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Every time you do a good deed

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your brain quietly keeps score

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Fifteen hundred years ago

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someone brought this ledger before Bodhidharma

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That man was Emperor Wu of Liang

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the most powerful man in southern China

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He built a great many temples

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and supported over one hundred thousand monks

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He copied sutras preached the Dharma and renounced the throne four times

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In China at that time

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no one had contributed more to Buddhism than he had

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So when Bodhidharma crossed the seas from India to Nanjing

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Emperor Wu eagerly asked him a question

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I have done so many things

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How great is my merit

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Bodhidharma looked at him

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and answered with four words

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No merit at all

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This exchange appears in Chan transmission records

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Whether it truly happened in history

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remains disputed by scholars

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Yet Chan Buddhism preserved this story for over a thousand years

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not because it was history

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but because it struck at

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a structural problem no practitioner can avoid

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Hello

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everyone

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I am Leo Wang

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Today let us explore what lies behind those four words

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and what they truly point to

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They point to an extraordinarily precise idea in Buddhism

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one that is also deeply counterintuitive

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the emptiness of the three spheres

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The three spheres

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are the three roles in any good deed

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The giver

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the person doing the good deed

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The receiver

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the person receiving the help

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And the gift

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the good deed itself

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Emptiness

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means none of these three has a fixed independent nature

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Put together

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the you who does the deed

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the person who receives it

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and the deed itself

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these three things

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none of them is solid

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At this point you may think

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Is this just another way to say do good without seeking reward

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No

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Not even close

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Doing good without seeking reward

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assumes three things are solid

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There is a real me doing the deed

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a real other person receiving help

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and a real good deed being completed

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I simply choose not to ask for a reward

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Notice this

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Within this structure

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I am solid

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the other person is solid

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and the deed is solid

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Only the reward has been removed

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It is like taking one wheel off a four wheeled cart

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while the cart itself never moves

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The emptiness of the three spheres

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does not merely remove the wheel of reward

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It lets you see

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that the entire cart was an illusion from the start

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Let me begin with something you experience every day

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You help a coworker handle a difficult document

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and finish it

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What happens inside you next

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You may not tell your coworker that they owe you a favor

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but does a subtle feeling arise inside you

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the feeling that I helped them

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Perhaps it lasts only half a second

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but it really happened

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Think again

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You send some money to your parents

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Of course you do not say how devoted you are

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but do you feel a warm flicker of self affirmation

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Does the thought arise that I am a good son

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or that I am a good daughter

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Now consider something subtler

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You see an online appeal for help

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and make a donation

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After donating

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do you feel a moment of pride in yourself

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or hear an inner voice saying I am a kind person

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These thoughts move so quickly

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that you barely notice them

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But they all point to the same thing

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Every good deed you do

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your brain quietly records it

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And this ledger records more than good deeds

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You work late and rescue a company project

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and you remember it

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You post a photo of yourself volunteering

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and remember that too

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Even when you stop yourself from losing your temper

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you silently praise yourself

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I handled my emotions well today

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You think you are building character

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but you are adding stroke after stroke to your self portrait

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This does not mean your character is flawed

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It is simply the factory setting of the brain

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Cognitive neuroscience has found

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a system in the brain called the default mode network

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It runs automatically when you are not doing a specific task

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Its central job is to construct and maintain the story of me

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Who you are

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what you have done

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how others see you

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what your past was like

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and what your future may become

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The default mode network weaves these fragments into a coherent story

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and the main character of that story is me

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When you do a good deed

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the default mode network does not sit idle

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It automatically absorbs the deed into my story

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You have done something good

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so your life story gains a positive piece of evidence

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The character called me becomes richer better and more valuable

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In other words

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within your true motivation for doing good

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there may be a hidden element

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It is not simply for the good of the other person

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but to reinforce the self model that says I am a good person

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Yogacara saw through this over a thousand years ago

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Its description is even more precise

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Yogacara says

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all of your conscious activity

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whether thinking judging or doing good

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must pass through the seventh consciousness called manas

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Manas has only one job

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to stamp every piece of information with the label mine

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You see a flower

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Manas stamps it

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I saw it

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You have a thought

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Manas stamps it

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my thought

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You do a good deed

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Manas stamps it at once

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my merit

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This stamping process is automatic and unconscious

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You cannot stop it

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Just as breathing requires no thought

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manas needs no permission to apply its stamp

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So where did Emperor Wu go wrong

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It was not that he had done too few good deeds

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nor that he sought a reward

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His problem was the very question he asked

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I have accumulated so much merit

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How great is it

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Within that sentence

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there is a solid emperor doing the giving

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over one hundred thousand solid monks receiving it

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and countless solid temples being built

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All three spheres are present

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and all three are solid

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Manas stamped the foundation of every temple

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The stamp read

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Property of Emperor Wu

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Bodhidharma did not see too few good deeds

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He saw a structural problem

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As long as this stamping machine keeps running

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however many temples you build

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you only add bricks to the illusion called me

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That is why Bodhidharma said no merit at all

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rather than saying the merit was small

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Merit is not a matter of size

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When the three spheres are solid

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the merit is zero

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Not because the good deed has no value

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but because manas

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absorbs all the energy of the good deed

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into the fortress of me

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You think you are helping others

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but you are fortifying your own walls

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Then what is the emptiness of the three spheres

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Let me explain through a moment you have probably experienced

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You are walking down the street

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and see an elderly person fall

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You rush over and help them up

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Notice

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In the second when you rush forward

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does your brain think I am going to do a good deed

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Probably not

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You simply see what happened

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and your body moves

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In that one second

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there is no me calculating

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no other person being assessed

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and no good deed being defined

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There is only an event unfolding

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Helping

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That one second

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is the emptiness of the three spheres

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You did not cultivate it

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You simply had no time to manufacture the three spheres

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But here is the problem

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One second later

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manas catches up

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It immediately applies its stamp

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I helped an elderly person

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Then the default mode network begins weaving a story

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I am a kind person

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If the person thanks you

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the story becomes more complete

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If they walk away without looking back

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you may feel a trace of disappointment

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Where does that disappointment come from

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It comes from the me already stamped by manas

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So the emptiness of the three spheres is not a moral state you can achieve

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I must attain the emptiness of the three spheres

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That thought itself makes all three spheres solid

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because there is a me

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trying to reach a goal called the emptiness of the three spheres

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Giver receiver and gift

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not one is missing

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and every one is solid

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This is the most subtle paradox in practice

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You cannot pursue the emptiness of the three spheres

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because pursuit itself rebuilds the three spheres

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You can only discover in a certain moment

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that the three spheres were never solid

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Predictive coding gives this paradox a remarkably clear explanation

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Your brain is a prediction machine

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It does not passively receive information from the world

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It actively sends predictions into the world

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then checks them against actual input

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Before you do a good deed

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your brain already holds a prior belief

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I am a kind person

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The act of doing good

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is often not entirely spontaneous

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It may be testing that prior belief

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When the outcome matches the prediction

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when the other person thanks you for example

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the prior belief is confirmed

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and the model saying I am kind grows stronger

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When the outcome does not match

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when the other person ignores you

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you feel uncomfortable

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because the prediction failed

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Within this framework

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many apparently selfless good deeds

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hide a subtle function

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The brain is maintaining the self model

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You are not helping someone else

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You are helping your brain confirm who I am

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You can try a simple test

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Recall a good deed you did recently

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Then ask yourself

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If no one would ever know about this deed

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and even you would forget it afterward

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would you still do it

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Your first response is probably

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Of course

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But look more closely at what you feel

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If even you would not remember it

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and it added nothing to your self narrative

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does something inside you sag ever so slightly

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That thing which sags

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is manas protesting

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It says

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If even I cannot remember it

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what meaning does it have for me

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You see

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Even the meaning of a good deed requires approval from me

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The emptiness of the three spheres breaks this loop

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It does not say you should stop doing good

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It asks

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Could it be possible

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that while doing good

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you are not trying to confirm who you are

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Could it be possible

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that help occurs

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without a me who is doing the helping

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The Diamond Sutra puts this with extraordinary precision

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A bodhisattva should rely on nothing

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abide nowhere

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and practice giving

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Abiding nowhere

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means manas applies no stamp

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Practicing giving

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means the good deed still happens

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It does not originate from me

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It naturally emerges from dependent arising

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like water flowing downhill

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with no me deciding where it should go

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At this point

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I want to discuss the dedication of merit we covered before

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and its crucial progression toward threefold emptiness

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What is the dedication of merit

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After completing a good deed

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you deliberately transfer the merit outward

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so manas cannot absorb it into my account

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This is an operation performed afterward

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You receive your salary

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then decide to donate it

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What is the emptiness of the three spheres

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At the very moment the good deed occurs

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no salary is ever issued

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You do not receive it and then let go

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From beginning to end

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your hand never closes around it

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Dedicating merit is a training wheel

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Threefold emptiness means no longer needing it

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Dedication consciously rewrites the label applied by manas

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Threefold emptiness means manas never arrived to stamp that moment

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This progression is crucial in practice

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You cannot begin with threefold emptiness

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just as you cannot instantly ride a bicycle without training wheels

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Dedicating merit is that training wheel

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First you practice consciously releasing each good deed

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After enough practice

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you may eventually experience a moment

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when your hand never grasped the deed at all

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But I must warn you about a trap many practitioners enter

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After hearing about the emptiness of the three spheres

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some begin monitoring themselves while doing good

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Am I keeping score

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Have I reached threefold emptiness

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Has my manas applied its stamp

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This is the heaviest form of the three spheres

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While you are giving

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your manas is monitoring your manas

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This is not one layer of stamping

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It is two layers

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Chan has a perfect phrase for this

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riding a donkey in search of the donkey

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You are already riding on its back

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yet you ask everyone

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Where is the donkey

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Manas is that donkey

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You use it to search for itself

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and will never find it

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So what can you do

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Let me share an understanding that moved me deeply

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Threefold emptiness is not a state you need to achieve

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It is your original state

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In the moment before manas applies its stamp

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the three spheres are already empty

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Help occurs

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There is only helping happening

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There is no giver

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no receiver

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and no gift

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00:12:41,323 --> 00:12:43,293
It is like a drop of water falling into the sea

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What could that drop be giving to the sea

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What could the sea be receiving

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And what could the gift possibly be

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In that moment these three questions do not apply

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Water returns to water

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It is simply an event occurring

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Only half a second later

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manas catches up

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00:13:01,854 --> 00:13:02,163
It says

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That drop is me

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the sea is the other

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and falling into it is my good deed

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This is how the three spheres are manufactured

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So practice does not create threefold emptiness

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Practice sees how the three spheres are manufactured

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Once you see that process

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its grip begins to loosen

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Seeing itself is the remedy

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This is why Chan says

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true practice is not straining to observe yourself on a cushion

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It appears in the moments when you forget you are practicing

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While cooking you forget that you are cooking

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00:13:36,196 --> 00:13:37,685
and only cooking is happening

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00:13:38,076 --> 00:13:40,244
While walking you forget that you are walking

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00:13:40,316 --> 00:13:41,764
and only walking is happening

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00:13:42,156 --> 00:13:44,365
While helping you forget that you are helping

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00:13:44,436 --> 00:13:45,845
and only helping is happening

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Threefold emptiness is not a special ability

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00:13:48,836 --> 00:13:51,355
It is what naturally appears

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when you put down something unnecessary

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At this point

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00:13:54,751 --> 00:13:57,441
I want to respond to the comment that inspired this episode

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A viewer who watched our episode on Nagarjuna asked

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00:14:01,312 --> 00:14:03,201
Could you explain the emptiness of the three spheres

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00:14:03,432 --> 00:14:05,001
It is an excellent question

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00:14:05,151 --> 00:14:09,280
because threefold emptiness follows the same core logic as the Middle Way

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00:14:09,631 --> 00:14:11,121
Nagarjuna described the eight negations

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00:14:11,151 --> 00:14:15,160
no arising no ceasing no permanence no annihilation no identity no difference no coming no going

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00:14:15,352 --> 00:14:16,501
What does this really mean

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00:14:16,911 --> 00:14:19,760
It means all the solid things you imagine

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00:14:19,911 --> 00:14:21,550
actually arise through conditions

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00:14:21,552 --> 00:14:23,241
and have no independent nature

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00:14:23,592 --> 00:14:26,760
Threefold emptiness brings this philosophical insight from Nagarjuna

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00:14:26,792 --> 00:14:29,481
into the things you do every day

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00:14:30,151 --> 00:14:31,680
You bring someone a glass of water

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00:14:31,712 --> 00:14:33,441
give your seat to a stranger

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00:14:33,511 --> 00:14:35,520
or offer a word of encouragement to a coworker

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00:14:35,792 --> 00:14:37,800
Within these most ordinary moments

403
00:14:37,832 --> 00:14:41,810
you can test what Nagarjuna meant by emptiness

404
00:14:42,242 --> 00:14:44,731
Bodhidharma also told Emperor Wu

405
00:14:44,801 --> 00:14:46,371
Pure wisdom is wondrous and complete

406
00:14:46,482 --> 00:14:47,771
Its essence is empty and still

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00:14:48,002 --> 00:14:48,790
Such is true merit

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00:14:49,161 --> 00:14:50,371
It cannot be sought through worldly means

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00:14:50,681 --> 00:14:51,910
In plain language

410
00:14:52,322 --> 00:14:53,440
true merit

411
00:14:53,441 --> 00:14:55,570
is not about how many deeds you perform in the world

412
00:14:55,681 --> 00:14:56,851
It is about whether your mind

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00:14:56,921 --> 00:14:57,871
while acting

414
00:14:58,362 --> 00:14:59,851
is empty and still

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00:15:00,161 --> 00:15:01,590
Emptiness and stillness are not indifference

416
00:15:01,842 --> 00:15:02,851
nor numbness

417
00:15:03,202 --> 00:15:07,160
They are the state in which manas has not applied its stamp

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00:15:08,031 --> 00:15:10,488
Finally I want to leave you with an unanswered question

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00:15:10,716 --> 00:15:12,483
In the moment of threefold emptiness

420
00:15:12,771 --> 00:15:13,806
if I am gone

421
00:15:13,838 --> 00:15:14,854
the other person is gone

422
00:15:15,259 --> 00:15:17,282
and the good deed itself is gone

423
00:15:17,353 --> 00:15:19,910
then what is making help happen

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00:15:20,514 --> 00:15:24,314
What is already operating before manas applies its stamp

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00:15:24,582 --> 00:15:25,598
What is it

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00:15:26,083 --> 00:15:28,501
It is fine if you cannot answer right now

427
00:15:28,729 --> 00:15:30,042
But if you are willing

428
00:15:30,072 --> 00:15:32,294
the next time you do a small favor for someone

429
00:15:32,482 --> 00:15:35,058
notice the very first second

430
00:15:35,484 --> 00:15:39,521
the second before the thought I am helping them appears

431
00:15:39,868 --> 00:15:40,608
Within that second

432
00:15:40,896 --> 00:15:41,477
what is there

433
00:15:41,922 --> 00:15:43,215
If you notice something

434
00:15:43,503 --> 00:15:44,855
even if you cannot explain it

435
00:15:44,965 --> 00:15:46,830
share it with us in the comments

436
00:15:47,572 --> 00:15:50,820
I am deeply curious what you see in that one second

437
00:15:50,968 --> 00:15:51,629
I am Leo Wang

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00:15:51,916 --> 00:15:53,032
See you next time