Yes, so welcome back everyone and while people are still joining in, I'll just invite you

in to maybe kind of in your own mind and heart and bring to your mind this sutra that

we spoke about two days ago and this is the sutra of assembly of a heartwood. Using

heartwood, assembly to describe how one might keep us going on the path and not stop

short. Grabbing the twigs and leaves or barks, sap woods or soft woods, but keep going. So we want

to open it up just to see if there are any questions on our comments, your own reflections that you

like to share based on what you received from the last class as well as maybe some of you might

have read to the sutra in between. So yeah, we're going to open it up for a little bit to begin

our day together. Maybe if people want they could put some just general comments in the chat box

too. Like I reread it and now it makes more sense or I'm still confused or oh wait, there was a

sutra I was supposed to read it. Great, yes, those who are able to chat at it in our chat box,

please do so and you can also do the voice and raise your hand and

I see that hand up at their hand doctor. Okay, whoever had a hand up, please unmute.

Yeah, I think I didn't bring this up on Tuesday because I thought it was inappropriate and now I'm

feeling like it's inappropriate. I'm struck by both sutras feeling like there's a real

superiority conceit and extractionist vibe. Yeah, I think I wanted to say something clear

to try to say something clear than I said on Tuesday, you know, the heartwood is not separate from

the sapwood and from the bark. They're relational. You can't have one without the other

and as an aside, it's beautiful that the heartwood is, you know, there's something related to age

and maturity. The heartwood is developed through the life of the of the tree.

But yeah, the extractionist aspect of that one and the

the bitterness, the way in which isn't their way to feel good about the dharma without putting down

...