1 00:00:00,337 --> 00:00:01,921 The Ten Mysterious Gates of the Huayan Sutra 2 00:00:02,137 --> 00:00:04,602 Fazang explained them to Wu Zetian with a golden lion 3 00:00:04,897 --> 00:00:07,362 Inside a Luoyang palace thirteen centuries ago 4 00:00:07,416 --> 00:00:09,442 A golden lion stood in a corner 5 00:00:09,617 --> 00:00:11,762 A monk named Fazang pointed at it 6 00:00:11,817 --> 00:00:13,762 And explained ten gates to Wu Zetian 7 00:00:13,977 --> 00:00:14,662 These ten gates 8 00:00:14,977 --> 00:00:16,202 Are called the Ten Mysterious Gates 9 00:00:16,496 --> 00:00:17,815 Across all Buddhist teachings 10 00:00:17,817 --> 00:00:20,801 They are often called the most intricate and mind bending passage 11 00:00:21,016 --> 00:00:22,135 Yet at the beginning 12 00:00:22,137 --> 00:00:24,495 It was simply a monk pointing at a lion 13 00:00:24,496 --> 00:00:26,961 Explaining it to an emperor who could not understand the sutra 14 00:00:27,857 --> 00:00:28,182 Hello 15 00:00:28,616 --> 00:00:29,101 Everyone 16 00:00:29,417 --> 00:00:30,401 I am Leo Wang 17 00:00:30,737 --> 00:00:33,201 Last time we unpacked the heart of the Huayan Sutra 18 00:00:33,297 --> 00:00:34,401 The dependent arising of the Dharma realm 19 00:00:34,697 --> 00:00:36,602 That episode gave the conclusion 20 00:00:36,937 --> 00:00:39,242 Everything operates by the same set of principles 21 00:00:39,417 --> 00:00:41,042 So one is all 22 00:00:41,096 --> 00:00:42,201 And all phenomena are unobstructed 23 00:00:42,456 --> 00:00:44,602 This time we unpack the other half 24 00:00:44,937 --> 00:00:45,701 All phenomena are unobstructed 25 00:00:46,017 --> 00:00:47,161 That sounds beautiful 26 00:00:47,256 --> 00:00:49,261 But how can you actually see it for yourself 27 00:00:49,816 --> 00:00:50,901 The answer Fazang gave 28 00:00:51,136 --> 00:00:52,481 Was the Ten Mysterious Gates 29 00:00:53,629 --> 00:00:54,154 To be honest 30 00:00:54,390 --> 00:00:55,934 I struggled with this passage for a long time 31 00:00:56,229 --> 00:00:57,154 The first time I read it 32 00:00:57,589 --> 00:00:58,549 There were ten names 33 00:00:58,549 --> 00:01:00,214 Each one seven Chinese characters long 34 00:01:00,269 --> 00:01:01,654 And each more awkward than the last 35 00:01:01,989 --> 00:01:03,989 Like the Gate of Simultaneous Complete Correspondence 36 00:01:03,989 --> 00:01:06,095 Or the Gate of Distinct Formation across the Ten Times 37 00:01:06,349 --> 00:01:07,194 I read them once 38 00:01:07,429 --> 00:01:07,994 Closed the book 39 00:01:08,269 --> 00:01:09,455 And remembered none of them 40 00:01:09,750 --> 00:01:11,455 I remembered none the second time either 41 00:01:11,789 --> 00:01:13,655 Then I tried another approach 42 00:01:14,069 --> 00:01:15,414 I stopped memorizing the names 43 00:01:15,709 --> 00:01:18,334 And looked at how Fazang originally explained them 44 00:01:18,498 --> 00:01:18,983 On that day 45 00:01:19,339 --> 00:01:22,443 Wu Zetian invited Fazang to the palace to teach the Huayan Sutra 46 00:01:22,779 --> 00:01:23,783 Fazang spoke for a while 47 00:01:24,018 --> 00:01:25,244 But Wu Zetian could not follow 48 00:01:25,339 --> 00:01:26,363 That is perfectly normal 49 00:01:26,458 --> 00:01:30,764 The Huayan Sutra is one of the longest and hardest Buddhist scriptures 50 00:01:31,179 --> 00:01:32,964 Fazang did not keep lecturing from the text 51 00:01:33,139 --> 00:01:34,223 He looked around 52 00:01:34,658 --> 00:01:36,684 And noticed the golden lion in the corner 53 00:01:36,738 --> 00:01:37,544 He walked over 54 00:01:37,979 --> 00:01:38,664 Pointed to it and said 55 00:01:39,059 --> 00:01:39,658 Your Majesty 56 00:01:39,658 --> 00:01:40,623 Let us set the sutra aside 57 00:01:40,818 --> 00:01:42,283 And look at this lion 58 00:01:42,738 --> 00:01:45,443 He later wrote down what he taught that day 59 00:01:45,458 --> 00:01:48,443 In the famous Essay on the Golden Lion of Huayan 60 00:01:48,899 --> 00:01:50,764 The Essay on the Golden Lion has ten sections 61 00:01:50,899 --> 00:01:53,083 The seventh explains the Ten Mysterious Gates 62 00:01:53,419 --> 00:01:55,098 First let me explain where they came from 63 00:01:55,098 --> 00:01:57,249 So you will not be confused when you consult the books 64 00:01:57,545 --> 00:02:00,209 Fazang did not invent the Ten Mysterious Gates alone 65 00:02:00,305 --> 00:02:02,689 His teacher Zhiyan first wrote them down 66 00:02:02,745 --> 00:02:05,650 And Zhiyan is said to have learned them from Dushun 67 00:02:05,784 --> 00:02:08,769 When Fazang wrote his commentary on the sixty fascicle Huayan Sutra 68 00:02:08,864 --> 00:02:10,583 He replaced two of the gates 69 00:02:10,584 --> 00:02:12,970 With formulations he considered more precise 70 00:02:13,144 --> 00:02:14,744 That is why different books 71 00:02:14,744 --> 00:02:16,250 Contain two different lists 72 00:02:16,265 --> 00:02:17,549 One is called the old Ten Mysterious Gates 73 00:02:17,785 --> 00:02:19,410 The other the new Ten Mysterious Gates 74 00:02:19,584 --> 00:02:22,089 Today I will use the version Fazang revised 75 00:02:22,505 --> 00:02:23,149 The names differ 76 00:02:23,424 --> 00:02:25,410 But they point to the same thing 77 00:02:26,337 --> 00:02:28,321 Fazang used only two things in his analogy 78 00:02:28,576 --> 00:02:30,002 Gold and the lion 79 00:02:30,217 --> 00:02:31,261 Look at this lion 80 00:02:31,576 --> 00:02:32,722 It is made of gold 81 00:02:32,856 --> 00:02:34,722 Yet gold itself has no fixed shape 82 00:02:34,976 --> 00:02:36,575 For gold to become visible 83 00:02:36,576 --> 00:02:38,122 It must take the form of something 84 00:02:38,256 --> 00:02:39,601 Such as a lion 85 00:02:39,817 --> 00:02:40,342 And conversely 86 00:02:40,777 --> 00:02:42,041 The shape of the lion 87 00:02:42,097 --> 00:02:44,002 Cannot exist apart from the gold 88 00:02:44,256 --> 00:02:47,361 You cannot find a lion made of no material at all 89 00:02:47,696 --> 00:02:50,002 Gold is the invisible foundation 90 00:02:50,296 --> 00:02:52,601 The lion is its visible appearance 91 00:02:52,856 --> 00:02:53,462 The two 92 00:02:53,856 --> 00:02:55,402 Have never been separate 93 00:02:56,134 --> 00:02:56,338 All right 94 00:02:56,734 --> 00:02:57,699 With this lion 95 00:02:57,933 --> 00:02:59,438 Let us walk through the gates one by one 96 00:02:59,734 --> 00:03:01,759 I will not present their names in the order of the text 97 00:03:01,854 --> 00:03:03,759 I will explain the assumptions they dismantle 98 00:03:04,093 --> 00:03:05,139 Because I eventually realized 99 00:03:05,493 --> 00:03:06,892 That every one of the ten gates 100 00:03:06,894 --> 00:03:10,799 Dismantles an assumption in your mind that you did not know was there 101 00:03:11,533 --> 00:03:12,338 The first assumption 102 00:03:12,773 --> 00:03:14,878 Things arrive one at a time 103 00:03:15,334 --> 00:03:16,658 When you look at this lion 104 00:03:17,054 --> 00:03:18,332 Do you see the gold first 105 00:03:18,334 --> 00:03:19,299 And then the lion 106 00:03:19,825 --> 00:03:20,626 No 107 00:03:20,933 --> 00:03:21,579 In one glance 108 00:03:21,973 --> 00:03:23,199 Both arrive together 109 00:03:23,614 --> 00:03:25,998 The same happens when you see a familiar face 110 00:03:26,253 --> 00:03:27,699 You do not see the eyes first 111 00:03:27,973 --> 00:03:29,092 Then the nose 112 00:03:29,093 --> 00:03:30,878 And assemble them into a face 113 00:03:31,294 --> 00:03:32,139 In an instant 114 00:03:32,373 --> 00:03:34,318 The whole face is simply there 115 00:03:34,933 --> 00:03:35,498 Fazang said 116 00:03:35,894 --> 00:03:37,278 Everything in the Dharma realm 117 00:03:37,334 --> 00:03:39,278 Appears together in the same way 118 00:03:39,533 --> 00:03:41,039 Nothing comes before or after anything else 119 00:03:41,373 --> 00:03:44,318 This is the Gate of Simultaneous Complete Correspondence 120 00:03:44,734 --> 00:03:45,699 You do not need to remember the name 121 00:03:46,054 --> 00:03:48,106 Just remember that single glance 122 00:03:48,402 --> 00:03:49,207 The second assumption 123 00:03:49,601 --> 00:03:51,226 Small things contain less 124 00:03:51,682 --> 00:03:52,606 A single hair on the lion 125 00:03:53,041 --> 00:03:53,606 Is very fine 126 00:03:53,962 --> 00:03:54,707 And very small 127 00:03:55,161 --> 00:03:56,006 Yet that single hair 128 00:03:56,441 --> 00:03:58,626 Is gold from beginning to end 129 00:03:58,921 --> 00:04:01,506 It has no less gold than the entire lion 130 00:04:02,082 --> 00:04:03,786 You may have experienced something similar 131 00:04:04,242 --> 00:04:05,687 Looking at Earth on your phone screen 132 00:04:06,082 --> 00:04:07,226 It is such a tiny sphere 133 00:04:07,441 --> 00:04:08,427 But when you zoom in 134 00:04:08,522 --> 00:04:11,840 The coastlines mountains and cities are all inside 135 00:04:11,842 --> 00:04:12,987 Nothing is missing 136 00:04:13,282 --> 00:04:13,487 Being small 137 00:04:13,802 --> 00:04:15,066 Did not make it contain less 138 00:04:15,362 --> 00:04:18,467 This is the Gate of Unobstructed Freedom of Vast and Narrow 139 00:04:19,510 --> 00:04:20,514 The third assumption 140 00:04:20,829 --> 00:04:21,974 One is one 141 00:04:22,029 --> 00:04:23,375 And many is many 142 00:04:23,510 --> 00:04:24,509 A single lion 143 00:04:24,510 --> 00:04:27,628 Has eyes ears paws and a tail 144 00:04:27,630 --> 00:04:28,815 Many different parts 145 00:04:29,070 --> 00:04:31,094 Yet all are the same piece of gold 146 00:04:31,389 --> 00:04:33,334 One piece of gold contains all these parts 147 00:04:33,430 --> 00:04:35,894 And all these parts contain that one piece of gold 148 00:04:36,229 --> 00:04:38,454 One and many contain each other 149 00:04:38,709 --> 00:04:40,495 Yet the eyes remain eyes 150 00:04:40,510 --> 00:04:41,755 And the tail remains a tail 151 00:04:42,110 --> 00:04:43,334 They do not blur into one mass 152 00:04:43,750 --> 00:04:45,014 It is like a family 153 00:04:45,190 --> 00:04:46,894 You are one member of your family 154 00:04:46,909 --> 00:04:48,854 Yet the whole family lives through you 155 00:04:49,149 --> 00:04:52,615 Your accent your temper and your taste in food 156 00:04:52,670 --> 00:04:54,055 All came from that family 157 00:04:54,310 --> 00:04:55,154 Yet you remain you 158 00:04:55,469 --> 00:04:56,534 And the family remains the family 159 00:04:56,950 --> 00:04:59,580 This is the Gate of Mutual Inclusion of One and Many without Confusion 160 00:04:59,915 --> 00:05:00,960 The fourth assumption 161 00:05:01,314 --> 00:05:02,780 This is not that 162 00:05:03,075 --> 00:05:05,499 This gate goes one step beyond the previous one 163 00:05:05,955 --> 00:05:07,520 The eyes of the lion are gold 164 00:05:07,794 --> 00:05:09,499 And the ears are gold too 165 00:05:09,835 --> 00:05:10,840 The eyes and ears 166 00:05:10,994 --> 00:05:12,460 Look like two different things 167 00:05:12,595 --> 00:05:14,900 Yet their foundation is the same gold 168 00:05:15,434 --> 00:05:17,580 If you say the eyes are the ears 169 00:05:17,635 --> 00:05:19,499 That is obviously wrong in everyday speech 170 00:05:19,915 --> 00:05:22,660 But it is also wrong to say each has an independent self 171 00:05:22,754 --> 00:05:23,619 That is wrong too 172 00:05:23,915 --> 00:05:25,859 Neither has a foundation of its own 173 00:05:25,874 --> 00:05:28,020 Each borrows the gold to take shape 174 00:05:28,434 --> 00:05:30,700 Fazang called this mutual identity 175 00:05:31,194 --> 00:05:31,400 Identity 176 00:05:31,754 --> 00:05:33,140 Means precisely to be 177 00:05:33,434 --> 00:05:36,580 This is the Gate of the Free Mutual Identity of All Phenomena 178 00:05:37,066 --> 00:05:38,891 It reminds me of water and waves 179 00:05:39,266 --> 00:05:40,790 This wave and that wave 180 00:05:41,105 --> 00:05:42,090 Have different shapes 181 00:05:42,305 --> 00:05:44,490 Yet you cannot call them two separate portions of water 182 00:05:44,946 --> 00:05:46,451 Bring the idea closer to yourself 183 00:05:46,746 --> 00:05:48,451 You are the child of your parents 184 00:05:48,506 --> 00:05:50,891 And may also be the parent of your children 185 00:05:51,186 --> 00:05:52,151 Son and father 186 00:05:52,425 --> 00:05:53,610 Are two identities 187 00:05:53,665 --> 00:05:54,430 Two ways of acting 188 00:05:54,706 --> 00:05:55,930 And two tones of voice 189 00:05:56,186 --> 00:05:57,490 Yet you are not two people 190 00:05:57,706 --> 00:05:59,771 When you return to your childhood home you are a son 191 00:05:59,785 --> 00:06:01,771 When you return to your own home you are a father 192 00:06:01,905 --> 00:06:03,691 The person never changed in between 193 00:06:04,066 --> 00:06:05,144 These two identities 194 00:06:05,146 --> 00:06:07,371 Both borrow you in order to take shape 195 00:06:07,706 --> 00:06:09,371 Neither exists independently 196 00:06:10,468 --> 00:06:11,432 The fifth assumption 197 00:06:11,827 --> 00:06:13,932 What I cannot see is not there 198 00:06:14,428 --> 00:06:16,293 When you focus on the lion 199 00:06:16,387 --> 00:06:18,372 The gold recedes into the background 200 00:06:18,548 --> 00:06:20,586 All you see is the form of the lion 201 00:06:20,588 --> 00:06:21,892 And you forget that it is gold 202 00:06:22,108 --> 00:06:23,773 When you focus on the gold 203 00:06:23,908 --> 00:06:25,653 The form of the lion fades 204 00:06:25,668 --> 00:06:28,492 You see only a very expensive material 205 00:06:28,827 --> 00:06:30,452 Yet whichever one you look at 206 00:06:30,468 --> 00:06:32,786 The other remains completely present 207 00:06:32,788 --> 00:06:33,812 Nothing is missing 208 00:06:33,947 --> 00:06:35,492 It has only become hidden 209 00:06:36,067 --> 00:06:39,153 Have you ever looked at trees through a window 210 00:06:39,707 --> 00:06:40,632 When you look at the trees 211 00:06:40,988 --> 00:06:42,173 You stop seeing the glass 212 00:06:42,307 --> 00:06:43,353 When you look at the glass 213 00:06:43,827 --> 00:06:45,213 The trees become blurry 214 00:06:45,507 --> 00:06:46,392 The glass and the trees 215 00:06:46,707 --> 00:06:47,733 Were there all along 216 00:06:48,148 --> 00:06:51,252 This is the Gate Where the Hidden and Revealed Are Both Complete 217 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:53,125 The sixth assumption 218 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:55,544 The small cannot contain the large 219 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:57,445 This gate resembles the second one 220 00:06:58,000 --> 00:06:59,224 But approaches it from another angle 221 00:06:59,599 --> 00:07:03,104 The second gate says one hair lacks none of the whole lion 222 00:07:03,479 --> 00:07:04,484 This gate says 223 00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:05,984 That inside one hair 224 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:07,825 There can be an entire lion 225 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:09,604 Because that hair is gold 226 00:07:10,039 --> 00:07:11,464 And gold can become a lion 227 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:15,144 So one hair contains the possibility of a complete lion 228 00:07:15,519 --> 00:07:17,084 And the lion inside that hair 229 00:07:17,359 --> 00:07:18,599 Is not cramped at all 230 00:07:18,599 --> 00:07:19,371 Or disordered 231 00:07:19,839 --> 00:07:20,885 It is like a drop of seawater 232 00:07:21,159 --> 00:07:22,784 That tastes as salty as the entire ocean 233 00:07:23,159 --> 00:07:23,925 The flavor of the ocean 234 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:25,705 Is fully present in that drop 235 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:27,784 Yet the drop remains a drop 236 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,343 This is the Gate of Subtle Mutual Inclusion in Perfect Order 237 00:07:31,598 --> 00:07:32,483 The seventh assumption 238 00:07:32,837 --> 00:07:34,903 The relationship between things 239 00:07:34,918 --> 00:07:35,863 Is a single line 240 00:07:36,358 --> 00:07:38,103 You imagine that everything is connected 241 00:07:38,158 --> 00:07:40,622 By a line running between you and the world 242 00:07:40,957 --> 00:07:42,502 The Huayan Sutra says otherwise 243 00:07:42,957 --> 00:07:44,822 Its image is a net 244 00:07:45,038 --> 00:07:47,343 Every knot in the net is a jewel 245 00:07:47,358 --> 00:07:49,582 And every jewel reflects all the others 246 00:07:49,757 --> 00:07:52,183 We devoted an earlier episode to Indras Net 247 00:07:52,197 --> 00:07:53,903 So today one sentence will do 248 00:07:54,278 --> 00:07:55,543 Relationship is not a line 249 00:07:55,598 --> 00:07:58,062 It is jewels within jewels within jewels 250 00:07:58,397 --> 00:08:00,983 This is the Gate of the Dharma Realm of Indras Net 251 00:08:02,057 --> 00:08:02,942 The eighth assumption 252 00:08:03,457 --> 00:08:05,242 Truth is somewhere else 253 00:08:05,298 --> 00:08:07,363 Not in the thing right before you 254 00:08:07,898 --> 00:08:10,882 Why did Fazang stop lecturing from the sutra that day 255 00:08:10,898 --> 00:08:12,382 And point to a lion instead 256 00:08:12,898 --> 00:08:15,442 Because this was exactly what he wanted to prove 257 00:08:15,898 --> 00:08:17,182 Any particular thing 258 00:08:17,538 --> 00:08:18,642 A lion 259 00:08:18,658 --> 00:08:19,382 A teacup 260 00:08:19,738 --> 00:08:20,843 A leaf 261 00:08:20,978 --> 00:08:24,002 Can reveal the principles of the entire Dharma realm 262 00:08:24,338 --> 00:08:26,483 You do not need to search somewhere far away 263 00:08:26,817 --> 00:08:28,023 The teacup in front of you 264 00:08:28,338 --> 00:08:29,242 Is enough 265 00:08:29,497 --> 00:08:32,723 This is the Gate of Revealing the Dharma through Concrete Things 266 00:08:33,098 --> 00:08:33,582 Relying on a thing 267 00:08:33,898 --> 00:08:35,483 Means using one concrete thing 268 00:08:35,697 --> 00:08:36,663 The ninth assumption 269 00:08:37,177 --> 00:08:38,843 Time is a line 270 00:08:39,506 --> 00:08:41,851 This is the most mind bending of the ten gates 271 00:08:42,147 --> 00:08:44,091 First let me explain its formula 272 00:08:44,427 --> 00:08:46,392 Past present and future 273 00:08:46,787 --> 00:08:47,772 Are three periods 274 00:08:48,106 --> 00:08:51,652 Yet the past has its own past present and future 275 00:08:51,746 --> 00:08:52,772 And so does the future 276 00:08:53,147 --> 00:08:54,292 Three times three makes nine 277 00:08:54,506 --> 00:08:57,571 Then add the single thought that holds all nine periods together 278 00:08:57,746 --> 00:08:58,812 And you have ten 279 00:08:59,147 --> 00:09:00,571 That is why they are called the ten times 280 00:09:00,986 --> 00:09:02,731 It sounds like wordplay 281 00:09:02,826 --> 00:09:04,571 I thought so at first too 282 00:09:04,706 --> 00:09:05,851 Then I realized 283 00:09:05,866 --> 00:09:08,225 That neuroscientists see the same process in the brain 284 00:09:08,226 --> 00:09:09,371 It is exactly this 285 00:09:10,414 --> 00:09:12,279 Your memory is not a recording 286 00:09:12,453 --> 00:09:14,559 Neuroscientists discovered long ago 287 00:09:14,694 --> 00:09:17,679 That remembering does not replay a film of the past 288 00:09:17,774 --> 00:09:20,439 It reconstructs the past in the present 289 00:09:20,573 --> 00:09:21,498 Every act of remembering 290 00:09:21,733 --> 00:09:23,799 Is a new construction in this moment 291 00:09:24,253 --> 00:09:25,478 The future works the same way 292 00:09:25,534 --> 00:09:27,652 When you picture tomorrows meeting 293 00:09:27,654 --> 00:09:30,039 That image is being made right now 294 00:09:30,133 --> 00:09:31,698 So the past and future 295 00:09:31,973 --> 00:09:33,198 Are not somewhere else 296 00:09:33,253 --> 00:09:35,179 They are both within this present thought 297 00:09:35,453 --> 00:09:36,859 Being created right now 298 00:09:37,193 --> 00:09:38,459 You can try it 299 00:09:38,834 --> 00:09:41,018 Think of something from ten years ago 300 00:09:41,433 --> 00:09:42,119 You will discover 301 00:09:42,433 --> 00:09:43,979 That the person you were ten years ago 302 00:09:43,994 --> 00:09:45,278 Was thinking about even earlier events 303 00:09:45,673 --> 00:09:47,499 And worrying about what came later 304 00:09:47,793 --> 00:09:50,258 The past present and future of that time 305 00:09:50,354 --> 00:09:52,699 Are all held by your present thought 306 00:09:53,153 --> 00:09:53,678 The ten times 307 00:09:54,074 --> 00:09:55,499 Are right here in this one thought 308 00:09:55,874 --> 00:09:59,012 This is the Gate of Distinct Formation across the Ten Times 309 00:09:59,547 --> 00:10:01,973 This gate has a very practical use 310 00:10:02,108 --> 00:10:03,353 Many viewers have written 311 00:10:03,748 --> 00:10:05,412 That someone hurt them once 312 00:10:05,468 --> 00:10:07,473 But their mind replays it again and again 313 00:10:07,787 --> 00:10:08,772 And cannot stop 314 00:10:08,988 --> 00:10:10,613 If memory were a recording 315 00:10:10,708 --> 00:10:12,573 There really would be nothing you could do 316 00:10:12,868 --> 00:10:13,752 The recording would already be there 317 00:10:14,027 --> 00:10:16,012 And every replay would be identical 318 00:10:16,147 --> 00:10:17,932 But memory is not a recording 319 00:10:18,147 --> 00:10:19,373 Every replay 320 00:10:19,427 --> 00:10:22,012 Is something you reconstruct in the present 321 00:10:22,307 --> 00:10:24,132 The one doing it is the present you 322 00:10:24,187 --> 00:10:26,573 And the materials are what the present you has at hand 323 00:10:26,748 --> 00:10:28,107 Since it is being made now 324 00:10:28,108 --> 00:10:30,052 There is a chance to make it differently 325 00:10:30,307 --> 00:10:32,693 This does not ask you to deny what happened 326 00:10:32,828 --> 00:10:33,713 It asks you to see 327 00:10:33,988 --> 00:10:35,932 That the image which keeps stabbing you 328 00:10:35,988 --> 00:10:37,713 Is being created by this present thought 329 00:10:38,068 --> 00:10:40,171 It is not the past replaying itself 330 00:10:40,466 --> 00:10:41,510 The tenth assumption 331 00:10:41,985 --> 00:10:43,091 I am the center 332 00:10:43,466 --> 00:10:45,370 I saved this gate for last 333 00:10:45,466 --> 00:10:48,130 Because I find it the most consequential 334 00:10:48,546 --> 00:10:50,331 When you focus on the eyes of the lion 335 00:10:50,546 --> 00:10:52,171 The eyes become the main character 336 00:10:52,426 --> 00:10:55,610 While the ears paws and tail become supporting characters 337 00:10:55,865 --> 00:10:57,030 When you turn to look at the tail 338 00:10:57,345 --> 00:10:58,730 The tail becomes the main character 339 00:10:58,826 --> 00:11:00,451 And the eyes recede into a supporting role 340 00:11:00,745 --> 00:11:01,591 What becomes the main character 341 00:11:01,905 --> 00:11:03,770 Depends on where you look 342 00:11:04,025 --> 00:11:06,571 No part is inherently the center 343 00:11:07,025 --> 00:11:07,951 Yet every part 344 00:11:08,306 --> 00:11:09,752 Can become the center 345 00:11:09,926 --> 00:11:12,472 You may have experienced this around a dinner table 346 00:11:12,966 --> 00:11:13,652 Whoever is speaking 347 00:11:14,046 --> 00:11:15,711 Is the center at that moment 348 00:11:15,847 --> 00:11:17,311 While everyone else listens 349 00:11:17,767 --> 00:11:18,451 When the topic shifts 350 00:11:18,727 --> 00:11:20,152 The center shifts to someone else 351 00:11:20,446 --> 00:11:21,132 Around one table 352 00:11:21,446 --> 00:11:22,872 There is no permanent main character 353 00:11:23,007 --> 00:11:25,112 Yet everyone has been the main character 354 00:11:25,446 --> 00:11:28,992 Fazang called this the Gate of Perfect Virtue of Host and Companion 355 00:11:29,406 --> 00:11:29,612 The host 356 00:11:30,007 --> 00:11:30,911 Is the main character 357 00:11:31,406 --> 00:11:31,612 The companion 358 00:11:32,046 --> 00:11:32,951 Is the supporting character 359 00:11:33,367 --> 00:11:33,811 Perfect clarity 360 00:11:34,206 --> 00:11:36,245 Means they rotate without obstruction 361 00:11:37,059 --> 00:11:38,885 A viewer once asked in the comments 362 00:11:38,939 --> 00:11:40,899 Can a tiny jewel like me 363 00:11:40,900 --> 00:11:42,784 Really affect the entire net 364 00:11:43,459 --> 00:11:45,284 I think this gate provides the answer 365 00:11:45,740 --> 00:11:48,605 You are not a fixed peripheral jewel in the net 366 00:11:48,860 --> 00:11:49,784 Wherever you look 367 00:11:50,059 --> 00:11:51,525 Becomes the center 368 00:11:51,860 --> 00:11:53,885 When you yourself are the center 369 00:11:53,980 --> 00:11:55,964 The entire net supports your role 370 00:11:56,299 --> 00:11:57,964 When you step back into a supporting role 371 00:11:58,140 --> 00:12:00,444 The entire net is still holding you 372 00:12:01,507 --> 00:12:03,052 We have walked through all ten gates 373 00:12:03,427 --> 00:12:05,811 I wonder whether you noticed something 374 00:12:06,267 --> 00:12:06,871 These ten gates 375 00:12:07,307 --> 00:12:09,892 Fazang did not call them ten truths 376 00:12:10,147 --> 00:12:11,971 Or ten principles 377 00:12:12,346 --> 00:12:13,292 He called them gates 378 00:12:13,946 --> 00:12:15,231 A gate is meant to be walked through 379 00:12:15,787 --> 00:12:17,091 Not memorized 380 00:12:17,307 --> 00:12:18,811 I understood only later 381 00:12:19,106 --> 00:12:21,731 That the Ten Mysterious Gates are not a theory 382 00:12:22,027 --> 00:12:23,652 They are ten exercises 383 00:12:24,018 --> 00:12:24,818 Every gate 384 00:12:24,826 --> 00:12:27,731 Dismantles one default setting in your mind 385 00:12:28,186 --> 00:12:29,951 Things arrive one at a time 386 00:12:30,466 --> 00:12:31,851 Small things contain less 387 00:12:31,946 --> 00:12:33,231 This is not that 388 00:12:33,427 --> 00:12:34,932 What is unseen is not there 389 00:12:35,106 --> 00:12:36,272 Time is a line 390 00:12:36,627 --> 00:12:37,811 I am the center 391 00:12:38,186 --> 00:12:40,532 No one ever taught you these settings 392 00:12:40,547 --> 00:12:42,091 Yet you use them every day 393 00:12:42,307 --> 00:12:43,871 They were quietly programmed for you 394 00:12:44,226 --> 00:12:45,172 By the seventh consciousness called manas 395 00:12:45,267 --> 00:12:46,892 Working silently in the background 396 00:12:47,586 --> 00:12:48,471 It wrote them too early 397 00:12:48,746 --> 00:12:49,491 And too deeply 398 00:12:49,667 --> 00:12:52,776 So you mistake them for the way the world actually is 399 00:12:53,111 --> 00:12:54,736 Let me explain this seventh consciousness 400 00:12:55,192 --> 00:12:56,976 You may have experienced this too 401 00:12:57,391 --> 00:12:58,116 During a meeting 402 00:12:58,672 --> 00:12:59,976 Someone says something 403 00:13:00,111 --> 00:13:01,337 That has nothing to do with you 404 00:13:01,391 --> 00:13:02,677 Yet something jolts inside you 405 00:13:03,072 --> 00:13:04,457 And you think they are talking about you 406 00:13:04,912 --> 00:13:05,917 Who made you think that 407 00:13:06,423 --> 00:13:07,223 No one 408 00:13:07,591 --> 00:13:09,297 Your mind has a department 409 00:13:09,351 --> 00:13:11,896 Devoted to making everything about me 410 00:13:12,271 --> 00:13:13,197 It makes no noise 411 00:13:13,552 --> 00:13:15,057 And works around the clock 412 00:13:15,511 --> 00:13:17,550 The name Buddhism gives this department 413 00:13:17,552 --> 00:13:18,817 Is the manas consciousness 414 00:13:19,312 --> 00:13:20,476 It puts me at the center 415 00:13:20,912 --> 00:13:22,577 Arranges events in sequence 416 00:13:22,631 --> 00:13:24,376 And stretches time into a line 417 00:13:24,751 --> 00:13:26,616 None of these are features of the world 418 00:13:26,631 --> 00:13:28,256 They are its habits of organization 419 00:13:29,263 --> 00:13:30,268 What the Ten Mysterious Gates do 420 00:13:30,502 --> 00:13:32,182 Is use the same lion 421 00:13:32,183 --> 00:13:33,967 To let you change your eyes ten times 422 00:13:34,222 --> 00:13:35,067 After changing them ten times 423 00:13:35,423 --> 00:13:37,127 The lion remains the same lion 424 00:13:37,222 --> 00:13:38,067 But you discover 425 00:13:38,303 --> 00:13:40,021 That the world you thought was out there 426 00:13:40,023 --> 00:13:42,327 Was half supplied by your own mind 427 00:13:42,663 --> 00:13:44,501 So when I read the Ten Mysterious Gates now 428 00:13:44,502 --> 00:13:46,168 I no longer read them as theory 429 00:13:46,462 --> 00:13:48,327 I treat them as a set of exercises 430 00:13:48,663 --> 00:13:49,587 Choose one gate each day 431 00:13:49,982 --> 00:13:51,727 And apply it to one concrete thing 432 00:13:51,903 --> 00:13:53,067 Choose the second gate today 433 00:13:53,263 --> 00:13:54,688 And look at one small thing 434 00:13:54,742 --> 00:13:56,247 To see whether it truly contains less 435 00:13:56,502 --> 00:13:58,048 Choose the tenth gate tomorrow 436 00:13:58,063 --> 00:14:01,008 And watch how the center shifts around the dinner table 437 00:14:01,263 --> 00:14:02,727 You do not need to use all ten at once 438 00:14:03,023 --> 00:14:04,247 Look deeply through one gate 439 00:14:04,263 --> 00:14:06,408 And the other nine will begin to loosen on their own 440 00:14:06,582 --> 00:14:07,627 Because what they dismantle 441 00:14:07,822 --> 00:14:09,783 Is one and the same set of settings 442 00:14:10,079 --> 00:14:12,584 I tried something like this while meditating 443 00:14:12,998 --> 00:14:14,663 You can try it too 444 00:14:14,918 --> 00:14:15,564 While sitting 445 00:14:16,079 --> 00:14:17,543 Choose any sound 446 00:14:17,719 --> 00:14:19,743 Perhaps a car passing outside the window 447 00:14:20,079 --> 00:14:21,584 Focus on that sound 448 00:14:21,878 --> 00:14:22,564 And you will notice 449 00:14:22,918 --> 00:14:23,984 The entire room 450 00:14:24,239 --> 00:14:25,043 And the entire afternoon 451 00:14:25,278 --> 00:14:26,663 Are present within that sound 452 00:14:27,038 --> 00:14:28,543 Then let it go 453 00:14:28,758 --> 00:14:31,423 And attention will drift somewhere else by itself 454 00:14:31,518 --> 00:14:32,543 Perhaps to your breathing 455 00:14:32,998 --> 00:14:35,104 Now the breath becomes the center 456 00:14:35,278 --> 00:14:37,224 And the car recedes into the background 457 00:14:37,518 --> 00:14:38,743 You did nothing 458 00:14:39,079 --> 00:14:41,104 The center simply shifted once 459 00:14:41,690 --> 00:14:43,915 Yet in the instant when the center shifted 460 00:14:43,971 --> 00:14:45,755 There was a very brief gap 461 00:14:46,130 --> 00:14:47,915 Within that gap there was no center 462 00:14:48,410 --> 00:14:48,895 In that instant 463 00:14:49,130 --> 00:14:51,476 I felt closest to what Fazang was describing 464 00:14:51,810 --> 00:14:53,395 I must be honest about one thing 465 00:14:53,810 --> 00:14:54,809 Among these ten gates 466 00:14:54,810 --> 00:14:57,996 There are still two or three whose words alone I understand 467 00:14:58,451 --> 00:14:59,376 For example the fourth gate 468 00:14:59,851 --> 00:15:00,376 Mutual identity 469 00:15:00,851 --> 00:15:02,236 The eyes are the ears 470 00:15:02,650 --> 00:15:04,275 I can reason it out on paper 471 00:15:04,331 --> 00:15:06,836 But I have not truly seen it in my body 472 00:15:07,170 --> 00:15:09,076 I will not pretend that I have 473 00:15:09,331 --> 00:15:11,003 This is where I currently stand 474 00:15:11,459 --> 00:15:13,283 After Fazang finished explaining the lion 475 00:15:13,419 --> 00:15:15,804 Wu Zetian is said to have understood immediately 476 00:15:16,179 --> 00:15:18,363 I do not know how deeply she understood 477 00:15:18,819 --> 00:15:21,257 But I know the lion before her 478 00:15:21,258 --> 00:15:23,003 And the teacup before us 479 00:15:23,059 --> 00:15:25,002 Are the same lion 480 00:15:25,418 --> 00:15:27,283 I will leave you with one final question 481 00:15:27,497 --> 00:15:29,362 If there is no fixed center 482 00:15:29,497 --> 00:15:30,803 Then through these ten gates 483 00:15:30,818 --> 00:15:32,183 Who exactly is walking 484 00:15:32,658 --> 00:15:33,943 In your own life 485 00:15:34,137 --> 00:15:35,303 Which gate can you see 486 00:15:35,857 --> 00:15:38,502 And which seems like mere wordplay 487 00:15:39,097 --> 00:15:40,929 Tell me in the comments 488 00:15:41,329 --> 00:15:41,966 I am Leo Wang 489 00:15:42,173 --> 00:15:43,146 See you next time