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[Plum Village presents]

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[Mindfulness is the energy of being aware and awake[br]to the present moment.]

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[It is the continuous practice of touching life deeply[br]in every moment of daily life.]

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[To be mindful is to be truly alive, present and at one[br]with those around you and with what you are doing.]

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Mindfulness is a mental formation

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Everyone has a seed of mindfulness

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and if we practice diligently,

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the seed of mindfulness in us

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will grow bigger and bigger.

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Any time we need[br]that energy of mindfulness,

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we just touch it and we have[br]plenty of it to make use of it.

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We know that mindfulness[br]has the power, has the capacity,

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to allow us to know what is going on.

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What is going on in our body,

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going on in our feelings,

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going on in our mind,

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and going on in the world.

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I remember very clearly[br]one time in Plum Village,

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Thay came out with this expression,[br]'Happy teachers will change the world'.

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Since then, Thay has done a calligraphy,[br]'Happy teachers will change the world',

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and we've developed this [br]'Wake Up Schools' initiative,

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which is our offering to bring mindfulness

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and Plum Village tradition's practices

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to offer to teachers,[br]classrooms and schools.

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Thay, our teacher,[br]very much wants this to happen.

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If the teachers know how to do that,

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they will transmit the practice[br]to their students.

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The practice is possible in the classroom,

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and the classroom will be happier.

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In education we want[br]to touch happiness and touch freedom.

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Those are two points that I feel[br]are fundamental to any kind of education.

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Help teachers be happier in their work,

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to help students,[br]the whole classroom environment,

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be a place that is enjoyable.

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To make a school become a second family

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where the teacher, the students,[br]and the whole school, the parents as well,

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see it as a joint effort to create[br]a place where it's not about the future,

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about your careers, and the jobs,[br]and the positions, and the money,

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but as a place where you actually[br]enjoy living and enjoy learning,

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and enjoy exploring.

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When we're born we don't necessarily know[br]how to touch happiness.

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There's a joy in the child[br]but how do we maintain that joy,

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how do we grow it,[br]how do we make it lasting,

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so that it can withstand

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all the kind of difficulties we face.

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One very wise teacher told me[br]that a good teacher must first be happy

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because you transmit[br]your presence to your students,

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you're like the weather[br]in the classroom.

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The mindfulness, and just being able[br]to see things with different eyes,

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just simply through smiling,

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breathing, and moving slowly.

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Who would have thought[br]that it's so simple!

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(Bell rings)

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To be alive on this planet,

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and to be making steps[br]on this beautiful planet,

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is a miracle.

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Mindful walking means

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you touch the ground[br]of the planet earth mindfully,

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and you touch all the wonders of life.

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Mindfulness allows us[br]to be aware that we are alive,

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that we are walking on this planet.

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Every step can be healing,[br]every step can be nourishing,

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every step can free us[br]from the past and the future,

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so that we can truly enjoy[br]the present moment,

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and there are those of us[br]who are capable of healing ourselves,

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just by mindful walking.

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I walked mindfully,

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taking care of my steps,

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and at that moment, seeing [br]these two groups come together,

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and merge into one big community,

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at that moment I felt tremendous joy.

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I remember Thay always asks us[br]to come back to our home.

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Of course mentally, intellectually,

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I know it's coming back home to myself,[br]to the present moment,

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but at that moment I just suddenly --

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kind of understood what he said.

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Coming back to home, the home is

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maybe the community[br]of us walking together,

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flowing as a river.

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It's not fixed, it's always flowing,

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and the interconnectedness,

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coming back to home, to this feeling,

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this present moment[br]of interconnectedness,

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I felt like, "Oh, how wonderful".

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(Bell rings)

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(Bell rings)

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Effortlessness is the nature[br]of the practice.

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You don't strive, you don't fight,[br]you don't impose the practice on yourself.

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You don't suffer, because of the practice.

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You just enjoy breathing in,[br]you just enjoy making a step.

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And when your breathing

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is peaceful, deep, harmonious,

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your body will profit from it,[br]your body will become lighter,

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more peaceful, and also[br]your feelings will be more peaceful.

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In our daily life, very often, our body[br]is there but our mind is elsewhere.

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In these moments we are not truly alive.

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According to this practice[br]you need only to breathe in mindfully,

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and you ride on your in-breath and[br]go home in just one, two, three seconds.

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When your mind is with your body, you are[br]well established in the here and the now,

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and you can touch the wonders of life

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inside and around,[br]for your nourishment and healing.

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Right now, I've been using[br]my mindfulness practice

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to help keep me more clear[br]in my classroom,

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with the stresses that come,

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and to be present for the students,

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and also to know[br]when I'm not like that.

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To try to find a way to bring[br]more freshness, more presence to myself.

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A happy teacher is a teacher that has time

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to be there for himself or herself.

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Someone who knows [br]how to take care of themselves,

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so they have enough balance,

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so that they know how to deal[br]with the challenges they have.

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Because one of the biggest problems[br]in teaching is actually

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that teachers give too much,[br]without putting anything back,

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and we have this big problem[br]of teacher stress and burnout.

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Teachers can look like they're very busy,

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were giving this, doing that,[br]computers are out,

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but what do students actually get,

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what are we actually[br]cultivating in young people?

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That's kind of a hard question.

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I have kids coming in and out all day,[br]like they may come for 45 or 90 minutes,

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a lot of transition,[br]it can be very hectic.

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So, I'd start with that simple practice.

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Just as the brother did first here,

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I'd have the kids sit in a circle,[br]and I would ring the bell.

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I'd get out my little bell,[br]and I'd say to my students,

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our bodies are here,[br]but where are our minds?

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Our mind might still be at lunch,[br]it might still be in math class,

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and so, if one hand represents our mind,[br]and the other hand represents our body,

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when I invite the bell, and we bring[br]awareness to our breathing,

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our mind and body come together.

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(Bell rings)

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I listen, I listen.

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You are listening very deeply.

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You allow the sound of the bell[br]to penetrate into your body,

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every cell of your body.

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(Bell rings)

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And when you breathe out, you say,

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this wonderful sound[br]brings me back to my true home.

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To really be there in the classroom.

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I mean, your body can be there,[br]but your mind might not be there,

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and when your mindful,[br]you're mind and body are there,

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and you have more of a chance to really --

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If you're there,[br]you know who else is there,

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you know you're there,[br]and you can have a real encounter,

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true communication with someone else,[br]and real learning can happen

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when there's two humans[br]who really connect with each other,

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because they're both present.

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And that is a life-giving moment.

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Like Thay says,

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"The best gift you can offer[br]is your true presence."

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So you have to start with teachers.

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You have to have teachers[br]who are themselves calm, centered,

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able to really be there for the kids.

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So mindfulness is key,[br]and it starts with us,

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it starts with being able[br]to come home to ourselves,

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and really be there for ourselves,

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and then the moment of teaching[br]and learning becomes a --

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a really rewarding[br]experience of connection.

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It has quality to it,

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because you're learning information[br]but you're learning to be a human being

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at the same time.

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(Bell rings)

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Dear friends, eating can be[br]a deep meditation also.

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During breakfast time or lunch time,[br]we can stop our thinking.

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When I pick up a piece of bread,

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I may spend one or two seconds

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to recognize that it is a piece of bread.

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That's mindfulness.

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And mindfulness has concentration in it,

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and one second[br]of mindfulness and concentration,

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allows me to see that this bread[br]contains the whole cosmos.

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The rain, the cloud, the earth,

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time, space, farmers, everything.

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When you put that piece[br]of bread into your mouth,

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you're in touch with the whole cosmos.

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We can eat every morsel[br]of our breakfast or our lunch in that way.

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And from time to time we stop eating[br]and we are aware of the co-practitioners,

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the brothers and sisters[br]in the Dharma who are there,[br]

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that can help build the spirit,

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the energy of brotherhood[br]and sisterhood, joy and peace.

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(Bell rings)

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In our Dharma discussion families,

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we just sit in a circle and we share -

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maybe 25 people that never[br]met each other before.

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People get so much from this experience

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because we set it up in such a way,

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that everybody has a chance[br]to share and be listened to,

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and the energy of concentration,[br]of listening, is quite profound.

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We don't go into dialogue,[br]and we're not interrupted.

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You don't get advice,[br]you get people sharing their experience,

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and it may relate[br]to somebody else's experience.

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You get authentic sharings from people.

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People open up, share from their heart,[br]what is going on for them,

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what is their experience,[br]what is their difficulty,

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what is their success,

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what they found to be helpful for them.

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So we exchange experiences[br]that are beneficial,

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and also we get to --

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put down our load,[br]if we're having a difficulty.

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A lot of healing takes place, [br]and people experience this feeling

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of brotherhood and sisterhood[br]in this kind of circle,

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in a way which seems miraculous.

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My Dharma discussions, I just cried[br]through every session of that,

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because there was such sisterhood --

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we had a couple of brothers --

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but there was[br]such a sisterhood bond in there.

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The sense of belonging to a community,

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that is something that happens[br]here in the retreat,

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is so powerful and so inspiring.

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There's a tremendous support,

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a sense of safety,

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there's a protectedness[br]in the teachings --

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A sense of sacredness, a sense of --

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deep love.

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(Children sing)

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(Bell rings)

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After four or five days

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of just being in this collective energy

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of peace, quiet, mindfulness, ease,

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not having any projects to work on,[br]any meetings to attend,

0:19:44.821,0:19:50.136
just letting go of their thinking,[br]coming back to their breathing,

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being aware of their body[br]and their emotions

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for four or five days --

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I think they felt very touched

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that we care enough.

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That will always be a core part[br]of Wake Up Schools -

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taking care of the teacher.

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(Heavy tribal drumming)

0:21:35.253,0:21:39.031
There is a habit energy [br]in every one of us.

0:21:40.374,0:21:42.046
We're used to run.

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Usually, people don't like[br]to go home to themselves

0:21:50.266,0:21:52.865
and get in touch[br]with the suffering inside.

0:21:54.165,0:21:58.608
They are afraid of being overwhelmed[br]by the suffering inside,

0:21:59.298,0:22:02.649
so their usual way is to try

0:22:03.139,0:22:06.979
to run away from their own suffering.

0:22:08.399,0:22:10.763
They try cover up the suffering inside,

0:22:11.073,0:22:15.028
their loneliness, their fear,[br]their anger and their despair.

0:22:21.325,0:22:23.208
For a teacher,

0:22:25.938,0:22:28.138
for a school teacher,[br]the first thing to do

0:22:28.428,0:22:31.412
is to go home to himself or herself.

0:22:37.726,0:22:40.176
The way out is in.

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Go back to oneself

0:22:49.193,0:22:53.003
and take care of oneself.

0:22:54.313,0:22:57.037
Learning how to generate a feeling of joy,

0:22:57.747,0:23:00.955
learning how to generate[br]a feeling of happiness,

0:23:01.565,0:23:04.063
learning how to handle

0:23:04.633,0:23:06.433
a painful feeling,

0:23:07.793,0:23:09.833
a painful emotion.

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Listening to the suffering,

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allow understanding and compassion[br]to be born, and suffer less.

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This is the first step.

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He or she has to do that,[br]that is the first step.

0:23:26.926,0:23:29.048
Five years ago my father passed away,

0:23:29.398,0:23:32.118
and at that time I --

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it was a an aneurysm, very sudden,

0:23:37.767,0:23:39.376
and so --

0:23:43.396,0:23:45.426
I retreated.

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I can remember at that time,

0:23:51.031,0:23:52.591
just, I don't know --

0:23:54.411,0:23:56.324
people would try to get it out of me.

0:23:56.554,0:23:59.396
My wife tried very hard[br]to have me talk about it.

0:23:59.716,0:24:02.231
I couldn't. I thought, I can control this.

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My rational mind thought,[br]I can control this experience.

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But since that time, I lose my temper,

0:24:12.669,0:24:17.465
I yell, raise my voice,[br]things have happened,

0:24:18.125,0:24:21.485
but coming here,[br]at the beginning of the retreat

0:24:21.735,0:24:23.251
Thay made a comment, he said,

0:24:23.571,0:24:26.894
"Sometimes through the practice, [br]you can touch your suffering."

0:24:27.264,0:24:29.345
Well, I didn't really --

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I listened --

0:24:32.405,0:24:38.030
but then, there was this sister leading[br]the 'mindfulness of the inner child'.

0:24:38.610,0:24:42.948
We had to visualize the inner child,

0:24:43.668,0:24:45.968
take care of our fragility,

0:24:46.428,0:24:49.980
and then she went on[br]to the mother inside of us,

0:24:50.440,0:24:55.845
and I love my mother very much,[br]that was a very painful time for her,

0:24:56.405,0:25:00.327
but, though I was trying to concentrate,[br]I found myself thinking,

0:25:01.577,0:25:05.477
move on, move on to the father,[br]move on to the father in me,

0:25:06.147,0:25:08.548
and there was --

0:25:10.168,0:25:14.075
so I've caused suffering for my wife,[br]I've caused suffering for my children,

0:25:14.455,0:25:17.534
and for my students, [br]in not knowing about my anger.

0:25:17.934,0:25:20.758
I felt, that moment,

0:25:21.948,0:25:25.438
that I actually had touched my suffering.

0:25:57.035,0:26:01.604
It's because of all these people,[br]they have taught me so many lessons.

0:26:02.164,0:26:06.362
And it was very overwhelming for me,

0:26:07.812,0:26:09.212
and I'm very grateful.

0:26:10.812,0:26:13.621
We can speak about[br]the goodness of suffering.

0:26:14.481,0:26:17.557
If you know how to embrace suffering,

0:26:18.787,0:26:21.748
to hold it tenderly,[br]to look deeply into it,

0:26:22.388,0:26:26.503
then you will be able to generate[br]the energy of compassion,

0:26:26.803,0:26:28.301
and understanding,

0:26:29.131,0:26:31.836
which are the foundation [br]of true happiness.

0:26:34.401,0:26:39.584
It's like when you grow[br]lotus flowers, you need the mud.

0:26:41.344,0:26:43.945
Lotus flowers cannot grow on marble.

0:26:47.215,0:26:49.532
Without the mud you cannot grow a lotus.

0:26:50.502,0:26:54.393
The same thing is true[br]with happiness and suffering.

0:26:55.223,0:26:57.248
A good practitioner knows

0:26:57.588,0:27:02.041
how to make good use of suffering[br]in order to grow happiness.

0:27:03.181,0:27:04.537
We get teachers in our retreats

0:27:04.717,0:27:07.784
that want to come and learn[br]curriculums and techniques,

0:27:09.174,0:27:14.865
but in the end, we teach them[br]how to transform themselves,

0:27:15.375,0:27:17.294
and to bring about happiness[br]in their own lives.

0:27:17.714,0:27:21.125
That is more powerful[br]than any curriculum or technique.

0:27:21.615,0:27:24.993
Although it's important to teach[br]young people mindfulness,

0:27:25.233,0:27:28.707
it's even more important[br]to be mindful yourself, as a teacher,

0:27:29.097,0:27:32.926
because kids pick up[br]on what you embody, who you are,

0:27:33.306,0:27:35.906
much more than they do[br]what you tell them to do.

0:27:36.176,0:27:40.589
It's just fundamental[br]to any kind of teaching -

0:27:41.899,0:27:45.838
the teacher needs to master it[br]before they can share with the student.

0:28:12.095,0:28:18.594
(Chanting)

0:28:51.083,0:28:53.054
This, being my first retreat,

0:28:53.674,0:28:58.366
has been very eye-opening,[br]very heart-opening to me,

0:28:59.496,0:29:01.878
because I consider myself a skeptic.

0:29:02.758,0:29:08.593
There's been a relatively small number[br]of studies, but they are powerful,

0:29:08.833,0:29:12.402
and they show that[br]mindfulness with young people

0:29:12.652,0:29:15.563
has very similar impacts[br]to mindfulness with adults,

0:29:15.793,0:29:19.293
where there's a very good evidence base,[br]showing, not surprisingly,

0:29:19.643,0:29:22.574
that young people's minds are the same[br]as adults' minds, essentially.

0:29:22.914,0:29:26.481
They show that mindfulness[br]appears to have an impact

0:29:26.761,0:29:30.491
on mental health, stress,[br]anxiety, depression.

0:29:30.911,0:29:35.617
It can help kids to learn more effectively[br]and that's very important for schools,

0:29:35.887,0:29:39.494
who may not be interested, sadly,[br]in the mental health side --

0:29:40.344,0:29:42.464
but are always inspired by the idea

0:29:42.464,0:29:46.919
of improved results, better learning,[br]better concentration and so on.

0:29:47.589,0:29:51.508
Mindfulness would appear[br]to improve that side of school,

0:29:52.038,0:29:56.129
and also appears to help kids to have[br]better relationships with one another,

0:29:56.499,0:30:00.839
to behave better, to be less impulsive,

0:30:01.289,0:30:03.515
and to manage their emotions[br]more effectively.

0:30:04.025,0:30:07.383
I felt the difference in me

0:30:07.383,0:30:11.003
of walking meditation every day,

0:30:12.093,0:30:14.961
sitting meditation and guided meditation,

0:30:15.181,0:30:21.056
and what that can do to increase[br]my ability to be open,

0:30:21.256,0:30:26.646
and my ability to notice[br]my reactions before they spill over.

0:30:26.866,0:30:33.601
So these changes are not just subjective,[br]they're actually visible on brain scans,

0:30:33.871,0:30:36.095
and I think that is really[br]quite influential

0:30:36.395,0:30:40.144
for the people who are wondering[br]whether there's any science here

0:30:40.454,0:30:42.406
or whether this is just wishful thinking.

0:30:42.616,0:30:46.325
You can actually see[br]the physiological changes in brains.

0:30:46.741,0:30:50.141
(Bell rings)

0:30:55.067,0:30:58.077
(Guitar music)

0:31:07.300,0:31:08.440
Wow.

0:31:08.585,0:31:10.093
It's amazing.

0:31:11.877,0:31:14.555
Breathing in, breathing out.

0:31:14.895,0:31:20.268
Just the image of so many people -[br]ordinary people, teachers, administrators,

0:31:20.868,0:31:24.117
really being inspired by these messages.

0:31:24.327,0:31:29.286
Just the vision of all those people[br]sitting in the hall, meditating,

0:31:29.586,0:31:30.898
listening to Thay,

0:31:31.228,0:31:35.946
the depth of discussion that happens[br]in the little Dharma groups we're in,

0:31:36.436,0:31:40.793
the way people open up to each other,[br]the honesty, the freshness.

0:31:41.133,0:31:44.496
It is just a real endorsement[br]of mindfulness

0:31:44.776,0:31:51.074
as a way of being, and a way[br]of helping people feel more authentic,

0:31:51.774,0:31:56.544
which is not always to be happy[br]in the sense of cheerful and smiley.

0:31:56.774,0:31:59.701
There's been a lot of tears,[br]there's been a lot of opening up,

0:31:59.841,0:32:02.831
but just renewing that sense of touching,

0:32:03.141,0:32:05.756
touching the humanity[br]in everyone, and in oneself,

0:32:06.176,0:32:08.623
feeling part of a greater whole.

0:32:08.873,0:32:10.523
It's just priceless.

0:32:10.743,0:32:16.068
Experiencing that suffering is happiness[br]and happiness is suffering and --

0:32:19.630,0:32:23.734
So our mindfulness is not just[br]a technique to be successful,

0:32:24.527,0:32:27.192
but it's a technique[br]to be a free human being.

0:32:28.544,0:32:32.406
If you stay with it the long enough[br]that will become its intention.

0:32:33.174,0:32:38.679
It's not just stress reduction[br]or being a successful student,

0:32:39.559,0:32:44.128
but it's actually coming[br]to the deepest of your suffering

0:32:44.438,0:32:47.355
and finding a way to be free from it,

0:32:47.735,0:32:51.252
and to untie these knots[br]that are stuck in your mind.

0:32:51.874,0:32:57.353
This is more like the ultimate concern.

0:33:09.155,0:33:12.113
I can do this, and I can share it.

0:33:12.423,0:33:17.834
Coming here just made me more eager[br]and hopeful about a new school year,

0:33:18.354,0:33:22.015
and not to impose anything[br]I've learned on my students,

0:33:22.015,0:33:25.444
but to bring to them[br]a teacher that is happy,

0:33:25.444,0:33:28.898
a teacher that can find peace and joy[br]in being in the classroom.

0:33:28.898,0:33:36.256
I have tremendous hope for my future[br]and what I can do as a teacher.

0:33:36.256,0:33:41.608
To know that I can be a part[br]of this mindful movement --

0:33:52.118,0:33:54.624
that can change the world.

0:33:55.384,0:33:56.554
We've talked about that,

0:33:56.734,0:34:00.933
the theme that happy teachers[br]can change the world.

0:34:01.949,0:34:05.041
It's the happy kids[br]that are gonna change the world.

0:34:05.261,0:34:10.986
We're just sort of a vehicle[br]to bring that movement wherever we go.

0:34:12.126,0:34:16.481
And the long-term project, thinking,

0:34:16.821,0:34:21.671
as we could live like this,[br]and as we could practice this even more,

0:34:22.201,0:34:24.343
what an impact[br]that's gonna have on the world.

0:34:25.405,0:34:28.392
That's why we say: "Happy teachers[br]will change the world."

0:34:30.902,0:34:35.124
(Singing)

0:35:09.030,0:35:12.198
If we are a happy teacher,[br]we are a mindful teacher,

0:35:13.138,0:35:17.416
and that mindfulness[br]ripples out around us.

0:35:19.153,0:35:23.123
(Guitar music)

0:38:08.249,0:38:17.799
[for more information, please contact us at:[br]info@wakeupschools.org]