1 00:00:09,801 --> 00:00:13,967 Good morning, Dear Sangha. Today we speak English. 2 00:00:15,467 --> 00:00:19,483 Today is March the 10th, 2013, 3 00:00:19,990 --> 00:00:24,621 and we are in the Still-water Meditation Hall, Upper Hamlet, Plum Village. 4 00:00:27,330 --> 00:00:30,766 How many will listen to Thay directly in English? 5 00:00:34,971 --> 00:00:36,233 The majority. 6 00:00:42,067 --> 00:00:47,133 There will be about 600 people coming for the French Retreat in a few days. 7 00:00:50,033 --> 00:00:53,233 And Sr. Hai Nghiem has proposed 8 00:00:58,830 --> 00:01:05,271 some subjects, themes, of teaching and practice. 9 00:01:06,968 --> 00:01:08,425 First is 10 00:01:10,658 --> 00:01:16,925 "Le bonheur est possible", "Happiness is Possible". 11 00:01:19,875 --> 00:01:25,000 The second is "La guèrison c'est possible", "Healing is Possible". 12 00:01:27,309 --> 00:01:32,114 Because many people need healing. 13 00:01:33,533 --> 00:01:37,872 Most of the people who come here need healing. 14 00:01:41,566 --> 00:01:46,167 And then, "Vivre en profondeur", "How to Live More Deeply our Life". 15 00:01:50,297 --> 00:01:55,733 Then another idea is "Revenir à la maison", "Coming Home". 16 00:01:56,867 --> 00:02:00,267 Do not wander anymore. Go home. 17 00:02:01,833 --> 00:02:07,269 That is also an important issue. 18 00:02:09,244 --> 00:02:10,467 Practice. 19 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:13,222 And then, 20 00:02:14,547 --> 00:02:18,553 "La rivière de la sangha", "Go as a River". 21 00:02:18,774 --> 00:02:20,875 Not as a drop of water. 22 00:02:21,233 --> 00:02:24,200 This is very important for the practice. 23 00:02:26,067 --> 00:02:29,067 We cannot practice unless we have a Sangha. 24 00:02:29,867 --> 00:02:32,532 And with a Sangha we have to go as a river. 25 00:02:35,167 --> 00:02:39,267 So not only the people who come for the retreat need that, 26 00:02:39,569 --> 00:02:44,016 but we also, who stay permanently in Plum Village, 27 00:02:44,450 --> 00:02:47,283 we also need this practice. 28 00:02:54,206 --> 00:02:57,400 And the friends who are going to come, who are coming, 29 00:02:58,842 --> 00:03:04,700 they will also participate in arranging the retreat. 30 00:03:05,367 --> 00:03:12,000 They will help with the cooking, the washing, the cleaning, and everything. 31 00:03:12,900 --> 00:03:17,426 So, many people love to 32 00:03:19,225 --> 00:03:25,192 share the work of the Sangha during the retreat. 33 00:03:29,143 --> 00:03:35,867 So, we should be able to show them how to cook, to clean, to wash, peacefully, happily, 34 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:40,767 because that is a part of the practice, of the learning. 35 00:03:41,833 --> 00:03:44,584 And we should set an example, 36 00:03:44,918 --> 00:03:50,451 because we are permanent residents in a practice center. 37 00:04:01,752 --> 00:04:08,400 Thay will give three Dharma talks in French. 38 00:04:09,367 --> 00:04:15,133 And maybe one of them will be Questions & Answers. 39 00:04:18,068 --> 00:04:22,067 So there will be three times when we gather altogether in one hamlet. 40 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:30,493 And, on the other days, we stay in our own hamlets 41 00:04:32,326 --> 00:04:36,659 with our separate Dharma talks and discussions and so on. 42 00:04:47,585 --> 00:04:49,530 And after the French Retreat, 43 00:04:49,834 --> 00:04:54,323 Thay and a number of monastics will have to fly to Asia. 44 00:05:02,026 --> 00:05:08,333 We have a tight schedule in South Korea, in Hong Kong. 45 00:05:10,700 --> 00:05:12,400 And in Thailand. 46 00:05:21,533 --> 00:05:27,300 Because people over there they want to make the most of the visit. 47 00:05:50,500 --> 00:05:53,131 We know that the practice of Plum Village 48 00:05:54,598 --> 00:06:01,665 can be seen in two points. 49 00:06:03,231 --> 00:06:06,864 The first point is how to recognize the suffering, 50 00:06:08,064 --> 00:06:09,597 and embrace it 51 00:06:11,230 --> 00:06:15,430 and transform it. And that is an art. 52 00:06:16,673 --> 00:06:21,713 Because life involves suffering, and happiness. 53 00:06:23,100 --> 00:06:25,075 We cannot avoid suffering. 54 00:06:26,662 --> 00:06:31,462 So we have to accept suffering. We have to learn how to suffer. 55 00:06:33,631 --> 00:06:37,038 If we know how to suffer, we will suffer less, much less. 56 00:06:38,233 --> 00:06:41,543 And we will learn a lot from our suffering. 57 00:06:46,017 --> 00:06:51,233 And we know how to make use, make good use of the suffering 58 00:06:51,867 --> 00:06:54,871 in order to create happiness. 59 00:06:55,900 --> 00:06:58,633 Like the way we grow lotus flowers. 60 00:06:59,167 --> 00:07:02,560 In order to grow lotus flowers we need mud. 61 00:07:03,026 --> 00:07:05,993 So suffering is a kind of mud that we need 62 00:07:07,095 --> 00:07:11,033 in order to generate the feeling of joy and happiness. 63 00:07:13,267 --> 00:07:19,205 So the first point, the first aspect of the practice is how to recognize suffering 64 00:07:22,238 --> 00:07:23,763 and to embrace it, 65 00:07:25,164 --> 00:07:27,030 and to transform it. 66 00:07:28,330 --> 00:07:34,012 And we speak of the art of suffering. 67 00:07:35,063 --> 00:07:38,568 It seems that his Holiness the Dalai Lama 68 00:07:38,922 --> 00:07:43,169 has written a book with the title, "The Art of Happiness". 69 00:07:44,533 --> 00:07:50,700 We need a book, "The Art of Suffering". We need, we have to learn how to suffer 70 00:07:52,767 --> 00:07:57,733 because we know that if we know how to suffer, we suffer much less. 71 00:07:58,066 --> 00:08:03,767 And we can learn from that suffering. And make good use of our suffering. 72 00:08:09,066 --> 00:08:13,671 As true practitioners, we know that, 73 00:08:14,626 --> 00:08:19,663 and we have our own experiences as how to suffer. 74 00:08:21,684 --> 00:08:24,600 We have to learn how to suffer. That is an art. 75 00:08:26,133 --> 00:08:30,767 We have to be able to smile to our suffering 76 00:08:34,032 --> 00:08:35,789 with peace, 77 00:08:36,844 --> 00:08:39,256 like we smile to the mud 78 00:08:39,355 --> 00:08:44,274 when we know that we have to make good use of the mud to 79 00:08:44,409 --> 00:08:46,233 grow lotus flowers. 80 00:08:55,633 --> 00:08:58,400 There are big blocks of suffering, 81 00:09:02,733 --> 00:09:04,700 "la souffrance masse". 82 00:09:06,767 --> 00:09:13,267 But there are what we call "les petites misères" 83 00:09:14,433 --> 00:09:16,675 the little sufferings. 84 00:09:20,467 --> 00:09:23,400 How to handle the little sufferings. 85 00:09:26,133 --> 00:09:29,833 And if we know how to handle the little sufferings we don't have to suffer. 86 00:09:30,633 --> 00:09:33,233 They are daily things, 87 00:09:37,343 --> 00:09:42,287 "les petites misères de la vie quotidienne". 88 00:09:44,966 --> 00:09:50,500 And we know how to handle these little moments of suffering. 89 00:09:51,533 --> 00:09:58,233 And we should be able to share our practice with the people who come 90 00:09:58,900 --> 00:10:00,433 to us. 91 00:10:04,067 --> 00:10:13,133 So we are not afraid of these little miseries, little sufferings, because we know how to handle them. 92 00:10:13,667 --> 00:10:16,433 They are part of our daily life. 93 00:10:17,300 --> 00:10:20,631 And then when suffering has become a block, 94 00:10:22,831 --> 00:10:27,819 we should know how to recognize it, how to embrace it. 95 00:10:28,264 --> 00:10:34,131 And especially how to make good use of the collective energy of the Sangha 96 00:10:34,527 --> 00:10:36,453 in order to embrace it. 97 00:10:37,327 --> 00:10:43,000 As a new practitioner, 98 00:10:45,122 --> 00:10:47,300 as a new person in the practice 99 00:10:48,373 --> 00:10:51,099 we may not be able to embrace our suffering, 100 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:55,203 because our mindfulness is not yet 101 00:10:57,315 --> 00:11:01,704 vigorous enough, powerful enough. 102 00:11:02,426 --> 00:11:06,967 So with the Sangha we can borrow the collective energy of mindfulness 103 00:11:07,299 --> 00:11:08,793 of the Sangha 104 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:14,367 in order to recognize and embrace the block of suffering in us. 105 00:11:15,333 --> 00:11:20,532 That suffering may have been transmitted to us by our father 106 00:11:21,033 --> 00:11:23,333 our mother, our ancestors. 107 00:11:30,900 --> 00:11:36,198 And, if we know how to recognize, embrace and transform it, 108 00:11:36,668 --> 00:11:41,203 we do it for our father, our mother, our ancestors. 109 00:11:41,859 --> 00:11:50,367 It's very kind of us to be able to do that for our parents, for our ancestors, 110 00:11:50,933 --> 00:11:55,067 and not to transmit it to our children, and their children. 111 00:11:56,232 --> 00:11:58,200 The end of samsara. 112 00:12:06,767 --> 00:12:11,467 Many people who have read about the practice of Plum Village 113 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:17,567 and hear about the peace, the energy of brotherhood, sisterhood, 114 00:12:20,700 --> 00:12:26,300 and when they come to Plum Village and at least sit with us and walk with us 115 00:12:28,900 --> 00:12:33,032 they feel that that energy, the collective energy, is something very real 116 00:12:34,533 --> 00:12:37,433 and not just something people talk about. 117 00:12:39,767 --> 00:12:42,385 When you allow yourself to be embraced 118 00:12:42,732 --> 00:12:45,632 by that collective energy of mindfulness and peace, 119 00:12:46,535 --> 00:12:48,392 you feel much better. 120 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:53,032 You feel that your suffering is beginning to transform. 121 00:12:55,633 --> 00:13:00,633 So, taking refuge in the Sangha is a very crucial practice. 122 00:13:04,333 --> 00:13:07,967 Monks, nuns, lay practitioners, sitting together 123 00:13:09,167 --> 00:13:15,200 they come in peace, and their energy of mindfulness can be powerful. 124 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:18,302 If we know how to sit among them, 125 00:13:18,513 --> 00:13:23,410 how to allow the collective energy of mindfulness to embrace our suffering 126 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:30,032 then we are like a drop of water flowing in a river, and we feel much better. 127 00:13:31,067 --> 00:13:34,099 We may not have to do anything, 128 00:13:34,500 --> 00:13:37,666 we just allow ourselves to be embraced. 129 00:13:38,067 --> 00:13:42,467 Allowed our suffering to be embraced by the collective energy of the Sangha. 130 00:13:43,567 --> 00:13:50,438 And that is the greatest gift that the Sangha can make to the people who come. 131 00:14:04,633 --> 00:14:10,300 Of course, we have to prepare many things 132 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:12,833 for a retreat. 133 00:14:14,133 --> 00:14:16,374 We can do many things. 134 00:14:20,827 --> 00:14:23,828 We can clean, we can wash, 135 00:14:25,231 --> 00:14:27,974 we can cook, we can do many things for the retreat. 136 00:14:28,128 --> 00:14:30,725 We can serve the people. 137 00:14:32,072 --> 00:14:33,876 We can help them. 138 00:14:35,344 --> 00:14:38,772 But the best thing we can give them, 139 00:14:39,303 --> 00:14:41,488 the most precious thing we can give them, 140 00:14:42,665 --> 00:14:44,564 is not our labor, 141 00:14:45,144 --> 00:14:48,512 our hard work. 142 00:14:49,133 --> 00:14:51,376 The best thing we can provide them 143 00:14:51,933 --> 00:14:56,462 is our collective energy of mindfulness and peace. 144 00:14:58,701 --> 00:15:02,109 That is why during sitting meditation, walking meditation, 145 00:15:02,449 --> 00:15:04,844 we should try our best to be present. 146 00:15:06,469 --> 00:15:12,078 Because that collective energy will help calm them down, 147 00:15:13,139 --> 00:15:15,282 help embrace their suffering 148 00:15:15,904 --> 00:15:19,776 so that they can walk, they can sit, they can breathe also. 149 00:15:20,216 --> 00:15:22,983 Because many of them just cannot breathe, 150 00:15:23,937 --> 00:15:27,843 just cannot walk, just cannot sit. 151 00:15:28,639 --> 00:15:32,170 And with that collective energy of mindfulness and peace 152 00:15:32,473 --> 00:15:34,405 that we have as a Sangha, 153 00:15:35,039 --> 00:15:38,207 we can give them a chance 154 00:15:38,604 --> 00:15:41,833 so that they can breathe, 155 00:15:42,658 --> 00:15:45,137 they can walk and they can sit. 156 00:15:45,532 --> 00:15:51,917 This is the best thing we can offer them as a Sangha. 157 00:15:53,532 --> 00:15:55,401 So it is not hard labor 158 00:15:55,598 --> 00:15:58,761 that is the best thing we can provide, 159 00:15:59,050 --> 00:16:03,978 but that energy of peace and joy and brotherhood. 160 00:16:30,752 --> 00:16:33,435 The people who are coming they are lucky, 161 00:16:33,993 --> 00:16:37,978 because they are capable of arranging so that they have a week 162 00:16:40,783 --> 00:16:43,167 to spend with us. 163 00:16:43,728 --> 00:16:46,308 Many other people they like it, they want it, 164 00:16:46,905 --> 00:16:49,007 but they cannot arrange, 165 00:16:49,202 --> 00:16:53,615 they do not have time, they do not have money. 166 00:16:54,688 --> 00:16:58,887 So those who can come this time, 167 00:16:59,375 --> 00:17:01,097 they are lucky enough 168 00:17:01,861 --> 00:17:04,682 to have seven days to be with the Sangha. 169 00:17:09,417 --> 00:17:11,664 We should be aware of that. 170 00:17:13,971 --> 00:17:16,261 We should try our best in order to 171 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:20,531 give them a chance for transformation and healing. 172 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:27,835 Thay is going to tell them 173 00:17:28,411 --> 00:17:30,445 in the first retreat (day), 174 00:17:30,844 --> 00:17:32,491 that healing is possible 175 00:17:33,147 --> 00:17:35,038 right in the retreat. 176 00:17:37,837 --> 00:17:40,902 Not after the retreat but right during the retreat. 177 00:17:42,479 --> 00:17:44,745 Because if they follow the instructions 178 00:17:46,347 --> 00:17:48,726 to breathe, to sit and to walk, 179 00:17:49,048 --> 00:17:52,701 and healing is possible with every step, 180 00:17:53,072 --> 00:17:55,568 healing is possible with every breath. 181 00:18:01,073 --> 00:18:02,877 And this is the truth. 182 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,877 There is no way to healing, healing is the way. 183 00:18:12,003 --> 00:18:16,462 We should tell them that in order to heal, they have to stop. 184 00:18:18,048 --> 00:18:22,251 Il faut relâcher pour pouvoir guérir. 185 00:18:22,776 --> 00:18:26,254 If they don't stop, there is no hope to heal. 186 00:18:30,730 --> 00:18:36,158 They have not healed because they have not stopped. 187 00:18:37,086 --> 00:18:40,330 So the five mindfulness trainings is a very important teaching. 188 00:18:41,813 --> 00:18:46,569 The five mindfulness trainings is to stop 189 00:18:48,042 --> 00:18:52,645 the kind of action, the kind of thinking, that can create 190 00:18:55,170 --> 00:18:56,744 ill-being, 191 00:18:57,332 --> 00:18:58,870 sickness. 192 00:19:00,676 --> 00:19:06,621 The five mindfulness trainings are also the kind of thinking and acting 193 00:19:07,387 --> 00:19:09,482 that have the power to heal. 194 00:19:10,803 --> 00:19:15,714 So without the five mindfulness trainings healing is not possible. 195 00:19:20,608 --> 00:19:23,281 Stopping is very important. 196 00:19:25,492 --> 00:19:27,451 Stop and heal. 197 00:19:28,479 --> 00:19:35,340 That is also the theme that we offer, the teaching, in South Korea. 198 00:19:41,483 --> 00:19:46,603 If we know how to stop, healing can take place right away. 199 00:19:47,021 --> 00:19:48,604 With every step. 200 00:19:51,901 --> 00:19:54,079 Every breath, and so on. 201 00:19:55,176 --> 00:19:57,595 So we should be able to convince them 202 00:19:58,518 --> 00:20:00,051 to stop. 203 00:20:01,766 --> 00:20:04,108 To stop whatever they are doing 204 00:20:04,665 --> 00:20:06,313 that can lead 205 00:20:07,077 --> 00:20:08,735 to suffering, 206 00:20:10,236 --> 00:20:12,243 to anger, to despair. 207 00:20:18,943 --> 00:20:21,453 They will know what to stop 208 00:20:22,772 --> 00:20:24,451 in order to heal. 209 00:20:27,204 --> 00:20:28,764 We will tell them 210 00:20:29,575 --> 00:20:35,283 how have we been able to stop 211 00:20:36,435 --> 00:20:38,336 and to start healing. 212 00:20:38,959 --> 00:20:42,105 We have to share our experience with us. 213 00:20:44,807 --> 00:20:49,320 The moment when you decide to stop you feel very light. 214 00:20:49,980 --> 00:20:52,951 You feel the healing taking place right away. 215 00:20:53,786 --> 00:20:55,775 That is a great moment. 216 00:20:56,146 --> 00:20:58,606 The determination to stop. 217 00:21:15,734 --> 00:21:17,841 And then, we will tell them 218 00:21:18,625 --> 00:21:24,179 that it is possible to create moments of happiness in our daily life. 219 00:21:26,185 --> 00:21:27,507 There are 220 00:21:30,279 --> 00:21:32,045 small 221 00:21:32,910 --> 00:21:34,594 happinesses 222 00:21:35,121 --> 00:21:38,527 that we can create at any moment of our daily life. 223 00:21:38,912 --> 00:21:40,819 That is an art, also. 224 00:21:42,048 --> 00:21:43,538 The art 225 00:21:44,428 --> 00:21:46,248 of happiness. 226 00:21:47,670 --> 00:21:50,261 Whether you drink a cup of tea, 227 00:21:50,973 --> 00:21:54,127 or take a walk, or just sit down and look, 228 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:58,476 you can create happiness during that time. 229 00:21:59,813 --> 00:22:04,917 A little bit, the ingredients that you need in order to create a moment of happiness 230 00:22:05,547 --> 00:22:07,494 can be recognized. 231 00:22:13,132 --> 00:22:18,110 We know that mindfulness is a source of joy, a source of happiness. 232 00:22:23,285 --> 00:22:25,147 People complain that 233 00:22:26,335 --> 00:22:28,644 they do not have happiness. 234 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:32,904 We should be able to tell them 235 00:22:33,313 --> 00:22:37,270 that they have conditions to be happy. 236 00:22:37,705 --> 00:22:42,650 And help them to recognize this conditions of happiness that they do have. 237 00:22:45,839 --> 00:22:48,888 The cherry blossoms are there, 238 00:22:56,676 --> 00:23:00,427 but they are not capable of 239 00:23:02,611 --> 00:23:05,916 contemplating, enjoying the cherry blossoms. 240 00:23:08,267 --> 00:23:10,396 The sunshine is there, 241 00:23:10,856 --> 00:23:13,179 spring is coming, all this things 242 00:23:14,353 --> 00:23:16,553 are wonders of life. 243 00:23:16,879 --> 00:23:19,581 And yet, they are caught in something. 244 00:23:20,042 --> 00:23:21,874 They are not capable of 245 00:23:23,379 --> 00:23:25,271 recognizing this 246 00:23:27,583 --> 00:23:29,481 conditions of happiness. 247 00:23:29,809 --> 00:23:32,152 They have a body. 248 00:23:33,138 --> 00:23:35,857 And yet they do not have access to their body. 249 00:23:36,570 --> 00:23:40,245 It's funny. You have a body, but you don't have access to your body. 250 00:23:43,647 --> 00:23:45,983 You cannot go home to your body. 251 00:23:46,655 --> 00:23:49,668 You cannot touch your body and say: 252 00:23:49,952 --> 00:23:51,745 this is my body. 253 00:23:52,875 --> 00:23:55,010 Because they don't have mindfulness. 254 00:24:00,109 --> 00:24:02,840 When they spend three hours with their computer, 255 00:24:03,269 --> 00:24:05,752 they completely forget that they have a body. 256 00:24:07,515 --> 00:24:09,215 They stay in a 257 00:24:10,699 --> 00:24:12,415 world of 258 00:24:14,834 --> 00:24:16,775 unreal world. 259 00:24:23,271 --> 00:24:25,522 And that is why in Plum Village 260 00:24:27,908 --> 00:24:29,974 our brothers and sisters 261 00:24:32,629 --> 00:24:37,438 like to program a bell of mindfulness in the computer, 262 00:24:37,951 --> 00:24:42,033 so that from time to time we are reminded 263 00:24:42,510 --> 00:24:45,045 to stop and go back to our body 264 00:24:45,736 --> 00:24:47,393 and breathe in 265 00:24:50,042 --> 00:24:53,720 using the mindfulness of breathing in order to 266 00:24:53,995 --> 00:24:57,797 recognize our body and get in touch with it. 267 00:24:59,545 --> 00:25:01,880 Maybe our body is calling us 268 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:06,541 but we don't hear. 269 00:25:07,806 --> 00:25:10,646 Our body need us, but we don't hear. 270 00:25:13,053 --> 00:25:15,369 If we can get in touch with our body 271 00:25:16,232 --> 00:25:18,629 we can get in touch with our feelings also. 272 00:25:18,786 --> 00:25:21,257 There are many feelings calling us. 273 00:25:22,002 --> 00:25:29,181 Suffering is like a child calling us, a suffering child is calling us. 274 00:25:31,060 --> 00:25:36,842 But we ignore the voice of the child within. 275 00:25:37,846 --> 00:25:40,749 Because every feeling is a child. 276 00:25:48,205 --> 00:25:51,384 So mindfulness help us to get in touch 277 00:25:52,334 --> 00:25:56,452 not only only with the suffering, in order for us to embrace and transform, 278 00:25:56,990 --> 00:25:59,183 mindfulness also help us to 279 00:26:01,227 --> 00:26:04,504 to touch the wonders of life, including our body. 280 00:26:07,980 --> 00:26:09,985 Breathing in can be 281 00:26:13,743 --> 00:26:15,388 can be a delight. 282 00:26:17,042 --> 00:26:19,317 Breathing out can be a delight. 283 00:26:19,858 --> 00:26:21,706 You enjoy your breathing. 284 00:26:24,497 --> 00:26:28,579 Just visualize a monk sitting on the grass. 285 00:26:29,312 --> 00:26:34,949 He does not do anything. He just breath in and enjoy his in-breath. He is free. 286 00:26:35,627 --> 00:26:37,764 He is free from worries, 287 00:26:40,911 --> 00:26:42,504 from anger, 288 00:26:43,655 --> 00:26:45,411 from craving. 289 00:26:47,953 --> 00:26:51,346 He is capable of getting in touch with his body 290 00:26:52,060 --> 00:26:53,842 and the blue sky, 291 00:26:54,349 --> 00:26:59,802 the green color, with the spring coming. 292 00:27:01,676 --> 00:27:07,833 So we should be able to do that in order to remind the people who are coming 293 00:27:08,501 --> 00:27:12,118 that they can also create moments of happiness. 294 00:27:12,982 --> 00:27:16,203 Les petits bonheurs de chaque jour. 295 00:27:20,866 --> 00:27:24,302 Learn how to enjoy. 296 00:27:24,861 --> 00:27:29,514 Learn how to savor the little happinesses 297 00:27:30,073 --> 00:27:31,812 in our daily life. 298 00:27:32,214 --> 00:27:33,811 And that is possible. 299 00:27:59,616 --> 00:28:01,538 There are many talented people. 300 00:28:03,118 --> 00:28:05,615 They can get a diploma. 301 00:28:06,979 --> 00:28:13,684 They can get invent a new machine. 302 00:28:15,873 --> 00:28:17,900 They can do many things. 303 00:28:23,632 --> 00:28:25,482 We will ask them: 304 00:28:27,225 --> 00:28:30,364 Can you create a moment of happiness? 305 00:28:32,352 --> 00:28:34,431 Can you make use of your body, 306 00:28:36,553 --> 00:28:38,983 can you make use of your in-breath, 307 00:28:39,832 --> 00:28:42,243 can you make use of your mindfulness 308 00:28:42,542 --> 00:28:45,269 in order to create a moment of happiness? 309 00:28:45,482 --> 00:28:46,916 A feeling of happiness? 310 00:28:50,129 --> 00:28:51,625 The way we 311 00:28:53,500 --> 00:28:55,426 make a soup. 312 00:28:55,774 --> 00:29:00,174 In order to make a soup we need some water, some vegetables, some tofu and so on. 313 00:29:02,286 --> 00:29:04,842 Most of us are able to make a good soup. 314 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:12,682 Un petit bonheur, a little happiness is like that, is like a soup. 315 00:29:13,705 --> 00:29:16,768 And with some ingredients we are capable of making 316 00:29:17,403 --> 00:29:20,643 a moment of happiness for us and for the other person. 317 00:29:22,586 --> 00:29:26,177 You can offer some of your soup to the other person. 318 00:29:27,171 --> 00:29:31,203 If you know how to invent, to create a moment of happiness 319 00:29:31,783 --> 00:29:36,280 you can enjoy that happiness and you can offer that to the other person. 320 00:29:37,805 --> 00:29:39,583 So that is an art. 321 00:29:40,077 --> 00:29:42,978 The art of happiness. 322 00:29:45,050 --> 00:29:47,519 You have to learn to enjoy. 323 00:29:53,889 --> 00:29:55,626 And to fabricate 324 00:30:02,322 --> 00:30:06,122 this feelings of joy and happiness in our daily life. 325 00:30:43,359 --> 00:30:47,710 Il faut apprendre à savourer les petits bonheurs. 326 00:30:51,278 --> 00:30:53,224 To learn how to savor 327 00:30:54,774 --> 00:30:58,346 the little happinesses in our daily life. 328 00:30:59,852 --> 00:31:01,485 And to create them. 329 00:31:06,955 --> 00:31:08,679 And we know 330 00:31:10,850 --> 00:31:12,628 how to stop 331 00:31:14,412 --> 00:31:19,165 the Non Stop Thinking radio, NST, 332 00:31:20,604 --> 00:31:22,495 in order to do so. 333 00:31:22,865 --> 00:31:27,608 If you allow the radio inside to continue, 334 00:31:27,914 --> 00:31:29,965 then you cannot do anything. 335 00:31:34,969 --> 00:31:42,002 Because there is always that mental discourse going on day and night in your head. 336 00:31:43,374 --> 00:31:47,071 You think of the past, you invoke the past, 337 00:31:48,446 --> 00:31:50,272 you are afraid of the future, 338 00:31:50,704 --> 00:31:52,882 and the thinking goes on. 339 00:31:53,776 --> 00:31:56,924 And it takes away all space in you. 340 00:31:57,238 --> 00:31:59,594 You have no time to live your life. 341 00:32:00,990 --> 00:32:02,669 It is very important 342 00:32:03,757 --> 00:32:06,509 to stop the radio inside, 343 00:32:06,952 --> 00:32:10,484 the non stop NST, Non Stop Thinking. 344 00:32:13,028 --> 00:32:15,270 Because that is the practice of 345 00:32:17,381 --> 00:32:18,990 rumination. 346 00:32:24,274 --> 00:32:29,299 We eat and we chew again and again 347 00:32:30,173 --> 00:32:31,745 our suffering, 348 00:32:32,243 --> 00:32:35,522 our worries, and that is not good for your health. 349 00:32:37,222 --> 00:32:39,378 So we should be able to help them 350 00:32:41,881 --> 00:32:46,534 not to continue to eat their own consciousness. 351 00:32:47,779 --> 00:32:49,118 That is about 352 00:32:50,848 --> 00:32:52,539 the fourth nutriment. 353 00:32:53,571 --> 00:32:55,600 Consciousness as food. 354 00:32:56,111 --> 00:32:58,505 In our consciousness there are suffering, 355 00:33:01,053 --> 00:33:02,869 regret, sorrow. 356 00:33:06,385 --> 00:33:10,851 We have the habit of bringing them up again 357 00:33:11,352 --> 00:33:15,534 from the depth of our consciousness and chew and eat them again and again and again. 358 00:33:16,205 --> 00:33:17,846 That is not healthy, 359 00:33:18,690 --> 00:33:20,565 a healthy kind of food. 360 00:33:22,057 --> 00:33:23,514 So stopping 361 00:33:24,544 --> 00:33:27,913 the mental discourse is very important in the practice. 362 00:33:33,301 --> 00:33:34,768 It's funny that 363 00:33:35,230 --> 00:33:41,137 in Plum Village not only we don't drink alcohol, 364 00:33:42,609 --> 00:33:47,176 eat meat, but we advice not to talk and not to think. 365 00:33:49,379 --> 00:33:54,091 Because while walking if we talk or think, 366 00:33:55,230 --> 00:33:57,735 we allow that radio to continue 367 00:33:58,700 --> 00:34:00,312 and you are victim, 368 00:34:01,681 --> 00:34:05,502 you are victim of the past, of the future, of worries. 369 00:34:06,038 --> 00:34:08,136 We are not living our life. 370 00:34:08,385 --> 00:34:12,157 In order to be able to live our life we have to stop the radio inside. 371 00:34:15,850 --> 00:34:17,783 Le discours intérieur. 372 00:34:20,358 --> 00:34:25,576 And then, how can you enjoy your steps 373 00:34:26,472 --> 00:34:29,074 if you allow the radio to continue? 374 00:34:29,613 --> 00:34:32,639 That is why it is very important to stop the radio inside. 375 00:34:35,153 --> 00:34:36,706 To feel, 376 00:34:38,131 --> 00:34:39,828 rather than to think. 377 00:34:41,299 --> 00:34:45,455 When we touch the ground with our foot 378 00:34:46,591 --> 00:34:48,310 we should be able to feel. 379 00:34:49,310 --> 00:34:51,368 And the feeling can bring insight. 380 00:34:55,111 --> 00:34:57,670 We are concentrated on that feeling. 381 00:34:58,481 --> 00:35:00,370 I am touching mother Earth 382 00:35:00,885 --> 00:35:03,171 with my left foot. 383 00:35:06,016 --> 00:35:09,612 And in no time at all you touch all the wonders of life 384 00:35:10,104 --> 00:35:11,572 that are available 385 00:35:13,104 --> 00:35:16,696 during the time you touch the ground with your left foot. 386 00:35:17,610 --> 00:35:19,210 And you have the feeling, 387 00:35:19,629 --> 00:35:21,894 a wonderful feeling of joy, 388 00:35:22,277 --> 00:35:24,114 of well-being. 389 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:29,404 And by doing so, you can stop the thinking. 390 00:35:30,539 --> 00:35:35,080 Stop the thinking in order to do that, to do that in order to stop the thinking. 391 00:35:39,051 --> 00:35:43,254 So to feel rather than to think is our practice. 392 00:35:44,628 --> 00:35:46,203 To feel your body. 393 00:35:48,174 --> 00:35:50,291 To be aware of each feeling. 394 00:35:52,591 --> 00:35:54,215 To embrace them. 395 00:35:56,155 --> 00:35:57,962 That is our practice. 396 00:35:58,486 --> 00:36:00,509 And the healing is possible. 397 00:36:03,519 --> 00:36:07,792 And we provide ourselves with a kind of healthy food. 398 00:36:11,113 --> 00:36:15,558 We do not chew again and again our sorrow, our fear, our anger, 399 00:36:15,910 --> 00:36:18,112 which is not good for our health. 400 00:36:19,097 --> 00:36:24,728 But we begin to get the kind of healthy, sane food that we deserve. 401 00:36:26,034 --> 00:36:27,982 And the Sangha around us 402 00:36:28,951 --> 00:36:31,587 is there to remind us of our practice. 403 00:36:37,691 --> 00:36:39,032 So we learn 404 00:36:41,953 --> 00:36:45,546 how to walk joyfully and happily. 405 00:36:47,445 --> 00:36:50,621 Walking meditation is not a hard labor. 406 00:36:54,999 --> 00:36:57,478 Is not a duty that we have to perform. 407 00:36:57,852 --> 00:36:59,846 That is an opportunity 408 00:37:00,376 --> 00:37:02,999 to create moments of happiness. 409 00:37:03,540 --> 00:37:08,916 That is a good opportunity to create moments of happiness 410 00:37:09,883 --> 00:37:11,924 and to heal. 411 00:37:13,153 --> 00:37:14,962 Walking meditation. 412 00:37:15,416 --> 00:37:19,287 Whether you walk with a Sangha or you walk alone. 413 00:37:22,101 --> 00:37:24,509 Walking with a Sangha you inherit, 414 00:37:25,515 --> 00:37:28,886 you profit from the collective energy of the Sangha. 415 00:37:30,708 --> 00:37:32,294 And walking alone 416 00:37:32,621 --> 00:37:35,900 you radiate the energy of peace and mindfulness 417 00:37:36,942 --> 00:37:38,721 and you remind people 418 00:37:39,838 --> 00:37:41,837 to walk like you. 419 00:37:45,576 --> 00:37:47,221 Any moment of practice 420 00:37:48,737 --> 00:37:52,352 can heal and help heal other people. 421 00:37:53,334 --> 00:37:56,821 Not only you yourself, but to help heal other people. 422 00:37:57,356 --> 00:38:01,759 It's very pleasant to see a brother or a sister walking mindfully and happily 423 00:38:02,621 --> 00:38:04,220 on a campus. 424 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:07,199 That is very nourishing and healing. 425 00:38:09,336 --> 00:38:13,230 So whether you walk with a Sangha or you walk alone 426 00:38:13,804 --> 00:38:17,174 your steps are very important for us. 427 00:38:21,019 --> 00:38:25,075 And the people who come to us, when they see us walking like that 428 00:38:25,282 --> 00:38:28,102 they have faith in the practice, in the Dharma. 429 00:38:38,090 --> 00:38:41,393 When we have lunch, when we eat, 430 00:38:44,284 --> 00:38:45,951 there must be a way of eating 431 00:38:46,683 --> 00:38:53,221 in order for every moment of the meal can be healing, can be nourishing. 432 00:38:54,305 --> 00:38:58,931 We do not only get the nutriment from the food, 433 00:38:59,259 --> 00:39:01,739 but from the Sangha. 434 00:39:02,510 --> 00:39:06,193 Because together, sitting together and eating 435 00:39:06,488 --> 00:39:11,391 we generate energy of mindfulness, collective energy of mindfulness and brotherhood. 436 00:39:11,756 --> 00:39:15,046 And that is very healthy, that is very healing. 437 00:39:16,631 --> 00:39:19,374 So eating like that you stop the thinking. 438 00:39:21,070 --> 00:39:24,766 And you became aware of the members of the Sangha around you. 439 00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:30,837 Everyone is generating the energy of peace, brotherhood. 440 00:39:31,256 --> 00:39:34,526 That is healing, that is good food. 441 00:39:37,376 --> 00:39:39,600 So eating together is a practice. 442 00:39:40,950 --> 00:39:44,689 Is not hard labor, is not a duty to perform. 443 00:39:46,804 --> 00:39:48,220 Also, 444 00:39:49,045 --> 00:39:50,881 sitting meditation. 445 00:39:51,697 --> 00:39:53,580 Sitting meditation is 446 00:39:54,924 --> 00:39:57,203 an opportunity to heal, 447 00:39:58,597 --> 00:40:01,192 to create moments of joy also. 448 00:40:02,323 --> 00:40:06,009 And not a moment when you have to be there 449 00:40:08,381 --> 00:40:14,390 waiting for the bell to sound announcing the end of the sitting. 450 00:40:14,946 --> 00:40:17,107 No. That would be a waste. 451 00:40:18,488 --> 00:40:20,761 C'est du gaspillage. 452 00:40:23,977 --> 00:40:25,474 It is very 453 00:40:26,331 --> 00:40:29,709 very rare, very precious moments. 454 00:40:30,572 --> 00:40:35,950 People in the world, they don't have the time to sit and do nothing like that. 455 00:40:37,826 --> 00:40:41,189 They consider it to be uneconomic. 456 00:40:44,026 --> 00:40:45,471 A luxury. 457 00:40:46,783 --> 00:40:48,456 Time is money. 458 00:40:49,365 --> 00:40:51,053 But we know that sitting 459 00:40:53,140 --> 00:40:54,814 can be very healing. 460 00:40:56,050 --> 00:41:00,046 So we have to learn how to enjoy every moment of our sitting. 461 00:41:00,564 --> 00:41:04,313 How to breath, how to sit, so that every moment of sitting 462 00:41:04,670 --> 00:41:06,840 can be nourishing and healing. 463 00:41:10,974 --> 00:41:13,170 And if we know that 464 00:41:16,037 --> 00:41:18,996 that schedule is made by ourselves 465 00:41:19,512 --> 00:41:22,701 and not imposed on us by a political party, 466 00:41:25,024 --> 00:41:26,834 or by the King. 467 00:41:30,233 --> 00:41:35,314 It is the Sangha who has created the schedule 468 00:41:36,279 --> 00:41:39,403 so that we can make good use of the schedule 469 00:41:40,318 --> 00:41:43,122 for our transformation and healing. 470 00:41:44,545 --> 00:41:49,036 The schedule is not imposed on us by anyone, including Thay. 471 00:41:50,815 --> 00:41:54,196 The schedule has been designed by the whole Sangha 472 00:41:54,729 --> 00:41:57,814 so that everyone has equal chance 473 00:41:58,634 --> 00:42:00,978 to transform and to heal. 474 00:42:02,438 --> 00:42:04,330 So we should not complain 475 00:42:04,592 --> 00:42:06,778 that the schedule is too tight. 476 00:42:07,292 --> 00:42:10,048 Only beginners need a tight schedule. 477 00:42:14,245 --> 00:42:16,113 That is the raison-d'être 478 00:42:17,306 --> 00:42:21,144 of a practitioner, to have a schedule. 479 00:42:21,564 --> 00:42:24,776 And we know that doing with a Sangha, 480 00:42:25,439 --> 00:42:27,218 doing together with a Sangha, 481 00:42:28,419 --> 00:42:31,712 is better, is easier, is more pleasant. 482 00:42:33,188 --> 00:42:36,549 So the bell and the Sangha coming to the sitting 483 00:42:36,787 --> 00:42:38,439 is helping us. 484 00:42:41,958 --> 00:42:46,009 Is a great help that everyone is going to the sitting 485 00:42:46,938 --> 00:42:50,630 so we are going to the sitting. That is something very natural. 486 00:42:51,546 --> 00:42:53,853 We don't have to make any effort. 487 00:43:02,066 --> 00:43:03,927 It is said in many sutras 488 00:43:04,296 --> 00:43:06,012 that the Dharma 489 00:43:06,425 --> 00:43:09,256 is lovely, is pleasant, 490 00:43:10,108 --> 00:43:13,187 in the beginning, in the middle, at the end. 491 00:43:13,546 --> 00:43:17,292 So every minute of the practice should be pleasant, should be healing 492 00:43:18,996 --> 00:43:20,884 and transforming.