فعالانه دو

Equanimity – Interactive Lesson B

Hi, this is AJ and welcome to part B, part B of the interactive lesson. So, let’s go through this again and this time I’ll ask you some questions. When I ask you questions as always, just give short answers. You can just say yes, no or one word, two words is enough. The important part is you hear the phrases again and again. You get that repetition. It’s another chance to learn this deeply. And again, this essay is fairly difficult, not really the vocabulary, it’s the phrases, the sentences which are fairly difficult, so you need repetition.

Let’s start.

One sees so many faces, dulled by a seriousness.

Who sees so many faces?

One. Someone is kind of what it means. It’s a very general way to say people.

So does one see a few faces dulled by seriousness?

No, no, no.

One sees many faces dulled by what?

Dulled by seriousness.

What are people dulled by?

Seriousness. They’re bored by seriousness.

Does the seriousness come from grief?

No, it does not come from grief, it’s not born of grief.

Is the seriousness born of sorrow?

Nope, it’s not born of sorrow. It doesn’t come from sorrow, sadness. It doesn’t come from grief, loss and sadness.

This seriousness drags man down to the earth.

Does seriousness lift up men or drag them down?

It drags them down.

What drags men down?

Too much seriousness. Too much seriousness pulls men down.

And it kills the life of the what?

Of the spirit. Kills the life of the spirit. It kills their spirit.

This seriousness is a sort of play acting.

So does the seriousness come from sorrow, from sadness or is it play acting?

It’s play acting, it’s a pretending. Pretending to be important. Pretending to be too serious.

In which the player is deceived into identifying himself with his part.

Is the player, is the person, is the actor tricked or enlightened?

Tricked. The actor is tricked, is deceived.

Into identifying with what?

His part. Into identifying with his part.

Does he identify with his soul, with his spirit?

No, he doesn’t identify with his soul. He doesn’t identify with his spirit.

What does he identify with?

His part, his role, his position in life.

Are children sometimes serious when they play?

Yes. Yes they are. Children are sometimes serious when they play.

Is that the same as adults?

It’s not the same it’s different.

So the play of children is the same as adults or different?

Different, the play of children is different.

Why?

Because the child is aware that it is only playing. The child is aware, that’s why. The child is aware it’s a game. The child is aware it’s play.

Is the adult aware that life is a game?

No, the adult is not aware. So, for the adult seriousness becomes a vice.

Does seriousness become something good, a virtue?

No, seriousness does not become a virtue, which means something really good, seriousness becomes a vice.

Does seriousness become a vice in adults?

Yes, seriousness becomes a vice in adults.

Does seriousness become a vice in children?

No, seriousness does not become a vice in children, because they remember they know they’re playing.

Do adults fear to lose their positions in life?

Yes they do. Adults fear to lose their positions. They fear to lose their roles in life.

This is especially so when the unenlightened man attains success.

Does the unenlightened man become more serious or less serious when he attains success?

More serious, the unenlightened man, the unwise man becomes more serious when he attains, when he gets success.

So who becomes more serious when he attains success?

The unenlightened man, the unwise man. The unenlightened man becomes too serious when he attains success, when he attains responsibility.

He develops a heaviness of what?

A heaviness of touch. He develops, he gets a heaviness of touch. He’s not subtle anymore.

He’s not soft and gentle anymore.

He develops a lack of what?

A lack of abandon. A lack of abandon.

When he becomes successful does the man, the unenlightened man become more free and exciting and wild?

No, no, no, no; he lacks freedom, he lacks excitement, he lacks wildness, he lacks abandon.

So, do most successful men lack abandon, lack wildness?

Yes, most lack abandon. The unenlightened man who is successful lacks abandon.

Is the unenlightened man, who is successful, stiff or flexible?

Stiff, he’s hard, stiff, he can’t move easily. He’s not flexible. He’s not spontaneous, he’s stiff.

He uses his self-respect, he uses his dignity to keep his head above adversity. (Adversity means difficult challenges).

The unenlightened man thinks seriousness will protect him from what?

Adversity, adversity, difficult problems.

Does the unenlightened man believe that humor will protect him from adversity?

No, not humor, not laughing. He doesn’t think humor will protect him from adversity, he thinks seriousness, dignity will protect him from adversity, from difficult challenges.

His trouble is, is that instead of playing his part, his part plays him.

Does the unenlightened man forget he is playing a part?

Yes. The unenlightened man, the unwise man forgets that he is just playing a part. So the part controls him. The role controls him.

Does this make him wise or make him a laughing stock?

It makes him a laughing stock. It makes him a fool.

And some people see through his guise, his disguise.

Do some people see the truth? Do they see he’s really a fool?

Yes, some people see that he’s really a fool, that he’s not important that he’s not so serious.

Some people see through is guise. They see him as a laughing stock, a fool.

The message of the Eastern wisdom is that the forms of life are maya.

Are the forms of life real, according to Eastern wisdom?

No they’re not, they’re not real they are illusions. They are maya.

Are the forms real and solid or are they maya, illusion?

The forms of life are maya, they are illusion.

The forms of life are profoundly lacking in seriousness from the viewpoint of reality.

So the forms of life, are they serious or not serious?

They’re not serious, they’re not serious. They’re lacking seriousness.

The world of form and illusion is none other than the play of the spirit So the world of form and illusion, the things we see and hear are just the play of what?

The play of spirit, (and here for spirit you can use different words he uses the word spirit. You could also say energy. You could also say God. You could say Dao. You could say universal energy. Different words, same idea.)

He is enlightened who joins in this play knowing it is play.

So does the enlightened man see the world as play or as deeply serious?

Play, the enlightened man sees the forms of life, society, human society as play.

Which kind of man sees society, human life as play?

The enlightened man, the wise man. The enlightened man sees life as play. The world of form and illusion it just means the world we see in front of us.

Does the enlightened man understand something deeper or does the unenlightened man see something deeper?

The enlightened man, the wise man sees something deeper, spirit, energy, soul, universe, whatever you want to call it.

So, which man is more playful the enlightened man or the unenlightened man?

The enlightened man, the wise man. (And of course we could say woman too, same idea)

Okay, that is the end of our interactive B lesson. Listen to it several times. You don’t need to memorize the answers, just shout out a quick answer. The most important thing is that you listen, listen, listen and you get the repetition of these phrases so you deeply learn this. You understand it completely. That’s why you must listen to it many times.

See you in the commentary, bye for now.