September 14th, 2026 – Dharma Talk by Heather Shōren Iarusso

And I came across this quote, which I really-- I'd never heard before until I read this book by, um, Carl Brunnholz called The Heart Attack Sutra.

And this is what, in the book, Carl Brunnholz said that the Buddha or Siddhartha, how he described his waking up on the morning of his enlightenment.

So he described his experience of Nirvana like this: "I have found a nectar-like dharma, profound, peaceful, free from reference points, luminous, and unconditioned." Right.

So the Buddha's description or Siddhartha's description of Nirvana was, "I have found the nectar-like dharma, profound, peaceful, free from reference points, luminous, and unconditioned." So if this is Nirvana, then some sorrow or suffering could be described as the absence of these qualities.

A bitter dharma, superficial, noisy, agitated, obstructed by reference points, cloudy, and dependent on conditions.

That sounded a lot more familiar to me [laughs] than his description of Nirvana.

[laughs] So, um, what stood out for me in this description is this phrase, "free from reference points." Um, this seems very key.

So if Nirvana is free from reference points, perhaps investigating what these reference points are and understanding them might be illuminating.

And as we just chanted in The Heart Sutra, or as Brunnholz translates the title, he calls it The Sutra of the Heart of the Glorious Lady Prajnaparamita, which I really like.

So The Sutra of the Heart of the Glorious Lady Prajnaparamita.

So this is what Brunnholz says about Nirvana or the way he translates it, uh, in The Heart Sutra.

"With nothing to attain, a bodhisattva relies on Prajnaparamita, and thus the mind is without hindrance.

Far beyond all inverted views, one realizes Nirvana." So this seems pretty clear.

We realize Nirvana when we rely on Prajnaparamita or the perfection of wisdom, because then the mind is without hindrance, or I've also heard it translated, the mind is no hindrance, and this perfection of wisdom is far beyond all of our inverted views.

So if there's nothing to attain, then why are we here, right? I started practicing at the Austin Zen Center to end some suffering or to understand why I was suffering, right? And, uh, who doesn't wanna attain this Nirvana, that peaceful, profound, nectar-like dharma? There's a couple other translations that I thought, uh, would be helpful.

So Red Pine, in his book on the Heart Sutra, he translates that sentence this way, "Without attainment, bodhisattvas take refuge in prajnaparamita and live without walls of the mind.

Without walls of the mind, and thus without fears, these bodhisattvas see through delusions and finally see through nirvana." So they see through the delusions concerning the existence of nirvana.

And Edward Conze says, "It is because of their non-attainment-ness that a bodhisattva, through having relied on the perfection of wisdom or insight, dwells without thought coverings.

In the absence of thought coverings, they have not been made to tremble.

They have overcome what can be upset and in the end they t- they n- they attain nirvana." So the way for us bodhisattvas to taste nirvana is to rely on this perfection of wisdom, the prajnaparamita.

This is not an attainment because this is fundamentally who we are.

This is ultimate reality.

This is Dogen's practice realization, right? We rest in this emptiness of Buddha nature and this, uh, true nature.

So these reference points are these thought coverings or walls of the mind.

So when we see that these reference points or these inverted views, these walls of the mind, when we see that they are impermanent, not who we are, and when we identify with them, cause us to suffer, uh, the fear and trembling dissolves, right? So when we recognize these reference points being marked by these three marks of existence, impermanence, um, suffering or dissatisfaction and not self, right? So the more we believe these reference points, the more likely we are to harm ourselves and others in an effort to move away from the suffering, right? And these reference points are identities that we're, that we believe in, the narratives of the mind that we buy into.

And I came across this quote, which I really-- I'd never heard before until I read this book by, um, Carl Brunnholz called The Heart Attack Sutra.

And this is what, in the book, Carl Brunnholz said that the Buddha or Siddhartha, how he described his waking up on the morning of his enlightenment.

So he described his experience of Nirvana like this: "I have found a nectar-like dharma, profound, peaceful, free from reference points, luminous, and unconditioned." Right.

So the Buddha's description or Siddhartha's description of Nirvana was, "I have found the nectar-like dharma, profound, peaceful, free from reference points, luminous, and unconditioned." So if this is Nirvana, then some sorrow or suffering could be described as the absence of these qualities.

A bitter dharma, superficial, noisy, agitated, obstructed by reference points, cloudy, and dependent on conditions.

That sounded a lot more familiar to me [laughs] than his description of Nirvana.

[laughs] So, um, what stood out for me in this description is this phrase, "free from reference points." Um, this seems very key.

So if Nirvana is free from reference points, perhaps investigating what these reference points are and understanding them might be illuminating.

And as we just chanted in The Heart Sutra, or as Brunnholz translates the title, he calls it The Sutra of the Heart of the Glorious Lady Prajnaparamita, which I really like.

So The Sutra of the Heart of the Glorious Lady Prajnaparamita.

So this is what Brunnholz says about Nirvana or the way he translates it, uh, in The Heart Sutra.

"With nothing to attain, a bodhisattva relies on Prajnaparamita, and thus the mind is without hindrance.

Far beyond all inverted views, one realizes Nirvana." So this seems pretty clear.

We realize Nirvana when we rely on Prajnaparamita or the perfection of wisdom, because then the mind is without hindrance, or I've also heard it translated, the mind is no hindrance, and this perfection of wisdom is far beyond all of our inverted views.

So if there's nothing to attain, then why are we here, right? I started practicing at the Austin Zen Center to end some suffering or to understand why I was suffering, right? And, uh, who doesn't wanna attain this Nirvana, that peaceful, profound, nectar-like dharma? There's a couple other translations that I thought, uh, would be helpful.

So Red Pine, in his book on the Heart Sutra, he translates that sentence this way, "Without attainment, bodhisattvas take refuge in prajnaparamita and live without walls of the mind.

Without walls of the mind, and thus without fears, these bodhisattvas see through delusions and finally see through nirvana." So they see through the delusions concerning the existence of nirvana.

And Edward Conze says, "It is because of their non-attainment-ness that a bodhisattva, through having relied on the perfection of wisdom or insight, dwells without thought coverings.

In the absence of thought coverings, they have not been made to tremble.

They have overcome what can be upset and in the end they t- they n- they attain nirvana." So the way for us bodhisattvas to taste nirvana is to rely on this perfection of wisdom, the prajnaparamita.

This is not an attainment because this is fundamentally who we are.

This is ultimate reality.

This is Dogen's practice realization, right? We rest in this emptiness of Buddha nature and this, uh, true nature.

So these reference points are these thought coverings or walls of the mind.

So when we see that these reference points or these inverted views, these walls of the mind, when we see that they are impermanent, not who we are, and when we identify with them, cause us to suffer, uh, the fear and trembling dissolves, right? So when we recognize these reference points being marked by these three marks of existence, impermanence, um, suffering or dissatisfaction and not self, right? So the more we believe these reference points, the more likely we are to harm ourselves and others in an effort to move away from the suffering, right? And these reference points are identities that we're, that we believe in, the narratives of the mind that we buy into.