Feel your desire more and you will attain the freedom from the various desires and you can change one desire to the other. It is like a blind man can hear better than usual person. What you are saying is that you should put the snake in a small can. You can make a snake straight.

[01:10]

As no one could answer, he said, put it in a straight bamboo or a pipe. That is a way to make a snake straight and snake will know what is his nature. If he is like this, he doesn't know his own nature. Negative and positive are very important.

[02:15]

Like a rope, if you twist two ropes like this, that is negative and positive. One rope cannot make, just one rope, just one material we cannot make a rope, we say. Didn't Buddha do that? Didn't he get down to one grain of rice a day? Didn't he deny himself a whole bunch of things and he talked about the middle way? That is not true. His practice differs between asceticism and his way.

[03:20]

Asceticism practices in that way, limiting their food or sleep. To attain something or to be born in some heaven or something like that, they had some purpose. They practiced it for some purpose. But Buddha found the truth in that practice. The practice itself is a goal. This is very, I think... Fasting?

[04:33]

Good practice for what? If so, there will be no need to fast for many days, for instance. That is a kind of practice, but that is not our practice. Even though you do not fast, you can practice it in the most usual way. This is a very important point.

[05:58]

We have to think more about this point. I think you already have some doubt, or not doubt, but you are wondering. You may wonder why I say this kind of... why I talk about negative or positive attitude towards desires. But I myself have no answer to it.

[07:07]

Is there a difference between negative desires and positive desires? No, that is one. It is the same thing to kill someone and to love someone. Yes. Two aspects, two kinds of attitudes you take. Yes. Does that mean that we should suppress both? Excuse me? Does that mean that we should suppress these desires? Yes, sometimes it is necessary. And it is necessary and you are doing it. Well, what about sincerity? Sincerity? That is a very positive thing.

[08:15]

Sincerity? If you suppress it, what do you have? That is not sincerity, do you think? I do not know. I get confused on things like sincerity and compassion. Sincerity or compassion, if I say sincerity or compassion, you may think that it is a very positive statement, but it is not actually so. Sincerity, just positive sincerity, or positive compassion, is not true compassion. When you want to say to someone, sometimes you will hate it if you are sincere. If you know what does it mean by some statement,

[09:25]

you will be very careful that it is already negative. Even though you want to eat more, sometimes you hesitate to eat as much as you want. Without this kind of attitude, you cannot live. Positive one is not always positive in its true sense. Which is stronger? Stronger person? The man who beat him,

[10:31]

or the man who is beating, or the man who is being beaten. Which is stronger? You should be... It is easy to hate someone,

[11:33]

but it is not so easy to be anything without any, you know, not much, difficulty to bear. Difficulty to be patient in beating someone. Hi. Is it ever all right to be positive? I mean, is it ever all right to say yes to your desires? Yes. Yes. To say yes or...? Yes. Uh-huh.

[12:34]

Is all this saying no supposed to cease or...? I don't know. No, I don't think so. Those are, you know, actual experience will tell you, you know. But if we say religion, you know, we, you think, we think religion will give you some, you know, advantage in taking some pleasure, or in having some excuse in doing some positive things. All of it. That is enough. It seems to me, though, that there is nothing wrong with enjoying eating,

[13:43]

or sex, or sleeping, just in being attached. Uh-huh. And wanting when it's not there. Uh-huh. So, I don't, you know, like, like is there some way so that you can, you know, just really enjoy eating as long as the food is in front of you and then the minute it's gone, not think about it? Uh-huh. And then is it all right to say yes and eat? Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yes, if it is so, it is all right. Uh-huh. Nothing wrong with it. But it is not always so. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. This teaching sounds as if we're supposed to fight with ourselves

[14:47]

from the time we're born to the time we die. I would like to get to the point where I wouldn't be continually fighting with myself. Fighting. That is your understanding of your life, you know. That is not actually fighting, you know, developing your desires, how to develop your desires, you know. The understanding, different understanding of one practice. If you say you are fighting with your desires, maybe so. I cannot deny the statement, I'm fighting with myself. But that is not, you know.

[15:53]

Perfect expression of our way. Let's... Let's study more about this. I'm so glad that you consent my talk so much. That is not my problem. Your problem, so please study more. Not the problem of Buddhism or Buddhas or Zen.

[17:10]

Actually there is no rules, you know. There is rules, but that rules is not always observed in the same way. Your practice mostly will be right when the practice is forced on you. Mostly it is pure. But if you practice by your own choice, there are many dangers of having some wrong elements in your motivation, motives.

[18:33]

Yes. I have to do it, you know. Because someone told me, as long as I'm here in this monastery, I have to observe in this way. So I do it. This kind of practice will result in more, more, rather than you practice it by your own choice. This is very true. If you become more sincere about your practice, and if you become more conscientious about your practice, you'll find it very true. Thank you very much.

[19:44]

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