mean you 00:21:04.320 --> 00:21:07.029 shouldn't introspect too much you 00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:10.149 shouldn't look inward too much because 00:21:10.159 --> 00:21:12.870 you're going to find deep [ __ ] in there 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:15.830 and so he says this is actually a quote 00:21:15.840 --> 00:21:17.990 he says the only way to overcome 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:21.350 yourself is to identify with the mask, 00:21:21.360 --> 00:21:24.310 you know, like the public persona. 00:21:24.320 --> 00:21:26.390 And he also says, this is also a quote 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:29.350 from Salivage, in your complete 00:21:29.360 --> 00:21:31.750 identification with another, you can 00:21:31.760 --> 00:21:33.590 find freedom. 00:21:33.600 --> 00:21:36.070 So, it's like you've got like the the 00:21:36.080 --> 00:21:39.350 outward projection of an image. You just 00:21:39.360 --> 00:21:41.190 identify with that and that's that's who 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:43.590 you you really are or at least that's 00:21:43.600 --> 00:21:45.510 who you pretend to really be. And 00:21:45.520 --> 00:21:47.830 according to Salivage, 00:21:47.840 --> 00:21:50.470 that's the best way to go about things. 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:52.549 And one thing you should bear in mind 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:55.430 with with Zek, I don't know how to 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:58.070 pronounce these names, is that he is one 00:21:58.080 --> 00:22:01.430 of the few communist philosophers that 00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:05.590 is taken seriously in Western 00:22:05.600 --> 00:22:08.630 civilization lately over the past few 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:10.310 decades. 00:22:10.320 --> 00:22:13.029 And I don't know what kind of communist 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:15.029 he is. I don't know if he's a Marxist or 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:17.590 just sort of like a like some kind of 00:22:17.600 --> 00:22:20.789 rehashed neo-Marxist or if he was just 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:22.950 never, you know, he's just not a Marxist 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:24.070 at all. I don't know what kind of 00:22:24.080 --> 00:22:27.270 communist he is, but he does not strike 00:22:27.280 --> 00:22:30.310 me as a particularly wise individual. 00:22:30.320 --> 00:22:33.510 Intelligent, sure, but intelligence and 00:22:33.520 --> 00:22:35.190 wisdom are not the same. And I remember 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:37.510 when I first started watching some of 00:22:37.520 --> 00:22:39.270 his videos, I did watch some of his 00:22:39.280 --> 00:22:41.110 videos, not because I'm a communist, but 00:22:41.120 --> 00:22:43.270 just

because, you know, they come up on 00:22:43.280 --> 00:22:45.430 the feed and I was curious just to see 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:47.190 what he'd have to say or he'd be talking 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:48.710 with someone who wasn't a communist or 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:52.390 whatever. And back just like 10 or so 00:22:52.400 --> 00:22:55.190 years ago, he was just continually like 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:56.789 pulling at his shirt and like rubbing 00:22:56.799 --> 00:22:58.789 his nose. I mean, he couldn't get a 00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:00.950 sentence out without like tugging at his 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:03.430 shirt and like like compulsively, 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:05.830 habitually just like rubbing his nose 00:23:05.840 --> 00:23:07.270 and pulling on it and this kind of 00:23:07.280 --> 00:23:09.590 thing, which indicates that he was not 00:23:09.600 --> 00:23:12.230 being mindful. You know, he's just his 00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:14.310 arms are just doing all this nervous 00:23:14.320 --> 00:23:16.230 stuff without him being like fully in 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:18.470 control of it. 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:20.070 But he has stopped doing that. And I've 00:23:20.080 --> 00:23:22.149 noticed that he doesn't tug on his shirt 00:23:22.159 --> 00:23:25.669 or or like pull on his nose anymore in 00:23:25.679 --> 00:23:28.149 his in the videos where you see him 00:23:28.159 --> 00:23:32.950 lately. So I he has at least like been 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:36.230 practiced enough mindfulness to train 00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:39.669 himself to stop doing that. But I mean 00:23:39.679 --> 00:23:42.870 just when he's discouraging 00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:45.029 introspection, 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:47.909 you know, it's like Socrates saying 00:23:47.919 --> 00:23:50.070 allegedly the unexamined life is not 00:23:50.080 --> 00:23:53.350 worth living. Well, Salivage would say 00:23:53.360 --> 00:23:56.070 pretty much the opposite. 00:23:56.080 --> 00:23:59.510 Just fake it. Just be like this fake 00:23:59.520 --> 00:24:01.830 persona and identify with that. And 00:24:01.840 --> 00:24:04.149 that's that's how you find freedom 00:24:04.159 --> 00:24:06.630 according to him. which I mean it kind 00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:08.230 of makes sense if he's a communist 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:10.549 because communism 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:12.710 does not strike me as a particularly 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:17.830 wise like economic or social system. It 00:24:17.840 --> 00:24:21.190 just is not in harmony with with human 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:24.230 nature the animal instincts of the human 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:26.470 animal which go by the name of human 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:29.590 nature. 00:24:29.600 --> 00:24:34.149 So yeah, my thoughts on Salivage 00:24:34.159 --> 00:24:37.830 is uh he is not he does not strike me as 00:24:37.840 --> 00:24:40.230 a wise person 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:43.269 and he just prefers ideas that he comes 00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:46.710 up with in his

head to any kind of 00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:49.909 empiricism apparently. 00:24:49.919 --> 00:24:51.830 I don't know how anyone could still be a 00:24:51.840 --> 00:24:55.590 communist after over a century at this 00:24:55.600 --> 00:24:58.950 point of stagnant and failed economies, 00:24:58.960 --> 00:25:00.789 totalitarianism, 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:04.789 and occasional genocide. 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:07.669 I mean, there's really no excuse for a 00:25:07.679 --> 00:25:12.070 communist nowadays. 00:25:12.080 --> 00:25:13.830 Anyways, I'm just going to move on to 00:25:13.840 --> 00:25:17.510 CEO of Action Cadet's second question. 00:25:17.520 --> 00:25:19.990 He says, "Do you believe there is a 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:22.789 moral development of societies that is 00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:25.750 objective or are people and societies 00:25:25.760 --> 00:25:29.350 over time not any more moral than we 00:25:29.360 --> 00:25:32.470 were thousands of years ago?" And I'm 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:37.029 going to check the uh the CPUs at 36 36% 00:25:37.039 --> 00:25:40.549 so that the uh the lag is minimal. 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:42.549 Just just keeping you updated on on the 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:45.110 CPU usage. 00:25:45.120 --> 00:25:46.950 But getting back to sea of action cipad 00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:50.470 zera um well I mean one thing that 00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:53.830 immediately comes to mind are are let's 00:25:53.840 --> 00:25:56.549 see are people and societies over time 00:25:56.559 --> 00:25:58.070 not any more moral than we were 00:25:58.080 --> 00:26:00.070 thousands of years ago well think about 00:26:00.080 --> 00:26:02.470 northern India in the Buddhist time that 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:04.789 was definitely a more moralitybased 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:07.269 culture than we've got going now I mean 00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:10.470 morals are almost obsolete in western 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:13.669 civilization morality any kind of 00:26:13.679 --> 00:26:15.830 systematic morality has been replaced by 00:26:15.840 --> 00:26:18.310 unrefined feminine sentiment. You know, 00:26:18.320 --> 00:26:20.070 don't hurt anyone's feelings. 00:26:20.080 --> 00:26:22.870 Overindulgence in any kind of sensuality 00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:25.110 is just fine and dandy. That has nothing 00:26:25.120 --> 00:26:29.669 to do with morals anymore. 00:26:29.679 --> 00:26:31.029 But getting to the top part of the 00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:32.310 question, do you believe there is a 00:26:32.320 --> 00:26:34.630 moral development of societies that is 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:37.029 objective? 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:40.470 Well, I mean morality 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:42.789 whether it's objective or not depends on 00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:46.149 your definition of morals. So I mean you 00:26:46.159 --> 00:26:50.310 could define morals in a sense that it 00:26:50.320 --> 00:26:54.630 could be objectively like quantified 00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:57.590 morals you know it's like crime rates 00:26:57.600 --> 00:27:00.950 that kind of stuff then 00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:03.830 yeah you could objectify that. I don't 00:27:03.840 --> 00:27:05.510 know how you you'd have like an 00:27:05.520 --> 00:27:07.190 objective 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:10.630 um like measurement or critique of 00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:14.230 morals in society without like defining 00:27:14.240 --> 00:27:16.149 it in some way that could then be 00:27:16.159 --> 00:27:19.909 applied to the data. 00:27:19.919 --> 00:27:22.950 So let's just say 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:25.510 moral development of societies. Gosh, I 00:27:25.520 --> 00:27:27.269 mean how would you quantify that? I mean 00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:29.590 how would you objectify 00:27:29.600 --> 00:27:31.350 like the morality of a society with 00:27:31.360 --> 00:27:34.710 regard to crime rates you know like what 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:36.470 would be the murder rate and like the 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:41.029 the rate of like theft you know assault 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:42.870 that kind of stuff but I mean you don't 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:46.310 really have good data for the Ganges 00:27:46.320 --> 00:27:50.470 Valley 200 years ago 00:27:50.480 --> 00:27:52.870 so 00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:56.549 let's see it seems to me with regard to 00:27:56.559 --> 00:27:59.029 this that I mean you're always going to 00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:03.430 have this cosmic balance of good and 00:28:03.440 --> 00:28:05.350 evil that kind of thing you know it's 00:28:05.360 --> 00:28:08.950 just when if you're living in dualism 00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:11.029 which is the way samsara works you're 00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:14.710 living in a dualistic world then 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:17.990 opposites tend to balance out so you've 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:19.990 got morality and immorality they're 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:23.110 going to balance out 00:28:23.120 --> 00:28:26.870 regardless of the society it seems to me 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:29.110 but with regard to I mean look at the 00:28:29.120 --> 00:28:31.830 Buddhist time you know northern Iron Age 00:28:31.840 --> 00:28:34.630 northern India the Ganges Valley you 00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:39.430 know 500 BCE 200 years ago 00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:43.110 and you had a lot more saints and sages 00:28:43.120 --> 00:28:45.990 then but at the same time you probably 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:49.590 had a lot more sociopaths and like 00:28:49.600 --> 00:28:52.149 bandits and serial killers and that kind 00:28:52.159 --> 00:28:55.190 of thing. you know, was you read the the 00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:59.430 text and it was dangerous to go alone, 00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:01.029 you know, through the forest because 00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:03.510 there's bandits, not just tigers and 00:29:03.520 --> 00:29:08.389 leopards, but bandits, you know, nuns, 00:29:08.399 --> 00:29:10.630 like Buddhist nuns were not allowed to 00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:12.230 live in the forest just because it was 00:29:12.240 -->

00:29:15.350 too dangerous. And then you had like not 00:29:15.360 --> 00:29:18.070 only like outlaws like bandits, but you 00:29:18.080 --> 00:29:21.269 had like neighboring kings that I mean 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:23.830 they're they just invade, 00:29:23.840 --> 00:29:26.630 you know, plunder this kind of stuff. 00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:29.190 Like in the list of dangers in that's 00:29:29.200 --> 00:29:31.110 found in the the rules of monastic 00:29:31.120 --> 00:29:33.510 discipline several times. Like for 00:29:33.520 --> 00:29:36.710 example, there are the the 10 reasons 00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:40.230 why it's okay to abbreviate a formal 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:41.830 ceremony. like the potty mocha 00:29:41.840 --> 00:29:43.909 recitation, you know, it's like the 00:29:43.919 --> 00:29:46.549 stereotypical list of 10 dangers. Number 00:29:46.559 --> 00:29:50.149 one on the list is kings. 00:29:50.159 --> 00:29:52.310 And it's, you know, I mean, it could be 00:29:52.320 --> 00:29:55.190 even your own king who's just sweeping 00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:57.590 through and just like forcibly 00:29:57.600 --> 00:30:00.870 recruiting any man of military age to go 00:30:00.880 --> 00:30:03.990 and fight. or it could be the king next 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:06.310 door who's already done that and is now 00:30:06.320 --> 00:30:10.710 invading. 00:30:10.720 --> 00:30:13.669 So, I do think that nowadays we're 00:30:13.679 --> 00:30:17.110 living in an age of spiritual or moral 00:30:17.120 --> 00:30:19.029 mediocrity. 00:30:19.039 --> 00:30:22.310 You know, there's fewer saints 00:30:22.320 --> 00:30:24.710 and there's fewer of the opposite of 00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:26.789 saints. 00:30:26.799 --> 00:30:28.630 So, it's like in the Buddhist time, you 00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:31.590 had a lot of of like wisdom and 00:30:31.600 --> 00:30:33.669 goodness, and you had a lot of badness 00:30:33.679 --> 00:30:36.070 and foolishness, and that was pretty 00:30:36.080 --> 00:30:37.750 much how the balance worked out then. 00:30:37.760 --> 00:30:40.389 Now, it's just sort of like lukewarm 00:30:40.399 --> 00:30:44.310 mediocrity across the board. 00:30:44.320 --> 00:30:46.470 And so, it all adds up to the same zero. 00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:54.950 It all balances out to the same zero. 00:30:54.960 --> 00:30:56.470 Yeah. 00:30:56.480 --> 00:30:58.549 So I mean even in like I mean there are 00:30:58.559 --> 00:31:00.870 some societies that were just like cruel 00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:04.149 and ruthless. It's like Huns or Mongols, 00:31:04.159 --> 00:31:06.549 you know, back in the day when you know 00:31:06.559 --> 00:31:08.870 they were like conquering large areas of 00:31:08.880 --> 00:31:11.909 territory. Um I mean they were they were 00:31:11.919 --> 00:31:15.350 pretty awful, you know. It's like 00:31:15.360 --> 00:31:17.830 um like the Mongols, you know, 13th 00:31:17.840 --> 00:31:21.190 century. They'd come to a walled town 00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:22.870 and they would

demand immediate 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:24.470 surrender. And if they didn't surrender 00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:26.470 immediately, they would completely 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:28.630 destroy that town, just level it to the 00:31:28.640 --> 00:31:31.430 ground and just leave this big mound of 00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:34.310 severed heads outside of where the city 00:31:34.320 --> 00:31:37.509 used to be as a as a a sign, you know, 00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:39.029 you better do what we say or we're going 00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:42.389 to [ __ ] you up. And they just seem to 00:31:42.399 --> 00:31:44.470 have no compassion 00:31:44.480 --> 00:31:47.110 at all. You know, there's there's 00:31:47.120 --> 00:31:49.190 stories of like when the the Mongols 00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:51.430 made it to I think it was around what 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:53.750 what nowadays would be Hungary, you 00:31:53.760 --> 00:31:55.190 know, it's like around the Danube 00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:57.190 region, you know, they were the the 00:31:57.200 --> 00:31:59.190 towns people would just flee and hide in 00:31:59.200 --> 00:32:00.950 the woods and the Mongols would call 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:02.310 them out and say, "Come on, you can just 00:32:02.320 --> 00:32:03.590 go ahead and and go about your 00:32:03.600 --> 00:32:05.509 business." And then as soon as they had 00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:07.110 harvested their fields and everything, 00:32:07.120 --> 00:32:09.350 then they'd all be slaughtered. And the 00:32:09.360 --> 00:32:10.789 the Mongols just thought it was funny. 00:32:10.799 --> 00:32:13.430 They didn't care. So, there is that. 00:32:13.440 --> 00:32:17.029 Although they they sort of had other 00:32:17.039 --> 00:32:19.350 like counterbalancing virtues. I mean 00:32:19.360 --> 00:32:22.230 even just like fearlessness and courage 00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:23.830 that kind of thing could be considered 00:32:23.840 --> 00:32:26.789 virtues 00:32:26.799 --> 00:32:28.950 but 00:32:28.960 --> 00:32:32.149 um it's yeah I mean I don't want to do 00:32:32.159 --> 00:32:34.630 an entire cultural anthropological 00:32:34.640 --> 00:32:37.110 survey but it does seem that you could 00:32:37.120 --> 00:32:39.750 you could say that some cultures are 00:32:39.760 --> 00:32:42.070 more virtuous than others or more moral 00:32:42.080 --> 00:32:45.509 than others. 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:48.149 seems that way anyway. But overall, it 00:32:48.159 --> 00:32:51.029 seems to me that the modern like 00:32:51.039 --> 00:32:54.310 post-modern world is no more virtuous 00:32:54.320 --> 00:32:56.470 than the Ganges Valley in the Buddhist 00:32:56.480 --> 00:32:58.870 time. It's just that we're kind of weak 00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:02.630 and soft, you know, feminized 00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:06.310 and, you know, so I mean, there's less 00:33:06.320 --> 00:33:09.669 violence, less aggression, not so much 00:33:09.679 --> 00:33:11.509 because people are restraining 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:13.190 themselves,

but just because they're 00:33:13.200 --> 00:33:15.110 just incapable of it anymore. You know, 00:33:15.120 --> 00:33:18.630 it's kind of they've degenerated, 00:33:18.640 --> 00:33:22.230 if you will. 00:33:22.240 --> 00:33:27.350 So yeah, I think overall that people are 00:33:27.360 --> 00:33:29.909 no more happy than they were 2,000 years 00:33:29.919 --> 00:33:32.870 ago. Overall, no more virtuous than they 00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:36.149 were 2,000 years ago. Except 2,000 years 00:33:36.159 --> 00:33:39.830 ago, you had more of a a broader 00:33:39.840 --> 00:33:42.310 bell-shaped curve 00:33:42.320 --> 00:33:44.389 because now it's just sort of like 00:33:44.399 --> 00:33:51.190 lukewarm mediocrity is predominant. 00:33:51.200 --> 00:33:52.789 So, I think I'm just going to move on to 00:33:52.799 --> 00:33:55.669 SEO of Action Cadet's next question. And 00:33:55.679 --> 00:33:58.149 it does seem that the lag is more or 00:33:58.159 --> 00:34:00.070 less under control. And I hope I don't 00:34:00.080 --> 00:34:01.509 sound like I'm talking from the bottom 00:34:01.519 --> 00:34:03.990 of a well. And I do hope that it's 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:08.389 recording. It does seem to be. 00:34:08.399 --> 00:34:10.389 So, Sioatza 00:34:10.399 --> 00:34:12.629 says, "Would Arans still have an 00:34:12.639 --> 00:34:15.430 unconscious mind or do they have a 00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:18.230 complete understanding of the mind?" And 00:34:18.240 --> 00:34:20.149 this falls into the category of 00:34:20.159 --> 00:34:21.829 second-guessing the mental states of a 00:34:21.839 --> 00:34:24.069 fully enlightened being. I get asked 00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:26.629 these kind of questions fairly 00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:29.669 frequently. You know, what is what is it 00:34:29.679 --> 00:34:33.030 like to be fully enlightened? And even 00:34:33.040 --> 00:34:35.030 if a fully enlightened person were to 00:34:35.040 --> 00:34:36.790 explain it to an unenlightened person, 00:34:36.800 --> 00:34:38.389 the unenlightened person still wouldn't 00:34:38.399 --> 00:34:42.790 get it because like a uh like Bert and 00:34:42.800 --> 00:34:44.310 Russell says, you know, when a stupid 00:34:44.320 --> 00:34:46.230 person hears what an intelligent person 00:34:46.240 --> 00:34:48.230 says, they have to translate it into 00:34:48.240 --> 00:34:49.510 something stupid that they can 00:34:49.520 --> 00:34:51.030 understand. 00:34:51.040 --> 00:34:52.790 So Bertrren Russell, I think it was in 00:34:52.800 --> 00:34:54.470 his history of western philosophy, he's 00:34:54.480 --> 00:34:57.750 talking about how he would rather be um 00:34:57.760 --> 00:35:01.270 he he would rather have his philosophy 00:35:01.280 --> 00:35:04.310 described by his most virilent enemy 00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:07.109 among philosophers than to have it 00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:11.510 described by some normie who didn't 00:35:11.520 --> 00:35:13.270 really understand philosophy but was 00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:15.510 sympathetic to Bertrand Russell just 00:35:15.520 --> 00:35:19.270 because the that philosophical enemy is 00:35:19.280 --> 00:35:20.390 more likely 00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:22.230 to get the main points correct even 00:35:22.240 --> 00:35:24.550 though he disagrees with them than the 00:35:24.560 --> 00:35:28.069 normie who just doesn't really 00:35:28.079 --> 00:35:29.750 understand and so he has to like take 00:35:29.760 --> 00:35:32.470 this you know sophisticated philosophy 00:35:32.480 --> 00:35:34.790 and translate it into something stupid 00:35:34.800 --> 00:35:38.069 so that he can understand it and I think 00:35:38.079 --> 00:35:39.829 um Burton Russell was referring to 00:35:39.839 --> 00:35:41.670 xenopon 00:35:41.680 --> 00:35:45.589 um in his biography of or his account of 00:35:45.599 --> 00:35:48.150 Socrates that he didn't consider 00:35:48.160 --> 00:35:50.630 xenophon to be particularly really uh 00:35:50.640 --> 00:35:53.910 reliable as a source with regard to what 00:35:53.920 --> 00:35:58.390 Socrates was like because Xenopon was a 00:35:58.400 --> 00:36:00.870 normie according to Burton Russell. He 00:36:00.880 --> 00:36:03.109 was not philosophical you know he just 00:36:03.119 --> 00:36:05.270 kind of dumbed things down in order to 00:36:05.280 --> 00:36:07.190 understand it better even though he 00:36:07.200 --> 00:36:11.750 apparently was a competent general. 00:36:11.760 --> 00:36:13.990 So let's get back to the question though 00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:17.510 which I've pretty much ignored thus far. 00:36:17.520 --> 00:36:20.150 Would Ara still have an unconscious 00:36:20.160 --> 00:36:21.990 mind? 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:24.230 Um, I have heard it said that they 00:36:24.240 --> 00:36:26.710 wouldn't. That when you're fully 00:36:26.720 --> 00:36:28.870 conscious, that means you're fully 00:36:28.880 --> 00:36:31.349 conscious. You are fully awake. You are 00:36:31.359 --> 00:36:34.630 awakened. And so, they would no longer 00:36:34.640 --> 00:36:37.829 have a subconscious mind. They would be 00:36:37.839 --> 00:36:40.950 um aware of all the workings of their 00:36:40.960 --> 00:36:47.109 mind theoretically. 00:36:47.119 --> 00:36:49.510 And the wiser you get, the less 00:36:49.520 --> 00:36:51.109 subconscious you are. Like getting back 00:36:51.119 --> 00:36:53.910 to Salivage Zek, you know, it was like 00:36:53.920 --> 00:36:55.910 when he is like tugging on his shirt and 00:36:55.920 --> 00:36:58.390 rubbing his nose compulsively, 00:36:58.400 --> 00:37:01.589 you know, 10, 15, 20 years ago. I mean, 00:37:01.599 --> 00:37:03.430 that was like subconscious. It wasn't 00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:05.349 fully conscious what he was doing. But 00:37:05.359 --> 00:37:07.990 then as you as you become more mindful, 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:10.550 I mean or as he became more mindful, you 00:37:10.560 --> 00:37:12.550 know, he 00:37:12.560 --> 00:37:14.710 he like brought it up into the conscious 00:37:14.720 --> 00:37:17.190 into his

conscious mind in order to deal 00:37:17.200 --> 00:37:22.150 with it. And so um even if an arahant a 00:37:22.160 --> 00:37:24.069 fully enlightened being from the point 00:37:24.079 --> 00:37:25.990 of view of some unenlightened 00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:27.750 psychologist 00:37:27.760 --> 00:37:32.069 or psychoanalyst if he he still has some 00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:34.310 kind of subconscious mind he's going to 00:37:34.320 --> 00:37:36.790 have a hell of a lot less of it than the 00:37:36.800 --> 00:37:39.589 average person. I mean, you could say 00:37:39.599 --> 00:37:42.230 that most animals, it's pretty much all 00:37:42.240 --> 00:37:44.470 they've got is a subconscious mind other 00:37:44.480 --> 00:37:47.270 than maybe some really simple, 00:37:47.280 --> 00:37:49.510 superficial stuff. Most of what they're 00:37:49.520 --> 00:37:51.589 doing, like instincts, like a bird 00:37:51.599 --> 00:37:53.750 building a nest. That would be just like 00:37:53.760 --> 00:37:55.270 subconscious 00:37:55.280 --> 00:37:56.790 urges. They don't know why they're doing 00:37:56.800 --> 00:37:59.270 it. They just have this urge to do it, 00:37:59.280 --> 00:38:01.990 so they just act it out. 00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:04.950 Sort of like salivage tugging at his 00:38:04.960 --> 00:38:09.109 shirt. 00:38:09.119 --> 00:38:11.670 So yeah, I mean it's just another one of 00:38:11.680 --> 00:38:13.829 those questions of secondguing the 00:38:13.839 --> 00:38:15.510 mental states of a fully enlightened 00:38:15.520 --> 00:38:17.510 being. 00:38:17.520 --> 00:38:18.790 So I think I'm just going to move on to 00:38:18.800 --> 00:38:22.310 the next question. This is from Romeo 00:38:22.320 --> 00:38:25.829 and Romeo says, "Western culture stands 00:38:25.839 --> 00:38:27.670 apart from the rest of the world in 00:38:27.680 --> 00:38:30.390 emphasizing the freedom and autonomy of 00:38:30.400 --> 00:38:32.630 the individual rather than conforming to 00:38:32.640 --> 00:38:35.670 one's tribe or group. How and why did 00:38:35.680 --> 00:38:38.550 western individualism develop in Europe 00:38:38.560 --> 00:38:40.870 rather than in other parts of the world? 00:38:40.880 --> 00:38:42.870 And that's a good question. I mean, it's 00:38:42.880 --> 00:38:44.950 it's kind of an anthropological 00:38:44.960 --> 00:38:47.750 question, I think. You know, why is it 00:38:47.760 --> 00:38:50.790 that individualism just kind of flowered 00:38:50.800 --> 00:38:56.069 in the west and nowhere else really? 00:38:56.079 --> 00:38:58.390 And I think there's a possibility it 00:38:58.400 --> 00:39:00.630 could be genetic. You know, there could 00:39:00.640 --> 00:39:03.910 just be some genetic quirk in the 00:39:03.920 --> 00:39:05.589 European 00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:09.670 ethnicity or family of ethnicities that 00:39:09.680 --> 00:39:13.670 are just more individualistic because 00:39:13.680 --> 00:39:17.510 it's like the the Greeks. I mean, they 00:39:17.520 --> 00:39:19.190 weren't as individualistic as we are 00:39:19.200 --> 00:39:20.550 now, but still they were much more 00:39:20.560 --> 00:39:22.630 individualistic than say the Persians 00:39:22.640 --> 00:39:25.109 next door, which is one reason why they 00:39:25.119 --> 00:39:26.630 were able to kick kick ass on the 00:39:26.640 --> 00:39:28.470 Persians. 00:39:28.480 --> 00:39:30.630 And then like the Romans, the Romans 00:39:30.640 --> 00:39:32.950 were kind of conservative, but still 00:39:32.960 --> 00:39:35.349 they allowed more individualism. I mean, 00:39:35.359 --> 00:39:37.670 they had a lots lots of different like 00:39:37.680 --> 00:39:40.150 religious cults and so forth, different 00:39:40.160 --> 00:39:41.910 philosophies. you know, you could just 00:39:41.920 --> 00:39:44.230 pick and choose which one works best for 00:39:44.240 --> 00:39:46.710 you as a general rule. 00:39:46.720 --> 00:39:48.710 You know, they were definitely not 00:39:48.720 --> 00:39:52.470 opposed to innovation. 00:39:52.480 --> 00:39:54.870 Um, and then but the thing is you had 00:39:54.880 --> 00:39:58.630 Germanic tribes north of the Rine that 00:39:58.640 --> 00:40:00.710 also were very individualistic and it 00:40:00.720 --> 00:40:02.870 was like after the Roman Empire had 00:40:02.880 --> 00:40:06.150 pretty much degenerated into a kind of 00:40:06.160 --> 00:40:09.270 demoralized dictatorship 00:40:09.280 --> 00:40:13.589 where like um individualism wasn't as 00:40:13.599 --> 00:40:16.230 valued as it was like during the the 00:40:16.240 --> 00:40:19.109 glory days of the republic. Then you had 00:40:19.119 --> 00:40:22.790 these Germanic tribes who conquered the 00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:26.390 collapsing Western Roman Empire and sort 00:40:26.400 --> 00:40:31.030 of revived these ideals of individual 00:40:31.040 --> 00:40:33.750 rights and so forth. 00:40:33.760 --> 00:40:35.829 So that would seem to indicate that the 00:40:35.839 --> 00:40:37.829 Germanic tribes north of the Rine I mean 00:40:37.839 --> 00:40:40.150 they didn't inherit that from the 00:40:40.160 --> 00:40:41.750 Greeks. 00:40:41.760 --> 00:40:43.430 You know it was it just seems like it's 00:40:43.440 --> 00:40:46.790 a European thing and Europeans are the 00:40:46.800 --> 00:40:50.630 most like physically diverse group at 00:40:50.640 --> 00:40:52.710 least with regard to appearance. you 00:40:52.720 --> 00:40:54.710 know, you've got sort of dark like 00:40:54.720 --> 00:40:57.430 sworthy European types, very pale 00:40:57.440 --> 00:41:00.390 European types, different hair colors, 00:41:00.400 --> 00:41:03.670 different eye colors that I mean, other 00:41:03.680 --> 00:41:05.670 ethnicities just don't have that as a 00:41:05.680 --> 00:41:08.230 general rule. I mean, like they might be 00:41:08.240 --> 00:41:09.750 kind of lighter skinned or darker 00:41:09.760 --> 00:41:11.750 skinned within the range of their own, 00:41:11.760 --> 00:41:13.589 you know, ethnicity, you know, in the 00:41:13.599 -->

00:41:15.510 bell-shaped curve and all that, but 00:41:15.520 --> 00:41:17.349 different eye colors, different hair 00:41:17.359 --> 00:41:20.069 colors, that's like a European thing. 00:41:20.079 --> 00:41:24.069 And it's kind of indicates there's more 00:41:24.079 --> 00:41:26.309 individual variation 00:41:26.319 --> 00:41:27.910 not only with regard to appearance but 00:41:27.920 --> 00:41:29.510 also with regard to the way people think 00:41:29.520 --> 00:41:32.790 and behave. 00:41:32.800 --> 00:41:34.950 So let's see what's the actual question. 00:41:34.960 --> 00:41:36.950 How and why did Western individualism 00:41:36.960 --> 00:41:39.030 develop in Europe rather than in other 00:41:39.040 --> 00:41:41.430 parts of the world? 00:41:41.440 --> 00:41:44.790 Um yeah I mean it could be genetic. It 00:41:44.800 --> 00:41:47.510 seems like it's either genetic or maybe 00:41:47.520 --> 00:41:51.030 even like some cultural inheritance from 00:41:51.040 --> 00:41:52.870 the Indo-Uropeans 00:41:52.880 --> 00:41:54.950 that conquered so much of the Western 00:41:54.960 --> 00:41:57.270 world. You know, it may have been just 00:41:57.280 --> 00:42:00.150 some sort of ideal that they brought 00:42:00.160 --> 00:42:02.069 with them. I'm not sure what kind of 00:42:02.079 --> 00:42:05.030 individualism you had before the 00:42:05.040 --> 00:42:08.470 Indo-Uropean expansion into Europe and 00:42:08.480 --> 00:42:10.790 in like northern 00:42:10.800 --> 00:42:14.309 um northern India and Persia and places 00:42:14.319 --> 00:42:16.470 like that. I don't know if it'd be 00:42:16.480 --> 00:42:19.109 interesting just to see like where 00:42:19.119 --> 00:42:21.750 innovations like stone age innovations 00:42:21.760 --> 00:42:25.510 came from like new patterns for making 00:42:25.520 --> 00:42:27.510 stone arrow heads. I mean, did the 00:42:27.520 --> 00:42:31.109 Europeans, the stone, the cave people of 00:42:31.119 --> 00:42:34.390 Europe, were they like ahead of the cave 00:42:34.400 --> 00:42:37.510 people of China or or southern India or 00:42:37.520 --> 00:42:40.390 I mean I don't know. 00:42:40.400 --> 00:42:41.750 So that would be interesting. I mean 00:42:41.760 --> 00:42:44.150 that would be a step towards answering 00:42:44.160 --> 00:42:46.470 the question I guess. I mean, if there 00:42:46.480 --> 00:42:50.230 was a lot of um innovation 00:42:50.240 --> 00:42:53.270 found primarily in the west that then 00:42:53.280 --> 00:42:56.710 trickled eastwards and southwards, 00:42:56.720 --> 00:42:58.710 then I mean that would be a good 00:42:58.720 --> 00:43:01.990 argument for maybe some genetic 00:43:02.000 --> 00:43:04.870 component that causes Europeans to be 00:43:04.880 --> 00:43:06.870 more individualistic 00:43:06.880 --> 00:43:09.349 than than other ethnicities 00:43:09.359 --> 00:43:13.270 historically. 00:43:13.280 --> 00:43:15.190 And I am happy to say that my coffee is 00:43:15.200 --> 00:43:19.030 now pretty much cold. So it's uh not 00:43:19.040 --> 00:43:23.990 causing me to be all persspiry anymore. 00:43:24.000 --> 00:43:27.430 So yeah, I mean I mean you can only 00:43:27.440 --> 00:43:29.670 guess with regard to this this question. 00:43:29.680 --> 00:43:32.069 How and why did Western individualism 00:43:32.079 --> 00:43:33.990 develop in Europe rather than other 00:43:34.000 --> 00:43:37.109 parts of the world? 00:43:37.119 --> 00:43:40.630 it would seem to be something about 00:43:40.640 --> 00:43:43.030 our ethnicity 00:43:43.040 --> 00:43:46.870 um is just less conformist than most 00:43:46.880 --> 00:43:49.750 other ethnicities. And I do think it's 00:43:49.760 --> 00:43:51.270 possible that there is a genetic 00:43:51.280 --> 00:43:53.349 component, but I don't know what it 00:43:53.359 --> 00:43:55.829 would be. But it seems like I mean how 00:43:55.839 --> 00:43:59.109 else would you explain it unless like I 00:43:59.119 --> 00:44:01.510 said it's just something that was 00:44:01.520 --> 00:44:04.309 introduced as a cultural element from 00:44:04.319 --> 00:44:08.870 like the Indo-Uropeans. 00:44:08.880 --> 00:44:10.630 So I'm sorry I really can't answer that 00:44:10.640 --> 00:44:12.630 question with any any degree of 00:44:12.640 --> 00:44:14.630 certainty. 00:44:14.640 --> 00:44:16.069 So I'm just going to move on to Romeo's 00:44:16.079 --> 00:44:17.990 second question which is a followup on 00:44:18.000 --> 00:44:20.390 the first one. 00:44:20.400 --> 00:44:24.069 Is western individualism sustainable 00:44:24.079 --> 00:44:26.630 over the long haul in terms of ensuring 00:44:26.640 --> 00:44:29.349 the survival of European people? 00:44:29.359 --> 00:44:32.150 Wouldn't it seen 00:44:32.160 --> 00:44:34.309 Wouldn't it seem a less effective group 00:44:34.319 --> 00:44:37.190 survival strategy compared to cultures 00:44:37.200 --> 00:44:39.430 that emphasize the group over the 00:44:39.440 --> 00:44:43.589 individual and are thus more unified? 00:44:43.599 --> 00:44:47.589 Um, well, I mean, just look at history. 00:44:47.599 --> 00:44:49.990 Um, I think it was John Stewart Mill. I 00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:51.829 was considering getting the quote just 00:44:51.839 --> 00:44:53.750 so I could read it to you. But John 00:44:53.760 --> 00:44:55.030 Stewart Mill has this quote. I think 00:44:55.040 --> 00:44:58.470 it's in his essay on liberty 00:44:58.480 --> 00:45:01.109 uh which is sort of like a classical 00:45:01.119 --> 00:45:05.109 liberal manifesto written in the 1800s. 00:45:05.119 --> 00:45:07.270 And he was talking about how like the 00:45:07.280 --> 00:45:10.309 Chinese were living in palaces and 00:45:10.319 --> 00:45:12.950 wearing silk when our ancestors in 00:45:12.960 --> 00:45:15.670 Europe were still wearing animal skins 00:45:15.680 --> 00:45:18.710 and just living in like huts. 00:45:18.720 --> 00:45:20.390 But 00:45:20.400 --> 00:45:24.870 due to their like their adherence to 00:45:24.880 --> 00:45:27.990 conformity and lack of imagination and

00:45:28.000 --> 00:45:31.430 western individualism, 00:45:31.440 --> 00:45:33.990 it's like the Europeans conquered the 00:45:34.000 --> 00:45:35.510 world. 00:45:35.520 --> 00:45:37.829 And even if they didn't conquer the 00:45:37.839 --> 00:45:39.750 entire world militarily, although they 00:45:39.760 --> 00:45:41.030 came pretty damn close during the 00:45:41.040 --> 00:45:44.390 colonial era, still I mean you go to 00:45:44.400 --> 00:45:47.349 communist China. I mean the communism 00:45:47.359 --> 00:45:49.829 they derived from from Europe, you know, 00:45:49.839 --> 00:45:51.750 like the the economics and the the 00:45:51.760 --> 00:45:53.910 political ideas that they're following 00:45:53.920 --> 00:45:55.910 originally came from Europe. You know, 00:45:55.920 --> 00:45:57.349 you look at Chinese people, they're 00:45:57.359 --> 00:45:59.270 wearing western style clothing, they 00:45:59.280 --> 00:46:01.670 have western style hairds, they've got 00:46:01.680 --> 00:46:03.910 western technology, 00:46:03.920 --> 00:46:06.710 and the only way they can even come 00:46:06.720 --> 00:46:09.349 close to rivaling us with regard to 00:46:09.359 --> 00:46:12.550 technology is just by spying and 00:46:12.560 --> 00:46:17.750 stealing Western ideas. 00:46:17.760 --> 00:46:21.829 So, Western individualism thus far has 00:46:21.839 --> 00:46:24.550 been much more successful over the long 00:46:24.560 --> 00:46:27.430 hall in terms of ensuring the survival 00:46:27.440 --> 00:46:29.430 of European people. It's it's not so 00:46:29.440 --> 00:46:33.030 much individualism that is causing 00:46:33.040 --> 00:46:35.750 Western civilization to go into decline. 00:46:35.760 --> 00:46:39.190 It's just good times make weak men, weak 00:46:39.200 --> 00:46:41.910 men make bad times. You know, like I was 00:46:41.920 --> 00:46:43.589 saying that we're in a state of like 00:46:43.599 --> 00:46:45.430 lukewarm 00:46:45.440 --> 00:46:47.750 like mediocrity. 00:46:47.760 --> 00:46:50.870 I mean, we are definitely decadent and 00:46:50.880 --> 00:46:53.430 it's because we were so successful, we 00:46:53.440 --> 00:46:56.790 got soft and weak and lazy. 00:46:56.800 --> 00:46:58.950 It's like Theodore Roosevelt had this 00:46:58.960 --> 00:47:01.510 famous quote that I saw on X a few days 00:47:01.520 --> 00:47:03.349 ago. It's the curse of all 00:47:03.359 --> 00:47:05.829 civilizations, all great civilizations 00:47:05.839 --> 00:47:08.790 that the men eventually become unable to 00:47:08.800 --> 00:47:11.430 fight just because of materialism and 00:47:11.440 --> 00:47:15.030 luxury and security just makes them soft 00:47:15.040 --> 00:47:18.069 and weak and lazy and they cannot stand 00:47:18.079 --> 00:47:22.069 up to uncouthed barbarians that sweep 00:47:22.079 --> 00:47:24.870 across the border. In fact, nowadays 00:47:24.880 --> 00:47:26.309 they're just a lot of them are just 00:47:26.319 --> 00:47:28.150 inviting the barbarians in. Come on, 00:47:28.160 --> 00:47:30.069 sweethearts. 00:47:30.079 --> 00:47:34.390 here's stay in this luxury hotel 00:47:34.400 --> 00:47:39.990 we'll we'll provide for you. 00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.790 So the individualism I think has made 00:47:44.800 --> 00:47:48.150 western civilization just predominant on 00:47:48.160 --> 00:47:50.870 this planet. 00:47:50.880 --> 00:47:53.589 It's just that there are other factors 00:47:53.599 --> 00:47:56.870 you know like moral decline that are 00:47:56.880 --> 00:48:00.950 more um dangerous 00:48:00.960 --> 00:48:04.390 to us than individualism. I mean it is 00:48:04.400 --> 00:48:08.550 good to have enough like conformity that 00:48:08.560 --> 00:48:10.230 everyone is pretty much on the same page 00:48:10.240 --> 00:48:13.430 or most people in the country share the 00:48:13.440 --> 00:48:16.069 same world view to some degree or at 00:48:16.079 --> 00:48:19.190 least the same ideals. You know, civic 00:48:19.200 --> 00:48:21.750 nationalism is what kept America strong 00:48:21.760 --> 00:48:26.710 for more than 200 years. 00:48:26.720 --> 00:48:29.270 But when you get so much individualism, 00:48:29.280 --> 00:48:31.829 I mean, no, I don't I don't know if you 00:48:31.839 --> 00:48:33.510 can even call it individualism where 00:48:33.520 --> 00:48:35.349 people are just like splintering and 00:48:35.359 --> 00:48:37.910 break it's becoming like tribalistic and 00:48:37.920 --> 00:48:39.349 so forth. That's not so much 00:48:39.359 --> 00:48:41.829 individualism. That's just conforming to 00:48:41.839 --> 00:48:45.190 a smaller group. 00:48:45.200 --> 00:48:47.349 I mean, people are 00:48:47.359 --> 00:48:49.829 they're they're a social animal. People 00:48:49.839 --> 00:48:53.589 have got the herd instinct. 00:48:53.599 --> 00:48:56.390 So, yeah, maybe that Europeans have a 00:48:56.400 --> 00:48:58.549 little bit less herd instinct than most 00:48:58.559 --> 00:49:01.270 humans, 00:49:01.280 --> 00:49:03.750 but I think I answered that question. 00:49:03.760 --> 00:49:05.349 Yeah, I don't think that it's a less 00:49:05.359 --> 00:49:06.950 effective group survival strategy 00:49:06.960 --> 00:49:08.549 compared to cultures that emphasize the 00:49:08.559 --> 00:49:11.349 group over the individual because the 00:49:11.359 --> 00:49:13.109 cultures that emphasize the group over 00:49:13.119 --> 00:49:16.150 the individual are conformist and they 00:49:16.160 --> 00:49:18.950 tend not to have much imagination. They 00:49:18.960 --> 00:49:21.510 do not dare to deviate from what 00:49:21.520 --> 00:49:23.750 everyone else is thinking and doing. And 00:49:23.760 --> 00:49:27.829 that's why the Europeans with their sort 00:49:27.839 --> 00:49:30.630 of liberal ideals and individualism and 00:49:30.640 --> 00:49:33.829 so forth that I mean the Greeks had it 00:49:33.839 --> 00:49:35.829 to some degree, the Romans, the Germanic 00:49:35.839 --> 00:49:37.510 tribes. 00:49:37.520 --> 00:49:39.750 It just seems like a European thing, not

00:49:39.760 --> 00:49:43.270 like specifically owed to any region of 00:49:43.280 --> 00:49:46.790 Europe. 00:49:46.800 --> 00:49:49.510 So 00:49:49.520 --> 00:49:52.870 yeah, I think I mean a certain amount of 00:49:52.880 --> 00:49:55.829 conformity is necessary just to hold the 00:49:55.839 --> 00:49:58.150 society together so it doesn't just fly 00:49:58.160 --> 00:50:01.670 apart in all directions. But still a 00:50:01.680 --> 00:50:05.829 society that has like individuality 00:50:05.839 --> 00:50:09.270 like individual rights and so forth is 00:50:09.280 --> 00:50:11.510 going to be stronger as a general rule 00:50:11.520 --> 00:50:14.790 all else being equal than people that 00:50:14.800 --> 00:50:17.750 are just conformists. You know, that's 00:50:17.760 --> 00:50:19.750 one reason why the Greeks were able to 00:50:19.760 --> 00:50:21.430 defeat the Persians in battle because 00:50:21.440 --> 00:50:23.589 the Persians I mean they were 00:50:23.599 --> 00:50:25.670 essentially I mean to some degree you 00:50:25.680 --> 00:50:27.349 could say that they're like slaves to 00:50:27.359 --> 00:50:30.230 the king, you know, and and it's like 00:50:30.240 --> 00:50:32.390 they just followed the rules. That's one 00:50:32.400 --> 00:50:34.230 reason why Alexander the Great was able 00:50:34.240 --> 00:50:37.829 to conquer Persia as easily as he did 00:50:37.839 --> 00:50:40.710 with relatively few soldiers because the 00:50:40.720 --> 00:50:42.549 Persians were so predictable. They just 00:50:42.559 --> 00:50:45.270 they fought in the same way. You know, 00:50:45.280 --> 00:50:48.230 it's like you read Xenopon's Anabis 00:50:48.240 --> 00:50:49.910 where he's talking about the march of 00:50:49.920 --> 00:50:53.750 the 10,000 through Persian territory 00:50:53.760 --> 00:50:56.309 and the Greeks realize it's the 00:50:56.319 --> 00:50:58.150 Persians. They always tie up their 00:50:58.160 --> 00:51:00.710 horses outside the camp at night. You 00:51:00.720 --> 00:51:02.549 know, they just don't fight at night. 00:51:02.559 --> 00:51:04.230 It's just they didn't think about it. 00:51:04.240 --> 00:51:05.829 They just why would anyone fight at 00:51:05.839 --> 00:51:08.230 night? So, they didn't even prepare and 00:51:08.240 --> 00:51:10.390 they just left their horses outside the 00:51:10.400 --> 00:51:11.829 camp. So, the Greeks just went in and 00:51:11.839 --> 00:51:13.030 helped themselves with the Persian 00:51:13.040 --> 00:51:16.870 horses. Suddenly they got cavalry 00:51:16.880 --> 00:51:18.710 and they were able to fight their way 00:51:18.720 --> 00:51:21.349 all the way back to Greece. 00:51:21.359 --> 00:51:24.230 And I I I assume that Alexander was 00:51:24.240 --> 00:51:26.790 familiar with with this book and got a 00:51:26.800 --> 00:51:29.990 lot of inspiration from it. It's uh I 00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:31.990 mean without individualism and 00:51:32.000 --> 00:51:34.069 individual thought, you're going to have 00:51:34.079 --> 00:51:36.710 a lot fewer ideas and a lot less 00:51:36.720 --> 00:51:41.670 innovation and a lot less improvement. 00:51:41.680 --> 00:51:42.870 But I'm just going to move on this 00:51:42.880 --> 00:51:47.349 question. This is from Nigelbick. 00:51:47.359 --> 00:51:50.710 Nijb. It's NJBK. 00:51:50.720 --> 00:51:52.549 Ninj. 00:51:52.559 --> 00:51:55.990 And Nijbik says, "Have you ever met any 00:51:56.000 --> 00:51:57.589 arroant? 00:51:57.599 --> 00:52:00.150 Do you think you could identify them as 00:52:00.160 --> 00:52:02.549 such if you met them? Are there any 00:52:02.559 --> 00:52:05.109 monks today whom you think are?" Well, 00:52:05.119 --> 00:52:06.470 that's three questions. Listen, I got to 00:52:06.480 --> 00:52:08.470 divide this up. So, we got a few more 00:52:08.480 --> 00:52:10.309 questions than I thought we did just 00:52:10.319 --> 00:52:13.589 because I failed to divide them up 00:52:13.599 --> 00:52:16.390 before starting this video. 00:52:16.400 --> 00:52:19.589 So, have I ever met any orans? I don't 00:52:19.599 --> 00:52:21.829 know. I mean, how could you possibly 00:52:21.839 --> 00:52:23.190 know? But I'm kind of getting ahead of 00:52:23.200 --> 00:52:25.510 myself. Um, 00:52:25.520 --> 00:52:29.190 sometimes you you see this wise old monk 00:52:29.200 --> 00:52:31.349 who lives alone out in a cemetery or 00:52:31.359 --> 00:52:33.750 something and the villagers around 00:52:33.760 --> 00:52:36.470 consider him to be an Arahant, but 00:52:36.480 --> 00:52:38.870 that's no proof. I mean, he could just 00:52:38.880 --> 00:52:40.710 be putting on a show identifying with 00:52:40.720 --> 00:52:43.589 the image like Salivage Zek was 00:52:43.599 --> 00:52:45.510 advising. 00:52:45.520 --> 00:52:47.510 Um, and just because you have a 00:52:47.520 --> 00:52:48.870 reputation for being enlightened doesn't 00:52:48.880 --> 00:52:50.470 mean anything because I had a reputation 00:52:50.480 --> 00:52:51.990 for being enlightened in certain areas 00:52:52.000 --> 00:52:56.470 of Burma. 00:52:56.480 --> 00:53:00.790 So have I met any arans? Maybe. But I 00:53:00.800 --> 00:53:04.390 mean again I think an arant would be a 00:53:04.400 --> 00:53:06.309 kind of paradox 00:53:06.319 --> 00:53:10.790 because escaping or transcending samsara 00:53:10.800 --> 00:53:13.349 within a samsuric context doesn't 00:53:13.359 --> 00:53:17.030 necessarily mean anything. 00:53:17.040 --> 00:53:19.670 Meaning is samsaric. So anyone who 00:53:19.680 --> 00:53:21.270 transcends meaning I mean it just 00:53:21.280 --> 00:53:24.870 becomes meaningless. 00:53:24.880 --> 00:53:28.790 So I am somewhat skeptical that that 00:53:28.800 --> 00:53:30.870 full enlightenment 00:53:30.880 --> 00:53:34.630 is even a thing in a samsaric context. 00:53:34.640 --> 00:53:36.950 And like I mentioned relatively recently 00:53:36.960 --> 00:53:39.670 in a Q&A that there was a school called 00:53:39.680 --> 00:53:43.430 the Yogachara Logicians or the Dignaga 00:53:43.440

--> 00:53:47.190 School which was a medieval Buddhist 00:53:47.200 --> 00:53:50.390 school that that specialized in logic 00:53:50.400 --> 00:53:52.950 and their classic example of a 00:53:52.960 --> 00:53:55.349 problematic premise is that such and 00:53:55.359 --> 00:53:57.030 such person is fully enlightened. 00:53:57.040 --> 00:53:59.109 There's no way you can prove it. I mean 00:53:59.119 --> 00:54:00.870 the fully enlightened being might know 00:54:00.880 --> 00:54:02.309 that they're fully enlightened but they 00:54:02.319 --> 00:54:04.630 can't prove it to anybody else. 00:54:04.640 --> 00:54:06.870 I mean, if you got psychic powers, you 00:54:06.880 --> 00:54:09.109 could display those, but just because 00:54:09.119 --> 00:54:10.470 you have psychic powers doesn't mean 00:54:10.480 --> 00:54:13.910 that you're enlightened. 00:54:13.920 --> 00:54:17.670 So, maybe I mean, my best bet and an 00:54:17.680 --> 00:54:21.270 Araan I mean I did meet in Seattle who 00:54:21.280 --> 00:54:24.790 had a reputation for being very wise. 00:54:24.800 --> 00:54:28.870 Um, met a few other seats that seemed 00:54:28.880 --> 00:54:32.630 wise, but I mean, you can't really tell. 00:54:32.640 --> 00:54:35.190 I mean, how could you know? According to 00:54:35.200 --> 00:54:37.349 the text, only an Araant would know if 00:54:37.359 --> 00:54:38.870 another Arahant was enlightened. And 00:54:38.880 --> 00:54:41.750 even then, maybe not. Like, if you're a 00:54:41.760 --> 00:54:43.910 dry visioned Araant who doesn't have any 00:54:43.920 --> 00:54:45.829 psychic powers, you can't look into the 00:54:45.839 --> 00:54:48.309 mind of the other being, how are you 00:54:48.319 --> 00:54:51.670 going to know? 00:54:51.680 --> 00:54:53.829 So, with regard to have I ever met any 00:54:53.839 --> 00:54:55.349 Arahans, 00:54:55.359 --> 00:54:57.750 maybe if that even means anything within 00:54:57.760 --> 00:55:01.349 the context of samsara. 00:55:01.359 --> 00:55:04.150 So, Ninjic's second question. Do you 00:55:04.160 --> 00:55:06.069 think you could identify them as such if 00:55:06.079 --> 00:55:07.270 you met them? And I've pretty much 00:55:07.280 --> 00:55:08.549 already answered that question. It's 00:55:08.559 --> 00:55:11.589 like, how? I mean, you couldn't really 00:55:11.599 --> 00:55:13.030 know. I mean, if you were another 00:55:13.040 --> 00:55:15.589 Araant, maybe. But if you're not an 00:55:15.599 --> 00:55:16.870 Araant, how are you going to know? I 00:55:16.880 --> 00:55:18.630 mean, sometimes you could see that they 00:55:18.640 --> 00:55:21.030 aren't Arahanss, you know, if they're 00:55:21.040 --> 00:55:23.990 just like, you know, screaming drunk and 00:55:24.000 --> 00:55:26.390 like picking fights and this kind of 00:55:26.400 --> 00:55:28.790 stuff. They're like stealing and lying. 00:55:28.800 --> 00:55:30.390 I mean, that would be a fairly good 00:55:30.400 --> 00:55:32.710 indication that, you know, they they're 00:55:32.720 --> 00:55:34.710 involved in sex scandals and this kind 00:55:34.720 --> 00:55:36.549 of stuff, 00:55:36.559 --> 00:55:38.230 fairly good indication that they're not 00:55:38.240 --> 00:55:40.870 fully enlightened. But who knows? I 00:55:40.880 --> 00:55:42.309 mean, if if full enlightenment doesn't 00:55:42.319 --> 00:55:44.710 even mean anything or or maybe somebody 00:55:44.720 --> 00:55:49.109 like Jay Krishna Mertie is right 00:55:49.119 --> 00:55:51.109 about being enlightened where I mean, 00:55:51.119 --> 00:55:53.510 you're not like enslaved to morals if 00:55:53.520 --> 00:55:54.870 you're fully enlightened, which means 00:55:54.880 --> 00:55:57.589 you're like liberated. 00:55:57.599 --> 00:55:59.270 I mean, how are you even going to define 00:55:59.280 --> 00:56:00.950 enlightenment in a case like that where 00:56:00.960 --> 00:56:03.109 there's like there's like this whole 00:56:03.119 --> 00:56:05.750 spectrum like terra Buddhism is at one 00:56:05.760 --> 00:56:08.309 extreme end of the spectrum with regard 00:56:08.319 --> 00:56:10.789 to what an enlightened being is like. 00:56:10.799 --> 00:56:13.430 Terravada Buddhism insists, 00:56:13.440 --> 00:56:17.910 orthodox terra insists that in order to 00:56:17.920 --> 00:56:21.030 have purity of mind, in order to I mean 00:56:21.040 --> 00:56:22.230 in order to become enlightened, you have 00:56:22.240 --> 00:56:24.069 to have purity of mind. And before you 00:56:24.079 --> 00:56:25.430 can have purity of mind, you have to 00:56:25.440 --> 00:56:27.589 have purity of morals, which means you 00:56:27.599 --> 00:56:29.990 have to have perfected morality, which 00:56:30.000 --> 00:56:33.349 means you are a saint before you can 00:56:33.359 --> 00:56:36.549 become a sage, like an enlightened sage. 00:56:36.559 --> 00:56:38.470 At the other end, you've got people like 00:56:38.480 --> 00:56:41.349 Paul Low or Jay Krishna Murdy or maybe 00:56:41.359 --> 00:56:44.549 Eugi Krishna Murdy where it's like 00:56:44.559 --> 00:56:47.349 anything goes. There's no rules. If 00:56:47.359 --> 00:56:49.190 you're enlightened, you're no longer 00:56:49.200 --> 00:56:51.990 you're no longer like subject to these 00:56:52.000 --> 00:56:58.870 limitations. You can I mean whatever. 00:56:58.880 --> 00:57:01.109 So 00:57:01.119 --> 00:57:03.349 yeah, I mean I don't know how an 00:57:03.359 --> 00:57:05.430 unenlightened person could possibly 00:57:05.440 --> 00:57:07.750 identify an Arahan even if they meet 00:57:07.760 --> 00:57:09.109 them. Even if you're sitting in the same 00:57:09.119 --> 00:57:11.270 room with them, 00:57:11.280 --> 00:57:13.990 you know, it's like you got a fool in 00:57:14.000 --> 00:57:16.870 the same room as an Araant. The fool is 00:57:16.880 --> 00:57:18.390 going to be looking at the Arahant 00:57:18.400 --> 00:57:21.589 through foolishness colored glasses and 00:57:21.599 --> 00:57:24.069 they're just going to be dis maybe even 00:57:24.079 --> 00:57:27.109 scoffing and sneering. Maybe the

orant 00:57:27.119 --> 00:57:30.630 has some physical peculiarity or he 00:57:30.640 --> 00:57:33.349 speaks with an accent or something and 00:57:33.359 --> 00:57:35.030 the other person just might be mocking 00:57:35.040 --> 00:57:39.990 him because of this. 00:57:40.000 --> 00:57:41.510 So 00:57:41.520 --> 00:57:43.030 I mean there are people in the Buddhist 00:57:43.040 --> 00:57:45.670 time who despised the Buddha. 00:57:45.680 --> 00:57:47.030 They didn't know he was enlightened. 00:57:47.040 --> 00:57:50.470 They thought it was all [ __ ] 00:57:50.480 --> 00:57:53.270 People are like that. 00:57:53.280 --> 00:57:56.230 So I think I'll just move on to Nijbik's 00:57:56.240 --> 00:57:57.990 third question. Are there any monks 00:57:58.000 --> 00:58:01.349 today whom you think are Aras? I have no 00:58:01.359 --> 00:58:03.750 idea. I mean like I said I met Shu um in 00:58:03.760 --> 00:58:06.630 Seattle but he has passed away. He is no 00:58:06.640 --> 00:58:09.829 longer alive. And of the the monks that 00:58:09.839 --> 00:58:12.230 I have known 00:58:12.240 --> 00:58:14.710 I really I really have no idea. I mean 00:58:14.720 --> 00:58:17.109 it's possible 00:58:17.119 --> 00:58:20.710 but I have no idea. 00:58:20.720 --> 00:58:22.710 So I mean who today I mean there are 00:58:22.720 --> 00:58:24.230 people that have a reputation for being 00:58:24.240 --> 00:58:28.789 arroant. Ehart Tollola for example 00:58:28.799 --> 00:58:30.230 he has a reputation for being 00:58:30.240 --> 00:58:31.829 enlightened. There are quite a few of 00:58:31.839 --> 00:58:34.870 those kind of people. There was Andrew 00:58:34.880 --> 00:58:37.109 Cohen who was he had quite a following 00:58:37.119 --> 00:58:38.630 back around the time that I became a 00:58:38.640 --> 00:58:42.870 monk around 1990. You know he was luring 00:58:42.880 --> 00:58:46.309 people away from weasa and it was like 00:58:46.319 --> 00:58:48.309 just lots of people were following 00:58:48.319 --> 00:58:52.470 Andrew Cohen. I think his teacher was uh 00:58:52.480 --> 00:58:56.710 Harilal Punga in India and Andrew Cohen 00:58:56.720 --> 00:58:59.510 was I mean he didn't deny that he was 00:58:59.520 --> 00:59:01.190 enlightened or considered himself to be 00:59:01.200 --> 00:59:04.230 enlightened until finally um his own 00:59:04.240 --> 00:59:07.109 disciples started pointing out to him 00:59:07.119 --> 00:59:08.390 man you're not acting like an 00:59:08.400 --> 00:59:10.470 enlightened being. I don't remember what 00:59:10.480 --> 00:59:12.069 the scandal was. It could have been some 00:59:12.079 --> 00:59:13.670 kind of sex thing. I don't know. I 00:59:13.680 --> 00:59:15.670 didn't really keep up with it. But 00:59:15.680 --> 00:59:18.150 eventually he came to the conclusion, 00:59:18.160 --> 00:59:20.950 well golly, I'm not really an Arahan 00:59:20.960 --> 00:59:23.670 after all. And then of course you've got 00:59:23.680 --> 00:59:25.750 Daniel Ingram. There's a lot of people 00:59:25.760 --> 00:59:28.150 like that in the West. Probably a lot of 00:59:28.160 --> 00:59:30.710 people like that in the East too who 00:59:30.720 --> 00:59:32.710 claim to be fully enlightened and maybe 00:59:32.720 --> 00:59:35.510 are just like in some cases just 00:59:35.520 --> 00:59:39.589 overestimating their own attainments. 00:59:39.599 --> 00:59:41.910 So from the point of view of monastic 00:59:41.920 --> 00:59:45.270 discipline, if a monk overestimates his 00:59:45.280 --> 00:59:46.470 own attainments, he thinks he's 00:59:46.480 --> 00:59:49.270 enlightened and he says he's enlightened 00:59:49.280 --> 00:59:52.150 even though he isn't, he's not parajiki, 00:59:52.160 --> 00:59:54.549 he's not excommunicated because he was 00:59:54.559 --> 00:59:58.150 sincere, you know, he just overestimated 00:59:58.160 --> 01:00:00.470 his own attainments. Whereas a monk who 01:00:00.480 --> 01:00:02.630 knows that he's not enlightened and says 01:00:02.640 --> 01:00:05.750 that he is, then he's excommunicated for 01:00:05.760 --> 01:00:06.950 the rest of his life. he's committed a 01:00:06.960 --> 01:00:09.910 parajika offense. The worst thing a monk 01:00:09.920 --> 01:00:12.789 can do is to deliberately lie about 01:00:12.799 --> 01:00:14.630 having attained superhuman mental states 01:00:14.640 --> 01:00:20.069 which includes enlightenment itself. 01:00:20.079 --> 01:00:22.710 So I mean assuming that being fully 01:00:22.720 --> 01:00:24.950 enlightened even means anything in a 01:00:24.960 --> 01:00:27.750 samsaric context and all meaning is 01:00:27.760 --> 01:00:30.069 samsaric 01:00:30.079 --> 01:00:33.430 then maybe 01:00:33.440 --> 01:00:35.109 there could be enlightened monks. It 01:00:35.119 --> 01:00:36.710 wouldn't surprise me assuming that it's 01:00:36.720 --> 01:00:39.190 possible. I'm assuming that there are 01:00:39.200 --> 01:00:41.190 fully enlightened monks out there. And 01:00:41.200 --> 01:00:43.270 in a lot of cases, they'd just be 01:00:43.280 --> 01:00:46.710 hermits living just humbly living alone 01:00:46.720 --> 01:00:49.750 out in the woods. And you know, maybe 01:00:49.760 --> 01:00:51.829 the the local villagers who are putting 01:00:51.839 --> 01:00:54.309 food in their bowl, you know, consider 01:00:54.319 --> 01:00:57.829 them to be fully enlightened, but nobody 01:00:57.839 --> 01:00:58.950 else knows about them. They're not 01:00:58.960 --> 01:01:02.470 famous. I remember one time 01:01:02.480 --> 01:01:06.950 um there was a monk see Bodhi no wait 01:01:06.960 --> 01:01:12.230 what was his name it was Bodhi bin 01:01:12.240 --> 01:01:15.510 Seattle or something like that and he 01:01:15.520 --> 01:01:17.030 was considered to be fully enlightened 01:01:17.040 --> 01:01:21.190 and um some of his supporters 01:01:21.200 --> 01:01:24.230 um very much wanted me to meet him so 01:01:24.240 --> 01:01:31.190 they drive me to Bodhi bin I don't No, 01:01:31.200 --> 01:01:33.670 I can't remember the name of it. It

was 01:01:33.680 --> 01:01:36.630 Bodhin Seattle, something like that. And 01:01:36.640 --> 01:01:39.030 so as we're going there, you know, 01:01:39.040 --> 01:01:40.549 they're very keen on me meeting this 01:01:40.559 --> 01:01:44.069 this Araant. And I I asked the driver, 01:01:44.079 --> 01:01:45.750 you know, are you sure he's enlightened? 01:01:45.760 --> 01:01:47.829 The driver say, "Yeah, I'm sure. Yeah, 01:01:47.839 --> 01:01:49.349 he's enlightened." All right. Although 01:01:49.359 --> 01:01:51.510 there's no way the driver could have 01:01:51.520 --> 01:01:52.710 possibly known if he was really 01:01:52.720 --> 01:01:54.789 enlightened or not. So we get there and 01:01:54.799 --> 01:01:57.430 the place is like a it's like a circus. 01:01:57.440 --> 01:02:00.230 there's like pagotas and statues and 01:02:00.240 --> 01:02:01.910 everything being erected all over the 01:02:01.920 --> 01:02:03.750 place. You know, it's sort of like a a 01:02:03.760 --> 01:02:06.789 Buddhist amusement park or something and 01:02:06.799 --> 01:02:08.950 you've got, you know, there's like uh 01:02:08.960 --> 01:02:11.510 alchemists wearing the the white robes 01:02:11.520 --> 01:02:14.470 and the long beard and the beads and and 01:02:14.480 --> 01:02:17.270 just, you know, it's just like this 01:02:17.280 --> 01:02:19.109 spiritual, you know, it's like a a 01:02:19.119 --> 01:02:21.829 Buddhist kumba or something going on 01:02:21.839 --> 01:02:24.950 there. And I remember everyone's waiting 01:02:24.960 --> 01:02:27.270 for the the arant to come out to eat his 01:02:27.280 --> 01:02:29.910 meal. And he doesn't come out to eat 01:02:29.920 --> 01:02:32.870 until it's like a quarter to 12. 01:02:32.880 --> 01:02:34.150 So there's no way he's going to be 01:02:34.160 --> 01:02:37.109 finished by by midday. So that he's 01:02:37.119 --> 01:02:40.549 going to be breaking a rule. Um which, 01:02:40.559 --> 01:02:43.030 you know, it's neither here nor there, I 01:02:43.040 --> 01:02:44.950 guess. But he comes out, you know, it's 01:02:44.960 --> 01:02:49.430 like 11:45 a.m. sits down to to eat his 01:02:49.440 --> 01:02:51.910 meal. One of the first thing he does is 01:02:51.920 --> 01:02:55.030 he he blows his nose into his hand and 01:02:55.040 --> 01:02:57.270 then just wipes the snot on the wall 01:02:57.280 --> 01:03:01.750 next to him. And it's like is this 01:03:01.760 --> 01:03:03.349 people think this this person is 01:03:03.359 --> 01:03:06.950 enlightened? I mean, who knows? Maybe he 01:03:06.960 --> 01:03:08.870 was and he was just sort of like the the 01:03:08.880 --> 01:03:11.670 Krishna Murdy kind of enlightened being, 01:03:11.680 --> 01:03:14.069 the Osho kind of enlightened being, you 01:03:14.079 --> 01:03:15.510 know? It's like, who knows? Maybe 01:03:15.520 --> 01:03:17.829 they're right. and and an arroant can 01:03:17.839 --> 01:03:21.029 behave in really weird ways 01:03:21.039 --> 01:03:23.270 but 01:03:23.280 --> 01:03:27.670 um yeah I I

can't really name any famous 01:03:27.680 --> 01:03:31.190 monk or even a nonfamous one or or you 01:03:31.200 --> 01:03:33.990 know even like a like a Hindu swami or 01:03:34.000 --> 01:03:36.309 anything like that. I don't I really if 01:03:36.319 --> 01:03:39.190 I had to guess, you know, who is an 01:03:39.200 --> 01:03:42.390 enlightened being nowadays, you know, if 01:03:42.400 --> 01:03:44.549 I had to make had to name one 01:03:44.559 --> 01:03:46.630 enlightened being or at least my best 01:03:46.640 --> 01:03:50.069 guess, I would I mean, I'd be at a loss. 01:03:50.079 --> 01:03:52.069 I don't know who it would be. I mean, 01:03:52.079 --> 01:03:54.390 Echart Tollah 01:03:54.400 --> 01:03:55.990 maybe, 01:03:56.000 --> 01:03:59.029 but he's a lay person, but I just I'm 01:03:59.039 --> 01:04:00.630 not really familiar with who the famous 01:04:00.640 --> 01:04:03.349 monks are nowadays. And those that are 01:04:03.359 --> 01:04:05.990 famous enough that I know about them, 01:04:06.000 --> 01:04:10.150 you they may be wise. They may be good 01:04:10.160 --> 01:04:14.630 people, virtuous, wise people, but fully 01:04:14.640 --> 01:04:18.630 enlightened, I really 01:04:18.640 --> 01:04:21.029 I mean I just have seen no evidence to 01:04:21.039 --> 01:04:22.789 support that. Although who knows exactly 01:04:22.799 --> 01:04:25.190 what the evidence would be 01:04:25.200 --> 01:04:27.270 and I suppose I should just move on to 01:04:27.280 --> 01:04:29.670 the next question. This is from King 01:04:29.680 --> 01:04:31.349 Kung 01:04:31.359 --> 01:04:35.029 and King Kung says, "Did you have any 01:04:35.039 --> 01:04:38.150 physical altercations in your monk life 01:04:38.160 --> 01:04:41.589 and do you do any wilderness stuff now 01:04:41.599 --> 01:04:43.430 also?" Oh, this is three questions 01:04:43.440 --> 01:04:45.109 again. 01:04:45.119 --> 01:04:47.829 Okay. 01:04:47.839 --> 01:04:51.589 So, I got to separate three questions. 01:04:51.599 --> 01:04:53.670 It is good that people are limiting 01:04:53.680 --> 01:04:55.430 themselves to three questions. That's 01:04:55.440 --> 01:04:58.069 that is commendable. 01:04:58.079 --> 01:05:01.109 So you get merit for that. King Kung's 01:05:01.119 --> 01:05:02.549 first question, did you have any 01:05:02.559 --> 01:05:04.950 physical altercations in your monk life? 01:05:04.960 --> 01:05:09.589 And if you read my latest book, Memoirs 01:05:09.599 --> 01:05:12.630 from Myanmar, I'm pretty sure there's a 01:05:12.640 --> 01:05:15.270 chapter in there, it's like the one time 01:05:15.280 --> 01:05:19.349 I assaulted another monk. I had one 01:05:19.359 --> 01:05:23.109 serious physical altercation as a monk, 01:05:23.119 --> 01:05:25.349 and that was I mean, I don't want to 01:05:25.359 --> 01:05:27.190 give the whole story. I mean it would 01:05:27.200 --> 01:05:29.270 take half an hour at least to give you 01:05:29.280 --> 01:05:32.069 all the the relevant details. But there 01:05:32.079 --> 01:05:34.230 was this Burmese monk who tried to just 01:05:34.240 --> 01:05:36.950 move in and take over the monastery 01:05:36.960 --> 01:05:40.390 where I was senior monk at the time and 01:05:40.400 --> 01:05:42.870 he obviously just did not follow the 01:05:42.880 --> 01:05:44.549 rules of monastic discipline. He was 01:05:44.559 --> 01:05:47.349 obviously a rascal and a troublemaker 01:05:47.359 --> 01:05:50.069 and I just told him he was he wasn't 01:05:50.079 --> 01:05:52.789 going to stay there that you know he was 01:05:52.799 --> 01:05:54.309 going to have to leave. He was like a 01:05:54.319 --> 01:05:56.789 visiting monk who just decided he was 01:05:56.799 --> 01:05:58.630 going to take over and become the abbott 01:05:58.640 --> 01:06:00.150 there. 01:06:00.160 --> 01:06:01.670 And 01:06:01.680 --> 01:06:04.870 um I mean the way the final altercation 01:06:04.880 --> 01:06:09.589 occurred is I just made up my mind that 01:06:09.599 --> 01:06:11.430 he was going to have to go. He was like 01:06:11.440 --> 01:06:13.670 a a cousin or something of the other 01:06:13.680 --> 01:06:15.430 monk who lived at the monastery. There 01:06:15.440 --> 01:06:17.829 was only two of us at the time. There 01:06:17.839 --> 01:06:20.870 was me and there was old Unandia. 01:06:20.880 --> 01:06:23.190 And I mean I wanted to kick him out 01:06:23.200 --> 01:06:25.990 before then and I went up to Unanda and 01:06:26.000 --> 01:06:27.910 said that new monk wants to stay here 01:06:27.920 --> 01:06:30.230 but I don't want to let him stay here. I 01:06:30.240 --> 01:06:33.190 want to kick him out. And then Unandia 01:06:33.200 --> 01:06:35.430 looks up at me and says he is my 01:06:35.440 --> 01:06:38.470 brother. But the Burmese, especially 01:06:38.480 --> 01:06:40.230 Burmese village culture, they'll call 01:06:40.240 --> 01:06:41.670 someone their brother when they're not 01:06:41.680 --> 01:06:43.270 really their brother. And there was 01:06:43.280 --> 01:06:46.230 probably at least 30 years difference in 01:06:46.240 --> 01:06:49.510 age between these two. But we did have a 01:06:49.520 --> 01:06:53.029 kind of agreement that if some new monk 01:06:53.039 --> 01:06:55.190 was going to stay at the monastery, both 01:06:55.200 --> 01:06:57.589 of us had to agree. You know, if I 01:06:57.599 --> 01:06:59.589 agreed but he didn't, the person 01:06:59.599 --> 01:07:01.510 couldn't stay. If he agreed but I 01:07:01.520 --> 01:07:03.510 didn't, the person couldn't stay. And I 01:07:03.520 --> 01:07:05.510 was just finally made up my mind. I'd 01:07:05.520 --> 01:07:08.390 seen enough of his rule breaking and so 01:07:08.400 --> 01:07:12.150 forth that even if old Unandia didn't 01:07:12.160 --> 01:07:13.510 like it, I was going to kick him out 01:07:13.520 --> 01:07:17.029 anyway. So 01:07:17.039 --> 01:07:20.390 I go down to to have it out with this 01:07:20.400 --> 01:07:23.510 visiting monk and he's sitting there 01:07:23.520 --> 01:07:25.589 like out in

this this clearing at the 01:07:25.599 --> 01:07:29.270 monastery reading a book and I go to 01:07:29.280 --> 01:07:31.270 Unanda who is hard of hearing. So I had 01:07:31.280 --> 01:07:34.150 to yell in order to for him to hear me 01:07:34.160 --> 01:07:37.349 and he said that I I said to him you 01:07:37.359 --> 01:07:40.470 know that new monk wants to stay here. I 01:07:40.480 --> 01:07:42.230 don't want to let him stay here. I'm 01:07:42.240 --> 01:07:45.029 gonna kick him out. And Unandanda looks 01:07:45.039 --> 01:07:47.990 up at me and he just gives me this 01:07:48.000 --> 01:07:50.069 delighted grin because apparently he 01:07:50.079 --> 01:07:51.270 didn't like him either even though they 01:07:51.280 --> 01:07:52.950 were like relatives, like cousins or 01:07:52.960 --> 01:07:57.430 something. And so he said, "Is he here?" 01:07:57.440 --> 01:07:59.190 And I said, "Yeah, he's just right out 01:07:59.200 --> 01:08:01.670 there reading a book." So, um, I went 01:08:01.680 --> 01:08:04.710 out to him and, uh, asked him, "Did you 01:08:04.720 --> 01:08:06.549 hear what I just said to Unadia?" And he 01:08:06.559 --> 01:08:08.069 said, he kind of looked up at me and 01:08:08.079 --> 01:08:10.549 says, "No." which probably wasn't true 01:08:10.559 --> 01:08:14.390 because I was yelling to this halfdeaf 01:08:14.400 --> 01:08:17.990 old monk like 30 feet away. So I told 01:08:18.000 --> 01:08:20.309 him that he was he's going to have to he 01:08:20.319 --> 01:08:22.309 was going to have to go. And this 01:08:22.319 --> 01:08:26.149 visiting monk just said, "I'm staying." 01:08:26.159 --> 01:08:28.309 And what he was doing is he's like 01:08:28.319 --> 01:08:29.829 pretending to still read the book. He's 01:08:29.839 --> 01:08:31.349 he's pretending like he's already the 01:08:31.359 --> 01:08:34.149 abbott. I'm just this, you know, trouble 01:08:34.159 --> 01:08:36.630 troublemaking foreigner who is just a 01:08:36.640 --> 01:08:38.950 visitor there or something. So he that 01:08:38.960 --> 01:08:41.590 was one of his mistakes was not looking 01:08:41.600 --> 01:08:43.990 at me cuz he's just like pretending to 01:08:44.000 --> 01:08:45.829 still read the book, you know, and I'd 01:08:45.839 --> 01:08:46.870 say, "No, you're really going to have to 01:08:46.880 --> 01:08:49.349 go." And he's I'm staying. 01:08:49.359 --> 01:08:53.189 And then I tell him, "If you don't go, 01:08:53.199 --> 01:08:55.030 I'm going to have to throw you out 01:08:55.040 --> 01:08:57.910 myself." And he's like, "No, you won't." 01:08:57.920 --> 01:08:59.749 And he's not looking at me. And if he 01:08:59.759 --> 01:09:01.030 was looking at me, he would see that I 01:09:01.040 --> 01:09:03.030 was starting to get kind of worked up. 01:09:03.040 --> 01:09:05.510 In fact, I I even kind of started to 01:09:05.520 --> 01:09:07.269 lunge at him a couple of times. you 01:09:07.279 --> 01:09:08.950 know, I'm practically vibrating at this 01:09:08.960 --> 01:09:10.630 point

because he really was a 01:09:10.640 --> 01:09:12.390 troublemaker. I'm I'm leaving out all 01:09:12.400 --> 01:09:15.910 the stuff that happened before this. 01:09:15.920 --> 01:09:18.470 And so he's just saying, "No, you won't. 01:09:18.480 --> 01:09:19.269 You're not going to you're not going to 01:09:19.279 --> 01:09:22.070 kick me out." And so finally, he just 01:09:22.080 --> 01:09:26.070 says like, "This is my place now. You 01:09:26.080 --> 01:09:29.990 are just a visitor now. Go, you know, he 01:09:30.000 --> 01:09:31.430 he wasn't even like looking at me. He's 01:09:31.440 --> 01:09:32.630 like pretending to still read the book. 01:09:32.640 --> 01:09:35.829 You just kind of now go, 01:09:35.839 --> 01:09:39.030 you know, and that was it. It was like I 01:09:39.040 --> 01:09:41.349 snapped and the physical alternate 01:09:41.359 --> 01:09:44.789 altercation lasted maybe half a second 01:09:44.799 --> 01:09:48.149 because all I did I just lunged at him, 01:09:48.159 --> 01:09:49.749 grabbed him by the front of his his 01:09:49.759 --> 01:09:52.630 robes and just slammed him to the ground 01:09:52.640 --> 01:09:55.590 like an enraged gorilla. 01:09:55.600 --> 01:09:57.030 And then I kind of leaned over and said, 01:09:57.040 --> 01:10:00.070 "You are the visitor." and then stomped 01:10:00.080 --> 01:10:02.390 off to fill a bucket of water at the 01:10:02.400 --> 01:10:04.870 well and it was like maybe 60 feet away. 01:10:04.880 --> 01:10:06.229 I turned around and looked, he was still 01:10:06.239 --> 01:10:07.750 lying on his side on the ground. I was 01:10:07.760 --> 01:10:09.510 told he had a lump on his head from 01:10:09.520 --> 01:10:11.590 where his head hit the ground. But it 01:10:11.600 --> 01:10:13.110 was like the whole altercation, the 01:10:13.120 --> 01:10:15.669 whole physical contact lasted about half 01:10:15.679 --> 01:10:20.070 a second. And the next day he was he was 01:10:20.080 --> 01:10:21.910 being belligerent, you know. He was just 01:10:21.920 --> 01:10:23.590 like he was following me around the 01:10:23.600 --> 01:10:25.350 monastery like clapping his hands trying 01:10:25.360 --> 01:10:27.510 to make me like jump, you know, trying 01:10:27.520 --> 01:10:29.750 to startle me or something. And I'm just 01:10:29.760 --> 01:10:31.030 like thinking, how am I going to get rid 01:10:31.040 --> 01:10:32.310 of him? Am I really going to have to 01:10:32.320 --> 01:10:34.390 beat him up in order to get rid of him? 01:10:34.400 --> 01:10:36.550 And it's like I'm like pacing back and 01:10:36.560 --> 01:10:39.030 forth in my cave like like a caged 01:10:39.040 --> 01:10:42.390 leopard just, you know, not knowing what 01:10:42.400 --> 01:10:44.310 to do really. You know, it's I'm just 01:10:44.320 --> 01:10:46.870 these crazy ideas coming up. I could 01:10:46.880 --> 01:10:49.030 like get him into a double hammerlock 01:10:49.040 --> 01:10:50.550 and fling him into the river, but he 01:10:50.560 --> 01:10:52.709 might his

arms might dislocate and he 01:10:52.719 --> 01:10:54.229 might drown or something, you know? It's 01:10:54.239 --> 01:10:55.590 like what am I going to do? And then 01:10:55.600 --> 01:10:57.750 finally it dawned on me the obvious 01:10:57.760 --> 01:11:00.790 solution just appeal to the villagers, 01:11:00.800 --> 01:11:03.750 my my supporters, you know, just when I 01:11:03.760 --> 01:11:06.630 go for alms round the next morning, all 01:11:06.640 --> 01:11:09.750 I got to do, my people, my friends, I 01:11:09.760 --> 01:11:12.390 need your help. there's this visiting 01:11:12.400 --> 01:11:14.709 monk who refuses to leave and he's 01:11:14.719 --> 01:11:17.030 causing all kinds of trouble and and so 01:11:17.040 --> 01:11:19.830 I did that the next day and there's all 01:11:19.840 --> 01:11:22.310 these appreciative gasps from the 01:11:22.320 --> 01:11:24.310 village ladies, you know, hearing about 01:11:24.320 --> 01:11:26.950 what's going on and a few of them came 01:11:26.960 --> 01:11:28.310 up to me and said, "Don't worry, we're 01:11:28.320 --> 01:11:29.350 going to we're going to go tell the 01:11:29.360 --> 01:11:31.750 village headman about this." And so 01:11:31.760 --> 01:11:35.350 within a short time the the two village 01:11:35.360 --> 01:11:38.470 headmen from the two villages came and 01:11:38.480 --> 01:11:40.790 there was a bunch of sort of like 01:11:40.800 --> 01:11:44.070 village elders showed up and also there 01:11:44.080 --> 01:11:47.270 was uh a few like young bucks you know 01:11:47.280 --> 01:11:49.030 young village guys just in case any 01:11:49.040 --> 01:11:51.510 manhandling was required and they just 01:11:51.520 --> 01:11:53.270 said don't worry about anything we'll 01:11:53.280 --> 01:11:55.910 get rid of him for you and I was after 01:11:55.920 --> 01:11:57.990 that I was just like cackling like how 01:11:58.000 --> 01:12:01.270 could it be this easy you Oh, and that 01:12:01.280 --> 01:12:03.510 they did. They just when they I asked if 01:12:03.520 --> 01:12:05.110 you want me to come down to the lower 01:12:05.120 --> 01:12:07.270 monastery with you and help participate 01:12:07.280 --> 01:12:08.630 in this, and they said, "No, you just 01:12:08.640 --> 01:12:10.229 stay right here. We'll take care of it." 01:12:10.239 --> 01:12:12.149 And they just 01:12:12.159 --> 01:12:13.669 essentially perpwalked him out of the 01:12:13.679 --> 01:12:15.189 monastery. 01:12:15.199 --> 01:12:17.270 And so that was that was gratifying. I 01:12:17.280 --> 01:12:19.430 knew I once I realized that all I had to 01:12:19.440 --> 01:12:21.270 do was just appeal to the village 01:12:21.280 --> 01:12:23.990 because I mean the villagers, they 01:12:24.000 --> 01:12:25.669 really supported me a lot. You know, 01:12:25.679 --> 01:12:28.149 they were kind of proud that you had 01:12:28.159 --> 01:12:31.110 this western man. You know, it's 01:12:31.120 --> 01:12:33.110 according to Burmese villagers, in their 01:12:33.120 --> 01:12:35.270 opinion, America is like paradise. You 01:12:35.280 --> 01:12:37.110 know, everyone's rich and beautiful and 01:12:37.120 --> 01:12:41.189 happy and Christian. And I renounced all 01:12:41.199 --> 01:12:44.630 of that in order to live in poverty and 01:12:44.640 --> 01:12:47.590 follow their religion at a more sincere 01:12:47.600 --> 01:12:50.070 level than they were following. 01:12:50.080 --> 01:12:51.910 And so they were like they felt 01:12:51.920 --> 01:12:54.870 vindicated and proud that they had this 01:12:54.880 --> 01:12:57.830 serious western monk living near their 01:12:57.840 --> 01:12:59.510 village and they were getting all kinds 01:12:59.520 --> 01:13:02.149 of merit by offering alms food to me in 01:13:02.159 --> 01:13:03.990 the mornings and this kind of thing. And 01:13:04.000 --> 01:13:06.950 so yeah, it was it was pretty easy to 01:13:06.960 --> 01:13:08.950 get rid of him once I realized what I 01:13:08.960 --> 01:13:10.709 had to do. 01:13:10.719 --> 01:13:14.470 But I had already assaulted him once 01:13:14.480 --> 01:13:17.590 before that before that came to pass. 01:13:17.600 --> 01:13:19.270 And that was really the only time I 01:13:19.280 --> 01:13:21.510 really got physical with another monk. 01:13:21.520 --> 01:13:23.590 There was a few other monks that I had 01:13:23.600 --> 01:13:29.590 some like heated disagreements with. 01:13:29.600 --> 01:13:32.070 But he was the there was there's one old 01:13:32.080 --> 01:13:36.870 monk um Makuda who I mean he was I mean 01:13:36.880 --> 01:13:39.910 I don't know even why he was a monk. He 01:13:39.920 --> 01:13:41.430 became a monk. He was a farmer who 01:13:41.440 --> 01:13:43.270 became a monk in his old age. And he 01:13:43.280 --> 01:13:45.669 just continued farming. You know, he was 01:13:45.679 --> 01:13:48.229 raising chickens and, you know, growing 01:13:48.239 --> 01:13:50.229 crops out in front of his cabin and all 01:13:50.239 --> 01:13:54.149 this. And uh one time he he snuck down 01:13:54.159 --> 01:13:56.550 to my the area of my cave where the only 01:13:56.560 --> 01:13:58.310 bamboo at the monastery was growing in 01:13:58.320 --> 01:14:00.229 order to cut some bamboo. And I just 01:14:00.239 --> 01:14:02.310 went down and just grabbed the machete 01:14:02.320 --> 01:14:03.910 out of his hands and just drove him 01:14:03.920 --> 01:14:07.350 away. Just yelling at him to, you know, 01:14:07.360 --> 01:14:09.590 go away. 01:14:09.600 --> 01:14:16.070 I had to give the machete back. But 01:14:16.080 --> 01:14:17.590 but when you're when you're like a 01:14:17.600 --> 01:14:19.270 serious monk, I mean, at a time like 01:14:19.280 --> 01:14:21.590 that, you know, I'm I'm a foreigner 01:14:21.600 --> 01:14:25.590 living in just this strange land of 01:14:25.600 --> 01:14:27.910 people that just don't speak my language 01:14:27.920 --> 01:14:30.229 and don't think like me, don't look like 01:14:30.239 --> 01:14:33.590 me. And I'm like trying to

practice 01:14:33.600 --> 01:14:36.950 dharma at a relatively intensive level 01:14:36.960 --> 01:14:38.709 so that you become sort of like a an 01:14:38.719 --> 01:14:41.510 emotional pressure cooker. You know, you 01:14:41.520 --> 01:14:44.550 become like like a a hysterical basket 01:14:44.560 --> 01:14:46.709 case, you know, going with with Freudian 01:14:46.719 --> 01:14:49.590 language. You know, this hysteria is 01:14:49.600 --> 01:14:52.070 caused by like repressed urges and so 01:14:52.080 --> 01:14:54.630 forth. And a seriously practicing monk 01:14:54.640 --> 01:14:57.110 or nun is going to have more repressed 01:14:57.120 --> 01:15:00.470 urges than Joe Blow, you know, living in 01:15:00.480 --> 01:15:03.110 in suburbia. 01:15:03.120 --> 01:15:04.870 So, I mean, there's there's always the 01:15:04.880 --> 01:15:06.870 possibility of of stuff like that 01:15:06.880 --> 01:15:09.590 happening. I've had a few friends. There 01:15:09.600 --> 01:15:12.390 was one Australian monk I knew who said 01:15:12.400 --> 01:15:14.709 that he was chased around the monastery 01:15:14.719 --> 01:15:17.189 by a monk with a machete once. I think 01:15:17.199 --> 01:15:19.510 he was a Thai monk chasing him around 01:15:19.520 --> 01:15:21.430 the monastery in Thailand with a 01:15:21.440 --> 01:15:24.229 machete. Although the Australian monk 01:15:24.239 --> 01:15:25.750 said that he could tell by the look in 01:15:25.760 --> 01:15:27.590 his eyes he wasn't really going to hack 01:15:27.600 --> 01:15:30.070 him or anything. 01:15:30.080 --> 01:15:31.669 So I mean that kind of stuff does 01:15:31.679 --> 01:15:33.270 happen. But in my case there was only 01:15:33.280 --> 01:15:35.990 that one altercation where I slammed 01:15:36.000 --> 01:15:38.790 some troublemaking visiting monk who 01:15:38.800 --> 01:15:41.590 refused to leave. Just grabbed him and 01:15:41.600 --> 01:15:45.270 slammed him to the ground. 01:15:45.280 --> 01:15:47.189 But if you want to read the full story, 01:15:47.199 --> 01:15:49.430 it's it's in my my most recent book, 01:15:49.440 --> 01:15:52.790 which can be ordered on Amazon. Uh the 01:15:52.800 --> 01:15:55.910 link is below in the comments 01:15:55.920 --> 01:15:58.950 now that I'm shamelessly plugging my own 01:15:58.960 --> 01:16:00.950 book. 01:16:00.960 --> 01:16:03.830 So anyways, King Kung's second question, 01:16:03.840 --> 01:16:06.470 do you do any wilderness stuff now? And 01:16:06.480 --> 01:16:09.110 I'm sorry to say that I don't. Before I 01:16:09.120 --> 01:16:11.030 was a monk, I did a lot of backpacking. 01:16:11.040 --> 01:16:12.790 I lived in the Pacific Northwest, which 01:16:12.800 --> 01:16:15.430 is like ecotopia. Like in Washington 01:16:15.440 --> 01:16:18.229 State, there's 01:16:18.239 --> 01:16:21.189 uh a number I mean, I grew up just like 01:16:21.199 --> 01:16:23.350 just below the southern boundary of 01:16:23.360 --> 01:16:26.070 Olympic National Park, you know, miles 01:16:26.080 --> 01:16:28.870 and miles of hiking trails, you know, 01:16:28.880 --> 01:16:31.510 elk and deer and bears and all this kind 01:16:31.520 --> 01:16:33.830 of stuff. And then when I moved to 01:16:33.840 --> 01:16:36.149 Bellingham, it wasn't very far away from 01:16:36.159 --> 01:16:38.709 the Patan wilderness area, which is like 01:16:38.719 --> 01:16:41.110 one of the wildest areas in Washington 01:16:41.120 --> 01:16:43.430 State. Pretty much the only area that 01:16:43.440 --> 01:16:46.229 still had grizzly bears and grey wolves 01:16:46.239 --> 01:16:49.590 and caribou and moose, 01:16:49.600 --> 01:16:51.910 porcupines. 01:16:51.920 --> 01:16:53.750 So I did a lot of backpacking. And then 01:16:53.760 --> 01:16:55.990 as a monk in Burma, I was pretty much 01:16:56.000 --> 01:16:58.310 camping all the time. 01:16:58.320 --> 01:17:00.229 is I'd spent a lot of time out in 01:17:00.239 --> 01:17:04.149 relatively wild remote areas as a monk. 01:17:04.159 --> 01:17:06.229 But then coming back to America, 01:17:06.239 --> 01:17:08.470 especially coming to South Carolina, I 01:17:08.480 --> 01:17:10.870 had this idea of hiking to the top of 01:17:10.880 --> 01:17:13.030 Paris Mountain on the outskirts of 01:17:13.040 --> 01:17:15.110 Greenville. I haven't even done that. I 01:17:15.120 --> 01:17:17.669 haven't done almost no hiking at all. 01:17:17.679 --> 01:17:19.830 I'll just go for a few little walks with 01:17:19.840 --> 01:17:21.750 my sweetheart. You know, just walk 01:17:21.760 --> 01:17:23.189 through a park and and we don't do that 01:17:23.199 --> 01:17:25.750 very much even, 01:17:25.760 --> 01:17:27.189 especially now that we don't live near 01:17:27.199 --> 01:17:30.070 Paris Mountain. 01:17:30.080 --> 01:17:31.669 So, that's kind of unfortunate. It might 01:17:31.679 --> 01:17:35.270 be not until I uh retire that I'll 01:17:35.280 --> 01:17:37.910 really start like going on camping trips 01:17:37.920 --> 01:17:39.830 again. 01:17:39.840 --> 01:17:42.470 But, who knows? I mean, I wouldn't even 01:17:42.480 --> 01:17:46.310 know the good places to to hike or camp 01:17:46.320 --> 01:17:49.350 in in South Carolina. 01:17:49.360 --> 01:17:52.310 So, yeah, there is that. And finally, 01:17:52.320 --> 01:17:55.350 the third question from King Kung. How 01:17:55.360 --> 01:17:59.270 are your snails doing? Well, 01:17:59.280 --> 01:18:02.709 depends on which snails I've got. I 01:18:02.719 --> 01:18:04.550 mean, that tank that's in moonlight mode 01:18:04.560 --> 01:18:08.229 back there, I'll harvest rams horn 01:18:08.239 --> 01:18:09.830 snails out of the pond and put them in 01:18:09.840 --> 01:18:11.990 there, but they don't last very long 01:18:12.000 --> 01:18:15.430 because there are loaches, zebra 01:18:15.440 --> 01:18:17.910 loaches, bia strriata in there that 01:18:17.920 --> 01:18:21.030 specialize in eating snails. And so when 01:18:21.040 --> 01:18:22.950 I put snails in there, they eat algae 01:18:22.960 --> 01:18:27.510 and

detritis for probably less than 48 01:18:27.520 --> 01:18:30.630 hours before they get found by a a a 01:18:30.640 --> 01:18:35.510 zebra loach that then feeds on them. 01:18:35.520 --> 01:18:37.030 On the other hand, I've got another 01:18:37.040 --> 01:18:38.709 aquarium 01:18:38.719 --> 01:18:43.110 over there. That little 10gon there. 01:18:43.120 --> 01:18:45.189 Put this back. I mean, I really should 01:18:45.199 --> 01:18:48.310 do an aquarium video, 01:18:48.320 --> 01:18:50.310 but there's like a population explosion 01:18:50.320 --> 01:18:53.430 of of snails in that 10gon tank because 01:18:53.440 --> 01:18:55.750 there were some fish that died in there 01:18:55.760 --> 01:18:57.350 and 01:18:57.360 --> 01:18:58.950 they just kind of disappear into the 01:18:58.960 --> 01:19:00.390 into the plants and everything. I don't 01:19:00.400 --> 01:19:03.270 see them as a general rule and then the 01:19:03.280 --> 01:19:05.270 snails feed on them and it just causes 01:19:05.280 --> 01:19:07.750 this population explosion of snails. You 01:19:07.760 --> 01:19:10.790 can also take like a an algae wafer and 01:19:10.800 --> 01:19:13.350 put that in there, you know, for feeding 01:19:13.360 --> 01:19:15.830 like algae eating fish and so forth. Put 01:19:15.840 --> 01:19:17.590 that in there and it causes a population 01:19:17.600 --> 01:19:20.470 explosion of snails, too. 01:19:20.480 --> 01:19:23.830 And uh my wife, there's a an aquarium, 01:19:23.840 --> 01:19:26.870 little fish tank like right off camera 01:19:26.880 --> 01:19:29.990 right to my to my right that has got 01:19:30.000 --> 01:19:32.709 these little freshwater puffer fish in 01:19:32.719 --> 01:19:35.189 it. Then they also feed on snails. So, 01:19:35.199 --> 01:19:36.870 there's no snails in that tank either, 01:19:36.880 --> 01:19:39.110 or not very many. 01:19:39.120 --> 01:19:40.870 And then I've got a big fish pond out in 01:19:40.880 --> 01:19:42.870 back that's just loaded with snails. So, 01:19:42.880 --> 01:19:45.990 the most prosperous snails I've got are 01:19:46.000 --> 01:19:48.870 the ones out in the fish pond. 01:19:48.880 --> 01:19:52.229 Lots of them out there. 01:19:52.239 --> 01:19:55.430 So, let's see. Oh, I should say also 01:19:55.440 --> 01:19:58.390 mention that that 10gon tank over there, 01:19:58.400 --> 01:20:00.229 there's a great big mystery snail in 01:20:00.239 --> 01:20:02.470 there called Righteous Fist of Heroic 01:20:02.480 --> 01:20:05.830 Effort, who is by far the largest snail 01:20:05.840 --> 01:20:07.590 I've got. 01:20:07.600 --> 01:20:10.149 See, how do I set this thing? I think I 01:20:10.159 --> 01:20:11.910 might have 01:20:11.920 --> 01:20:14.790 How do I do this? It was so easy the 01:20:14.800 --> 01:20:17.189 first time. I think I know what 01:20:17.199 --> 01:20:18.709 happened. 01:20:18.719 --> 01:20:21.590 One moment, please. 01:20:21.600 --> 01:20:24.550 Okay, I think I'll stop detaching the 01:20:24.560 --> 01:20:30.390 camera to

show the 10gon tank. 01:20:30.400 --> 01:20:33.350 So, enough of snails. Enough of 01:20:33.360 --> 01:20:38.630 gastropod mollisks, if you will. 01:20:38.640 --> 01:20:40.790 So, let's see here. 01:20:40.800 --> 01:20:41.990 I'm just going to move on to the next 01:20:42.000 --> 01:20:44.950 question. This is from Fred. 01:20:44.960 --> 01:20:47.669 And Fred says, 01:20:47.679 --> 01:20:51.189 "Just a minute. 01:20:51.199 --> 01:20:53.910 continually having to wipe my eyes 01:20:53.920 --> 01:20:58.070 because if I don't take a shower or wash 01:20:58.080 --> 01:21:00.709 my face thoroughly at least once every 01:21:00.719 --> 01:21:05.189 24 hours, then it's like the skin oil 01:21:05.199 --> 01:21:08.070 from my eyelids gets into my eyes and 01:21:08.080 --> 01:21:10.470 starts burning. 01:21:10.480 --> 01:21:15.830 And it's not even funny. 01:21:15.840 --> 01:21:17.350 So, just excuse me. I'm going to go take 01:21:17.360 --> 01:21:18.709 a shower for half an hour. I'll be right 01:21:18.719 --> 01:21:21.590 back. 01:21:21.600 --> 01:21:23.510 or not. Let's see here. Next question is 01:21:23.520 --> 01:21:25.270 from Fred. 01:21:25.280 --> 01:21:28.470 Fred says, "Is deep trance near 01:21:28.480 --> 01:21:30.149 Nibbana?" 01:21:30.159 --> 01:21:33.750 And it is kind of interesting that in 01:21:33.760 --> 01:21:36.149 the some upanishads, which are not 01:21:36.159 --> 01:21:37.590 Buddhist texts, but they come pretty 01:21:37.600 --> 01:21:41.110 close to Buddhism, some of them do. um 01:21:41.120 --> 01:21:44.470 that it talks about how you've got the 01:21:44.480 --> 01:21:46.550 three states of consciousness for a 01:21:46.560 --> 01:21:49.189 normal person which is just waking 01:21:49.199 --> 01:21:51.830 consciousness, dreaming sleep and 01:21:51.840 --> 01:21:54.070 dreamless sleep. And according to at 01:21:54.080 --> 01:21:56.470 least one of these upanishads, dreamless 01:21:56.480 --> 01:22:00.709 sleep comes closest to like 01:22:00.719 --> 01:22:03.350 enlightenment or Brahman. 01:22:03.360 --> 01:22:05.830 And I just don't see it that way. I mean 01:22:05.840 --> 01:22:08.070 deep trance in which you're like 01:22:08.080 --> 01:22:09.750 oblivious to everything around you. I 01:22:09.760 --> 01:22:11.430 don't see how that would be a state of 01:22:11.440 --> 01:22:12.950 superconsciousness. 01:22:12.960 --> 01:22:15.350 I don't see how you're more awake, you 01:22:15.360 --> 01:22:16.950 know, a fully enlightened being is 01:22:16.960 --> 01:22:18.790 awakened. 01:22:18.800 --> 01:22:22.790 So I don't see how being fully awake is 01:22:22.800 --> 01:22:24.629 comparable to being completely 01:22:24.639 --> 01:22:27.669 unconscious. And even terra Buddhist 01:22:27.679 --> 01:22:29.750 monks like I spent a few months at 01:22:29.760 --> 01:22:32.229 Pandida Rama 01:22:32.239 --> 01:22:35.990 and Mahasi Upandida was giving a damat 01:22:36.000 --> 01:22:38.950 talk in which he said 01:22:38.960 --> 01:22:43.189 nibbana is like

a dreamless sleep 01:22:43.199 --> 01:22:46.550 and it's like how the hell is being 01:22:46.560 --> 01:22:50.790 fully awake like being asleep? How is 01:22:50.800 --> 01:22:53.750 being awakened? How is being fully 01:22:53.760 --> 01:22:55.750 conscious 01:22:55.760 --> 01:23:01.350 similar to being completely asleep? 01:23:01.360 --> 01:23:03.510 I just I just don't see it that way. I 01:23:03.520 --> 01:23:07.350 think that nibana it's just like pure 01:23:07.360 --> 01:23:11.510 consciousness. 01:23:11.520 --> 01:23:14.870 So I mean if if a deep trance is somehow 01:23:14.880 --> 01:23:18.229 more conscious than waking consciousness 01:23:18.239 --> 01:23:20.229 then maybe 01:23:20.239 --> 01:23:22.310 But personally, I just don't see it that 01:23:22.320 --> 01:23:25.510 way. I don't see how I mean, nibbana 01:23:25.520 --> 01:23:27.830 would transcend all the different 01:23:27.840 --> 01:23:30.470 worldly samsaric states. You know 01:23:30.480 --> 01:23:34.550 there'd be there'd be like enlightenment 01:23:34.560 --> 01:23:37.510 present in any of the three mental 01:23:37.520 --> 01:23:40.950 states of the the normal person you know 01:23:40.960 --> 01:23:43.910 waking dreaming sleep and dreamless 01:23:43.920 --> 01:23:46.629 sleep that I mean what would be the 01:23:46.639 --> 01:23:48.149 mental states of a fully enlightened 01:23:48.159 --> 01:23:51.030 being who is sound asleep would there 01:23:51.040 --> 01:23:53.910 still be this consciousness that is sort 01:23:53.920 --> 01:23:57.430 of observing the sleep 01:23:57.440 --> 01:23:59.590 I think it's possible 01:23:59.600 --> 01:24:01.430 But again, second-guessing the mental 01:24:01.440 --> 01:24:04.390 states of an enlightened being is a no 01:24:04.400 --> 01:24:08.229 no or at least it's it's just futility 01:24:08.239 --> 01:24:10.629 of futilities. 01:24:10.639 --> 01:24:13.830 Vanity of vanities. 01:24:13.840 --> 01:24:16.470 So personally, I do not think that a 01:24:16.480 --> 01:24:19.189 deep trance is necessarily near nibana, 01:24:19.199 --> 01:24:20.950 especially if it's like a hypnotic 01:24:20.960 --> 01:24:23.830 trance where you're just oblivious to 01:24:23.840 --> 01:24:25.189 everything except the voice of the 01:24:25.199 --> 01:24:27.669 hypnotist, that kind of thing. I 01:24:27.679 --> 01:24:29.669 remember one time my father who was a 01:24:29.679 --> 01:24:32.310 hypnotist hypnotized my little brother 01:24:32.320 --> 01:24:34.229 and my little brother is just like in a 01:24:34.239 --> 01:24:36.550 trance in my father's lap and then my 01:24:36.560 --> 01:24:38.550 father just claps his hands really loud 01:24:38.560 --> 01:24:41.830 right next to my brother's ear 01:24:41.840 --> 01:24:45.110 he was just oblivious. So I mean how is 01:24:45.120 --> 01:24:48.709 that a superconscious state? 01:24:48.719 --> 01:24:50.470 I just I do not see it that way. 01:24:50.480 --> 01:24:53.030 Although apparently 01:24:53.040 --> 01:24:56.149 some Hindus might might agree with Fred 01:24:56.159 --> 01:24:58.870 and and in the idea that a deep trance 01:24:58.880 --> 01:25:02.470 is near nibbana. I mean going with 01:25:02.480 --> 01:25:07.189 orthodox terravada fourth janna is 01:25:07.199 --> 01:25:09.910 I mean at least in some sutas you get 01:25:09.920 --> 01:25:13.990 the idea that ancient Indian Buddhists 01:25:14.000 --> 01:25:16.629 some of them considered fourth Janna to 01:25:16.639 --> 01:25:18.390 be a kind of jumping off point into 01:25:18.400 --> 01:25:21.510 nibbana. You like when the Buddha died, 01:25:21.520 --> 01:25:26.390 he went into parinana from fourth Janna. 01:25:26.400 --> 01:25:28.470 So what is fourth Janna? I mean is 01:25:28.480 --> 01:25:30.470 fourth Janna a deep trance? A lot of 01:25:30.480 --> 01:25:32.229 people seem to think so. A lot of people 01:25:32.239 --> 01:25:34.310 think in fourth Janna you become like a 01:25:34.320 --> 01:25:35.990 hibernating squirrel where you almost 01:25:36.000 --> 01:25:37.750 stop breathing and your pulse rate 01:25:37.760 --> 01:25:40.390 almost stops like your heart slows down 01:25:40.400 --> 01:25:42.390 so much that you know it's almost 01:25:42.400 --> 01:25:47.669 undetectable. That kind of thing. But 01:25:47.679 --> 01:25:50.390 how is being fully awakened 01:25:50.400 --> 01:25:52.950 similar to being completely oblivious to 01:25:52.960 --> 01:25:54.390 one's surroundings like a hibernating 01:25:54.400 --> 01:25:57.350 squirrel? 01:25:57.360 --> 01:26:00.229 So fourth Janna in my opinion is a state 01:26:00.239 --> 01:26:02.870 of heightened consciousness. Even though 01:26:02.880 --> 01:26:04.709 you might be sitting cross-legged with 01:26:04.719 --> 01:26:07.830 your eyes closed, you're not oblivious 01:26:07.840 --> 01:26:10.550 to everything around you. You'd be in a 01:26:10.560 --> 01:26:13.270 state of heightened awareness. Even 01:26:13.280 --> 01:26:15.510 though you might look like you're in a 01:26:15.520 --> 01:26:17.110 trance because you're just sitting there 01:26:17.120 --> 01:26:20.310 with your eyes closed, not moving. 01:26:20.320 --> 01:26:22.950 Or it's possible, for all I know, you 01:26:22.960 --> 01:26:24.310 could be in a heightened state of 01:26:24.320 --> 01:26:26.870 awareness while at the same time your 01:26:26.880 --> 01:26:30.070 body is like a hibernating squirrel. I 01:26:30.080 --> 01:26:31.669 don't see how that would be possible, 01:26:31.679 --> 01:26:33.590 but just because I don't see how it's 01:26:33.600 --> 01:26:34.629 possible doesn't mean that it's 01:26:34.639 --> 01:26:38.790 impossible. 01:26:38.800 --> 01:26:41.030 So 01:26:41.040 --> 01:26:42.870 in answer to Fred's question, is deep 01:26:42.880 --> 01:26:45.110 trance near Nibbana? Depends on the 01:26:45.120 --> 01:26:47.910 trance, I suppose. 01:26:47.920 --> 01:26:50.470 But as a general rule, I would I would 01:26:50.480 --> 01:26:53.350 say no. I would say a state of 01:26:53.360 --> 01:26:55.830 heightened

awareness. Like someone who's 01:26:55.840 --> 01:26:58.390 racing a motorcycle or rock climbing on 01:26:58.400 --> 01:27:01.270 a vertical cliff face might be closer to 01:27:01.280 --> 01:27:04.310 nibbana than somebody in a deep like a 01:27:04.320 --> 01:27:06.310 hypnotic trance because you are in a 01:27:06.320 --> 01:27:11.590 state of heightened awareness. 01:27:11.600 --> 01:27:13.990 So I'm just going to move on to Fred's 01:27:14.000 --> 01:27:17.350 second question. Is samsara and nibbana 01:27:17.360 --> 01:27:20.390 a duality? Well, from a samsaric point 01:27:20.400 --> 01:27:22.870 of view, it is because samsara is 01:27:22.880 --> 01:27:27.189 dualistic. And so, nibbana is just an 01:27:27.199 --> 01:27:31.669 idea in samsara and samsara is just an 01:27:31.679 --> 01:27:35.110 idea in samsara. And they're sort of 01:27:35.120 --> 01:27:37.590 like practically opposites. I do not 01:27:37.600 --> 01:27:39.270 consider nibbana and samsara to be 01:27:39.280 --> 01:27:41.430 opposites. You know, some schools of 01:27:41.440 --> 01:27:43.830 Mahayana Buddhism say that samsara and 01:27:43.840 --> 01:27:46.310 nibbana are ultimately the same. And I 01:27:46.320 --> 01:27:49.590 can appreciate the sophistication of 01:27:49.600 --> 01:27:51.669 that idea. 01:27:51.679 --> 01:27:54.149 I do not think Samsara and Nibbana are 01:27:54.159 --> 01:27:56.790 opposites. But from the point of view of 01:27:56.800 --> 01:27:59.750 a lot of people, Samsara and Nibana is 01:27:59.760 --> 01:28:01.750 it's like this duality. It's like yin 01:28:01.760 --> 01:28:04.790 and yang. 01:28:04.800 --> 01:28:07.750 You want to deal with like nibbana as it 01:28:07.760 --> 01:28:10.870 really is then it's not the opposite of 01:28:10.880 --> 01:28:14.229 anything because there are no opposites 01:28:14.239 --> 01:28:16.790 in nibbana you know opposites are found 01:28:16.800 --> 01:28:19.350 only in samsara and nibbana is off the 01:28:19.360 --> 01:28:23.510 samsaric scale 01:28:23.520 --> 01:28:26.149 so in answer to that question is samsara 01:28:26.159 --> 01:28:28.629 and nibbana a duality within the context 01:28:28.639 --> 01:28:31.270 of samsara where samsara and nibbana are 01:28:31.280 --> 01:28:36.149 both concepts then in many cases, yes. 01:28:36.159 --> 01:28:40.390 But in reality, I think not. 01:28:40.400 --> 01:28:41.990 And so, I'm going to move on to Fred's 01:28:42.000 --> 01:28:45.030 third question. How many questions more 01:28:45.040 --> 01:28:47.590 so I don't get in a pickle? That's it. 01:28:47.600 --> 01:28:49.510 That was your third question. So, you 01:28:49.520 --> 01:28:51.990 don't get to ask anymore. 01:28:52.000 --> 01:28:53.110 And I'm just going to move on to the 01:28:53.120 --> 01:28:55.990 next question. This is from Visser. And 01:28:56.000 --> 01:28:59.990 it seems that my live stream caused uh a 01:29:00.000 --> 01:29:03.270 number of new people to ask questions, 01:29:03.280 --> 01:29:04.870 which is good. I suppose maybe that's 01:29:04.880 --> 01:29:07.830 that's another good reason to do it more 01:29:07.840 --> 01:29:10.550 live streams. I'm not exactly sure why 01:29:10.560 --> 01:29:12.390 more people watch live streams. I guess 01:29:12.400 --> 01:29:13.910 some people just want to watch something 01:29:13.920 --> 01:29:16.390 live and just click on the live stream 01:29:16.400 --> 01:29:20.390 thing and my video came up 01:29:20.400 --> 01:29:22.709 my live stream one 01:29:22.719 --> 01:29:23.990 which isn't going to happen this time 01:29:24.000 --> 01:29:26.149 because this is going to be pre-recorded 01:29:26.159 --> 01:29:28.310 isn't it? 01:29:28.320 --> 01:29:31.590 Anyhow, Visser says I have a question 01:29:31.600 --> 01:29:34.470 that is simple and very likely has asked 01:29:34.480 --> 01:29:37.750 before but the question is how does a 01:29:37.760 --> 01:29:40.390 monk keep his head bald? 01:29:40.400 --> 01:29:42.550 This is just one question. The thought 01:29:42.560 --> 01:29:45.110 process that led me to this question 01:29:45.120 --> 01:29:48.310 equals, does the monk do it himself? And 01:29:48.320 --> 01:29:50.950 is the monk allowed to possess a razor 01:29:50.960 --> 01:29:55.430 alongside his bowl? Well, um, how does a 01:29:55.440 --> 01:29:57.990 monk keep his head bald? Either he 01:29:58.000 --> 01:30:00.550 shaves it himself or another person 01:30:00.560 --> 01:30:04.070 shaves it, usually another monk. 01:30:04.080 --> 01:30:08.550 So um the eight requisites of a monk 01:30:08.560 --> 01:30:10.470 every monk is supposed to have eight 01:30:10.480 --> 01:30:12.790 requisites. There's like a sort of like 01:30:12.800 --> 01:30:15.590 an unofficial ninth requisite too which 01:30:15.600 --> 01:30:17.990 is the sitting cloth. But the eight 01:30:18.000 --> 01:30:21.750 requisites of a monk are three robes, a 01:30:21.760 --> 01:30:24.950 belt for holding up the lower robe, the 01:30:24.960 --> 01:30:27.189 alms bowl, 01:30:27.199 --> 01:30:29.430 a water strainer, 01:30:29.440 --> 01:30:33.510 a needle for mending his robes, and a 01:30:33.520 --> 01:30:35.030 razor. 01:30:35.040 --> 01:30:37.110 So, every monk has to have a razor at 01:30:37.120 --> 01:30:39.510 your ordination ceremony. At any monk's 01:30:39.520 --> 01:30:42.070 ordination ceremony, he's supposed to 01:30:42.080 --> 01:30:44.950 have all eight requisites plus the 01:30:44.960 --> 01:30:46.550 unofficial ninth requisite of the 01:30:46.560 --> 01:30:49.110 sitting cloth, you know, right there. 01:30:49.120 --> 01:30:51.669 And if he doesn't have it, his preceptor 01:30:51.679 --> 01:30:53.750 is supposed to make sure, you know, help 01:30:53.760 --> 01:30:56.070 him to obtain these things before his 01:30:56.080 --> 01:30:57.830 ordination. 01:30:57.840 --> 01:31:00.550 So, every monk is supposed to own a 01:31:00.560 --> 01:31:03.510 razor. And I used a single blade shik 01:31:03.520 --> 01:31:06.390 injector, which is the best razor I have

01:31:06.400 --> 01:31:09.110 I ever found for shaving my head. It has 01:31:09.120 --> 01:31:11.510 to be single blade though cuz if you go 01:31:11.520 --> 01:31:13.990 a week without shaving your head and you 01:31:14.000 --> 01:31:15.510 use one of those double blades or now 01:31:15.520 --> 01:31:17.430 it's it's like up to like five or six 01:31:17.440 --> 01:31:20.149 blades on some of these disposable razor 01:31:20.159 --> 01:31:22.790 things, it just plugs up with hair. You 01:31:22.800 --> 01:31:24.390 know, you get about an inch and it's all 01:31:24.400 --> 01:31:25.669 plugged up and then you got to like 01:31:25.679 --> 01:31:28.709 unplug it with your thumb or un swish 01:31:28.719 --> 01:31:30.950 around in water or something. It's just 01:31:30.960 --> 01:31:34.790 it just doesn't work very well. 01:31:34.800 --> 01:31:36.629 Oh, I just noticed he's got parenthesis. 01:31:36.639 --> 01:31:38.550 He's got the first parenthesis and then 01:31:38.560 --> 01:31:41.350 he doesn't end the parenthesis. So, it's 01:31:41.360 --> 01:31:43.910 still going after his question is over. 01:31:43.920 --> 01:31:46.149 The the parenthetical 01:31:46.159 --> 01:31:54.229 um expressions just continue. 01:31:54.239 --> 01:31:57.189 So, in my case, I'm usually shade my own 01:31:57.199 --> 01:31:59.510 head. Like one of the first sentences I 01:31:59.520 --> 01:32:02.550 learned how to say in Burmese was 01:32:02.560 --> 01:32:05.430 deta 01:32:05.440 --> 01:32:09.110 which was I would say that toenda 01:32:09.120 --> 01:32:12.629 who was like the designated head shaver 01:32:12.639 --> 01:32:14.950 at the monastery where I was ordained. 01:32:14.960 --> 01:32:16.790 So he just took upon himself you know 01:32:16.800 --> 01:32:18.310 he'd shave anybody's head if they wanted 01:32:18.320 --> 01:32:20.550 their head shaved. All you had to do is 01:32:20.560 --> 01:32:25.270 just go up to him and say, 01:32:25.280 --> 01:32:27.990 which means today I want and get my head 01:32:28.000 --> 01:32:31.350 shaved, venerable sir. 01:32:31.360 --> 01:32:33.189 So 01:32:33.199 --> 01:32:35.030 yeah, 01:32:35.040 --> 01:32:36.870 sometimes the monk shaves his own head 01:32:36.880 --> 01:32:38.870 and sometimes somebody else will shave 01:32:38.880 --> 01:32:40.709 his head, especially if you're in Burma 01:32:40.719 --> 01:32:42.149 and you've just got like a straight 01:32:42.159 --> 01:32:44.470 razor. I never dared to shave myself 01:32:44.480 --> 01:32:46.709 with a straight razor. I just I just 01:32:46.719 --> 01:32:50.390 assumed I'd probably like gash myself 01:32:50.400 --> 01:32:54.390 trying to shave with a straight razor. 01:32:54.400 --> 01:32:56.229 So, yeah, I had I had the the 01:32:56.239 --> 01:32:58.470 single-bladed shake injector, which I 01:32:58.480 --> 01:33:01.510 still have. I shaved with it just a 01:33:01.520 --> 01:33:03.590 couple days ago. 01:33:03.600 --> 01:33:06.149 It's still good. 01:33:06.159 --> 01:33:08.550 And anyone who

wants to shave your head, 01:33:08.560 --> 01:33:10.709 I mean, maybe you know of a better one, 01:33:10.719 --> 01:33:13.910 but a single-bladed shik injector is is 01:33:13.920 --> 01:33:16.149 uh I mean, you really don't go wrong 01:33:16.159 --> 01:33:18.550 with that one. 01:33:18.560 --> 01:33:20.870 So, let's see here. Oh, I might as well 01:33:20.880 --> 01:33:22.390 add that according to the rules of 01:33:22.400 --> 01:33:24.550 monastic discipline, a monk is required 01:33:24.560 --> 01:33:28.629 to shave his head and face at least once 01:33:28.639 --> 01:33:32.149 every two months or two finger widths, 01:33:32.159 --> 01:33:35.110 whichever comes first. And so you can 01:33:35.120 --> 01:33:36.629 look like a sailor. I mean, you can have 01:33:36.639 --> 01:33:40.790 a beard, I mean, longer than mine as a 01:33:40.800 --> 01:33:44.149 monk and not be breaking any rules. But 01:33:44.159 --> 01:33:47.430 in Buddhist Asia, it's just the 01:33:47.440 --> 01:33:50.709 tradition as a general rule that you get 01:33:50.719 --> 01:33:53.990 your head shaved and your face like once 01:33:54.000 --> 01:33:55.350 a week. You know, it's like some 01:33:55.360 --> 01:33:57.669 monasteries, it's like Thursday is 01:33:57.679 --> 01:34:02.070 headshaving day. And some monks, like 01:34:02.080 --> 01:34:04.070 Southeast Asian monks, don't have a lot 01:34:04.080 --> 01:34:06.310 of facial hair. And so they'll just use 01:34:06.320 --> 01:34:08.709 tweezers to pull out the few hairs that 01:34:08.719 --> 01:34:11.110 they've got, which is against the rules 01:34:11.120 --> 01:34:12.550 of monastic discipline. You have to 01:34:12.560 --> 01:34:15.430 shave it and not pluck it. On the other 01:34:15.440 --> 01:34:18.470 hand, Jane monks have to pluck it. You 01:34:18.480 --> 01:34:20.790 know, like in the the story of Mahavira 01:34:20.800 --> 01:34:22.870 renouncing the world, if I remember 01:34:22.880 --> 01:34:25.590 correctly, he pulled out his hair and 01:34:25.600 --> 01:34:28.629 beard in five handfuls when he renounced 01:34:28.639 --> 01:34:30.870 the world, 01:34:30.880 --> 01:34:32.629 which probably hurt like hell, but he 01:34:32.639 --> 01:34:36.790 didn't care. 01:34:36.800 --> 01:34:40.629 So, let's just move on, shall we? Next 01:34:40.639 --> 01:34:44.070 question is from Master Poe. 01:34:44.080 --> 01:34:45.350 We've been going at it for a little over 01:34:45.360 --> 01:34:47.110 half an hour and a half. Although I've 01:34:47.120 --> 01:34:48.870 been going at it for probably more than 01:34:48.880 --> 01:34:52.790 2 hours due to like three false starts 01:34:52.800 --> 01:34:55.270 just trying to get the lag to to not 01:34:55.280 --> 01:34:57.110 lag. And we seem to be doing pretty 01:34:57.120 --> 01:34:59.990 good. The CPU is at 34% 01:35:00.000 --> 01:35:02.790 capacity 01:35:02.800 --> 01:35:04.070 and I don't think it starts really 01:35:04.080 --> 01:35:07.350 lagging until like 50%. 01:35:07.360 --> 01:35:10.149 So I

think we're doing okay. Master Poe 01:35:10.159 --> 01:35:13.430 says, "Was Nagarjana or actually he's 01:35:13.440 --> 01:35:16.790 got Naranjana 01:35:16.800 --> 01:35:19.669 was Naraganjina a real person?" And I 01:35:19.679 --> 01:35:22.310 assume he means nagarjuna 01:35:22.320 --> 01:35:25.669 because I've never heard of Naraganjina. 01:35:25.679 --> 01:35:28.550 So I assume master po is saying, "Was 01:35:28.560 --> 01:35:31.510 Nagarjuna a real person?" And from a 01:35:31.520 --> 01:35:33.910 Buddhist point of view, nobody is a real 01:35:33.920 --> 01:35:37.669 person. There is no self. Nobody is 01:35:37.679 --> 01:35:41.270 ultimately real. There is no ultimately 01:35:41.280 --> 01:35:45.830 real essential, you know, self-existent 01:35:45.840 --> 01:35:47.910 individuality. 01:35:47.920 --> 01:35:49.189 So from the Buddhist point of view, 01:35:49.199 --> 01:35:51.270 nobody was a real person. God gaba 01:35:51.280 --> 01:35:53.350 Buddha was not a real person. I am not a 01:35:53.360 --> 01:35:57.750 real person. You are not a real person. 01:35:57.760 --> 01:36:01.910 But let's just go with worldly speech 01:36:01.920 --> 01:36:04.390 you know vhara 01:36:04.400 --> 01:36:08.390 within a samsaric context like was nagar 01:36:08.400 --> 01:36:10.229 a historical 01:36:10.239 --> 01:36:14.550 real person then it seems pretty likely 01:36:14.560 --> 01:36:17.189 I mean the the moola majamaka karaka is 01:36:17.199 --> 01:36:19.750 considered to be like his most essential 01:36:19.760 --> 01:36:21.189 work you know that's sort of like 01:36:21.199 --> 01:36:24.550 central to his philosophy it gave rise 01:36:24.560 --> 01:36:27.750 to majamaka philosophy I mean they had 01:36:27.760 --> 01:36:30.229 to have an author presumably somebody 01:36:30.239 --> 01:36:33.270 had to write it and it was attributed to 01:36:33.280 --> 01:36:36.950 Nagarjuna. Um but just because a work is 01:36:36.960 --> 01:36:39.510 attributed to Nagarjuna or to anybody in 01:36:39.520 --> 01:36:40.629 particular doesn't mean that they really 01:36:40.639 --> 01:36:43.590 wrote it. You know like most Mahayana 01:36:43.600 --> 01:36:46.070 texts are attributed to the Buddha but 01:36:46.080 --> 01:36:49.830 it's hardly likely that very many of 01:36:49.840 --> 01:36:53.030 them really were spoken or taught by the 01:36:53.040 --> 01:36:54.709 Buddha. 01:36:54.719 --> 01:36:56.629 And there are quite a few texts that are 01:36:56.639 --> 01:36:59.750 attributed to Nagarjuna that most 01:36:59.760 --> 01:37:03.510 scholars would say no that's that's not 01:37:03.520 --> 01:37:07.430 true. Like there's the uh 01:37:07.440 --> 01:37:09.430 there's some shastra that's attributed 01:37:09.440 --> 01:37:12.790 to it's the pragnya paramita shastra I 01:37:12.800 --> 01:37:16.390 think that is attributed to nagarjana 01:37:16.400 --> 01:37:20.149 and there was an editor or a commentator 01:37:20.159 --> 01:37:23.990 on the book uh kenada ramanan I think is 01:37:24.000 --> 01:37:26.870 his name who said that nagarjuna may 01:37:26.880 --> 01:37:29.350 have had a disciple who was also named 01:37:29.360 --> 01:37:31.990 nagarja who was the author of that book 01:37:32.000 --> 01:37:34.310 or it could just be that it's just 01:37:34.320 --> 01:37:37.990 falsely attributed to Nagarjana. 01:37:38.000 --> 01:37:40.629 um like the the awakening of faith 01:37:40.639 --> 01:37:42.870 shastra 01:37:42.880 --> 01:37:44.790 I think it's a shastra the awakening of 01:37:44.800 --> 01:37:46.709 faith it's a famous mahayana text it's 01:37:46.719 --> 01:37:49.750 attributed to ava 01:37:49.760 --> 01:37:52.310 although in all likelihood it wasn't 01:37:52.320 --> 01:37:55.189 really composed by ava 01:37:55.199 --> 01:37:59.750 because um the book that I read claims 01:37:59.760 --> 01:38:04.149 that the awakening of faith shastra was 01:38:04.159 --> 01:38:06.950 originally composed in Chinese and and 01:38:06.960 --> 01:38:11.109 then like afterwards kind of retconed 01:38:11.119 --> 01:38:14.790 and translated back into Sanskrit. 01:38:14.800 --> 01:38:16.709 or the sutra of Hui Nang is attributed 01:38:16.719 --> 01:38:19.990 to Hui Nang. But in all likelihood uh 01:38:20.000 --> 01:38:22.709 based on another a book that I read the 01:38:22.719 --> 01:38:25.430 editorial notes of a translation by a 01:38:25.440 --> 01:38:28.070 guy named Yam Pollski that in all 01:38:28.080 --> 01:38:30.790 likelihood the sutra of Hui Nang was not 01:38:30.800 --> 01:38:33.270 really authored by Hui Nang but was 01:38:33.280 --> 01:38:35.830 authored by a disciple of Hui Ning with 01:38:35.840 --> 01:38:39.990 a name like uh what was it 01:38:40.000 --> 01:38:43.669 Ning Shui or something like that. 01:38:43.679 --> 01:38:46.149 So Nagarjuna was in all likelihood a 01:38:46.159 --> 01:38:48.229 real person although every text 01:38:48.239 --> 01:38:51.030 attributed to him probably is not really 01:38:51.040 --> 01:38:53.510 composed by him. The Mula Majamaka 01:38:53.520 --> 01:38:55.350 caraka is generally considered to be 01:38:55.360 --> 01:38:58.070 authentic. Some of his letters I think 01:38:58.080 --> 01:39:01.189 he had some devotional verses um but 01:39:01.199 --> 01:39:03.669 most of what traditionally is attributed 01:39:03.679 --> 01:39:11.109 to Nagarjuna is a kind of forgery. 01:39:11.119 --> 01:39:13.510 So if we are real people, Nagarja 01:39:13.520 --> 01:39:15.590 probably also was a real person. I mean 01:39:15.600 --> 01:39:18.629 he has somewhat of a biography. I I 01:39:18.639 --> 01:39:21.910 think he was like South Indian maybe. I 01:39:21.920 --> 01:39:23.350 think he was supposed to be like a 01:39:23.360 --> 01:39:24.950 Brahman from South India or maybe I'm 01:39:24.960 --> 01:39:27.030 just confusing that with Bodhi Dharma. 01:39:27.040 --> 01:39:30.790 But he did teach at Nolanda University 01:39:30.800 --> 01:39:32.870 and uh I think he did spend a lot of 01:39:32.880 --> 01:39:34.870 time his monastery

when he wasn't 01:39:34.880 --> 01:39:37.030 teaching at Nolanda was in like the 01:39:37.040 --> 01:39:42.070 southern half of India. 01:39:42.080 --> 01:39:43.590 Anyways, 01:39:43.600 --> 01:39:45.350 oh I probably should have worn the fez, 01:39:45.360 --> 01:39:50.470 the majamica fez, but too late now. 01:39:50.480 --> 01:39:53.750 And the next question is from RP A or 01:39:53.760 --> 01:39:55.350 Arpad. 01:39:55.360 --> 01:39:58.950 And RP A or Arpad says, "You mentioned 01:39:58.960 --> 01:40:01.350 that monks are allowed to kill in 01:40:01.360 --> 01:40:05.430 self-defense. Do mosquitoes count? I 01:40:05.440 --> 01:40:07.350 wouldn't even think of slapping them if 01:40:07.360 --> 01:40:09.510 they didn't make a purpose of attacking 01:40:09.520 --> 01:40:12.070 me. And considering the diseases they 01:40:12.080 --> 01:40:15.109 tend, carry, and spread, a mosquito's 01:40:15.119 --> 01:40:17.830 bite could be fatal. Yeah. Well, I mean, 01:40:17.840 --> 01:40:19.910 I've said before that the most dangerous 01:40:19.920 --> 01:40:23.109 animal in the forest is not a tiger. 01:40:23.119 --> 01:40:25.270 It's not wild pigs. It's not leopards. 01:40:25.280 --> 01:40:28.070 It's not even humans. It is the anophles 01:40:28.080 --> 01:40:30.149 mosquito. 01:40:30.159 --> 01:40:32.550 But I don't think I really did mention 01:40:32.560 --> 01:40:33.990 that monks are allowed to kill in 01:40:34.000 --> 01:40:36.229 self-defense. A monk is allowed to 01:40:36.239 --> 01:40:39.189 strike out in self-defense. 01:40:39.199 --> 01:40:41.669 But a monk isn't allowed to deliberately 01:40:41.679 --> 01:40:44.390 kill even in self-defense. I mean, he 01:40:44.400 --> 01:40:47.350 can do whatever. He can be a monk can be 01:40:47.360 --> 01:40:49.990 like Kyle Writtenhouse and just do what 01:40:50.000 --> 01:40:54.470 is necessary to eliminate the threat. 01:40:54.480 --> 01:40:56.709 So it may be that a monk is defending 01:40:56.719 --> 01:40:59.510 himself and striking out in self-defense 01:40:59.520 --> 01:41:02.310 and then inadvertently without the the 01:41:02.320 --> 01:41:05.590 conscious intention to kill his attacker 01:41:05.600 --> 01:41:07.750 winds up killing his attacker and then 01:41:07.760 --> 01:41:09.750 he would not be guilty of a parajika 01:41:09.760 --> 01:41:11.669 offense. 01:41:11.679 --> 01:41:14.229 But if he's deliberately trying to kill 01:41:14.239 --> 01:41:17.669 his attacker, then he's still he's still 01:41:17.679 --> 01:41:20.870 culpable and has committed a song uh 01:41:20.880 --> 01:41:23.430 parajika offense and is excommunicated 01:41:23.440 --> 01:41:27.990 for the rest of his life. 01:41:28.000 --> 01:41:30.070 Excommunicated from full ordination in 01:41:30.080 --> 01:41:33.669 the song. He can no longer be a beu. 01:41:33.679 --> 01:41:36.149 And so, do mosquitoes count? 01:41:36.159 --> 01:41:38.070 Technically, you could strike out in 01:41:38.080 --> 01:41:39.669 self-defense, 01:41:39.679 --> 01:41:43.270 but if I mean, it doesn't take much 01:41:43.280 --> 01:41:45.590 intelligence to realize that striking a 01:41:45.600 --> 01:41:48.950 mosquito generally kills it. 01:41:48.960 --> 01:41:52.950 So, I mean, it is kind of ironic that I 01:41:52.960 --> 01:41:56.229 really didn't start slapping mosquitoes 01:41:56.239 --> 01:41:59.430 until I was just going full blast as a 01:41:59.440 --> 01:42:03.270 monk, just living under a rock ledge at 01:42:03.280 --> 01:42:05.590 the northern boundary of Alando Kasapa 01:42:05.600 --> 01:42:08.229 National Park. There was one year I went 01:42:08.239 --> 01:42:09.990 almost the entire year without entering 01:42:10.000 --> 01:42:12.070 a building, 01:42:12.080 --> 01:42:14.870 without going under a roof. 01:42:14.880 --> 01:42:19.990 And mosquitoes at first I could endure. 01:42:20.000 --> 01:42:21.270 You know, I was taking malaria 01:42:21.280 --> 01:42:22.709 medication which didn't work very well. 01:42:22.719 --> 01:42:25.990 I always got malaria anyway, but the 01:42:26.000 --> 01:42:28.709 mosquito bites I could kind of endure. I 01:42:28.719 --> 01:42:31.109 didn't like it, but still it was 01:42:31.119 --> 01:42:33.430 tolerable. But there was like these I 01:42:33.440 --> 01:42:35.510 call them vampire flies. I think it's 01:42:35.520 --> 01:42:38.149 like a sand fly. It's not as big as a 01:42:38.159 --> 01:42:40.229 horse fly, but it's bigger than the 01:42:40.239 --> 01:42:41.669 little black deer flies. I mean, they 01:42:41.679 --> 01:42:43.990 get like an inch long. And when they 01:42:44.000 --> 01:42:46.790 bite, I mean, they're like biting chunks 01:42:46.800 --> 01:42:49.030 out of you. It hurts. And I just could 01:42:49.040 --> 01:42:55.030 not sit there with saintly like boine 01:42:55.040 --> 01:42:56.629 equinimity 01:42:56.639 --> 01:42:58.790 and just be bitten by like horse flies 01:42:58.800 --> 01:43:02.470 and and these vampire flies. And so 01:43:02.480 --> 01:43:05.270 eventually I started like swatting them 01:43:05.280 --> 01:43:08.229 with my sweat wiping rag. You know is 01:43:08.239 --> 01:43:10.870 the absolutely necessary sweat wiping 01:43:10.880 --> 01:43:14.709 rag of a western monk in Southeast Asia. 01:43:14.719 --> 01:43:17.350 It was just like a washcloth and you use 01:43:17.360 --> 01:43:18.790 it for all kinds of things. I mean you 01:43:18.800 --> 01:43:20.950 use it for drying yourself off when your 01:43:20.960 --> 01:43:22.470 when your head is shaved. It doesn't 01:43:22.480 --> 01:43:24.390 take much cloth. Doesn't take much of a 01:43:24.400 --> 01:43:27.189 towel to drive dry you off after you 01:43:27.199 --> 01:43:29.510 after you bathe. And also it's for 01:43:29.520 --> 01:43:31.430 wiping sweat. And also it's just as a 01:43:31.440 --> 01:43:34.310 flail to keep like the the blood sucking 01:43:34.320 --> 01:43:37.669 insects from settling on you. 01:43:37.679 --> 01:43:41.030 And these these little vampire flies as 01:43:41.040 -->

01:43:42.790 I call them. I think they're some kind 01:43:42.800 --> 01:43:45.430 of sand fly. They're they are hard to 01:43:45.440 --> 01:43:49.510 kill. You can smack them even desiring 01:43:49.520 --> 01:43:51.510 to squish them and they just fly away 01:43:51.520 --> 01:43:53.030 and then they just come right back again 01:43:53.040 --> 01:43:54.149 cuz they're very determined. They're 01:43:54.159 --> 01:43:56.470 like little terminators. 01:43:56.480 --> 01:43:58.629 But I got really good at it. I just I 01:43:58.639 --> 01:44:01.430 just eventually got too good at at 01:44:01.440 --> 01:44:04.149 slapping these vampire flies. So that 01:44:04.159 --> 01:44:06.229 the trick is, you know, you got one on 01:44:06.239 --> 01:44:08.870 the side of your arm here. You you swat 01:44:08.880 --> 01:44:11.350 from the other side so that the tip of 01:44:11.360 --> 01:44:13.590 the the rag just has like a whiplash 01:44:13.600 --> 01:44:17.510 effect and really smacks it and they 01:44:17.520 --> 01:44:19.350 would be stunned or dead. And then I 01:44:19.360 --> 01:44:23.350 would try to compensate for the demerit 01:44:23.360 --> 01:44:25.830 of killing deliberately killing an 01:44:25.840 --> 01:44:28.149 insect or at least trying deliberately 01:44:28.159 --> 01:44:30.870 causing grievous harm to this insect, 01:44:30.880 --> 01:44:32.229 even though it was a blood sucking 01:44:32.239 --> 01:44:35.430 parasite by feeding it to an ant lion. 01:44:35.440 --> 01:44:37.990 There were like ant lion pits in this 01:44:38.000 --> 01:44:40.550 under this rock ledge where I lived. And 01:44:40.560 --> 01:44:41.750 those of you who don't know what ant 01:44:41.760 --> 01:44:44.149 lions are, it's a kind of insect that 01:44:44.159 --> 01:44:47.109 has like this funnel-shaped pit that it 01:44:47.119 --> 01:44:49.590 digs into loose sand. And anything that 01:44:49.600 --> 01:44:52.550 falls into it, like an ant, they they'll 01:44:52.560 --> 01:44:55.189 like start throwing little bits of sand 01:44:55.199 --> 01:44:56.790 at it to knock it down to the bottom. 01:44:56.800 --> 01:44:58.310 And it's got these big pinchers that 01:44:58.320 --> 01:45:01.189 grab it and pull it under the ground and 01:45:01.199 --> 01:45:04.229 eat it once it gets to the bottom of the 01:45:04.239 --> 01:45:07.350 pit. So I would compensate by feeding a 01:45:07.360 --> 01:45:09.430 poor hungry little ant lion if I did 01:45:09.440 --> 01:45:13.430 manage to kill one of these creatures. 01:45:13.440 --> 01:45:18.470 But you know in a case like that where 01:45:18.480 --> 01:45:23.350 I mean some I guess it was Ajan Cha 01:45:23.360 --> 01:45:25.830 bered some monk for slapping a mosquito. 01:45:25.840 --> 01:45:27.990 was like, "Does is one drop of your 01:45:28.000 --> 01:45:30.229 blood so valuable that you will kill a 01:45:30.239 --> 01:45:33.430 living being?" But I mean, a mosquito, 01:45:33.440 --> 01:45:36.310 what kind of consciousness do they have 01:45:36.320 -->

01:45:38.950 really? I mean, I doubt that a a 01:45:38.960 --> 01:45:42.870 mosquito is any more conscious than, you 01:45:42.880 --> 01:45:46.629 know, a parramium or a plant. 01:45:46.639 --> 01:45:50.310 You know, they they will act in, you 01:45:50.320 --> 01:45:52.470 know, they will react. you know, a 01:45:52.480 --> 01:45:54.310 swatting hand, they might fly away, but 01:45:54.320 --> 01:45:56.629 it's just like automatic reflexes, sort 01:45:56.639 --> 01:45:58.310 of like the automatic door at a grocery 01:45:58.320 --> 01:45:59.830 store. 01:45:59.840 --> 01:46:01.590 I don't know if they even have really a 01:46:01.600 --> 01:46:04.229 brain, 01:46:04.239 --> 01:46:05.830 and they don't feel pain. I'm pretty 01:46:05.840 --> 01:46:08.709 sure that arropods, like all insects, 01:46:08.719 --> 01:46:11.189 crustations, and so forth, I really 01:46:11.199 --> 01:46:14.550 don't think that they feel pain. 01:46:14.560 --> 01:46:17.669 So, I eventually because I'm living out 01:46:17.679 --> 01:46:20.149 there, I've had malaria so many times 01:46:20.159 --> 01:46:22.550 and just being eaten alive by blood 01:46:22.560 --> 01:46:25.430 sucking parasites really isn't my style. 01:46:25.440 --> 01:46:28.229 And those mosquito nets that some of the 01:46:28.239 --> 01:46:31.830 Thai dutonga monks use, it's so fine. 01:46:31.840 --> 01:46:34.629 It's it's like panty hose where it's so 01:46:34.639 --> 01:46:37.590 sheer. The holes are so small to in 01:46:37.600 --> 01:46:40.070 order to shed rain that there's almost 01:46:40.080 --> 01:46:43.030 no air circulation. And I remember there 01:46:43.040 --> 01:46:45.510 were times I one one year that I spent 01:46:45.520 --> 01:46:48.870 there one time less than a full year. Um 01:46:48.880 --> 01:46:51.030 I brought one of those tie it's called a 01:46:51.040 --> 01:46:54.310 crot or a glot. It's a a great big 01:46:54.320 --> 01:46:57.270 umbrella with a detachable handle and 01:46:57.280 --> 01:46:59.750 you hang mosquito net onto it and then 01:46:59.760 --> 01:47:01.510 you can stay underneath and be 01:47:01.520 --> 01:47:04.870 relatively dry and not be eaten alive by 01:47:04.880 --> 01:47:08.149 blood sucking parasitic flies. 01:47:08.159 --> 01:47:10.470 But I mean, there was almost no air 01:47:10.480 --> 01:47:13.750 circulation at all. So, it's like I'd be 01:47:13.760 --> 01:47:15.270 sitting under that till I couldn't stand 01:47:15.280 --> 01:47:17.350 it anymore. And then I'd move it aside 01:47:17.360 --> 01:47:19.750 and be bitten by mosquitoes and flies 01:47:19.760 --> 01:47:21.430 until I couldn't stand it anymore. And 01:47:21.440 --> 01:47:23.189 then I'd get back under the mosquito net 01:47:23.199 --> 01:47:24.870 again till I couldn't stand it anymore. 01:47:24.880 --> 01:47:26.790 And it would just keep keep going back 01:47:26.800 --> 01:47:29.030 and forth like that until it became 01:47:29.040 --> 01:47:32.229 nighttime and the bats came out and the 01:47:32.239 -->

01:47:38.550 flies just went away and the mosquitoes. 01:47:38.560 --> 01:47:41.109 But I mean, I'm just sort of rambling 01:47:41.119 --> 01:47:43.109 and babbling all over the place, not 01:47:43.119 --> 01:47:46.229 really answering this question. 01:47:46.239 --> 01:47:49.510 So, let's just get back to the question. 01:47:49.520 --> 01:47:51.990 Um, monks are really not allowed to kill 01:47:52.000 --> 01:47:54.070 in self-defense unless it's inadvertent. 01:47:54.080 --> 01:47:56.070 They're allowed to strike out in 01:47:56.080 --> 01:47:58.950 self-defense. And I mean, I would use 01:47:58.960 --> 01:48:02.550 that as a kind of justification. You 01:48:02.560 --> 01:48:04.550 know, monks are allowed to strike out in 01:48:04.560 --> 01:48:07.590 self-defense. This mosquito is literally 01:48:07.600 --> 01:48:11.270 attacking me and it could be threatening 01:48:11.280 --> 01:48:15.189 my life if it has some disease. And like 01:48:15.199 --> 01:48:17.590 I say, I had falsif malaria seven or 01:48:17.600 --> 01:48:19.350 eight times, 01:48:19.360 --> 01:48:22.229 which is the worst kind of malaria. Most 01:48:22.239 --> 01:48:23.990 people who die of malaria die of 01:48:24.000 --> 01:48:26.149 falsiferum malaria. Once it goes 01:48:26.159 --> 01:48:30.790 cerebral, you're done for. 01:48:30.800 --> 01:48:32.390 And when it goes cerebral, that means 01:48:32.400 --> 01:48:35.350 that I mean malaria is a blood disease. 01:48:35.360 --> 01:48:39.590 The parasite like it invades your red 01:48:39.600 --> 01:48:42.470 blood cells and reproduces inside the 01:48:42.480 --> 01:48:44.229 red blood cells and then it breaks the 01:48:44.239 --> 01:48:47.189 blood cell open as the the new baby 01:48:47.199 --> 01:48:49.270 tripanosomes, I think they're called, 01:48:49.280 --> 01:48:51.910 come out. And so you got this wreckage 01:48:51.920 --> 01:48:54.950 of destroyed red blood cells going 01:48:54.960 --> 01:48:58.149 through your system. And what happens is 01:48:58.159 --> 01:49:00.550 with falsipro malaria, they start 01:49:00.560 --> 01:49:02.870 causing little localized strokes. You 01:49:02.880 --> 01:49:05.350 can have like thousands of localized 01:49:05.360 --> 01:49:08.470 tiny micro strokes or you know like 01:49:08.480 --> 01:49:10.470 blockages all through your brain from 01:49:10.480 --> 01:49:12.950 the like the capillaries getting plugged 01:49:12.960 --> 01:49:15.669 with this red blood cell wreckage. And 01:49:15.679 --> 01:49:18.390 once that happens, it's very difficult 01:49:18.400 --> 01:49:20.950 to cure somebody, 01:49:20.960 --> 01:49:22.790 especially if they've got like 106 01:49:22.800 --> 01:49:27.350 degree fever besides. 01:49:27.360 --> 01:49:31.430 So in a case of mosquitoes, I mean, you 01:49:31.440 --> 01:49:33.750 just have to 01:49:33.760 --> 01:49:35.830 you I mean, you have to take into 01:49:35.840 --> 01:49:37.590 consideration 01:49:37.600 --> 01:49:40.070 all the possibilities, all the options. 01:49:40.080 --> 01:49:43.270 And in some cases, you may just decide 01:49:43.280 --> 01:49:47.430 it is worth my while to break this rule 01:49:47.440 --> 01:49:50.229 under this circumstance. 01:49:50.239 --> 01:49:52.550 So, I was I was owning it. I mean, I 01:49:52.560 --> 01:49:55.510 wasn't trying to like 01:49:55.520 --> 01:49:57.750 claim that I wasn't guilty, you know, 01:49:57.760 --> 01:50:00.709 like just fighting just self-defense, 01:50:00.719 --> 01:50:02.790 you know, just kill the mosquito in 01:50:02.800 --> 01:50:06.310 self-defense. I mean, I wasn't I wasn't 01:50:06.320 --> 01:50:08.310 trying to 01:50:08.320 --> 01:50:11.189 indulge in that kind of sophistry. 01:50:11.199 --> 01:50:15.910 It's like I was confessing the offense 01:50:15.920 --> 01:50:18.149 of of slapping mosquitoes when I was 01:50:18.159 --> 01:50:20.790 slapping them. And it was only as a 01:50:20.800 --> 01:50:23.270 general rule when I was staying in that 01:50:23.280 --> 01:50:25.350 one place out in the forest where I just 01:50:25.360 --> 01:50:30.709 was just like completely vulnerable 01:50:30.719 --> 01:50:34.149 to mosquitoes and horse flies and deer 01:50:34.159 --> 01:50:36.709 flies and just 01:50:36.719 --> 01:50:39.270 yeah I just could not sit there and be 01:50:39.280 --> 01:50:42.149 eaten alive. I just it was just beyond 01:50:42.159 --> 01:50:44.790 me. 01:50:44.800 --> 01:50:47.669 So let's see here. I mean, I stayed at 01:50:47.679 --> 01:50:50.229 one place, Migadawan Monastery, up in 01:50:50.239 --> 01:50:52.310 the hills. It's on the ver the edge of 01:50:52.320 --> 01:50:56.790 the Shan Plateau, like 45 miles 01:50:56.800 --> 01:51:01.510 east of Mandandalay up in the hills. And 01:51:01.520 --> 01:51:03.030 during the rainy season, I mean, it was 01:51:03.040 --> 01:51:05.910 it was awful. I mean, you'd have to if 01:51:05.920 --> 01:51:07.750 you're going to if you're going to pee 01:51:07.760 --> 01:51:10.229 outside, you had to be like marching in 01:51:10.239 --> 01:51:13.430 place, like stomping both feet while 01:51:13.440 --> 01:51:15.270 peeing, which is it it takes some 01:51:15.280 --> 01:51:17.750 getting used to. I mean, it's it's a a 01:51:17.760 --> 01:51:21.189 skill that has to be learned, I think, 01:51:21.199 --> 01:51:23.910 because if you just stayed motionless 01:51:23.920 --> 01:51:26.070 for just a few seconds, the mosquitoes 01:51:26.080 --> 01:51:28.390 would just be clustering on your feet 01:51:28.400 --> 01:51:32.229 and ankles. 01:51:32.239 --> 01:51:34.790 So anyways, 01:51:34.800 --> 01:51:37.109 I mean there are some some monks I mean 01:51:37.119 --> 01:51:39.750 like for example I mean I'm just 01:51:39.760 --> 01:51:42.310 completely just leaving these questions 01:51:42.320 --> 01:51:46.310 behind in the dust at this point but pa 01:51:46.320 --> 01:51:49.910 monastery pa doya in southern Burma in 01:51:49.920 --> 01:51:52.709 Mon state um the pao method has a 01:51:52.719 --> 01:51:53.990

reputation for being one of the 01:51:54.000 --> 01:51:56.629 strictest with regard to following 01:51:56.639 --> 01:51:58.550 vineia rules the rules of monastic 01:51:58.560 --> 01:52:00.070 discipline 01:52:00.080 --> 01:52:04.310 and P al got infested with bed bugs. You 01:52:04.320 --> 01:52:07.830 know, the the the meditation cabins, 01:52:07.840 --> 01:52:09.990 most of them were infested with bed 01:52:10.000 --> 01:52:13.430 bugs. And so 01:52:13.440 --> 01:52:15.750 the the the Abbott, venerable Paul 01:52:15.760 --> 01:52:18.390 Aliato himself 01:52:18.400 --> 01:52:22.070 said something to somebody and you had 01:52:22.080 --> 01:52:25.270 like exterminators came to kill off the 01:52:25.280 --> 01:52:27.910 bed bugs. And this one Australian monk, 01:52:27.920 --> 01:52:29.430 who's the same Australian monk that I 01:52:29.440 --> 01:52:31.030 mentioned, who was chased around a 01:52:31.040 --> 01:52:33.750 monastery with a um 01:52:33.760 --> 01:52:36.629 another monk wielding machete, 01:52:36.639 --> 01:52:38.629 he just put his foot down and he said, 01:52:38.639 --> 01:52:40.790 "Nope, you're not going to kill my bed 01:52:40.800 --> 01:52:42.149 bugs. You're not going to kill the bed 01:52:42.159 --> 01:52:44.470 bugs in in this cabin." You know, he 01:52:44.480 --> 01:52:49.750 just defied them. But I mean, it gets to 01:52:49.760 --> 01:52:53.430 a certain point where you have to do 01:52:53.440 --> 01:52:56.310 something. And even monks are allowed to 01:52:56.320 --> 01:52:58.390 at least spread their bedding out in the 01:52:58.400 --> 01:53:01.830 sun to get rid of bed bugs, which kills 01:53:01.840 --> 01:53:04.629 the bed bugs. You know, it's like bed 01:53:04.639 --> 01:53:06.470 bugs aren't going to survive in blazing 01:53:06.480 --> 01:53:09.669 sunlight. And generally, an ant colony 01:53:09.679 --> 01:53:11.510 will find them anyway. I've done that 01:53:11.520 --> 01:53:14.310 before. Spread out my my bed buginfested 01:53:14.320 --> 01:53:16.790 bedding out in the sun, and within a few 01:53:16.800 --> 01:53:18.709 minutes, you've got this highway of ants 01:53:18.719 --> 01:53:21.030 carrying bed bugs back to this hole in 01:53:21.040 --> 01:53:24.390 the ground. 01:53:24.400 --> 01:53:26.629 But 01:53:26.639 --> 01:53:28.709 I mean, 01:53:28.719 --> 01:53:31.109 I guess you could use the argument that 01:53:31.119 --> 01:53:34.950 killing is not your your your purpose, 01:53:34.960 --> 01:53:36.790 that you're just defending yourself. So, 01:53:36.800 --> 01:53:38.950 I mean, striking out in self-defense 01:53:38.960 --> 01:53:41.350 could theoretically be used as a valid 01:53:41.360 --> 01:53:45.669 argument. 01:53:45.679 --> 01:53:48.149 It's just that and like for example I 01:53:48.159 --> 01:53:50.390 mentioned this before there are certain 01:53:50.400 --> 01:53:53.189 times in Burma like at the beginning of 01:53:53.199 --> 01:53:55.990 the rainy season there's just like these 01:53:56.000 --> 01:53:58.390 little gnats just completely cover the 01:53:58.400 --> 01:54:01.669 ground and you cannot walk without 01:54:01.679 --> 01:54:05.030 squishing them but you're not really 01:54:05.040 --> 01:54:07.830 committing. You're not breaking a rule 01:54:07.840 --> 01:54:09.910 by walking around squishing them because 01:54:09.920 --> 01:54:11.910 that is not your purpose. That is not 01:54:11.920 --> 01:54:13.830 your intention. You're not walking in 01:54:13.840 --> 01:54:16.390 order to squish these insects. You're 01:54:16.400 --> 01:54:17.830 just trying to get from point A to point 01:54:17.840 --> 01:54:21.109 B. For a Jane, that would be 01:54:21.119 --> 01:54:24.229 problematic. But for a Buddhist, if I 01:54:24.239 --> 01:54:27.350 mean, that is not your purpose, you're 01:54:27.360 --> 01:54:30.709 really not guilty of breaking the rule. 01:54:30.719 --> 01:54:34.629 So, I mean, if your purpose is just not 01:54:34.639 --> 01:54:37.910 being eaten alive by mosquitoes, 01:54:37.920 --> 01:54:39.430 maybe. 01:54:39.440 --> 01:54:42.070 But it would depend a lot on who you 01:54:42.080 --> 01:54:45.189 talk to, who your preceptor is, that 01:54:45.199 --> 01:54:47.669 kind of thing with regard to whether you 01:54:47.679 --> 01:54:49.830 really are breaking the rule by slapping 01:54:49.840 --> 01:54:53.189 mosquitoes. And in as a general rule, I 01:54:53.199 --> 01:54:56.070 just owned it 01:54:56.080 --> 01:54:58.229 cuz I really was. I mean, sometimes you 01:54:58.239 --> 01:54:59.589 just get pissed off at the little 01:54:59.599 --> 01:55:02.310 bastards. 01:55:02.320 --> 01:55:03.510 And so, I'm just going to move on to the 01:55:03.520 --> 01:55:05.350 next question. 01:55:05.360 --> 01:55:07.669 This is from Trzasquez. 01:55:07.679 --> 01:55:10.709 And Taskis is says, "Have you ever 01:55:10.719 --> 01:55:13.109 noticed in a group meditation or just 01:55:13.119 --> 01:55:15.430 within a group of monks that there are 01:55:15.440 --> 01:55:18.070 no mosquitoes on some people and one 01:55:18.080 --> 01:55:20.950 person has all of them biting him? It's 01:55:20.960 --> 01:55:23.030 an exaggeration." He says in 01:55:23.040 --> 01:55:24.709 parenthesis, 01:55:24.719 --> 01:55:26.870 "Um, no, I've never really noticed this 01:55:26.880 --> 01:55:29.589 because if you're in a group meditation 01:55:29.599 --> 01:55:31.669 especially, you're not really paying 01:55:31.679 --> 01:55:32.870 attention to what other people are 01:55:32.880 --> 01:55:35.270 doing. I mean, you might notice if you 01:55:35.280 --> 01:55:37.350 are being bitten by mosquitoes, but I 01:55:37.360 --> 01:55:38.950 mean, obviously, you're not going to be 01:55:38.960 --> 01:55:41.430 looking around seeing if people are 01:55:41.440 --> 01:55:43.270 getting bitten by mosquitoes when you're 01:55:43.280 --> 01:55:46.310 supposed to be meditating. 01:55:46.320 --> 01:55:48.870 I mean, some people apparently taste 01:55:48.880 --> 01:55:51.109 better or smell

better to mosquitoes. I 01:55:51.119 --> 01:55:53.270 mean, I have noticed that where some 01:55:53.280 --> 01:55:56.470 people, like, for example, in my case, I 01:55:56.480 --> 01:55:59.990 was like a horsefly magnet. If if I was 01:56:00.000 --> 01:56:01.990 in a group and we were like walking 01:56:02.000 --> 01:56:04.709 through the forest, then the the horse 01:56:04.719 --> 01:56:07.510 flies would come after me because the 01:56:07.520 --> 01:56:10.229 Burmese are adjusted, you know, they're 01:56:10.239 --> 01:56:12.950 evolved to live in a tropical climate 01:56:12.960 --> 01:56:14.470 and so they wouldn't be covered with 01:56:14.480 --> 01:56:16.950 sweat, but horse flies are attracted to 01:56:16.960 --> 01:56:19.669 moisture. Like you may have noticed in 01:56:19.679 --> 01:56:22.070 the west you come, you go swimming like 01:56:22.080 --> 01:56:24.229 in a river or a lake, you come out, 01:56:24.239 --> 01:56:25.589 that's when the horse flies come after 01:56:25.599 --> 01:56:27.189 you when you're all wet. They're 01:56:27.199 --> 01:56:29.030 attracted to moisture. And I would just 01:56:29.040 --> 01:56:32.390 be drenched in sweat. The Burmese would 01:56:32.400 --> 01:56:34.870 be fine. I'd be all sweaty. So the horse 01:56:34.880 --> 01:56:39.430 flies would come after me. 01:56:39.440 --> 01:56:41.990 But with regard to meditating, yeah, if 01:56:42.000 --> 01:56:43.750 if you notice other people are being 01:56:43.760 --> 01:56:46.149 bitten by mosquitoes, when you're in a 01:56:46.159 --> 01:56:48.070 group meditation, then you're obviously 01:56:48.080 --> 01:56:49.270 not meditating. You're just 01:56:49.280 --> 01:56:50.870 rubbernecking and looking around, see 01:56:50.880 --> 01:56:54.470 what other people are doing. 01:56:54.480 --> 01:56:57.750 I remember when I was at Pandarama 01:56:57.760 --> 01:56:59.270 um there were there were some mosquitoes 01:56:59.280 --> 01:57:00.870 in the meditation hall and it was just 01:57:00.880 --> 01:57:02.950 something that you just had to endure 01:57:02.960 --> 01:57:04.950 you know I I wouldn't even be slapping 01:57:04.960 --> 01:57:06.229 them you know right in front of 01:57:06.239 --> 01:57:07.750 everybody you know it just doesn't look 01:57:07.760 --> 01:57:10.870 right doesn't look good 01:57:10.880 --> 01:57:13.189 and there was only a few anyway so it 01:57:13.199 --> 01:57:16.390 was just and it was in Rangon so it was 01:57:16.400 --> 01:57:18.470 not endemic with malaria anyhow it was 01:57:18.480 --> 01:57:21.030 just inconvenient and uncomfortable and 01:57:21.040 --> 01:57:22.870 itchy 01:57:22.880 --> 01:57:27.030 But then somebody donated a bunch of um 01:57:27.040 --> 01:57:31.430 like little mosquito nets, you know, 01:57:31.440 --> 01:57:33.350 they were just like a round mosquito net 01:57:33.360 --> 01:57:34.790 and you'd sit inside of it. It wasn't 01:57:34.800 --> 01:57:37.109 like a long one like went over a bed. It 01:57:37.119 --> 01:57:38.709 was just enough room for you to sit 01:57:38.719 --> 01:57:42.070 inside. And there was a a Bangladeshi 01:57:42.080 --> 01:57:44.470 monk there who was just delighted, you 01:57:44.480 --> 01:57:46.310 know. He was he was like a kid on on 01:57:46.320 --> 01:57:48.470 Christmas morning, you know, wideeyed. 01:57:48.480 --> 01:57:50.950 It's like, is are can we use those are 01:57:50.960 --> 01:57:53.750 those for us? And I didn't even want to 01:57:53.760 --> 01:57:55.750 use them just because, you know, I 01:57:55.760 --> 01:57:58.070 wanted to be the aesthetic, you know, 01:57:58.080 --> 01:58:01.030 but I don't I don't remember if I even 01:58:01.040 --> 01:58:02.550 even use them even though they were 01:58:02.560 --> 01:58:06.790 available. Just just some macho thing, I 01:58:06.800 --> 01:58:09.910 think. Just sit there and get bitten by 01:58:09.920 --> 01:58:12.390 mosquitoes just in order not to be a 01:58:12.400 --> 01:58:15.750 wimp. 01:58:15.760 --> 01:58:17.830 Anyhow, 01:58:17.840 --> 01:58:19.030 I'm just going to move on to the next 01:58:19.040 --> 01:58:21.750 question. This is from Ethiopian fake 01:58:21.760 --> 01:58:26.629 TIG. An Ethiopian fake TIG says, "You 01:58:26.639 --> 01:58:29.669 have on various occasions said you would 01:58:29.679 --> 01:58:32.870 not explain dependent core rising. And 01:58:32.880 --> 01:58:36.310 recently, as I have tried to read Martin 01:58:36.320 --> 01:58:39.830 Hideagger, I became across a sort of 01:58:39.840 --> 01:58:42.550 definition of my own and wanted your 01:58:42.560 --> 01:58:44.790 thoughts on it. Since everything is 01:58:44.800 --> 01:58:47.990 impermanent, then nothing can't last 01:58:48.000 --> 01:58:49.669 forever." 01:58:49.679 --> 01:58:52.310 Meaning something is born and it dies 01:58:52.320 --> 01:58:55.589 and becomes nothing. But since 01:58:55.599 --> 01:58:59.189 impermanence affects everything, nothing 01:58:59.199 --> 01:59:02.709 itself must become something at some 01:59:02.719 --> 01:59:06.070 point. Could this be a definition for 01:59:06.080 --> 01:59:08.950 why there is something now and how it 01:59:08.960 --> 01:59:12.550 won't exist soon and how it will exist 01:59:12.560 --> 01:59:15.189 again in the future? 01:59:15.199 --> 01:59:17.109 And I have to admit, I don't fully 01:59:17.119 --> 01:59:19.350 comprehend this question. 01:59:19.360 --> 01:59:23.109 It's it's uh let's see since everything 01:59:23.119 --> 01:59:26.390 is impermanent then nothing can't last 01:59:26.400 --> 01:59:29.350 forever and 01:59:29.360 --> 01:59:31.589 I mean it seems like that might be bad 01:59:31.599 --> 01:59:34.070 English. It might be that something or 01:59:34.080 --> 01:59:36.709 anything can't last forever because 01:59:36.719 --> 01:59:39.669 everything is impermanent. So I mean 01:59:39.679 --> 01:59:41.830 everything can't last forever. Nothing 01:59:41.840 --> 01:59:44.390 really can last forever. 01:59:44.400 --> 01:59:46.629 Meaning something is born and it

dies 01:59:46.639 --> 01:59:49.030 and becomes nothing. Well, that's not 01:59:49.040 --> 01:59:51.189 necessarily true. I mean, just because 01:59:51.199 --> 01:59:52.550 something is impermanent doesn't mean 01:59:52.560 --> 01:59:54.709 that it becomes nothing. You know, it 01:59:54.719 --> 01:59:57.030 can just dissolve into its constituent 01:59:57.040 --> 02:00:00.229 parts. Like when a person dies, they're 02:00:00.239 --> 02:00:02.070 dead, but they're they don't become 02:00:02.080 --> 02:00:04.390 nothing. You know, there's still, you 02:00:04.400 --> 02:00:07.510 know, their karmic momentum has passed 02:00:07.520 --> 02:00:11.669 on and become um oh, what is it called? 02:00:11.679 --> 02:00:15.030 Something relinking consciousness, birth 02:00:15.040 --> 02:00:16.870 relinking consciousness, something like 02:00:16.880 --> 02:00:18.390 that. you know, their body is still 02:00:18.400 --> 02:00:20.870 there decomposing, you know. So, it's 02:00:20.880 --> 02:00:23.430 not like if something is impermanent 02:00:23.440 --> 02:00:25.189 that it just suddenly becomes nothing. 02:00:25.199 --> 02:00:28.149 Like this cup is impermanent, but 02:00:28.159 --> 02:00:30.390 probably what's going to happen is it's 02:00:30.400 --> 02:00:32.629 not just going to poof out of existence. 02:00:32.639 --> 02:00:35.910 It's going to break and get thrown away 02:00:35.920 --> 02:00:38.870 and become shards of a cup in some 02:00:38.880 --> 02:00:41.830 landfill somewhere. 02:00:41.840 --> 02:00:43.830 So, it doesn't really become nothing. It 02:00:43.840 --> 02:00:47.750 just changes form until it no longer is 02:00:47.760 --> 02:00:52.070 identified as cup or living being or 02:00:52.080 --> 02:00:54.149 whatever. 02:00:54.159 --> 02:00:55.669 Let's see. But let's let's continue 02:00:55.679 --> 02:00:57.510 here. Since everything is impermanent, 02:00:57.520 --> 02:01:00.790 then nothing can't last forever. 02:01:00.800 --> 02:01:02.629 Meaning something is born and it dies 02:01:02.639 --> 02:01:04.950 and becomes nothing. Well, we already 02:01:04.960 --> 02:01:07.669 discussed that. But since impermanence 02:01:07.679 --> 02:01:10.070 affects everything, 02:01:10.080 --> 02:01:12.790 nothing itself must become something at 02:01:12.800 --> 02:01:16.870 some point. Okay. Well, that's kind of 02:01:16.880 --> 02:01:18.950 I mean 02:01:18.960 --> 02:01:21.830 nothing itself I mean once once you're 02:01:21.840 --> 02:01:23.589 saying nothing itself, it's not nothing 02:01:23.599 --> 02:01:27.430 anymore. I mean nothing itself I mean 02:01:27.440 --> 02:01:29.510 you've already identified it as 02:01:29.520 --> 02:01:31.669 something. It's just something that's 02:01:31.679 --> 02:01:34.790 called nothing. Nothing itself. But 02:01:34.800 --> 02:01:37.750 still, you're calling it an it. You 02:01:37.760 --> 02:01:40.310 know, you're you've labeled it. I mean, 02:01:40.320 --> 02:01:42.390 it's obviously something, at least 02:01:42.400 --> 02:01:44.470 conceptually. 02:01:44.480 --> 02:01:46.790 The human mind can't deal with nothing. 02:01:46.800 --> 02:01:48.790 So, we're again, we're we're dealing 02:01:48.800 --> 02:01:51.030 with samsara 02:01:51.040 --> 02:01:53.350 and symbolism, 02:01:53.360 --> 02:01:55.109 perceptions, 02:01:55.119 --> 02:01:58.550 and dualism. So, something and nothing 02:01:58.560 --> 02:02:00.149 or nothing and everything, you know, 02:02:00.159 --> 02:02:06.470 they're they're opposites. 02:02:06.480 --> 02:02:08.149 But it's it's kind of like nibbana and 02:02:08.159 --> 02:02:10.870 samsara. It's it's uh so long as you're 02:02:10.880 --> 02:02:14.870 in dealing with samsaric dualism, then 02:02:14.880 --> 02:02:16.550 yeah, they kind of counterbalance each 02:02:16.560 --> 02:02:17.830 other in a way. They're sort of 02:02:17.840 --> 02:02:19.990 opposites at least from some points of 02:02:20.000 --> 02:02:25.350 view. So again, a nothing and something. 02:02:25.360 --> 02:02:28.470 I mean even nothing is a something if 02:02:28.480 --> 02:02:30.470 you've named it and are dealing with it 02:02:30.480 --> 02:02:33.510 as an it. 02:02:33.520 --> 02:02:36.470 So anyways let's continue here. See but 02:02:36.480 --> 02:02:38.870 since impermanence affects everything 02:02:38.880 --> 02:02:41.510 nothing itself must become something at 02:02:41.520 --> 02:02:44.950 some point. Yeah from from like the the 02:02:44.960 --> 02:02:47.510 psychology of some sorrow. That might be 02:02:47.520 --> 02:02:50.950 true. Although even nothing is already 02:02:50.960 --> 02:02:53.109 something if you've named it and are 02:02:53.119 --> 02:02:56.790 calling it it. You know it's like zero. 02:02:56.800 --> 02:02:59.350 Zero is still something. 02:02:59.360 --> 02:03:03.189 You know it's at least it's a number. 02:03:03.199 --> 02:03:05.350 Could this be a definition for why there 02:03:05.360 --> 02:03:08.310 is something now and how it won't exist 02:03:08.320 --> 02:03:11.270 soon and how it will exist again in the 02:03:11.280 --> 02:03:13.910 future? Well, I mean it could be a 02:03:13.920 --> 02:03:17.109 definition or a kind of explanation. 02:03:17.119 --> 02:03:20.149 maybe a kind of vague explanation. 02:03:20.159 --> 02:03:22.310 Um, 02:03:22.320 --> 02:03:24.950 golly. I mean, not everybody would 02:03:24.960 --> 02:03:27.589 explain things in the same way. So, not 02:03:27.599 --> 02:03:29.990 everyone would explain it that way. 02:03:30.000 --> 02:03:31.189 Maybe the Buddha would not have 02:03:31.199 --> 02:03:32.950 explained it that way. But, I mean, it 02:03:32.960 --> 02:03:35.750 does seem to be plausible as a kind of 02:03:35.760 --> 02:03:38.390 explanation. Could this be a definition 02:03:38.400 --> 02:03:40.950 for why there is something now and how 02:03:40.960 --> 02:03:43.830 it won't exist soon and how it will 02:03:43.840 --> 02:03:45.510 exist again in the future? Well, you 02:03:45.520 --> 02:03:47.669 need stuff changing all the

time. So, 02:03:47.679 --> 02:03:49.910 there is that. I mean, dependent core 02:03:49.920 --> 02:03:53.589 rising requires change. 02:03:53.599 --> 02:03:55.830 I mean, if if nothing changes, that's 02:03:55.840 --> 02:03:58.550 death. And if everything is changing, 02:03:58.560 --> 02:04:01.189 then that's meaningless chaos. So, you 02:04:01.199 --> 02:04:03.910 have to have a dependently co-arising 02:04:03.920 --> 02:04:08.149 balance between like stasis and and 02:04:08.159 --> 02:04:11.109 change, 02:04:11.119 --> 02:04:12.950 which I mean, I've tried to explain this 02:04:12.960 --> 02:04:15.030 before. 02:04:15.040 --> 02:04:17.189 Maybe I shouldn't try and explain it 02:04:17.199 --> 02:04:19.270 again. 02:04:19.280 --> 02:04:22.070 Gosh, this is taking a lot out of me. 02:04:22.080 --> 02:04:24.870 This this Q&A, 02:04:24.880 --> 02:04:26.950 could this be a definition for why there 02:04:26.960 --> 02:04:29.030 this is a difficult question. Could this 02:04:29.040 --> 02:04:30.870 be a definition for why there is 02:04:30.880 --> 02:04:32.470 something now and how it won't exist 02:04:32.480 --> 02:04:34.149 soon and how it will exist again in the 02:04:34.159 --> 02:04:36.709 future? I mean if you consider that to 02:04:36.719 --> 02:04:39.189 be the way dependent colising works 02:04:39.199 --> 02:04:40.709 where you always have to have some kind 02:04:40.719 --> 02:04:42.870 of contrast 02:04:42.880 --> 02:04:45.270 in order for the to have a world of 02:04:45.280 --> 02:04:46.790 multiplicity 02:04:46.800 --> 02:04:49.189 you have to have contrast 02:04:49.199 --> 02:04:52.070 you know again I bring this up 02:04:52.080 --> 02:04:54.390 frequently Hegel's 02:04:54.400 --> 02:04:58.149 like Hegel's logic begins with the first 02:04:58.159 --> 02:05:01.430 thesis antithesis and synthesis the 02:05:01.440 --> 02:05:04.950 first thesis Hegel's philosophy at least 02:05:04.960 --> 02:05:08.870 in his logic starts with the thesis of 02:05:08.880 --> 02:05:10.950 pure being. 02:05:10.960 --> 02:05:13.589 And then the antithesis of pure being is 02:05:13.599 --> 02:05:15.750 pure non-being. 02:05:15.760 --> 02:05:18.229 And according to Hegel, they just merge 02:05:18.239 --> 02:05:19.589 together. They're they can't be 02:05:19.599 --> 02:05:21.109 differentiated because neither one of 02:05:21.119 --> 02:05:23.589 them has any like distinctive 02:05:23.599 --> 02:05:25.510 characteristics. You know, there's 02:05:25.520 --> 02:05:27.990 nothing discernible in either of them. 02:05:28.000 --> 02:05:30.390 They just merge. And for the rest of 02:05:30.400 --> 02:05:33.109 Hegel's philosophy, he just assumes that 02:05:33.119 --> 02:05:35.350 everything and nothing are synonyms. 02:05:35.360 --> 02:05:37.350 They're interchangeable. Everything, 02:05:37.360 --> 02:05:41.030 nothing, the same. So then he has to 02:05:41.040 --> 02:05:44.310 have the synthesis, which is contrast. 02:05:44.320 --> 02:05:47.189 There has to be a contrast between like 02:05:47.199 --> 02:05:50.229 some perceived distinction 02:05:50.239 --> 02:05:55.270 between this being and and like not 02:05:55.280 --> 02:05:58.070 being. You know, it's like this is the 02:05:58.080 --> 02:06:00.950 this is a everything else is not A. So 02:06:00.960 --> 02:06:03.030 you have to have that contrast between A 02:06:03.040 --> 02:06:06.310 and not A in order for anything to exist 02:06:06.320 --> 02:06:11.990 at least in a perceptual sumsic context. 02:06:12.000 --> 02:06:13.910 So 02:06:13.920 --> 02:06:15.990 everything has to be changing too. So 02:06:16.000 --> 02:06:17.510 you have to have some kind of 02:06:17.520 --> 02:06:20.709 impermanence. I mean the world is just 02:06:20.719 --> 02:06:23.510 some sorrow is designed that there has 02:06:23.520 --> 02:06:27.589 to be some kind of impermanence going on 02:06:27.599 --> 02:06:29.990 and contrasts. 02:06:30.000 --> 02:06:32.550 So yeah, I mean it all works out that 02:06:32.560 --> 02:06:35.830 way, but it I think it might be beyond 02:06:35.840 --> 02:06:40.310 my capacity to fully explain exactly how 02:06:40.320 --> 02:06:42.709 it happens, 02:06:42.719 --> 02:06:46.310 especially just sitting here not having 02:06:46.320 --> 02:06:48.229 not being able to just sit here and and 02:06:48.239 --> 02:06:50.870 ponder it for five minutes in silence 02:06:50.880 --> 02:06:54.870 before giving an answer. 02:06:54.880 --> 02:06:57.669 But I mean it's it's it could be used as 02:06:57.679 --> 02:07:00.149 an explanation for how things happen. 02:07:00.159 --> 02:07:03.189 Not that something becomes nothing. You 02:07:03.199 --> 02:07:04.709 know, it's like just because something 02:07:04.719 --> 02:07:06.310 is impermanent doesn't mean that it just 02:07:06.320 --> 02:07:09.109 poofs out of existence. 02:07:09.119 --> 02:07:11.990 It just like changes form until the form 02:07:12.000 --> 02:07:14.790 is no longer identified with what it 02:07:14.800 --> 02:07:17.830 used to be. 02:07:17.840 --> 02:07:19.510 You know, matter and just going with 02:07:19.520 --> 02:07:21.750 physics, you know, matter is neither 02:07:21.760 --> 02:07:23.830 created nor destroyed. it just changes 02:07:23.840 --> 02:07:25.910 form. 02:07:25.920 --> 02:07:26.950 Although, of course, you know, in 02:07:26.960 --> 02:07:28.470 quantum physics, you got particles and 02:07:28.480 --> 02:07:31.189 antiarticles that appear out of nothing 02:07:31.199 --> 02:07:33.750 supposedly. And then, but we don't need 02:07:33.760 --> 02:07:36.310 to get into that. And so, I'm just I'm 02:07:36.320 --> 02:07:38.229 just going to move on to Ethiopian fake 02:07:38.239 --> 02:07:41.189 TIG's second question. 02:07:41.199 --> 02:07:43.750 He says, "You mentioned having tried 02:07:43.760 --> 02:07:46.550 various substances in the past. Have you 02:07:46.560 --> 02:07:48.870 tried MDMA? 02:07:48.880 --> 02:07:51.830 And how do you like it compared to other 02:07:51.840 --> 02:07:55.669 compounds? And is

MDMA the same as 02:07:55.679 --> 02:07:57.430 ecstasy? 02:07:57.440 --> 02:08:00.069 I mean, whether it is or not, I haven't 02:08:00.079 --> 02:08:04.550 taken MDMA or ecstasy. Ecstasy was just 02:08:04.560 --> 02:08:06.629 starting to come into fashion around the 02:08:06.639 --> 02:08:09.910 time that I became a monk. And then 02:08:09.920 --> 02:08:12.550 after I stopped being a monk, I just 02:08:12.560 --> 02:08:14.550 never encountered it. never encountered 02:08:14.560 --> 02:08:18.149 any any opportunity. Nobody I knew had 02:08:18.159 --> 02:08:19.830 any, you know, I wasn't particularly 02:08:19.840 --> 02:08:22.149 even looking for it. So, just for 02:08:22.159 --> 02:08:27.189 whatever reason, ecstasy and or MDMA, 02:08:27.199 --> 02:08:29.669 uh, it's a substance that I've I've have 02:08:29.679 --> 02:08:33.109 no experience with personally, 02:08:33.119 --> 02:08:34.629 so I can't really compare it to other 02:08:34.639 --> 02:08:37.669 compounds. I've heard it's very nice. 02:08:37.679 --> 02:08:39.910 you know, people like back when people 02:08:39.920 --> 02:08:41.910 were going to raves, there was a lot of 02:08:41.920 --> 02:08:44.470 that going on, but I've never been to a 02:08:44.480 --> 02:08:47.270 rave either. Just I just missed out on 02:08:47.280 --> 02:08:50.069 all that. So, I'm just going to move on 02:08:50.079 --> 02:08:53.910 to Ethiopian fake Tig's third question. 02:08:53.920 --> 02:08:58.069 He says, "Having heard all your talks, 02:08:58.079 --> 02:09:00.790 you speak a lot about your dad, but not 02:09:00.800 --> 02:09:03.589 about your mom. Could you perhaps talk 02:09:03.599 --> 02:09:06.229 more about her and what sort of person 02:09:06.239 --> 02:09:08.629 she was and her general temperament 02:09:08.639 --> 02:09:11.109 towards you? 02:09:11.119 --> 02:09:13.910 Okay. I mean, one reason why I don't 02:09:13.920 --> 02:09:16.069 talk about my mother much is I don't 02:09:16.079 --> 02:09:19.589 want to seem like I'm like denigrating 02:09:19.599 --> 02:09:24.790 her because I mean, how do I put this? 02:09:24.800 --> 02:09:29.109 It's like spiritually she was a child. 02:09:29.119 --> 02:09:32.069 My father spiritually was relatively 02:09:32.079 --> 02:09:36.069 mature. My mother spiritually, 02:09:36.079 --> 02:09:40.390 I mean, she was this kind of a a normie 02:09:40.400 --> 02:09:43.910 and she just kind of got her her she 02:09:43.920 --> 02:09:46.229 didn't have a spiritual or religious or 02:09:46.239 --> 02:09:49.910 philosophical bone in her body, just 02:09:49.920 --> 02:09:51.430 normie. 02:09:51.440 --> 02:09:54.629 And she was raised in poverty during the 02:09:54.639 --> 02:09:58.229 depression as a as a child. Um, she 02:09:58.239 --> 02:10:01.109 married the first man that that proposed 02:10:01.119 --> 02:10:03.669 to her just to get out of like a a 02:10:03.679 --> 02:10:07.510 dysfunctional family and then he was he 02:10:07.520 --> 02:10:11.350 beat her and so forth. She had 02:10:11.360 --> 02:10:13.589 eight children that I know of, most of 02:10:13.599 --> 02:10:16.310 whom I've never met. My mother was 02:10:16.320 --> 02:10:19.430 married five times. My father was also, 02:10:19.440 --> 02:10:21.510 incidentally, so that's 10 marriages 02:10:21.520 --> 02:10:24.629 between my two parents. 02:10:24.639 --> 02:10:29.109 and she just did not have much depth to 02:10:29.119 --> 02:10:31.030 her as people go. I mean, she wasn't 02:10:31.040 --> 02:10:33.510 stupid, but I mean, she had a ninth 02:10:33.520 --> 02:10:35.669 grade education 02:10:35.679 --> 02:10:37.270 and she said that she dropped out of 02:10:37.280 --> 02:10:39.510 school just cuz she was ashamed of just 02:10:39.520 --> 02:10:41.510 wearing ragged clothes and stuff. I mean 02:10:41.520 --> 02:10:43.990 this is she came from a poor family 02:10:44.000 --> 02:10:46.069 during the depression you know it was 02:10:46.079 --> 02:10:48.470 just 02:10:48.480 --> 02:10:52.709 um watched a lot of TV 02:10:52.719 --> 02:10:54.470 and she was she tried to be a good 02:10:54.480 --> 02:10:57.669 mother at least to my brother and me. I 02:10:57.679 --> 02:11:00.310 mean most of her kids she did not raise 02:11:00.320 --> 02:11:03.030 to adulthood you know she'd move on to a 02:11:03.040 --> 02:11:05.430 different husband or something. 02:11:05.440 --> 02:11:08.470 Um, but see, I mean, you may understand 02:11:08.480 --> 02:11:11.750 now why it may seem that just describing 02:11:11.760 --> 02:11:14.870 my mother may seem like I'm like 02:11:14.880 --> 02:11:17.430 disrespecting her, but I mean, she did 02:11:17.440 --> 02:11:19.750 the best she could, the best she knew 02:11:19.760 --> 02:11:23.270 how, made a lot of mistakes in her life. 02:11:23.280 --> 02:11:25.430 Didn't learn very much from a lot of 02:11:25.440 --> 02:11:28.550 those mistakes. 02:11:28.560 --> 02:11:32.470 And uh my father prophesied a long time 02:11:32.480 --> 02:11:36.069 ago that she she would die alone. You 02:11:36.079 --> 02:11:37.910 know, she had eight kids and none of her 02:11:37.920 --> 02:11:39.589 kids were taking care of her. I was a 02:11:39.599 --> 02:11:41.669 monk in Burma at the time. I couldn't 02:11:41.679 --> 02:11:43.589 really take care of her well in her old 02:11:43.599 --> 02:11:45.109 age. 02:11:45.119 --> 02:11:47.669 And one day 02:11:47.679 --> 02:11:50.629 she uh I mean as she got older her 02:11:50.639 --> 02:11:54.390 balance was not so good and she just 02:11:54.400 --> 02:11:56.709 fell down in a parking lot, you know, 02:11:56.719 --> 02:11:58.870 walking out to her car. She just lost 02:11:58.880 --> 02:12:01.030 her balance, fell down, hit her head on 02:12:01.040 --> 02:12:05.030 the pavement and that was it. She was no 02:12:05.040 --> 02:12:08.069 longer in this world. And now I hear 02:12:08.079 --> 02:12:10.310 about this when I I was in Rangon, Burma 02:12:10.320 --> 02:12:16.550 at the time. And um it's like in a way I 02:12:16.560 -->

02:12:18.790 was 02:12:18.800 --> 02:12:21.750 I was kind of grateful that she died so 02:12:21.760 --> 02:12:24.390 easily. You know, it was just quick and 02:12:24.400 --> 02:12:27.669 and merciful, quick and painless, which 02:12:27.679 --> 02:12:29.830 was about the best you could hope for. I 02:12:29.840 --> 02:12:32.629 remember my father once told my my 02:12:32.639 --> 02:12:36.310 father's told me once. He told my mother 02:12:36.320 --> 02:12:38.149 that there's a lot worse things that can 02:12:38.159 --> 02:12:40.390 happen to a person than dying. And my 02:12:40.400 --> 02:12:42.550 mother thought that was the stupidest, 02:12:42.560 --> 02:12:44.069 most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard 02:12:44.079 --> 02:12:46.629 of. What could possibly be worse than 02:12:46.639 --> 02:12:48.870 dying? You know, she was afraid of 02:12:48.880 --> 02:12:53.030 death. You know, she was just in and of 02:12:53.040 --> 02:12:55.350 the world. 02:12:55.360 --> 02:12:59.990 And so it was like a small mercy that 02:13:00.000 --> 02:13:03.510 when she did die, you know, it was just 02:13:03.520 --> 02:13:05.430 fall down, hit her head, boom, and 02:13:05.440 --> 02:13:08.550 that's it. You know, no prolonged 02:13:08.560 --> 02:13:11.830 illness, no prolonged suffering, you 02:13:11.840 --> 02:13:14.310 know, it was just quick and painless. 02:13:14.320 --> 02:13:16.310 And so, I mean, I had a certain 02:13:16.320 --> 02:13:18.790 gratitude for that. 02:13:18.800 --> 02:13:20.470 Um, you know, not that I was happy that 02:13:20.480 --> 02:13:23.270 she died, of course, but that she was 02:13:23.280 --> 02:13:32.390 able to go so mercifully, so to speak. 02:13:32.400 --> 02:13:35.270 But I mean, 02:13:35.280 --> 02:13:37.990 she really I mean, I don't know how to 02:13:38.000 --> 02:13:41.830 say this. It's like Edgar Casey used to 02:13:41.840 --> 02:13:44.950 say that you tend to have a strong 02:13:44.960 --> 02:13:47.350 karmic connection with one of your 02:13:47.360 --> 02:13:50.390 parents but usually not both. And my 02:13:50.400 --> 02:13:52.709 strong karmic connection apparently was 02:13:52.719 --> 02:13:55.669 with my father and not with my mother. 02:13:55.679 --> 02:13:58.390 My mother and I were pretty much on 02:13:58.400 --> 02:14:00.709 different planets about when I reached 02:14:00.719 --> 02:14:03.510 about the age of 13. I kind of kind of 02:14:03.520 --> 02:14:06.790 outgrew my mother's attitude when I was 02:14:06.800 --> 02:14:10.229 like 13 years old. My father and I 02:14:10.239 --> 02:14:13.030 remained like not only father and son 02:14:13.040 --> 02:14:16.229 but friends. You know, we could hang out 02:14:16.239 --> 02:14:18.390 and have interesting conversations and 02:14:18.400 --> 02:14:20.790 so forth. And my mother and I, we were 02:14:20.800 --> 02:14:23.910 just not on the same planet 02:14:23.920 --> 02:14:27.270 fairly early on. 02:14:27.280 --> 02:14:29.430 And with regard to me being a monk, she 02:14:29.440 -->

02:14:31.350 just did not comprehend it at all. She 02:14:31.360 --> 02:14:33.430 she would much prefer to have 02:14:33.440 --> 02:14:36.709 grandchildren to spoil. I mean, she just 02:14:36.719 --> 02:14:38.709 did not understand Buddhism at all. In 02:14:38.719 --> 02:14:39.990 fact, she wouldn't even say Buddhism. 02:14:40.000 --> 02:14:41.589 She said, "Do you think you'll always 02:14:41.599 --> 02:14:45.430 belong to that religion?" 02:14:45.440 --> 02:14:47.510 And I mean, she just didn't understand 02:14:47.520 --> 02:14:51.750 it. And she just kind of had a certain 02:14:51.760 --> 02:14:54.229 humble, respectful 02:14:54.239 --> 02:14:56.550 attitude towards me. I mean, she didn't 02:14:56.560 --> 02:14:58.709 understand me. She knew I was smarter 02:14:58.719 --> 02:15:01.510 than her. Not that I'm trying to brag or 02:15:01.520 --> 02:15:02.950 anything. 02:15:02.960 --> 02:15:05.669 And I remember one time I was a monk 02:15:05.679 --> 02:15:08.629 just visiting uh my family. I was 02:15:08.639 --> 02:15:11.589 staying at my dad's house and my mother 02:15:11.599 --> 02:15:13.750 came to visit me and I was trying to do 02:15:13.760 --> 02:15:15.830 something on the computer and I was a 02:15:15.840 --> 02:15:18.629 little bit sort of impatient with it and 02:15:18.639 --> 02:15:21.030 so I was kind of frowning when I saw my 02:15:21.040 --> 02:15:22.629 mother come in mainly because I was 02:15:22.639 --> 02:15:24.790 already frowning at, you know, some kind 02:15:24.800 --> 02:15:27.510 of [ __ ] on the computer. And she saw 02:15:27.520 --> 02:15:29.589 that when she came in I was frowning at 02:15:29.599 --> 02:15:31.669 her. She just said, "I'm sorry." sorry. 02:15:31.679 --> 02:15:33.830 You know, she she just offered to leave, 02:15:33.840 --> 02:15:35.990 you know, and then 02:15:36.000 --> 02:15:38.310 it's uh you know, I have to like say, 02:15:38.320 --> 02:15:41.510 "No, it's okay. I'm just just frustrated 02:15:41.520 --> 02:15:43.030 with what's going on on this computer. 02:15:43.040 --> 02:15:45.510 It's please stay." You know, but I mean, 02:15:45.520 --> 02:15:49.030 she was she adopted this really kind of 02:15:49.040 --> 02:15:51.510 humble 02:15:51.520 --> 02:15:53.669 I mean, I don't know how to really 02:15:53.679 --> 02:15:55.589 express it, you know. She was just kind 02:15:55.599 --> 02:15:59.910 of very differential to me um in in my 02:15:59.920 --> 02:16:02.069 adult years. 02:16:02.079 --> 02:16:03.750 She couldn't she I mean she could not 02:16:03.760 --> 02:16:07.109 understand me. 02:16:07.119 --> 02:16:08.629 And like I say, we were on different 02:16:08.639 --> 02:16:10.310 planets. 02:16:10.320 --> 02:16:14.069 But I mean I really um I appreciate that 02:16:14.079 --> 02:16:18.950 she did do a good job as my mother um as 02:16:18.960 --> 02:16:20.950 well as she could. I remember one time I 02:16:20.960 --> 02:16:23.990 was like maybe 13 years old and I 02:16:24.000 --> 02:16:27.270 shoplifted something from a store and my 02:16:27.280 --> 02:16:29.910 mother found out about it. You know, she 02:16:29.920 --> 02:16:32.309 was like doing detective work. You know, 02:16:32.319 --> 02:16:35.429 she's she she figured it out that I that 02:16:35.439 --> 02:16:38.870 I had shoplifted this thing. And when 02:16:38.880 --> 02:16:40.950 when she found out, first of all, she 02:16:40.960 --> 02:16:43.270 started crying and ran from the room, 02:16:43.280 --> 02:16:45.750 which made me feel like about this big. 02:16:45.760 --> 02:16:48.309 You know, to make your own mother cry 02:16:48.319 --> 02:16:51.830 just with like shame over you is not 02:16:51.840 --> 02:16:54.870 good. And then she she made me take it 02:16:54.880 --> 02:16:57.349 back and apologize, 02:16:57.359 --> 02:16:59.830 which is something a good mother would 02:16:59.840 --> 02:17:01.910 do. I mean, she did try to be a good 02:17:01.920 --> 02:17:05.270 mother within her somewhat limited 02:17:05.280 --> 02:17:09.349 means. 02:17:09.359 --> 02:17:11.910 Anyway, 02:17:11.920 --> 02:17:14.309 I think uh that's enough reminiscing 02:17:14.319 --> 02:17:18.150 about my mom. 02:17:18.160 --> 02:17:20.469 I hope she's in a better place now. I 02:17:20.479 --> 02:17:25.509 really do. I hope she did. Um 02:17:25.519 --> 02:17:27.190 uh 02:17:27.200 --> 02:17:28.950 I mean she made a lot of mistakes in her 02:17:28.960 --> 02:17:32.309 life, but I do hope that she was had 02:17:32.319 --> 02:17:34.469 like more positive than negative on the 02:17:34.479 --> 02:17:35.910 ledger, you know, more merit than 02:17:35.920 --> 02:17:40.389 demerit or just was able to progress in 02:17:40.399 --> 02:17:43.750 this life so that she's kind of in a 02:17:43.760 --> 02:17:49.110 better situation than she was. 02:17:49.120 --> 02:17:50.549 So, I think I'm just going to move on to 02:17:50.559 --> 02:17:52.469 the next question, which is the last 02:17:52.479 --> 02:17:54.309 question. 02:17:54.319 --> 02:17:56.790 And this is from Yoshi Buouie, who 02:17:56.800 --> 02:17:59.750 submitted this question under Q&A number 02:17:59.760 --> 02:18:04.870 n 119. So, it's almost a coincidence. 02:18:04.880 --> 02:18:07.669 Well, maybe not, but I I did I mean, 02:18:07.679 --> 02:18:10.549 it's not necessary that I will notice if 02:18:10.559 --> 02:18:12.150 someone 02:18:12.160 --> 02:18:15.110 leaves a comment to an old an older Q&A. 02:18:15.120 --> 02:18:18.549 Usually if I'm like 02:18:18.559 --> 02:18:20.150 collecting the questions and putting 02:18:20.160 --> 02:18:23.589 them on the list, you know, I just go to 02:18:23.599 --> 02:18:27.830 like the most recent videos and look at 02:18:27.840 --> 02:18:29.429 the comments under that and then go to 02:18:29.439 --> 02:18:33.429 the the uh the Discord server and if 02:18:33.439 --> 02:18:36.230 anyone emailed me a question, um, 02:18:36.240 --> 02:18:38.549 usually more often than not, I'll 02:18:38.559 --> 02:18:41.270 remember that and and go to

the the 02:18:41.280 --> 02:18:44.309 email or go to my inbox and get that. 02:18:44.319 --> 02:18:46.790 But um if you do ask questions, it's 02:18:46.800 --> 02:18:49.509 best to leave them under the most recent 02:18:49.519 --> 02:18:51.750 Q&A because if you leave them under an 02:18:51.760 --> 02:18:55.270 older Q&A, there's less of a chance that 02:18:55.280 --> 02:18:59.110 I'll notice it. So that that having been 02:18:59.120 --> 02:19:03.429 said, Yoshi Buouie says, let's see, 02:19:03.439 --> 02:19:05.910 quote, karma can be viewed as 02:19:05.920 --> 02:19:08.709 retribution, although it's not any kind 02:19:08.719 --> 02:19:11.750 of a conscious purpose behind karma. 02:19:11.760 --> 02:19:13.830 It's just the way it works out a lot of 02:19:13.840 --> 02:19:16.469 the time," unquote. And I assume he's 02:19:16.479 --> 02:19:19.669 quoting me from a previous Q&A. So then 02:19:19.679 --> 02:19:22.629 he continues, "Is this similar to how we 02:19:22.639 --> 02:19:25.830 see certain electromagnetic frequencies 02:19:25.840 --> 02:19:28.870 as colors when in reality there's no 02:19:28.880 --> 02:19:31.349 color to it? It wasn't meant to be 02:19:31.359 --> 02:19:33.910 color, so to speak." 02:19:33.920 --> 02:19:36.309 Um, well, I mean, I can just go off on a 02:19:36.319 --> 02:19:38.469 complete tangent with regard to this, 02:19:38.479 --> 02:19:41.190 that people have been seeing colors. 02:19:41.200 --> 02:19:44.230 People have been perceiving colors much 02:19:44.240 --> 02:19:47.110 longer than people have been perceiving 02:19:47.120 --> 02:19:49.830 electromagnetic frequencies. 02:19:49.840 --> 02:19:54.230 And so from my unorthodox weird point of 02:19:54.240 --> 02:19:56.790 view, I think that the color may have 02:19:56.800 --> 02:19:59.910 come first and then 02:19:59.920 --> 02:20:03.190 just as people start looking deeper and 02:20:03.200 --> 02:20:05.910 investigating more deeply, they have to 02:20:05.920 --> 02:20:10.070 create some deeper foundation for color 02:20:10.080 --> 02:20:12.710 and so they come up with electromagnetic 02:20:12.720 --> 02:20:15.190 frequencies or or wavelengths of 02:20:15.200 --> 02:20:18.230 electromagnetic radiation. 02:20:18.240 --> 02:20:21.270 So, it may be that electromagnetic 02:20:21.280 --> 02:20:24.309 radiation didn't even really exist until 02:20:24.319 --> 02:20:28.710 it got like nailed down by physicists 02:20:28.720 --> 02:20:31.670 and got kind of got locked in to our 02:20:31.680 --> 02:20:33.990 world, 02:20:34.000 --> 02:20:37.830 locked into our version of some sorrow. 02:20:37.840 --> 02:20:39.190 But let's just set that aside. Let's 02:20:39.200 --> 02:20:41.590 just assume for the sake of argument 02:20:41.600 --> 02:20:45.670 that materialistic scientism is true 02:20:45.680 --> 02:20:49.270 at least at the samsaric level and that 02:20:49.280 --> 02:20:52.389 light is visible light is really just 02:20:52.399 --> 02:20:55.429 certain bandwidth of electromagnetic 02:20:55.439 --> 02:20:57.349 radiation 02:20:57.359 --> 02:21:02.230 or if you prefer photons. 02:21:02.240 --> 02:21:05.110 Soh 02:21:05.120 --> 02:21:08.309 my view of karma where it can be viewed 02:21:08.319 --> 02:21:11.670 as retribution although it's really not 02:21:11.680 --> 02:21:14.230 any kind of conscious purpose behind 02:21:14.240 --> 02:21:16.870 karma you know it's just just the way it 02:21:16.880 --> 02:21:19.270 goes. It's just the way it works and it 02:21:19.280 --> 02:21:21.270 can be interpreted that way and it seems 02:21:21.280 --> 02:21:23.910 to work that way sometimes in some 02:21:23.920 --> 02:21:26.550 contexts. 02:21:26.560 --> 02:21:29.270 Um and there's something I could say 02:21:29.280 --> 02:21:31.590 about karma and I might as well. So, 02:21:31.600 --> 02:21:34.469 let's just digress wildly again. I've 02:21:34.479 --> 02:21:37.110 got this idea about karma. There's a 02:21:37.120 --> 02:21:39.429 certain person who asks questions on 02:21:39.439 --> 02:21:42.469 this Q&A on these Q&As's who doesn't 02:21:42.479 --> 02:21:44.550 believe in karma, especially the whole 02:21:44.560 --> 02:21:48.389 retribution aspect of it. And I have to 02:21:48.399 --> 02:21:51.750 admit that I don't think that like 02:21:51.760 --> 02:21:55.030 karmic retribution is really the way a 02:21:55.040 --> 02:21:58.870 lot of people see it where it's like you 02:21:58.880 --> 02:22:02.630 like you you commit murder. I shouldn't 02:22:02.640 --> 02:22:05.910 say the word on YouTube. I guess you 02:22:05.920 --> 02:22:09.190 perpetrate a homicide, which means 02:22:09.200 --> 02:22:11.830 you're going to have to be the victim of 02:22:11.840 --> 02:22:14.870 a homicide in the future in like some 02:22:14.880 --> 02:22:16.710 future life if not this one. You know, 02:22:16.720 --> 02:22:20.630 let's say somebody is becomes deceased 02:22:20.640 --> 02:22:22.950 in this life and then you can have some 02:22:22.960 --> 02:22:25.110 psychic say, well, it was because they 02:22:25.120 --> 02:22:28.389 were a Roman soldier in the 2n century 02:22:28.399 --> 02:22:34.070 AD who like was like like homiciding or 02:22:34.080 --> 02:22:37.910 like what's the word? Retiring 02:22:37.920 --> 02:22:40.710 barbarian villages. And so this is the 02:22:40.720 --> 02:22:43.590 retribution of that. And I don't think 02:22:43.600 --> 02:22:46.389 it necessarily works that way. It's like 02:22:46.399 --> 02:22:48.550 you are creating your own reality. And 02:22:48.560 --> 02:22:52.309 so if you are creating a kind of violent 02:22:52.319 --> 02:22:56.070 reality with lots of dishonesty and and 02:22:56.080 --> 02:22:59.030 insensitivity to others and stealing and 02:22:59.040 --> 02:23:01.590 so forth that you're just creating a 02:23:01.600 --> 02:23:03.910 world that contains that and so it's 02:23:03.920 --> 02:23:06.790 more likely to be happening to you or 02:23:06.800 --> 02:23:09.030 it's like 02:23:09.040 --> 02:23:12.870 a foolish person is

like a bad driver. 02:23:12.880 --> 02:23:15.030 So, a bad driver is just more likely to 02:23:15.040 --> 02:23:18.389 get in a wreck because they're just 02:23:18.399 --> 02:23:20.870 using less intelligence and less 02:23:20.880 --> 02:23:22.469 insight, 02:23:22.479 --> 02:23:24.630 less caution, 02:23:24.640 --> 02:23:27.830 less situational awareness. 02:23:27.840 --> 02:23:31.030 So it's like your foolishness causes 02:23:31.040 --> 02:23:32.950 these bad things to happen just because 02:23:32.960 --> 02:23:35.910 of like sloppiness 02:23:35.920 --> 02:23:39.990 and like recklessness more than you know 02:23:40.000 --> 02:23:42.630 I did this and therefore it's going to 02:23:42.640 --> 02:23:45.750 have to happen back to me in in the same 02:23:45.760 --> 02:23:49.030 way just because I did that and so it's 02:23:49.040 --> 02:23:51.510 like that act is going to have to happen 02:23:51.520 --> 02:23:53.510 back to me. I don't think it necessarily 02:23:53.520 --> 02:23:55.830 works that way. 02:23:55.840 --> 02:23:58.070 It's just you create a world with 02:23:58.080 --> 02:24:00.150 violence in it, it's more likely that 02:24:00.160 --> 02:24:01.670 that violence is going to come back on 02:24:01.680 --> 02:24:05.110 you. You create a world with dishonesty 02:24:05.120 --> 02:24:07.510 in it through your own lying, for 02:24:07.520 --> 02:24:10.790 example, then you just put it out there, 02:24:10.800 --> 02:24:12.870 you're living in a more dishonest world 02:24:12.880 --> 02:24:14.469 because you are creating this world 02:24:14.479 --> 02:24:16.870 through your own perceptions. And so it 02:24:16.880 --> 02:24:20.150 just comes back at you sooner or later 02:24:20.160 --> 02:24:22.790 just because it's there. You've 02:24:22.800 --> 02:24:29.110 contaminated your own environment. 02:24:29.120 --> 02:24:30.790 So, you know, it's sort of like in 02:24:30.800 --> 02:24:32.309 dreams. You might have a dream where 02:24:32.319 --> 02:24:33.670 something bad happens to you. It doesn't 02:24:33.680 --> 02:24:36.469 mean that in some other previous dream 02:24:36.479 --> 02:24:38.230 you did that same bad thing to some 02:24:38.240 --> 02:24:41.110 other being. It's just your own mind is 02:24:41.120 --> 02:24:43.990 creating it. And because you're not 02:24:44.000 --> 02:24:47.750 entirely wise, not entirely conscious. 02:24:47.760 --> 02:24:51.429 You just create nightmares sometimes. 02:24:51.439 --> 02:24:54.710 And I think that in our waking state, we 02:24:54.720 --> 02:24:57.349 some people without necessarily having 02:24:57.359 --> 02:25:00.070 done evil deeds create nightmares for 02:25:00.080 --> 02:25:04.550 themselves just through lack of skill at 02:25:04.560 --> 02:25:08.950 like driving the vehicle of their own 02:25:08.960 --> 02:25:12.230 samsaric being. 02:25:12.240 --> 02:25:13.910 But let's get back to the question at 02:25:13.920 --> 02:25:16.630 long last. 02:25:16.640 --> 02:25:19.510 So, is this similar to how we see 02:25:19.520 --> 02:25:22.150 certain electromagnetic frequencies as 02:25:22.160 --> 02:25:25.030 colors when in reality there's no color 02:25:25.040 --> 02:25:27.910 to it? It wasn't meant to be color, so 02:25:27.920 --> 02:25:31.590 to speak. Um, I mean, yeah, I I could 02:25:31.600 --> 02:25:34.070 say there there's a certain analogy that 02:25:34.080 --> 02:25:37.190 could be made that, you know, just 02:25:37.200 --> 02:25:39.110 because something is seen a certain way 02:25:39.120 --> 02:25:40.870 doesn't mean that it was intended to be 02:25:40.880 --> 02:25:42.710 that way through some conscious 02:25:42.720 --> 02:25:46.710 decision. is just kind of a byproduct, 02:25:46.720 --> 02:25:49.670 a secondary characteristic, that kind of 02:25:49.680 --> 02:25:54.309 thing. 02:25:54.319 --> 02:25:55.910 So 02:25:55.920 --> 02:25:57.590 yeah, maybe I mean you could look at it 02:25:57.600 --> 02:26:01.670 that way that uh karma is just a kind of 02:26:01.680 --> 02:26:04.790 you know it's 02:26:04.800 --> 02:26:07.110 it's it's sort of like a byproduct of 02:26:07.120 --> 02:26:10.630 human psychology or just 02:26:10.640 --> 02:26:13.429 worldly psychology. 02:26:13.439 --> 02:26:17.349 is just sort of a like a a symptom of 02:26:17.359 --> 02:26:20.230 how our mind works. Like duality, you 02:26:20.240 --> 02:26:21.910 know, that's that would be like another 02:26:21.920 --> 02:26:24.950 symptom. Multiplicity is like a symptom 02:26:24.960 --> 02:26:27.510 of how our mind works. 02:26:27.520 --> 02:26:31.190 Impermanence is is like a symptom of of 02:26:31.200 --> 02:26:35.750 how worldly samsara functions. You know, 02:26:35.760 --> 02:26:38.870 it wasn't like nobody decided that it 02:26:38.880 --> 02:26:42.070 was going to be that way. it just works 02:26:42.080 --> 02:26:44.630 out that way. 02:26:44.640 --> 02:26:48.710 So, I mean, there might be more 02:26:48.720 --> 02:26:52.150 like appropriate analogies that could be 02:26:52.160 --> 02:26:54.309 made, 02:26:54.319 --> 02:26:56.630 but 02:26:56.640 --> 02:26:58.150 I don't think I want to sit here and try 02:26:58.160 --> 02:27:00.790 and think of one. 02:27:00.800 --> 02:27:03.750 But I mean it's kind of similar to how 02:27:03.760 --> 02:27:05.910 we see electromagnetic frequencies as 02:27:05.920 --> 02:27:09.270 colors or colors as electromagnetic 02:27:09.280 --> 02:27:10.790 frequencies 02:27:10.800 --> 02:27:12.230 which I think might be a little more 02:27:12.240 --> 02:27:15.510 accurate. 02:27:15.520 --> 02:27:19.349 Oh my golly. This is for some reason 02:27:19.359 --> 02:27:23.110 this has been kind of a strenuous Q&A. 02:27:23.120 --> 02:27:25.990 I've been exercising my brain muscles in 02:27:26.000 --> 02:27:29.510 this Q&A. But now we're done because I'm 02:27:29.520 --> 02:27:33.110 I'm finished. And so if you do you have 02:27:33.120 --> 02:27:35.510 any questions you think I can answer, 02:27:35.520 --> 02:27:37.910 feel free to ask no more than three 02:27:37.920 --> 02:27:41.429 questions per person per episode. Please 02:27:41.439 --> 02:27:43.429 like and subscribe if you have not done 02:27:43.439 --> 02:27:46.150 so already. Check out the URL links 02:27:46.160 --> 02:27:48.710 below, including the new book that has 02:27:48.720 --> 02:27:52.230 me attacking another monk for half a 02:27:52.240 --> 02:27:54.469 second. 02:27:54.479 --> 02:27:58.840 And uh be happy.