0:00:00.001,0:00:04.269
My first intention this morning is[br]that I would like to be

0:00:06.434,0:00:09.266
fearless in speaking the truth.

0:00:10.250,0:00:16.358
I was with our teacher when he[br]spoke at the World Bank in 2013.

0:00:16.863,0:00:20.359
In that giant atrium that many[br]of you know in Washington, D.C.

0:00:21.000,0:00:24.817
Our teacher was so fearless[br]in speaking the truth.

0:00:26.042,0:00:28.278
If I could have one percent[br]of that this morning,

0:00:28.375,0:00:29.873
I would be very happy.

0:00:29.926,0:00:33.574
So I will do my best to be[br]fearless in speaking the truth.

0:00:33.625,0:00:37.529
I will also do my best to speak[br]from a place of love and care.

0:00:40.676,0:00:42.613
As Christiana was saying earlier:

0:00:42.738,0:00:45.265
I think some of[br]the issues of our time

0:00:45.292,0:00:49.936
bring up an energy[br]of anger and injustice.

0:00:50.435,0:00:52.035
And we're all human.

0:00:52.084,0:00:53.764
I think I feel that, too.

0:00:54.876,0:00:57.347
And I think ...

0:01:02.014,0:01:05.021
Part of the deep work that[br]each of us need to do

0:01:05.250,0:01:08.322
and that's my work this morning[br]as I speak to you,

0:01:08.408,0:01:13.209
is to have my love at least as strong[br]as my anger and my sense of injustice.

0:01:15.666,0:01:18.199
So I hope my siblings will support me.

0:01:18.351,0:01:21.026
There's a bell master,[br]Brother [name].

0:01:21.375,0:01:23.078
If I get a little too passionate,

0:01:23.150,0:01:27.067
I'm sure he will help me[br]with a wake-up sound of the bell

0:01:28.959,0:01:33.983
to remind me to keep my heart[br]really open as I share today.

0:01:35.513,0:01:37.674
I also want to share with joy

0:01:38.833,0:01:39.833
sometimes ...

0:01:41.500,0:01:46.212
our spiritual practise can seem[br]like a really serious endeavour.

0:01:46.474,0:01:50.251
But for me, to understand[br]myself and the world,

0:01:50.399,0:01:52.734
to cultivate insight,

0:01:53.542,0:01:56.678
to start to see what[br]Right Action could look like,

0:01:57.358,0:01:58.837
what a source of joy!

0:01:58.919,0:02:00.664
That is a wonderful thing[br]to be doing

0:02:00.732,0:02:03.248
and a great use[br]of our time and energy.

0:02:03.398,0:02:06.668
So. Even though ethics[br]is a really tough topic,

0:02:06.992,0:02:09.209
I hope to bring joy to it this morning.

0:02:11.750,0:02:15.654
And finally, I also deeply aspire[br]in this talk to kind of ...

0:02:19.006,0:02:21.662
get out of the way myself,[br]to step aside,

0:02:21.885,0:02:23.565
and let the dharma speak.

0:02:24.500,0:02:27.846
In Buddhism, when we[br]speak about non-self,

0:02:28.291,0:02:30.224
it's really a lived practise.

0:02:30.375,0:02:33.737
I don't think that I'm a separate[br]self saying these things.

0:02:34.289,0:02:37.734
Any sense of me and mine[br]I want to put to the side

0:02:38.009,0:02:41.760
so I can just simply share[br]some of the wisdom

0:02:41.959,0:02:48.439
of 2500 years that I[br]happen to have been learning

0:02:48.916,0:02:52.275
and continue to learn in this community.

0:02:54.021,0:02:56.566
So this is also not really my talk.

0:02:56.824,0:02:58.501
It's a collective talk.

0:03:00.166,0:03:04.483
So, with that spirit, we can listen[br]to three sounds of the bell.

0:03:05.040,0:03:07.259
Sometimes we're being a bit efficient.

0:03:07.378,0:03:08.764
We're just having one.

0:03:09.209,0:03:13.817
But this morning it would be beautiful[br]to enjoy three sounds of the bell

0:03:14.795,0:03:19.692
and listening to the bell truly[br]as a practise of systems change

0:03:20.419,0:03:24.400
can we find our freedom[br]in the sound of the bell,

0:03:24.675,0:03:30.502
can we touch what is most[br]sacred and precious in life.

0:03:41.907,0:03:48.529
[sound of the bell]

0:04:16.029,0:04:23.441
[sound of the bell]

0:04:55.292,0:05:02.812
[sound of the bell]

0:05:31.153,0:05:33.339
Thank you, everybody.

0:05:34.565,0:05:39.256
There is actually a bodhisattva[br]of crying in the Buddhist tradition.

0:05:39.666,0:05:42.859
I was wondering where[br]my tears are coming from.

0:05:43.249,0:05:47.733
I realised it was the tears of the earth[br]and then they flowed even stronger.

0:05:50.261,0:05:51.261
Okay.

0:05:55.792,0:05:58.609
In our dharma sharing yesterday,

0:05:58.666,0:06:03.458
someone gave rise to an intention[br]to be a good ancestor.

0:06:03.917,0:06:08.817
We had asked our group:[br]What's the most important thing for you?

0:06:09.414,0:06:12.208
What is most important in your life?

0:06:12.413,0:06:17.150
What do you want to commit[br]your time and energy to?

0:06:18.098,0:06:19.098
Thank you.

0:06:19.583,0:06:23.531
For every bodhisattva that cries[br]there is a bodhisattva with tissues.

0:06:23.635,0:06:24.635
[laughter]

0:06:31.256,0:06:35.734
What would it mean[br]to be a good ancestor?

0:06:38.541,0:06:42.863
And what would it mean[br]to be a good descendant

0:06:43.029,0:06:45.275
of those who have come before us?

0:06:46.736,0:06:49.136
We stand on the shoulders of giants.

0:06:54.569,0:06:56.583
Those that came before us[br]in the recent past,

0:06:57.667,0:07:00.775
but also those that came before us[br]a long, long time ago.

0:07:03.155,0:07:06.441
The wise ones.[br]The wiser ones, maybe.

0:07:09.917,0:07:12.050
Someone also asked in our group:

0:07:12.158,0:07:15.091
What's the Buddhist[br]understanding of time?

0:07:18.750,0:07:22.274
And for us, as we've picked up,

0:07:22.500,0:07:28.714
we say that the present moment[br]contains the past.

0:07:29.512,0:07:31.468
And it contains the future.

0:07:36.100,0:07:39.487
My tears are the tears of the past[br]and the tears of the future.

0:07:42.250,0:07:45.921
Our actions now ...

0:07:47.068,0:07:51.405
already contain all[br]of the past conditioning in them.

0:07:55.932,0:07:58.773
The way we walk[br]as though we're in a hurry.

0:08:01.617,0:08:04.040
They say our sense[br]of urgency and time

0:08:04.280,0:08:07.262
came with the invention of the clock[br]in the industrial revolution.

0:08:08.796,0:08:11.730
Our speed of walking[br]carries history within it.

0:08:15.250,0:08:17.662
And when we can[br]take a step in freedom now,

0:08:18.624,0:08:22.625
we're transforming the rushing[br]and running and striving

0:08:23.084,0:08:24.444
of our ancestors.

0:08:25.500,0:08:27.608
And we're making it[br]a little bit more possible

0:08:27.795,0:08:34.250
that future generations will also[br]be able to walk in peace and freedom.

0:08:36.541,0:08:42.317
When we imagine the kind of society[br]all of us are working to make possible

0:08:42.617,0:08:46.358
for the future: A just society,[br]a more equitable society,

0:08:49.389,0:08:51.410
an inclusive society,

0:08:51.652,0:08:55.068
whether we're contributing to that[br]as a monastic

0:08:55.584,0:08:57.517
or as someone with the B team

0:08:57.891,0:09:00.375
or someone with Global Optimism

0:09:01.064,0:09:02.591
or Project Everyone.

0:09:02.784,0:09:05.558
All the organisations represented here.

0:09:07.393,0:09:10.246
We have in mind a kind of society

0:09:10.275,0:09:12.071
and those future generations

0:09:12.667,0:09:15.995
that we want to make possible[br]with our actions today.

0:09:16.500,0:09:19.400
We want to believe[br]such a future is possible.

0:09:22.917,0:09:24.843
In Buddhism,

0:09:25.331,0:09:27.864
we believe that in the present moment,

0:09:27.963,0:09:31.583
we have immense energy and agency,

0:09:31.608,0:09:33.702
immense kind of capacity,

0:09:34.542,0:09:37.331
to create the preconditions[br]for that future.

0:09:37.387,0:09:41.025
and in a way to create[br]that future with this present.

0:09:53.694,0:09:55.692
What is it that we think that we do

0:09:57.417,0:09:59.559
when we're being alive?

0:10:00.255,0:10:02.149
What is it we're talking about

0:10:02.260,0:10:06.311
when we talk about life[br]and how we're spending our life?

0:10:10.018,0:10:13.917
In some of the settings in which[br]some of us might find ourselves

0:10:14.083,0:10:15.443
most of the time,

0:10:17.000,0:10:19.706
life might be about productivity

0:10:20.792,0:10:23.705
or profit, or innovation,

0:10:23.920,0:10:25.617
or agility.

0:10:26.677,0:10:30.109
KPIs? Apparently it's a thing.

0:10:34.375,0:10:37.095
In Buddhism, we naturally have[br]a different sense

0:10:37.167,0:10:40.067
of what we're doing[br]with our time and energy.

0:10:47.069,0:10:48.680
[KARMA]

0:10:49.061,0:10:51.595
We speak about something called karma.

0:10:55.470,0:10:59.143
I know some of you think something[br]when you see that word.

0:10:59.296,0:11:04.751
But actually, it's a technical term[br]that simply means 'action'.

0:11:04.856,0:11:07.176
The energy of action.

0:11:07.361,0:11:11.733
All of us are producing karma[br]in every moment.

0:11:13.107,0:11:15.414
And we speak about triple action.

0:11:21.408,0:11:23.528
Our way of thinking.

0:11:23.671,0:11:25.531
[THINKING]

0:11:26.660,0:11:28.802
Our way of speaking.

0:11:29.291,0:11:30.633
[SPEAKING]

0:11:31.452,0:11:33.475
And our way of acting.

0:11:33.633,0:11:35.347
[ACTING]

0:11:38.950,0:11:41.698
Our thoughts go out into the world

0:11:42.789,0:11:46.642
and kind of ripple out[br]and continue us.

0:11:48.422,0:11:50.816
The reason we say[br]that thinking is important

0:11:51.625,0:11:55.017
is because we are cultivating[br]those seeds in our mind,

0:11:55.212,0:11:58.150
our thinking, all the time.

0:11:58.433,0:12:00.898
I think many of you in this room[br]are the kind of people,

0:12:01.097,0:12:04.734
if you have a good idea,[br]it's a very quick channel

0:12:04.956,0:12:07.089
to then say it and implement it.

0:12:08.890,0:12:12.584
Our ideas are really important.[br]Our ideas, our values,

0:12:12.791,0:12:14.609
our way of seeing the world.

0:12:15.250,0:12:18.488
It gives rise to what we say[br]and to action.

0:12:19.480,0:12:22.557
We really do call thinking[br]a kind of action.

0:12:26.248,0:12:30.290
Our teacher used to like[br]quoting Jean Paul Sartre.

0:12:31.129,0:12:34.704
L'homme est la somme de ses actes.

0:12:35.315,0:12:38.427
Man is the sum of his actions.

0:12:40.735,0:12:45.373
Each one of us, the imprint[br]we leave on the world,

0:12:45.653,0:12:51.946
is primarily,[br]exclusively

0:12:52.042,0:12:59.357
the legacy of our thinking,[br]speaking, and acting.

0:13:00.339,0:13:01.940
Our way of being.

0:13:14.452,0:13:16.367
In our professional life,

0:13:16.375,0:13:18.222
we might end up focusing[br]so much on acting,

0:13:19.496,0:13:24.195
and it can be a really interesting[br]exercise to ask ourselves:

0:13:24.368,0:13:29.674
What do I think my professional[br]legacy is going to be?

0:13:32.264,0:13:35.042
And is that what's on our gravestone?

0:13:43.592,0:13:45.801
I was contemplating this

0:13:47.580,0:13:49.834
when I first became[br]practising in Plum Village.

0:13:50.103,0:13:53.117
At that time, I was working[br]in the BBC newsroom

0:13:53.369,0:13:55.815
in political news, of all things.

0:13:57.577,0:14:01.668
And I had heard this line:

0:14:04.204,0:14:06.524
I'm definitely going to get sick

0:14:06.712,0:14:08.263
I cannot escape sickness,

0:14:08.341,0:14:11.248
I'm definitely going to get old,[br]I cannot escape old age,

0:14:11.288,0:14:14.232
I'm definitely gonna die,[br]I can't escape death.

0:14:15.105,0:14:20.472
I'm certainly going to be separated[br]from all and everyone I love.

0:14:23.313,0:14:27.075
And the fifth point: Only my actions

0:14:28.321,0:14:31.905
of body, speech and mind[br]are the ground on which I stand.

0:14:32.716,0:14:34.176
My actions.

0:14:35.256,0:14:38.123
I was working in the newsroom[br]and I thought: Gosh.

0:14:44.990,0:14:47.523
I thought: If I continue working here,

0:14:49.375,0:14:52.065
how will my life be summed up?

0:14:52.319,0:14:53.919
Suddenly I realised,

0:14:53.929,0:15:03.188
maybe my gravestone would just say[br]my name and something like: BBC Editor.

0:15:06.082,0:15:08.349
It was an interesting realisation.

0:15:08.580,0:15:11.567
Because if any of you have[br]ever worked with the BBC,

0:15:11.679,0:15:14.178
"Editor" is a big thing.

0:15:14.488,0:15:18.275
It's kind of the holy grail[br]for everyone working there.

0:15:22.042,0:15:25.370
And I wanted my life to be[br]about much more than that.

0:15:25.474,0:15:29.634
I realised that when we think about[br]our professional achievements,

0:15:29.659,0:15:32.555
it can be so disillusioning.

0:15:37.263,0:15:42.474
Maybe the realm of our action[br]is not exactly what we think it is.

0:15:42.900,0:15:44.991
We often speak about impact.

0:15:45.125,0:15:46.805
I want to have impact.

0:15:47.792,0:15:51.466
[name]'s favourite phrase is[br]"scale & speed". Speed and scale.

0:15:51.625,0:15:53.305
Speed. Scale. Impact.

0:15:57.667,0:16:00.467
How is that going to be[br]on your gravestone?

0:16:01.958,0:16:06.192
This policy document. This report.[br]Getting this funding.

0:16:08.501,0:16:13.930
In Buddhism we really say[br]that our continuation

0:16:13.974,0:16:20.007
and kind of our impact is so much deeper[br]than the ends of what we achieve.

0:16:20.189,0:16:22.722
It's also the How of How we get there.

0:16:22.747,0:16:23.875
The means.

0:16:26.776,0:16:31.611
If we could describe[br]our way of being like a candle,

0:16:37.875,0:16:47.482
and our thinking and speaking[br]and acting is radiating out in the world.

0:16:50.708,0:16:53.041
The quality of our ...

0:17:13.878,0:17:14.998
Loving action.

0:17:19.417,0:17:23.658
How we think, speak and act[br]is also ...

0:17:23.753,0:17:26.626
If you think of a candle radiating light.

0:17:26.651,0:17:30.593
That light is also shining[br]on the candle itself.

0:17:33.250,0:17:37.039
When we say something[br]that is not quite true,

0:17:37.667,0:17:41.635
that is affecting our consciousness,[br]it's affecting our selves.

0:17:42.161,0:17:43.934
When we do an action

0:17:44.021,0:17:52.170
that doesn't quite have full integrity and[br]alignment with our own personal values,

0:17:53.269,0:17:55.468
that is affecting us.

0:17:59.625,0:18:03.357
It is affecting, maybe,[br]how we can sleep at night.

0:18:05.704,0:18:09.367
Whether we have anxiety[br]or despair.

0:18:10.708,0:18:14.845
But when we can act, speak[br]and think in such a way

0:18:14.870,0:18:17.386
that's really in alignment[br]with our values,

0:18:17.411,0:18:20.078
we can kind of be coherent to ourselves.

0:18:21.375,0:18:23.575
And here's something interesting.

0:18:23.833,0:18:30.525
If we get too preoccupied[br]by thinking that our main actions

0:18:30.989,0:18:33.295
are our professional actions,[br]we may miss the fact

0:18:33.432,0:18:39.702
that perhaps our deepest transmission[br]is maybe in the way we are as a person.

0:18:41.500,0:18:46.073
For example to our children,[br]to our family members.

0:18:48.005,0:18:50.712
How we are with feelings of anger.

0:18:50.958,0:18:54.164
How we are with feelings of anxiety.

0:18:55.667,0:19:01.283
How we are with craving and habits.

0:19:01.667,0:19:09.142
In fact, all the time, we are[br]imprinting that on the next generation.

0:19:11.494,0:19:15.014
Maybe your greatest legacy[br]is not your professional one,

0:19:15.202,0:19:18.402
but the family and people[br]that we are with at home.

0:19:18.492,0:19:22.392
And maybe you spend more time[br]with your colleagues than with your kids.

0:19:22.828,0:19:25.964
And so maybe that patterning[br]and that transmission

0:19:25.989,0:19:28.589
is actually happening in the workplace.

0:19:28.801,0:19:34.549
And we are participating in increasing[br]the energy of impatience.

0:19:34.890,0:19:40.775
The energy of not-enough-ness.

0:19:41.105,0:19:43.940
I'll come to that in a moment.

0:19:45.542,0:19:49.579
And we are not transmitting what[br]we were learning about on the first day,

0:19:49.667,0:19:53.605
which is the power of presence.[br]A quality of presence.

0:19:54.375,0:19:59.001
So we may be looking in the wrong place[br]for our legacy.

0:20:00.619,0:20:04.549
For our transmission,[br]our continuation.

0:20:04.700,0:20:07.033
These are all great Buddhist words.

0:20:07.105,0:20:11.585
The way we continue in the world,[br]what we transmit to people around us.

0:20:17.708,0:20:20.757
And one reason why this is important,

0:20:20.782,0:20:23.688
it comes back to something[br]to do with systems change

0:20:23.728,0:20:27.056
and something we heard[br]from Brother Spirit yesterday.

0:20:28.083,0:20:34.543
Which is that we can take actions[br]to mitigate the problems of our time.

0:20:34.833,0:20:39.982
We can take actions to adapt[br]our economic systems and infrastructure.

0:20:41.212,0:20:44.476
But ultimately,[br]that third pillar of transformation,

0:20:44.648,0:20:46.328
transforming the system,

0:20:46.664,0:20:49.990
are the humans who will be in that system.

0:20:50.542,0:20:57.249
In 20 years, 50 years,[br]100 years, 150 years.

0:20:58.750,0:21:03.863
How will those humans be responding[br]to the challenges of their time?

0:21:04.442,0:21:07.309
We can't even anticipate[br]all the challenges.

0:21:08.208,0:21:14.523
But what if we could establish[br]a way of being that we learn and train in,

0:21:14.563,0:21:18.896
and cultivate, and that is[br]what we are transmitting?

0:21:18.936,0:21:24.853
As the ultimate kind of toolkit,[br]life-kit, life support system

0:21:25.083,0:21:27.261
for the generations to come

0:21:27.286,0:21:31.734
so that they will know[br]how to breathe in a crisis.

0:21:32.980,0:21:40.781
So they will know how to walk in such[br]a way that they can enjoy a forest.

0:21:41.797,0:21:46.246
We may be so busy protecting forests

0:21:47.208,0:21:52.172
that we're not able to transmit[br]to our children how to enjoy a forest

0:21:52.220,0:21:55.425
and walk in freedom through a forest.

0:21:57.065,0:22:01.926
In what I'm trying to share,[br]maybe, actually,

0:22:01.958,0:22:06.566
what's more important is to help[br]the children know how to walk in freedom

0:22:06.632,0:22:10.200
and enjoy a forest,[br]so that they can protect forests

0:22:10.208,0:22:13.464
in 50 years or 100 years[br]or 150 years.

0:22:13.610,0:22:18.311
Maybe, maybe, more important[br]than saving one tiny corner

0:22:18.661,0:22:20.341
with one campaign now.

0:22:21.215,0:22:25.763
It's something about ...[br]We hate using computer metaphors.

0:22:25.859,0:22:29.849
But like the operating system[br]of collective consciousness.

0:22:29.992,0:22:33.896
That is where we need to insert[br]our program of transformation.

0:22:34.098,0:22:39.624
How we're processing, how we're running,[br]how we're creating and responding to life.

0:22:39.958,0:22:43.926
That's where it's very important[br]to invest our time and energy.

0:22:44.333,0:22:47.067
And that has something to do with ethics.

0:22:51.708,0:22:57.615
I'd like to phone a friend[br]and ask Brother Phap Huu to help me.

0:22:57.702,0:23:01.329
Sorry, Who Wants[br]To Be A Millionaire reference.

0:23:01.956,0:23:04.223
It may come out of the blue there.

0:23:05.607,0:23:08.807
Brother Phap Huu[br]will help me draw a little circle.

0:23:09.309,0:23:11.293
[laughter]

0:23:21.632,0:23:23.632
Thank you, brother, thank you.

0:23:26.015,0:23:30.628
We are doing our best[br]to come back to our selves.

0:23:30.653,0:23:33.869
Some of us have had the question:[br]What does this actually mean?

0:23:33.995,0:23:40.140
It means to listen, for example,[br]what is most important to us.

0:23:41.720,0:23:45.200
On that first day we were learning[br]about listening to our breathing

0:23:45.232,0:23:49.072
and our body, and what[br]our breathing and body are telling us.

0:23:50.083,0:23:52.692
SOS. I'm here.

0:23:52.722,0:23:54.402
Please take care of me.

0:23:54.427,0:23:58.075
You've completely forgotten[br]about me, your body. I'm here.

0:23:59.333,0:24:01.800
Coming back to take care of our body.

0:24:02.292,0:24:05.025
Coming back to take care of our feelings,

0:24:06.458,0:24:08.992
including the most uncomfortable ones:

0:24:09.125,0:24:12.033
Grief, anxiety, despair.

0:24:13.485,0:24:14.925
Jealousy, craving.

0:24:16.542,0:24:21.839
It's a 101 human life skill.[br]Can we handle these feelings?

0:24:24.989,0:24:27.456
And then, can we generate well-being?

0:24:27.481,0:24:31.273
Can we know what is[br]being most important to us?

0:24:31.298,0:24:38.246
And we may, in the last couple of days,[br]have had some new insights already

0:24:38.309,0:24:40.857
about what's important to us.

0:24:42.875,0:24:46.023
And then we had the lines coming out.

0:24:50.165,0:24:53.557
Brother Phap Huu thinks[br]I can draw some small circles.

0:24:58.500,0:24:59.500
Almost.

0:25:00.375,0:25:02.759
We are helping our loved ones.

0:25:03.489,0:25:05.847
When we leave this retreat,

0:25:05.872,0:25:09.811
we're not going out[br]to then fix the people we love.

0:25:09.836,0:25:13.456
And tell them that they need to eat[br]in silence for five minutes with us,

0:25:13.647,0:25:17.236
or sit in meditation with us[br]every morning,

0:25:17.414,0:25:21.257
or walk with us.

0:25:22.010,0:25:26.565
What we would like to do is[br]to help them listen to themselves.

0:25:27.288,0:25:32.906
And with those practises of[br]deep listening that we've been learning,

0:25:33.192,0:25:36.059
simply the way we show up[br]with our presence,

0:25:36.375,0:25:39.565
will help our loved ones,[br]our colleagues,

0:25:39.867,0:25:41.884
listen to themselves.

0:25:42.417,0:25:45.454
We are a kind of witness,[br]a companion, a friend.

0:25:45.518,0:25:48.950
We're showing up in such a way ...

0:25:49.035,0:25:56.144
It's not showing off. It's simply being[br]there to allow them to feel at ease.

0:25:56.295,0:26:01.208
Calm and able to hear[br]what's going on for them.

0:26:02.684,0:26:05.851
Thay, our teacher, said ...

0:26:13.652,0:26:18.476
We can then imagine that our family,

0:26:18.593,0:26:22.950
it can also be our friendship network,

0:26:22.974,0:26:25.374
it can be those people we live with.

0:26:25.420,0:26:28.220
Our teacher described it as our home base.

0:26:28.245,0:26:32.880
He called it the base or[br]the foundation of our operations.

0:26:33.210,0:26:40.464
And this could even be your team at work[br]that you spend quite some time with.

0:26:41.583,0:26:45.530
The wellness of this body,

0:26:46.117,0:26:49.898
this collection of human beings,

0:26:50.886,0:26:56.081
is the base of our operations[br]to then influence our society.

0:26:56.303,0:26:59.644
And you can imagine:[br]Society is here somewhere.

0:27:03.082,0:27:05.164
We've spoken a lot about collaboration.

0:27:05.268,0:27:09.428
I know that's essential to all[br]the organisations represented here.

0:27:10.708,0:27:14.228
The quality of collaboration,[br]we could even say harmony,

0:27:14.718,0:27:21.612
will determine the quality[br]of our impact on the collective.

0:27:23.096,0:27:27.960
So here, we have practises[br]of listening, and loving speech

0:27:28.627,0:27:30.944
and conflict resolution.

0:27:33.167,0:27:40.305
Also the practise at a collective level[br]of embracing pain and suffering.

0:27:41.623,0:27:45.207
There can be pain and suffering[br]at the level of a family.

0:27:45.274,0:27:49.769
When a family member is not well,[br]or dying, or passing away.

0:27:50.293,0:27:56.480
There can be pain and suffering in a team[br]when a project falls through.

0:27:57.424,0:28:00.392
Or when a project is undermined.

0:28:01.417,0:28:08.192
Think of the challenge[br]of the ESG framework.

0:28:08.217,0:28:12.031
That brings up a lot of emotions[br]in lots of people.

0:28:13.265,0:28:19.825
And we need to be able to take care of[br]these emotions at the level of our teams.

0:28:19.896,0:28:23.273
To share our despair, to share our grief,

0:28:23.360,0:28:26.260
to help each other[br]handle the strong emotions

0:28:28.042,0:28:33.793
in order to be able to arrive[br]at collective insight for a new way out.

0:28:34.952,0:28:40.196
And, as been shared already, there's[br]no shortage of intelligence in this room.

0:28:40.902,0:28:43.235
In our teams, in our organisations.

0:28:43.260,0:28:46.466
And no shortage of good will,[br]of good intention.

0:28:59.167,0:29:02.175
I spoke about what[br]we would like for the future,

0:29:03.136,0:29:08.753
and how we can live it in our own life now[br]to make it more possible in the future.

0:29:10.583,0:29:13.847
We have the example[br]of being able to walk in freedom

0:29:13.872,0:29:15.619
or enjoy a forest,

0:29:16.103,0:29:19.904
or see an apple[br]for the miracle that an apple is.

0:29:20.797,0:29:23.672
My deepest wish would be

0:29:23.697,0:29:28.386
that people can enjoy[br]an apple deeply in 100 years' time

0:29:29.496,0:29:32.027
and know it for the miracle it is.

0:29:34.500,0:29:38.105
And for that I need to eat[br]an apple in that way now

0:29:39.168,0:29:42.432
and share with others[br]how to eat an apple like that.

0:29:44.917,0:29:49.990
When we speak about actions and projects,

0:29:50.299,0:29:54.203
that are ethical projects[br]for more ethical business practises,

0:29:56.792,0:30:01.031
that we want to happen[br]by others or in the future,

0:30:01.484,0:30:04.367
in our way of operating as a team,

0:30:04.517,0:30:06.784
to get those good social outcomes,

0:30:07.886,0:30:10.652
the kind of values that[br]we're aiming for in our project

0:30:10.938,0:30:14.906
need to be there in the way[br]that we're approaching the project.

0:30:15.375,0:30:17.175
Inclusiveness, for example.

0:30:17.335,0:30:18.335
Or equity.

0:30:18.792,0:30:21.864
Do we have inclusiveness[br]and equity in our teams?

0:30:26.333,0:30:29.791
Transparency,[br]accountability.

0:30:31.251,0:30:36.408
Thay sometimes described this as[br]transforming our team or our organisation

0:30:36.599,0:30:38.551
into a community.

0:30:38.958,0:30:44.003
Into a community that is embodying[br]the values we want to see in the world.

0:30:44.833,0:30:49.329
I'm sure you have wonderful[br]mission statements already.

0:30:49.575,0:30:51.642
But as a kind of reality check,

0:30:51.763,0:30:55.027
are the values in our organisation[br]in full alignment

0:30:55.055,0:30:57.801
with the impact we're[br]trying to have in the world?

0:30:57.826,0:31:01.432
The values of how we work together,[br]how we listen to each other,

0:31:01.583,0:31:04.276
how we include each others' ideas.

0:31:06.575,0:31:11.434
To ensure that as a team,[br]as an organisation,

0:31:11.459,0:31:15.323
we are already embodying[br]the values we want to bring.

0:31:15.585,0:31:22.601
and not falling into the trap[br]the kind of toxic systems of the world

0:31:22.626,0:31:24.493
that we're trying to change.

0:31:24.640,0:31:28.585
So how can our way of[br]working for change already resist

0:31:28.656,0:31:33.073
some of the pernicious practises[br]out in the world?

0:31:35.740,0:31:38.140
This relates even to things like ...

0:31:42.833,0:31:44.246
Communications.

0:31:44.271,0:31:47.407
I say this as someone[br]who used to be a journalist.

0:31:49.458,0:31:52.507
Are we honest in our communications?

0:31:55.999,0:32:03.297
Are we telling the whole truth about[br]the impact of our company on the world?

0:32:05.043,0:32:10.142
And if we have that kind of integrity[br]of speech within our own company,

0:32:10.452,0:32:16.111
then we can inspire other organisations[br]who are struggling much more

0:32:17.182,0:32:21.690
to see that we really embody[br]these values of deep honesty.

0:32:29.250,0:32:33.218
I want to speak about something[br]that Christiana mentioned to me

0:32:34.333,0:32:37.448
a few days ago when I was asking:

0:32:37.536,0:32:42.555
What is keeping this particular[br]constellation of people awake at night?

0:32:44.087,0:32:47.773
Christiana was silent for a long time.

0:32:48.781,0:32:52.712
And one of the threads[br]that Christiana offered

0:32:53.140,0:32:57.950
was perhaps a feeling of deep frustration.

0:32:59.736,0:33:01.669
That we are good people here.

0:33:02.003,0:33:03.870
And you are doing good work.

0:33:03.899,0:33:06.099
And you are even doing your best.

0:33:06.417,0:33:10.531
But somehow, it's just[br]not moving the needle.

0:33:10.611,0:33:14.707
It's just not having the kind of change[br]that we know is possible.

0:33:14.875,0:33:20.599
And we can't quite get our head around[br]all the obstacles

0:33:20.653,0:33:24.139
and why this is just so hard.

0:33:27.042,0:33:30.562
So one thing that we as Buddhist[br]practitioners can offer

0:33:30.750,0:33:33.871
to this feeling of frustration is:

0:33:35.497,0:33:40.005
Be ready for indirect[br]consequences to your work.

0:33:40.667,0:33:46.688
Maybe the success of that project,[br]campaign, initiative or partnership,

0:33:47.949,0:33:52.857
maybe measuring the work[br]that you're doing on a daily basis

0:33:52.882,0:33:56.674
by the outcome of that one project[br]is not the right place to look

0:33:56.714,0:33:58.936
for your impact in the world.

0:34:00.000,0:34:04.369
The fact that you are already[br]bringing a good intention

0:34:04.488,0:34:07.869
to the way you live your own life,

0:34:09.208,0:34:13.751
the fact that you are already[br]collaborating in our teams

0:34:14.125,0:34:20.259
with generosity, inclusiveness,[br]presence, listening, values,

0:34:21.238,0:34:26.329
that is already action[br]that is fully radiating into the world

0:34:26.354,0:34:29.618
and into the people around you[br]at home, and at work.

0:34:30.375,0:34:33.740
That is already saying:[br]It is worth trying.

0:34:34.986,0:34:39.623
Your daily actions can already[br]be embodying the message:

0:34:39.964,0:34:42.097
What we are doing now is not OK.

0:34:42.605,0:34:45.613
And each one of us can do[br]our part to change it.

0:34:45.638,0:34:49.542
That is a patterning, a legacy,[br]that we're leaving in society.

0:34:51.792,0:34:54.327
And I'd like to invite[br]Brother Phap Huu again.

0:34:54.382,0:35:00.523
We're gonna recall our circle[br]of the first day on seeds.

0:35:08.417,0:35:10.217
Thank you so much, brother.

0:35:11.667,0:35:15.083
We were understanding there's[br]this thing called store consciousness.

0:35:15.131,0:35:16.559
[STORE C.]

0:35:16.819,0:35:20.507
This is a model of our mind[br]and we have the seeds ...

0:35:21.208,0:35:27.343
And all of us have all the seeds[br]in the depths of our consciousness.

0:35:29.654,0:35:32.321
Our actions, every day,[br]the way we speak,

0:35:32.432,0:35:37.113
the way we listen,[br]the way we walk,

0:35:37.350,0:35:40.644
the ideals we give rise to,[br]the value,

0:35:40.825,0:35:45.299
we are watering good seeds[br]in our consciousness.

0:35:45.521,0:35:47.454
And Sister Hero also said,

0:35:47.561,0:35:54.134
this is both collective and individual.

0:36:02.050,0:36:05.280
In Buddhism we say that we trust --

0:36:05.304,0:36:07.876
it's been all about trust this morning --

0:36:08.489,0:36:13.140
that all seeds will ripen in time.

0:36:13.165,0:36:15.780
In their own time.

0:36:16.434,0:36:18.515
Some seeds ripen right away.

0:36:18.801,0:36:20.706
Others need longer.

0:36:21.127,0:36:25.785
We may now be in the process[br]of cultivating seeds

0:36:26.000,0:36:29.456
that don't just take[br]one season around the sun to bloom

0:36:30.192,0:36:37.142
not just 17 years like some cicadas[br]that, I think, have a 17-year lifecycle.

0:36:39.341,0:36:44.013
Maybe there are some seeds that will[br]take more than a generation to ripen.

0:36:46.583,0:36:51.021
What if now, the fact[br]that we can be here,

0:36:51.665,0:36:56.144
is the ripening of seeds[br]from one generation ago?

0:36:57.684,0:36:59.417
Maybe two generations ago?

0:37:01.416,0:37:05.402
My grandfather was the first person in[br]my family to buy a book on meditation

0:37:05.442,0:37:07.070
in the 1970s.

0:37:07.875,0:37:11.696
I feel like I'm a ripening[br]across two generations.

0:37:11.958,0:37:13.892
That even I just can be here.

0:37:14.417,0:37:17.003
And my grandfather didn't,[br]in his whole life,

0:37:17.028,0:37:19.361
have a chance to go on one retreat.

0:37:19.626,0:37:22.159
It still wasn't available in his time.

0:37:22.208,0:37:27.405
I think he started getting sick in 1991.

0:37:28.436,0:37:30.250
Before the internet.

0:37:31.857,0:37:36.017
He didn't know there were places[br]where he could go to learn meditation.

0:37:36.917,0:37:40.117
The wonderful thing[br]about the ripening of seeds is:

0:37:40.337,0:37:46.801
Our life now, our actions and careers[br]are already the ripening from the past.

0:37:47.467,0:37:52.499
And we can trust that we may not see[br]all the fruits in our own lifetime.

0:37:52.619,0:37:54.686
But the good seeds we water now

0:37:55.003,0:37:57.203
will continue to ripen over time.

0:37:59.583,0:38:01.103
So the question is:

0:38:01.792,0:38:04.513
What seeds are we watering?

0:38:09.750,0:38:13.053
When we were learning about mind,

0:38:13.109,0:38:19.216
and Sister Hero explained

0:38:19.626,0:38:22.977
that there's a part of our mind called 'manas'

0:38:23.223,0:38:26.521
which is the grasping part of our mind.

0:38:26.617,0:38:31.545
Which always wants[br]to take care of me and mine.

0:38:31.760,0:38:35.132
Me and mine,[br]it's to have, to hold.

0:38:35.815,0:38:37.569
To protect.

0:38:38.792,0:38:40.490
To appropriate.

0:38:41.754,0:38:42.754
To extract.

0:38:44.792,0:38:46.925
And we had some characteristics,

0:38:46.950,0:38:49.775
which I will just remind us of.

0:38:51.250,0:38:52.757
Appropriating,

0:38:59.125,0:39:00.680
surviving,

0:39:02.343,0:39:04.077
survival instinct,

0:39:12.875,0:39:14.343
avoiding pain,

0:39:18.167,0:39:19.527
seeking pleasure,

0:39:35.375,0:39:40.128
ignoring the danger of seeking pleasure,

0:39:49.583,0:39:51.917
ignoring the goodness of suffering,

0:40:06.708,0:40:10.319
and ignoring the law of moderation.

0:40:18.792,0:40:23.265
This is a couple of thousand years'[br]worth of Buddhist insight --

0:40:23.583,0:40:28.127
one and a half thousand years.[br]It came from a later phase of Buddhism --

0:40:29.792,0:40:32.347
about how our mind works.

0:40:32.792,0:40:38.748
And when we saw this on the board[br]the other day,

0:40:40.250,0:40:44.090
I don't know how many of you saw[br]that this doesn't only apply

0:40:44.115,0:40:46.422
only at the individual level.

0:40:47.575,0:40:51.809
Is this not quite an accurate description

0:40:52.022,0:40:57.456
of how humanity is living as a species

0:40:57.481,0:40:59.093
on this Earth?

0:40:59.118,0:41:01.118
We're appropriating the Earth.

0:41:01.501,0:41:03.930
We're exploiting it.

0:41:05.112,0:41:09.200
We think of our survival as being separate

0:41:09.231,0:41:12.175
of the survival of other species[br]and the Earth.

0:41:15.133,0:41:22.585
As a species, we like to avoid pain[br]and we definitely seek pleasure.

0:41:24.254,0:41:27.619
And we ignore the danger[br]of seeking pleasure.

0:41:28.626,0:41:31.293
And we ignore the goodness of suffering.

0:41:32.000,0:41:36.761
So these ones, number 3 to 7,

0:41:38.054,0:41:41.654
is our culture of consumerism.

0:41:44.208,0:41:45.208
Right there.

0:41:46.890,0:41:54.630
We consume because we can't bear[br]the feeling of pain inside.

0:41:54.813,0:41:58.299
We consume to cover up our suffering.

0:42:01.823,0:42:07.432
We think we need more things[br]because we think that we're not enough.

0:42:07.725,0:42:09.295
What we have is not enough.

0:42:09.581,0:42:16.434
And there's an economic system[br]that reminds us, that tells us

0:42:16.459,0:42:19.225
that we don't have enough,[br]all the time.

0:42:34.750,0:42:36.550
I was doing my anger check.

0:42:36.750,0:42:38.683
I'm going to speak from love.

0:42:45.469,0:42:49.532
[sound of the bell]

0:43:16.458,0:43:18.658
I'm also going to tell the truth.

0:43:19.208,0:43:21.327
In pursuit of profit,

0:43:22.142,0:43:24.808
marketing departments all over the world

0:43:24.833,0:43:27.100
tell us that we don't have enough.

0:43:29.750,0:43:32.283
According to the insights of Buddhism,

0:43:32.308,0:43:34.218
we do have enough.

0:43:34.457,0:43:36.390
The present moment is enough.

0:43:36.833,0:43:39.571
Each one of us is enough.

0:43:39.680,0:43:42.580
Our presence,[br]the presence of our loved ones,

0:43:43.031,0:43:45.631
to be able to walk deeply on the Earth,

0:43:45.682,0:43:49.884
listen to the birds and trees,[br]is enough to be happy.

0:43:50.805,0:43:54.021
We can live very simply and be happy.

0:43:55.000,0:43:57.867
I've heard quite a few[br]of you say this week:

0:43:57.875,0:44:01.928
It's been so powerful to touch[br]simplicity in these days.

0:44:02.000,0:44:04.600
To not be needing[br]these devices so much.

0:44:04.625,0:44:07.889
To not having to buy things online[br]while we're here.

0:44:08.405,0:44:11.305
Our level of consumerism[br]has gone right down.

0:44:11.330,0:44:14.466
And yet, our level of happiness[br]has gone right up.

0:44:15.008,0:44:17.198
We are touching the truth

0:44:17.261,0:44:20.589
that we have more[br]than enough conditions to be happy.

0:44:22.672,0:44:27.905
Our teacher once said something,[br]I find it very deep,

0:44:27.929,0:44:29.757
and quite brave.

0:44:30.417,0:44:36.682
He said: It's because as a species[br]we don't know what true happiness is.

0:44:38.404,0:44:41.137
That is why we are destroying our planet.

0:44:44.333,0:44:45.613
It's quite deep.

0:44:45.721,0:44:48.674
We don't know and haven't learned

0:44:48.699,0:44:52.436
how to touch true happiness[br]in our daily life.

0:44:55.123,0:44:58.619
We consume to cover up our pain.

0:44:58.644,0:45:02.500
We're seeking pleasure[br]to cover up our pain

0:45:02.525,0:45:06.173
because we don't know how[br]to find happiness in simplicity.

0:45:06.212,0:45:07.777
So we consume.

0:45:08.251,0:45:12.267
And that culture of consumerism[br]is destroying our planet.

0:45:19.333,0:45:22.648
This means it's really important

0:45:22.719,0:45:27.178
to be able to touch[br]the wonder of the present moment

0:45:27.250,0:45:30.450
in order to touch happiness[br]in a really simple way.

0:45:30.958,0:45:35.273
And it's really important[br]that each one of us

0:45:35.344,0:45:37.944
learns how to handle a painful feeling.

0:45:38.348,0:45:41.420
So that the first response[br]to our painful feeling

0:45:41.445,0:45:43.055
is not consuming.

0:45:44.952,0:45:49.337
Mindfulness can be our first response[br]to a painful feeling.

0:45:49.789,0:45:54.144
Being present. Meeting our self,[br]this is us, coming back:

0:45:54.318,0:45:56.521
The way out is in.

0:45:56.542,0:46:00.646
Meeting our self and our painful feelings

0:46:00.750,0:46:03.736
with tenderness, with kindness,

0:46:04.141,0:46:06.725
with curiosity.

0:46:13.138,0:46:17.369
In terms of ethics, it means that

0:46:19.188,0:46:26.144
an ethical corporation is one[br]that is not participating

0:46:27.327,0:46:31.051
in enhancing this mechanism.

0:46:36.392,0:46:41.361
But is helping people realise[br]that we have enough.

0:46:42.167,0:46:45.809
Helping people nourish true happiness.

0:46:46.549,0:46:50.240
Helping people handle painful feelings.

0:46:51.667,0:46:54.867
And we might say: Oh,[br]that's the role of education.

0:46:55.128,0:46:56.995
That is the role of society.

0:46:57.028,0:47:00.404
The role of ... something else.

0:47:00.958,0:47:05.646
But if our corporations[br]are truly in the service

0:47:06.805,0:47:08.805
of something more than profit,

0:47:08.917,0:47:12.049
ideally in the service of humanity,

0:47:12.208,0:47:15.108
and even bigger,[br]in the service of the planet,

0:47:15.160,0:47:21.970
we would need to be aware of this[br]ethical dimension to our operations

0:47:22.001,0:47:23.608
as an enterprise.

0:47:30.777,0:47:33.771
It's also really interesting,

0:47:35.589,0:47:40.380
we also have agency[br]and sovereignty as individuals

0:47:40.738,0:47:45.244
to free ourselves from the systems[br]of our own creation.

0:47:46.379,0:47:49.964
According to the insights of Buddhism,[br]we don't make the system,

0:47:50.139,0:47:56.041
or other corporations, or some[br]culture of consumerism outside of us,

0:47:56.042,0:47:57.722
responsible for this.

0:47:58.792,0:48:04.265
With the energy of mindfulness,[br]we expand our zone of free will.

0:48:05.249,0:48:08.095
We get to choose what to consume,

0:48:08.120,0:48:09.333
how to live.

0:48:09.361,0:48:12.871
We can set our self free[br]from these machines,

0:48:12.896,0:48:16.490
systems, mechanisms[br]of our own creation.

0:48:18.292,0:48:19.972
And that is why for us,

0:48:20.208,0:48:25.017
mindfulness has to do[br]with awakening and freedom.

0:48:25.391,0:48:27.524
It gives us so much more agency.

0:48:28.325,0:48:31.365
When we can transform this for ourselves,

0:48:31.667,0:48:38.101
because of this, the impact[br]we're having with our presence,

0:48:38.292,0:48:40.625
we are forming it for our children.

0:48:40.650,0:48:42.692
For our friends.

0:48:42.717,0:48:45.073
I remember our teacher saying:

0:48:45.097,0:48:50.217
One of the greatest skills we can develop[br]in our time in Plum Village is to learn

0:48:50.357,0:48:54.128
how to generate[br]a moment of happiness.

0:48:55.042,0:48:58.755
Because learning to generate[br]a moment of happiness

0:48:58.780,0:49:02.044
has something to do[br]with handling a painful feeling.

0:49:02.069,0:49:03.936
The two kind of go together.

0:49:03.961,0:49:07.801
We need a moment of happiness[br]when we're feeling low or down.

0:49:09.382,0:49:11.382
Or when we're feeling neutral.

0:49:11.500,0:49:15.365
Numb.[br]A bit 'meh'.

0:49:17.333,0:49:22.482
The skill of generating[br]a moment of happiness

0:49:22.625,0:49:25.492
is one of the best skills[br]we can learn here.

0:49:25.750,0:49:30.244
Because when we know how[br]to create a moment of happiness,

0:49:33.703,0:49:37.206
we can create such a moment[br]for our family.

0:49:38.182,0:49:41.638
We can create such a moment[br]for the teams we work with.

0:49:41.833,0:49:44.167
Or for our organisation as a whole.

0:49:46.136,0:49:50.303
It doesn't take much[br]to create a moment of happiness.

0:49:50.469,0:49:56.690
Thay even said we can create[br]a moment of happiness

0:49:57.583,0:50:00.190
whenever we want.

0:50:01.579,0:50:02.939
It's a tough one.

0:50:02.964,0:50:05.067
But I'm working on it.

0:50:05.329,0:50:09.192
It is possible to really[br]ask myself this question.

0:50:10.851,0:50:13.651
If I'm feeling neutral,[br]if I'm feeling low,

0:50:13.682,0:50:16.896
if I'm feeling not happy, not well,

0:50:17.929,0:50:21.051
I ask myself:[br]What can I do in this moment?

0:50:22.035,0:50:26.195
On this retreat we've been learning[br]many ways that we can do that.

0:50:26.916,0:50:32.198
Relaxing the body when the discomfort[br]we find is a physical discomfort.

0:50:32.223,0:50:34.738
Anxiety, restlessness, tension.

0:50:35.039,0:50:37.906
That's when we can[br]practise deep relaxation.

0:50:38.333,0:50:41.789
And on our app there are lots of[br]recordings you can use

0:50:41.814,0:50:44.014
as you go home from this retreat.

0:50:45.464,0:50:49.123
Sharing a meal with friends.[br]In person.

0:50:49.271,0:50:53.678
Not eating alone is a source[br]of joy and happiness.

0:50:54.125,0:50:59.029
But also, learning,[br]when we're eating alone,

0:50:59.474,0:51:01.407
to not feel that we're alone.

0:51:01.704,0:51:05.672
But to really see the whole planet[br]and cosmos and Mother Earth,

0:51:06.167,0:51:12.277
the miracle of life, in our sandwich,[br]in our lunchbox, in our food.

0:51:12.317,0:51:16.293
And to say: I will use my eye of insight

0:51:16.375,0:51:21.343
that even in this moment,[br]a part of me feels so alone to eat alone.

0:51:21.763,0:51:24.363
But I know that is not the whole truth.

0:51:24.547,0:51:28.698
I know that the whole cosmos[br]is supporting my lunch.

0:51:28.975,0:51:32.055
The whole cosmos[br]is supporting my apple.

0:51:32.826,0:51:37.321
And using the eye of insight,[br]we can flip a moment of loneliness

0:51:37.393,0:51:42.577
into a moment of happiness and connection[br]with the whole planet, the whole cosmos.

0:51:51.750,0:51:55.142
So when we speak about[br]what seeds we've been watering,

0:52:02.917,0:52:07.269
the name of these seeds, for those,[br]who have missed the presentation,

0:52:07.557,0:52:11.374
it could be fear. It could be anxiety.

0:52:11.708,0:52:13.308
It could be despair.

0:52:13.465,0:52:15.532
But it also could be happiness.

0:52:15.833,0:52:18.357
Gratitude, mindfulness.

0:52:23.148,0:52:24.480
Generosity.

0:52:27.174,0:52:31.168
A question for all of us is:

0:52:31.549,0:52:35.470
What seeds are we watering[br]in our daily life?

0:52:36.010,0:52:39.594
And what has that got to do[br]with transforming the system,

0:52:39.619,0:52:41.638
transforming our society?

0:52:43.513,0:52:45.380
Many of us, on this retreat,

0:52:45.427,0:52:50.587
we've had a feeling of fear,[br]or anger, or panic,

0:52:54.766,0:52:57.481
things aren't moving fast enough.

0:52:58.148,0:53:01.132
Scale and speed!

0:53:06.838,0:53:10.248
These may be seeds in our organisation.

0:53:10.273,0:53:13.985
The collective consciousness[br]of our organisation and teams.

0:53:14.042,0:53:16.204
Maybe it can be a really good exercise.

0:53:16.243,0:53:17.923
How are we all feeling?

0:53:17.948,0:53:20.148
Could you go home with your teams

0:53:20.173,0:53:24.992
and have a whiteboard and[br]name the compost, name the mud?

0:53:26.418,0:53:28.785
Maybe everyone has to write it[br]privately on a post-it note

0:53:28.810,0:53:30.285
and then you collect it up.

0:53:30.310,0:53:35.920
Maybe you need an equal number[br]of positive ones to negative ones.

0:53:36.777,0:53:39.492
What seeds are we watering?

0:53:44.376,0:53:48.325
I'm going to write[br]'culture of consumerism' here.

0:53:48.968,0:53:53.769
[CULTURE OF CONSUMERISM]

0:53:55.875,0:54:01.023
Maybe our culture of consumerism[br]is watering the seed of craving in us.

0:54:01.618,0:54:03.138
So one question is:

0:54:03.833,0:54:09.059
When we talk about having free will[br]to live differently on our planet,

0:54:09.250,0:54:11.694
how can we guard our mind

0:54:13.472,0:54:19.029
from the collective consciousness[br]watering our seed of craving all the time?

0:54:19.125,0:54:23.541
Every time we see an advertisement,[br]it's watering the seed of craving.

0:54:24.125,0:54:27.261
"If you have this product,[br]you will feel happier."

0:54:27.406,0:54:32.112
"If you have this product,[br]you will be cool and acceptable."

0:54:32.917,0:54:34.597
"You will have status."

0:54:35.167,0:54:39.234
"Having this product is[br]a mark of power or influence."

0:54:40.075,0:54:43.147
These seeds are being[br]watered in us all the time.

0:54:43.962,0:54:47.017
The power of mindfulness is[br]that it gives us the freedom

0:54:47.081,0:54:48.761
to choose to be different

0:54:48.786,0:54:52.972
and to operate outside[br]of this culture of consumerism.

0:54:59.795,0:55:03.257
In Buddhism we speak about fuel.

0:55:04.678,0:55:07.115
What is driving us?

0:55:07.353,0:55:10.902
Our deepest intention or volition.

0:55:11.640,0:55:15.416
We can also speak about that[br]as a seed in our consciousness.

0:55:15.958,0:55:19.692
For example ...[br]Some of us might have been this:

0:55:19.898,0:55:25.853
I'm going to have that kind of car[br]and my own house by the time I'm 30.

0:55:25.917,0:55:30.351
That is a volition and intention[br]that we set at a certain point

0:55:30.557,0:55:32.327
and it drives us.

0:55:33.833,0:55:40.416
We may have a volition and intention[br]to get a certain amount of money,

0:55:41.511,0:55:45.402
a certain paygrade,[br]maybe a certain status.

0:55:47.768,0:55:51.715
In Buddhism we have[br]a practise of deep inquiry

0:55:51.740,0:55:54.664
around what our volitions are.

0:55:54.688,0:55:56.688
It's kind of a technical term.

0:55:57.158,0:55:58.825
Volition.

0:56:02.802,0:56:04.669
What is our deepest concern?

0:56:06.417,0:56:10.656
Actually, according to[br]the wise ones in Buddhism,

0:56:11.101,0:56:18.224
Money, status, power,[br]and even, kind of, sensual pleasures,

0:56:18.648,0:56:20.088
they don't cut it.

0:56:20.113,0:56:24.511
It might be what you crave[br]or think you crave,

0:56:24.769,0:56:28.571
or society tells you you should crave,

0:56:29.467,0:56:32.539
but it might not be[br]what's most important to you.

0:56:32.599,0:56:34.773
What you really want.

0:56:35.313,0:56:39.273
What you really want to offer.

0:56:39.829,0:56:42.696
And I have the feeling[br]that for many of you,

0:56:42.750,0:56:46.194
one of the flavours of your volition[br]is you want to be of service.

0:56:46.368,0:56:52.345
Of service to society,[br]to support inclusiveness,

0:56:52.376,0:56:54.437
non-discrimination,

0:56:54.462,0:56:57.178
for your life to help people[br]fall in love with the Earth,

0:56:57.203,0:56:58.640
and protect the planet.

0:56:58.700,0:57:02.055
To have a more equitable[br]economic system.

0:57:02.095,0:57:05.100
That is a fantastic volition.

0:57:05.180,0:57:10.357
We say that our volition is like a fire[br]in our, kind of, belly.

0:57:10.382,0:57:13.582
And we have to feed it[br]and keep it alive every day.

0:57:15.375,0:57:18.895
And we have to really know[br]what is most important to us.

0:57:18.920,0:57:25.119
And maybe the How of how[br]we're doing our deepest dreams --

0:57:25.144,0:57:28.472
sometimes we also call volition[br]our deepest desire --

0:57:31.753,0:57:33.947
[DEEPEST DESIRE]

0:57:36.317,0:57:40.678
The How of realising[br]is as important as the What.

0:57:40.861,0:57:44.484
If we sacrifice our friends[br]and family and health

0:57:44.896,0:57:47.296
in order to take care of the planet,

0:57:49.958,0:57:52.692
maybe we haven't taken care of the planet

0:57:52.875,0:57:55.775
in the way that future[br]generations need us to.

0:57:56.083,0:57:58.983
Maybe that isn't the way[br]to be a good ancestor

0:57:59.008,0:58:01.748
for the future of the planet,[br]because we're patterning in

0:58:01.922,0:58:05.826
not taking care of our health,[br]sacrificing friends and family,

0:58:05.851,0:58:08.251
we're patterning that in to society.

0:58:13.951,0:58:17.791
A really deep insight that Thay had[br]about volition and desire

0:58:18.071,0:58:24.251
is that it is a way to transform manas.

0:58:24.276,0:58:27.513
He used a technical term:[br]We sublimate manas

0:58:27.583,0:58:32.996
in the service of our good intention,[br]our deepest desire.

0:58:33.083,0:58:37.486
He had the image that manas[br]had kind of appropriated --

0:58:39.216,0:58:41.599
if you remember[br]this energy of appropriating --

0:58:41.917,0:58:45.309
a part of store consciousness[br]in saying: "This is me."

0:58:45.563,0:58:47.083
"This is me, here."

0:58:48.417,0:58:51.017
And he said that we can transform manas

0:58:51.042,0:58:52.457
into a lotus.

0:58:53.357,0:58:57.470
And that it can be a lotus[br]of serving society,

0:58:57.644,0:58:59.858
serving the world.

0:59:00.218,0:59:03.107
And we take our survival instinct,

0:59:03.132,0:59:06.524
which Sister Hero described[br]as the energy of vitality.

0:59:08.750,0:59:10.551
We have a life force

0:59:11.952,0:59:14.085
that becomes our deepest desire.

0:59:14.542,0:59:17.898
That, then, is self-reinforcing.

0:59:18.565,0:59:22.003
We take care of our pain.

0:59:22.083,0:59:25.091
We take care of generating[br]moments of happiness.

0:59:25.174,0:59:28.438
We understand the goodness[br]of embracing the compost.

0:59:28.501,0:59:31.401
We understand that[br]we don't want to waste time

0:59:31.432,0:59:33.763
on streaming and screens.

0:59:34.458,0:59:36.792
We understand the law of moderation

0:59:36.817,0:59:39.182
because we have got something[br]much more important to do

0:59:39.207,0:59:41.274
with our waking days and hours.

0:59:47.136,0:59:51.843
I would like to read a part of ...

0:59:52.057,0:59:54.724
We have an ethical code in Plum Village.

0:59:55.012,1:00:00.267
We will now go into the applied ethics[br]part of everything I've been saying.

1:00:00.878,1:00:04.904
We have a particular ethical principle

1:00:18.233,1:00:21.689
which we can describe as[br]having the right kind of fuel.

1:00:25.067,1:00:27.192
[RIGHT FUEL]

1:00:29.583,1:00:31.263
And this is what it says:

1:00:32.083,1:00:36.541
Aware of the suffering[br]caused by unmindful consumption,

1:00:37.184,1:00:40.317
I'm committed to cultivating good health,

1:00:40.500,1:00:42.180
both physical and mental,

1:00:42.396,1:00:47.609
for myself, my family and my society

1:00:48.276,1:00:52.279
by practising mindful eating,[br]drinking and consuming.

1:00:52.946,1:00:57.442
Consuming edible foods,[br]sensory impressions,

1:00:57.743,1:01:01.327
consuming volition -- because[br]we say it's a kind of food,

1:01:01.352,1:01:05.551
it gets us out of bed[br]in the morning, just like the coffee.

1:01:05.833,1:01:09.039
And consuming consciousness.

1:01:09.064,1:01:14.120
What's really interesting in Buddhism[br]is that we say we consume our environment.

1:01:14.145,1:01:16.612
The consciousness of our environment.

1:01:16.636,1:01:20.668
That's why, if our team is struggling[br]and having a lot of fear and anxiety,

1:01:20.693,1:01:23.327
we will feel fear and anxiety.

1:01:23.772,1:01:27.356
If there is a lot of despair[br]and loneliness in the world,

1:01:28.125,1:01:31.389
say after the pandemic,[br]if we say that it increased,

1:01:31.417,1:01:33.950
as some of the research seems to show.

1:01:33.975,1:01:38.027
That collective consciousness is going[br]to affect our individual consciousness.

1:01:38.052,1:01:40.452
We're feeling not only our own pain,

1:01:40.480,1:01:42.409
but the pain of our society.

1:01:42.472,1:01:46.287
It's as though we're eating[br]collective consciousness.

1:01:48.012,1:01:51.591
Here's another line from[br]this principle of right fuel.

1:01:51.875,1:01:55.011
I am determined --[br]so, aware of the suffering

1:01:55.083,1:01:56.966
caused by unmindful consumption --

1:01:57.180,1:02:01.273
I am determined not to try[br]to cover up loneliness,

1:02:01.298,1:02:05.930
anxiety, or other suffering,[br]by losing myself in consumption

1:02:06.250,1:02:08.438
I will contemplate interbeing

1:02:08.501,1:02:11.811
and consume in a way[br]that preserves peace,

1:02:11.900,1:02:15.876
joy and wellbeing in my body[br]and consciousness

1:02:16.164,1:02:19.613
and in the collective[br]body and consciousness

1:02:19.756,1:02:23.914
of my family, my society, and the Earth.

1:02:25.875,1:02:29.940
When we speak[br]about individual transformation

1:02:30.170,1:02:32.313
and systems transformation,

1:02:32.479,1:02:34.869
our systems are an expression

1:02:34.916,1:02:38.289
of individuals, of humanity.

1:02:40.369,1:02:42.896
When we transform[br]our own way of consuming,

1:02:42.921,1:02:48.674
we have the right to ask[br]of the organisations we're in

1:02:49.480,1:02:53.242
as a business: Are we helping people

1:02:53.333,1:02:57.746
consume in a way that preserves[br]peace, joy, and wellbeing?

1:02:59.042,1:03:01.308
These ethics start with ourselves,

1:03:01.333,1:03:03.942
but apply to our livelihoods, too.

1:03:07.605,1:03:09.843
We have another ethical principle.

1:03:09.875,1:03:11.555
It's about simplicity.

1:03:11.581,1:03:13.986
We could call it Deep Simplicity.

1:03:15.541,1:03:18.081
[DEEP SIMPLICITY]

1:03:22.667,1:03:29.047
The last few days, we've touched[br]simplicity in so many ways.

1:03:29.384,1:03:31.575
We've done all sorts of normal things.

1:03:31.600,1:03:33.899
I hope you noticed everything[br]we did is quite normal.

1:03:33.924,1:03:35.683
We walked. We ate.

1:03:35.708,1:03:37.388
We had conversations.

1:03:37.413,1:03:41.750
We listened to presentations.

1:03:41.775,1:03:44.190
We sat. We laid down.

1:03:45.268,1:03:48.767
But we did it in a way[br]that was restful and healing.

1:03:49.641,1:03:52.121
One question coming away[br]from this retreat is:

1:03:52.152,1:03:57.456
How can I have more of this restful[br]simplicity in my daily life?

1:03:58.496,1:04:01.585
If we have the advantage[br]of working from home,

1:04:02.143,1:04:04.865
maybe you, after having lunch,

1:04:04.889,1:04:09.497
you can follow a ten or twenty minute[br]relaxation on the Plum Village app.

1:04:09.542,1:04:12.142
That's a great joy[br]of working from home.

1:04:12.250,1:04:16.400
In the newsroom, I had[br]to use the toilet cubicle

1:04:16.425,1:04:19.615
for my body scan relaxations.

1:04:19.640,1:04:22.949
Luckily, the toilets were very fancy.

1:04:25.635,1:04:28.492
That's where I did my deep relaxation

1:04:28.611,1:04:29.978
in moments of crisis.

1:04:30.003,1:04:35.503
This is another thing: Relaxation[br]can be applied in moments of real panic.

1:04:35.828,1:04:43.099
I used to work on a live TV show[br]and we lost our guest at 9 am.

1:04:43.182,1:04:45.529
And we broadcast at 2 pm.

1:04:45.855,1:04:49.529
My boss just said:[br]"Find a replacement!"

1:04:50.324,1:04:51.805
And I was like ... [br](gulps).

1:04:51.917,1:04:54.351
I realised I wasn't breathing[br]and thought: I know what to do.

1:04:54.557,1:04:59.660
So I went to sit on the toilet[br]and do my deep relaxation.

1:05:01.684,1:05:05.660
And it's amazing because the mind[br]that exited that body scan

1:05:05.685,1:05:09.404
after 10 or 15 minutes[br]was so much clearer and calmer.

1:05:09.833,1:05:13.033
It had so much more resources[br]to solve the problem.

1:05:13.444,1:05:15.690
So, deep relaxation

1:05:15.788,1:05:17.660
a bit of a tip here.

1:05:17.851,1:05:20.251
You can use it in moments of crisis.

1:05:22.662,1:05:27.218
So: Deep Simplicity.[br]We've had rest and deep relaxation.

1:05:27.694,1:05:29.708
We've also had time in nature.

1:05:32.477,1:05:36.192
It's very important to spend time[br]in the world we want to save.

1:05:36.274,1:05:40.017
That's what we want to transmit[br]to future generations.

1:05:40.042,1:05:43.632
A love and an intimacy[br]with the world we want to protect.

1:05:44.363,1:05:46.908
So, coming back home from this retreat,

1:05:47.003,1:05:48.695
how will you make sure --

1:05:48.720,1:05:52.059
maybe it needs to be[br]a scheduled item in your calendar

1:05:52.390,1:05:54.121
called: Time in nature.

1:05:54.660,1:05:57.049
Whether it is one tree[br]near your office,

1:05:57.074,1:06:00.680
this one park,[br]one corner of garden.

1:06:01.355,1:06:03.648
The plants on your window sill.

1:06:03.673,1:06:07.173
And you sit and enjoy being[br]with the plants while having a cup of tea.

1:06:07.402,1:06:11.728
How will you spend time,[br]in silence, with nature,

1:06:12.546,1:06:15.295
and enjoy that simple happiness

1:06:15.852,1:06:18.996
that feeling of enough-ness.

1:06:21.631,1:06:23.914
Another element of this retreat

1:06:23.939,1:06:26.263
that has made the simplicity so delicious

1:06:26.347,1:06:29.910
has been that we've enjoyed[br]this retreat in person.

1:06:29.958,1:06:31.670
With other people.

1:06:31.827,1:06:34.486
We are social beings.

1:06:34.986,1:06:39.073
How, as teams, with family, with friends,

1:06:39.133,1:06:42.653
can we make an effort,[br]or organise our life differently,

1:06:43.493,1:06:48.478
so that we truly have[br]in-person quality time together?

1:06:49.000,1:06:51.293
I would say that is an ethical principle.

1:06:52.057,1:06:53.684
To show up.

1:06:54.407,1:06:58.029
In Buddhism,[br]community is so important.

1:06:58.371,1:07:00.626
One of our principles[br]of being in community

1:07:00.667,1:07:02.533
is to gather under one roof.

1:07:03.614,1:07:06.514
So we have to gather[br]in person, in real life,

1:07:06.543,1:07:08.810
under one roof,[br]with those we love.

1:07:09.472,1:07:11.692
This life is very short.

1:07:12.232,1:07:13.950
Life is very short.

1:07:14.650,1:07:19.420
It is truly nourishing and fulfilling[br]to be with people we care about.

1:07:23.158,1:07:25.674
I spoke about enough-ness.

1:07:29.557,1:07:32.470
In Buddhism, we say:

1:07:33.128,1:07:36.345
this is partly because of something[br]I said at the beginning

1:07:36.417,1:07:39.855
about the present moment[br]containing the past and the future,

1:07:40.672,1:07:42.636
that is why we can say

1:07:42.809,1:07:46.714
that this moment is enough.

1:07:47.999,1:07:50.055
It is enough.

1:07:52.032,1:07:56.432
In this moment,[br]each one of us is enough.

1:07:57.006,1:07:58.529
I am enough.

1:07:59.122,1:08:00.765
You are enough.

1:08:05.813,1:08:09.027
As Brother Spirit shared,[br]there was that line:

1:08:09.441,1:08:12.535
You already are[br]what you want to become.

1:08:13.870,1:08:17.386
This insight belongs[br]to the ultimate dimension.

1:08:19.585,1:08:22.021
The insight of enough-ness.

1:08:24.272,1:08:27.994
In our daily life,[br]each one of us

1:08:28.398,1:08:32.432
needs to find a way[br]to kind of cycle into

1:08:32.829,1:08:36.347
that beautiful ultimate dimension[br]and spend some time

1:08:37.025,1:08:39.044
in a moment of enough-ness.

1:08:40.327,1:08:44.359
Maybe five minutes in the morning,[br]while you enjoy a cup of tea.

1:08:45.758,1:08:52.009
It may be the ten minutes of relaxation[br]after a really difficult work morning.

1:08:53.312,1:08:56.384
It might be sitting down[br]for a meal with family and friends

1:08:56.409,1:08:58.876
and just saying silently to yourself:

1:08:59.054,1:09:00.886
This is enough.

1:09:01.188,1:09:03.021
This IS enough.

1:09:03.556,1:09:05.210
We are enough.

1:09:06.234,1:09:10.603
And that sense of[br]living in the present moment

1:09:10.667,1:09:13.675
is ultimately the only moment[br]that is available.

1:09:14.256,1:09:17.567
It's a truism, but it's still so true!

1:09:18.860,1:09:21.716
That future is not there[br]and will never be there.

1:09:21.741,1:09:24.208
There will only be present moments.

1:09:24.295,1:09:26.650
And if we can't enjoy[br]this present moment,

1:09:26.675,1:09:30.416
how will future generations ever know[br]how to enjoy a present moment?

1:09:31.736,1:09:35.549
So we cycle in to[br]this insight of enough-ness.

1:09:35.732,1:09:38.101
This is enough.[br]I am enough.

1:09:38.126,1:09:40.432
And we make it a training[br]and a practise.

1:09:40.457,1:09:42.686
In Buddhism we speak about koans.

1:09:42.980,1:09:44.525
Write it on a piece of paper.

1:09:44.625,1:09:47.450
Maybe Brother Phap Huu[br]can do some calligraphies.

1:09:47.855,1:09:52.448
Put it somewhere where you might[br]like to sit and enjoy a cup of tea.

1:09:52.567,1:09:57.325
And you breathe and touch[br]that insight that you are enough.

1:09:57.557,1:10:00.938
Because if we spend 24 hours a day

1:10:01.319,1:10:03.319
feeling that we're not enough.

1:10:03.527,1:10:06.297
We are corroding our humanity

1:10:06.322,1:10:09.330
and corroding our access[br]to the wonders of life.

1:10:10.456,1:10:12.676
It's a real training.

1:10:13.470,1:10:17.958
There was something[br]a journalist once asked our teacher.

1:10:17.958,1:10:23.910
"Are you an optimist or a pessimist[br]when it comes to environmental issues?

1:10:24.681,1:10:27.918
It was a journalist from[br]The Independent in the UK.

1:10:28.902,1:10:34.355
And I thought:[br]How will Thay handle this?

1:10:35.307,1:10:39.240
Thay was very tired[br]during the whole interview.

1:10:39.526,1:10:43.110
Thay was quiet for a very long time[br]and suddenly he went:

1:10:43.345,1:10:45.365
An optimist!

1:10:46.105,1:10:49.406
And I thought: [br]OK! What is he going to say now?

1:10:50.780,1:10:52.319
And he said:

1:10:56.265,1:11:02.382
We can be at peace because[br]we know we've done our best.

1:11:03.771,1:11:07.841
We are doing our best[br]and we know we have done our best.

1:11:09.137,1:11:11.216
In his optimism

1:11:11.375,1:11:16.494
was also the seed of trust[br]in the ripening of his seeds.

1:11:17.994,1:11:21.539
We do our best and that is[br]why we can have peace.

1:11:21.564,1:11:24.494
And that is why you can guard for yourself

1:11:24.519,1:11:27.720
five minutes of saying[br]"I am enough."

1:11:27.944,1:11:30.976
"We are enough."[br]"My team is enough."

1:11:31.095,1:11:33.242
"My organisation is enough."

1:11:33.495,1:11:35.821
Because we are doing our best.

1:11:36.257,1:11:38.511
And that is why we can have peace.

1:11:38.992,1:11:40.856
And at the same time,

1:11:41.525,1:11:43.978
we can cycle out of the ultimate

1:11:44.494,1:11:47.835
and always challenge ourselves:[br]"Am I doing my best?"

1:11:48.180,1:11:50.847
And our friends can also challenge us.

1:11:51.685,1:11:54.160
So we spend time in the ultimate.

1:11:54.185,1:11:56.454
It's very nice, every day, a few minutes.

1:11:57.071,1:12:00.079
And we come back out[br]and really keep challenging

1:12:00.147,1:12:02.269
in that pragmatic, historical realm

1:12:03.095,1:12:04.410
"What else could we do?"

1:12:04.435,1:12:07.162
But not with a feeling of scarcity,

1:12:07.187,1:12:09.148
but one of possibility.

1:12:09.211,1:12:11.013
What else could we do?

1:12:16.206,1:12:17.968
And we can ask ourselves:

1:12:18.333,1:12:21.311
Are we asking the right questions?

1:12:21.375,1:12:23.980
about our culture of consumerism?

1:12:24.123,1:12:29.166
Are we asking the right questions[br]about economic systems?

1:12:30.541,1:12:32.143
That is quite a challenge.

1:12:32.303,1:12:34.242
And I think in the B Team[br]as an organisation,

1:12:34.267,1:12:36.599
this is something you're concerned with.

1:12:36.676,1:12:40.263
I think, with Global Optimism,[br]this is what you're concerned with.

1:12:40.312,1:12:43.027
Are we asking the right questions[br]of the problem?

1:12:43.075,1:12:45.236
Have we defined the problem?

1:12:46.465,1:12:49.688
If we want to challenge or transform

1:12:50.550,1:12:55.819
our individualistic,[br]consumerist, capitalist culture,

1:12:56.086,1:13:00.184
we can ask questions I heard this morning:[br]Is there enough love in it?

1:13:01.294,1:13:03.521
What is the role of love there?

1:13:03.625,1:13:07.593
Is there love in our organisations?[br]Is there love in our teams?

1:13:07.668,1:13:10.625
How can we bring compassion into this?

1:13:11.617,1:13:15.043
How can we question things[br]that we're not yet questioning?

1:13:17.210,1:13:21.904
In this principle[br]of Deep Simplicity, we say:

1:13:22.461,1:13:28.140
Aware of the suffering caused[br]by exploitation, social injustice,

1:13:28.307,1:13:30.807
stealing and oppression,

1:13:47.111,1:13:51.259
Aware of the suffering caused[br]by exploitation, social injustice,

1:13:51.283,1:13:53.203
stealing and oppression,

1:13:53.228,1:13:56.701
i am committed to practising generosity

1:13:56.947,1:14:00.539
in my thinking, speaking and acting.

1:14:01.192,1:14:03.732
I am determined not to steal

1:14:03.928,1:14:08.200
and not to possess anything[br]that should belong to others.

1:14:08.829,1:14:10.583
And I will share my time,

1:14:10.875,1:14:14.075
energy and material resources

1:14:14.319,1:14:16.289
with those who are in need.

1:14:17.385,1:14:19.984
There's a bit more,[br]and then another line is:

1:14:20.126,1:14:23.055
I am committed to practising[br]Right Livelihood.

1:14:23.666,1:14:27.324
so that I can help reduce the suffering[br]of living beings on Earth

1:14:28.069,1:14:31.087
and stop contributing to climate change.

1:14:33.309,1:14:37.380
This second ethical principle,[br]we can practise and embody

1:14:37.581,1:14:42.569
as an individual, but we can also[br]apply it at an organisational level.

1:14:46.368,1:14:49.781
I was very happy to discover[br]that the B Team

1:14:49.934,1:14:53.257
has some responsible tax principles.

1:14:53.924,1:14:57.470
I don't know if there's anyone here[br]who's involved in that particular project.

1:14:57.517,1:14:59.509
OK! Thank you so much!

1:14:59.730,1:15:05.353
So, it's a wonderful way of[br]applying this ethical principle

1:15:05.448,1:15:07.289
to organisations.

1:15:07.391,1:15:11.908
How can organisations be transparent[br]and have transparent tax practises?

1:15:12.051,1:15:15.517
That it's not all about[br]avoiding and obfuscating

1:15:15.667,1:15:20.208
and calibrating, [br]but there's genuine ethical integrity

1:15:20.250,1:15:24.858
at the organisational level about the need[br]to contribute back to society.

1:15:25.479,1:15:30.657
This is applying the line[br]"I'm determined not to steal

1:15:30.682,1:15:34.214
and not to possess anything[br]that should belong to others."

1:15:34.254,1:15:39.140
We can say that the principle of taxation[br]applied by a democratic system

1:15:40.506,1:15:43.180
is about equity. It's about inclusion.

1:15:43.205,1:15:46.539
We can't say that that profit[br]belongs only to that company.

1:15:47.460,1:15:51.658
Just like the whole cosmos[br]is in the flower, or the apple,

1:15:51.667,1:15:54.000
the whole cosmos is in that profit.

1:15:54.053,1:15:58.305
So we share back that profit[br]with the spirit of reciprocity.

1:15:59.876,1:16:03.934
We could also apply[br]that principle of reciprocity maybe to

1:16:05.023,1:16:07.741
I'm just going to throw out some ideas,[br]they may be controversial,

1:16:07.773,1:16:10.148
but I'll be brave,

1:16:10.476,1:16:13.404
salary ratios in organisations.

1:16:13.508,1:16:16.551
Between the top of the organisation[br]and the bottom.

1:16:16.655,1:16:19.321
Maybe there can be[br]some ethical principles.

1:16:19.353,1:16:21.797
We're taking the work on the tax framework

1:16:21.874,1:16:25.404
Can we also have another[br]ethical framework about salaries?

1:16:26.597,1:16:29.111
And with this ethical principle --

1:16:29.136,1:16:33.716
I will hand you all out[br]a copy of this sheet, don't worry.

1:16:33.855,1:16:36.743
With this ethical principle, we can say

1:16:36.825,1:16:40.672
that fossil fuel subsidies[br]are not ethically OK.

1:16:41.817,1:16:44.954
It is a simple moral truth.

1:16:46.008,1:16:48.986
This gives us the language[br]to describe that.

1:16:49.440,1:16:53.543
It is not possible to use shared resources

1:16:53.987,1:16:57.067
to subsidise something[br]that is destroying the planet.

1:16:57.417,1:16:59.571
That is ethically not acceptable.

1:17:00.276,1:17:02.603
And as Buddhists,

1:17:02.750,1:17:05.563
we can feel fearless just to name it.

1:17:05.588,1:17:10.527
And we can support others to also[br]name it in the language of ethics.

1:17:13.523,1:17:15.923
I know that being bold and brave

1:17:16.000,1:17:17.904
is part of the B Team's mission.

1:17:17.929,1:17:19.769
I'm just kind of going there.

1:17:20.767,1:17:24.095
There has been some interesting research.

1:17:24.133,1:17:27.287
I recently saw a paper[br]published last year.

1:17:29.230,1:17:34.656
about how our economic system[br]is still globally inequitable.

1:17:34.883,1:17:37.829
There was some very powerful research

1:17:38.485,1:17:42.027
revealing the drain[br]from the Global South

1:17:42.083,1:17:45.525
through the unequal exchange of resources.

1:17:46.678,1:17:48.890
There was a very powerful way

1:17:48.915,1:17:54.966
of measuring labour, land,[br]resources, investment,

1:17:55.037,1:17:58.565
that is being done[br]in the Global South to make it possible

1:17:58.590,1:18:00.590
to have the economies of the Global North.

1:18:00.674,1:18:02.398
And this paper concluded

1:18:02.671,1:18:05.004
that colonialism is still operating

1:18:05.105,1:18:06.986
at the economic level

1:18:07.010,1:18:10.082
however much we tell ourselves[br]stories otherwise.

1:18:11.462,1:18:13.662
We could apply this ethical principle

1:18:13.708,1:18:15.849
to a commentary on that.

1:18:18.128,1:18:21.976
With this ethical principle[br]also about not taking,

1:18:22.989,1:18:26.109
not stealing, not taking,[br]being generous,

1:18:26.375,1:18:29.966
we can recognise that[br]we live on a finite planet.

1:18:30.022,1:18:34.769
And that must mean:[br]Finite growth of a certain kind.

1:18:35.357,1:18:39.432
We cannot have infinite growth[br]on a finite planet.

1:18:41.677,1:18:45.043
I also remember a journalist ...[br]I can't remember if it was you, Jo.

1:18:45.068,1:18:46.932
I don't know if Jo[br]is sitting here somewhere.

1:18:46.972,1:18:50.758
I wasn't hearing his loud laughter.[br]So maybe that's why.

1:18:51.594,1:18:56.094
I think it might have been Jo[br]who asked Thay once

1:18:56.255,1:18:59.109
when Thay was teaching at[br]Nottingham University in the UK,

1:18:59.167,1:19:01.815
and he asked him:[br]"But Thay ...

1:19:02.220,1:19:04.186
you do like growth as a principle.

1:19:04.292,1:19:06.425
You want to grow your monastery.

1:19:06.450,1:19:08.470
You want to grow your reach and impact.

1:19:08.495,1:19:10.637
You want lots of people[br]to hear your dharma.

1:19:10.805,1:19:13.321
So you can't be anti-growth."

1:19:14.093,1:19:17.924
And Thay, he smiled.[br]He quite likes people being cheeky.

1:19:18.835,1:19:21.317
He smiled and said:

1:19:21.823,1:19:25.611
"That is true. But we know[br]what we want to grow.

1:19:27.467,1:19:30.294
We want to grow compassion.[br]We want to grow wisdom.

1:19:30.458,1:19:34.361
We want to grow community spirit,[br]a sense of community.

1:19:35.353,1:19:38.654
And yes, we might need to grow[br]in terms of resources.

1:19:38.696,1:19:40.464
But in the service of that.

1:19:41.258,1:19:45.290
We're not seeking growth[br]for growth's sake or for profit itself."

1:19:48.125,1:19:49.757
(whispers) OK, I know.

1:19:50.393,1:19:53.154
We have a couple of other principles.

1:19:53.552,1:19:55.741
One is reverence for life.

1:19:57.042,1:20:03.961
[REVERENCE FOR LIFE]

1:20:23.131,1:20:28.249
Reverence for life also involves[br]the spirit of non-violence

1:20:28.464,1:20:30.091
and not killing.

1:20:30.432,1:20:33.563
Not extracting. Not exploiting.

1:20:36.635,1:20:39.928
Aware of the suffering[br]caysed by the destruction of life,

1:20:39.958,1:20:44.458
I'm committed to cultivating[br]the insight of interbeing and compassion

1:20:44.483,1:20:47.291
and learning ways to protect[br]the lives of people,

1:20:47.364,1:20:50.205
animals, plants and minerals.

1:20:50.848,1:20:53.190
I'm determined not to kill,

1:20:53.468,1:20:55.148
not to let others kill,

1:20:55.302,1:20:58.502
and not to support any[br]active killing in the world

1:20:58.675,1:21:01.614
in my thinking, [br]or in my way of life.

1:21:02.936,1:21:05.851
Seeing that harmful actions

1:21:07.079,1:21:09.493
arise from anger,

1:21:10.069,1:21:13.938
fear, greed, and intolerance,

1:21:14.797,1:21:18.307
which in turn come from dualistic[br]and discriminative thinking,

1:21:19.402,1:21:23.202
I commit to cultivating

1:21:23.578,1:21:26.767
openness, non-discrimination,

1:21:26.831,1:21:28.918
and non-attachment to views

1:21:29.236,1:21:32.184
in order to help transform violence,

1:21:32.319,1:21:37.351
fanaticism and dogmatism[br]in myself and in the world.

1:21:38.987,1:21:40.789
This is how we as Buddhists

1:21:40.917,1:21:43.650
apply the principle[br]of Reverence for Life.

1:21:45.663,1:21:49.178
So caring for the world can be[br]an intellectual idea,

1:21:49.864,1:21:53.269
or it can be a practise[br]that we express with our body.

1:21:56.510,1:21:59.710
So we invite you[br]to ask yourself this question.

1:22:00.009,1:22:02.767
I care for society,[br]I care for the Earth,

1:22:03.037,1:22:07.067
how are my bodily actions showing that?

1:22:09.750,1:22:13.523
As you have realised,[br]we do believe

1:22:13.833,1:22:17.861
that a plant-based diet is one very

1:22:19.075,1:22:23.898
possible and yet radical step[br]that each one of us can go towards.

1:22:24.502,1:22:27.996
We're not judging or[br]being dogmatic about it,

1:22:28.021,1:22:30.686
which is also a principle[br]of this training.

1:22:31.862,1:22:33.542
In ethics, we're saying:

1:22:33.792,1:22:36.258
That is a direction we can all go in.

1:22:36.283,1:22:39.343
And it's an easy way[br]to practise non-violence

1:22:39.724,1:22:41.164
in our daily life.

1:22:45.958,1:22:47.904
When we speak about

1:22:51.254,1:22:52.871
non-violence here,

1:22:53.911,1:23:00.126
sometimes we might think that[br]this just relates to physical violence.

1:23:00.913,1:23:06.159
But we would also say that our thinking[br]can be violent and extractive.

1:23:07.129,1:23:08.888
Our speaking can be violent.

1:23:09.531,1:23:13.160
As well as our behaviour.

1:23:13.185,1:23:15.585
Here, it could be our way of consuming.

1:23:18.417,1:23:20.538
We're also not absolutist.

1:23:20.563,1:23:23.569
This is a very interesting principle[br]about Buddhist ethics.

1:23:23.667,1:23:25.467
If I had three hours today,

1:23:25.492,1:23:28.972
I could share with you[br]some more of the criteria

1:23:29.033,1:23:33.124
about how we apply our principles[br]in different situations.

1:23:34.139,1:23:39.387
One of them is that we never apply them[br]in an absolutist, puritanical way.

1:23:40.207,1:23:43.690
And I know that in the B Team

1:23:43.964,1:23:48.816
and in many corporations[br]who would like to go good things,

1:23:48.841,1:23:53.129
the danger is that you end up[br]in the center of a circular firing squad.

1:23:53.517,1:23:56.410
Others are always pointing the finger

1:23:56.436,1:23:59.303
and we may have a fear[br]of ethical principles

1:23:59.329,1:24:01.278
because we don't want them[br]to become a stick

1:24:01.303,1:24:03.765
that we beat other people with.

1:24:04.303,1:24:06.970
So in the Buddhist principles of ethics,

1:24:08.302,1:24:09.982
they are not a stick.

1:24:10.306,1:24:12.973
We like to describe them[br]as a North Star.

1:24:13.042,1:24:15.427
A direction of travel.

1:24:16.449,1:24:18.393
The applying of which

1:24:18.553,1:24:22.811
has a lot of space in it,[br]a lot of compassion and patience.

1:24:22.875,1:24:24.883
A lot of openness.

1:24:24.976,1:24:29.446
And that first of all these principles[br]are something that we ourselves do

1:24:29.458,1:24:34.261
as individuals, as teams,[br]and as organisations.

1:24:34.497,1:24:36.669
So we kind of walk the talk.

1:24:37.048,1:24:40.767
The ethical principles are something[br]we can have a conversation around.

1:24:40.882,1:24:45.355
But we don't use them[br]to blame, to judge, or to punish.

1:24:45.796,1:24:47.948
That's something about Buddhist ethics.

1:24:49.476,1:24:51.572
Very briefly.

1:24:52.704,1:24:56.602
We've learnt a lot about another one

1:24:56.625,1:24:59.779
which is about[br]compassionate communication.

1:24:59.841,1:25:01.774
[COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION]

1:25:02.532,1:25:04.814
I won't say much more about that.

1:25:05.987,1:25:07.371
But for us,

1:25:09.916,1:25:13.928
our way of communicating[br]in integrity and honesty

1:25:15.426,1:25:18.120
while also being skillful

1:25:19.950,1:25:23.688
and patient, and aware[br]of the impact of our words,

1:25:24.071,1:25:26.418
and we've learnt a lot[br]about that this week.

1:25:26.443,1:25:29.307
The final principle is about True Love.

1:25:29.332,1:25:31.166
[TRUE LOVE]

1:25:31.191,1:25:34.135
What's really interesting[br]about Buddhist ethics

1:25:34.302,1:25:37.059
is that we include[br]our intimate relationships

1:25:37.178,1:25:43.813
in the orbit of our ethical action.

1:25:45.375,1:25:47.375
How we are with those we love.

1:25:47.400,1:25:49.717
Are we able to respect our partner?

1:25:49.788,1:25:52.997
Can we allow them to be different?

1:25:53.284,1:25:55.849
Can we embrace their shortcomings?

1:25:55.943,1:25:58.151
Can we help them[br]transform their suffering?

1:25:58.971,1:26:02.031
How can we see them[br]as a wonder of life?

1:26:02.056,1:26:04.174
How can we not take them for granted?

1:26:10.500,1:26:14.276
When we say what can Buddhists[br]contribute to a global ethic,

1:26:14.750,1:26:18.828
we might say that maybe the B Team

1:26:18.875,1:26:25.503
could develop some[br]kind of compassionate ethics

1:26:26.324,1:26:30.020
to bring -- and I will now pass around --

1:26:47.749,1:26:49.654
For some of the home team,

1:26:50.033,1:26:51.632
You don't need to see them.

1:26:51.695,1:26:54.604
I only printed 40 copies to save paper.

1:26:54.771,1:26:58.890
Those are the five mindfulness[br]trainings, the Plum Village vision

1:26:58.998,1:27:03.198
of ethics and what we could[br]call global spirituality.

1:27:04.088,1:27:06.904
Wouldn't it be an interesting challenge

1:27:07.487,1:27:12.751
to see if there could be a written code[br]just like the tax principles?

1:27:13.255,1:27:16.454
If there could be a written code[br]to express the kind of ethics

1:27:16.493,1:27:19.426
we would like to see[br]in our corporate world.

1:27:21.686,1:27:23.826
So this text that you see,

1:27:23.851,1:27:26.818
our teacher has been evolving over time

1:27:26.843,1:27:30.827
and he was very passionate[br]about renewing it in 2009,

1:27:30.900,1:27:34.990
and the latest update[br]was last year.

1:27:35.034,1:27:37.556
It's something we're continuing to evolve.

1:27:37.581,1:27:38.999
It's a living document.

1:27:40.534,1:27:45.278
We should not be afraid[br]to define our values.

1:27:45.958,1:27:51.031
I think sometimes,[br]because we're here in Europe

1:27:51.097,1:27:55.495
oh, I don't want to say that,[br]what do I want to say?

1:27:56.744,1:28:00.498
In the Judeo-Christian north,[br]is that what I want to say?

1:28:01.898,1:28:04.978
We're in a slightly[br]post-religious era.

1:28:05.382,1:28:10.482
And we get very afraid[br]about defining ethics

1:28:10.583,1:28:12.583
and a moral compass.

1:28:13.124,1:28:17.763
Our teacher has taught our community[br]that we don't need to be afraid

1:28:17.825,1:28:21.150
about saying what is right[br]and what is wrong

1:28:21.175,1:28:22.516
in the light of suffering.

1:28:22.542,1:28:24.862
So as you see each of those principles,

1:28:24.887,1:28:29.035
it's framed by awareness of the[br]suffering caused by certain actions.

1:28:29.578,1:28:31.901
Based on our insight into suffering,

1:28:32.042,1:28:34.506
we can come up with behaviours

1:28:34.559,1:28:39.021
to reduce suffering in ourselves,[br]our family and the world.

1:28:39.948,1:28:43.250
And it's OK to define[br]harmful behaviours.

1:28:45.046,1:28:47.469
Sometimes we can feel[br]that we don't want to shame others.

1:28:47.500,1:28:49.868
Something I've learnt[br]here in this community

1:28:49.956,1:28:53.130
is that we can say:[br]"That behaviour is not OK"

1:28:53.314,1:28:55.309
while still loving the person.

1:28:56.681,1:28:59.153
We love the person for who they are

1:28:59.193,1:29:02.698
and we recognise that[br]all humans have shortcomings.

1:29:03.165,1:29:04.765
And yet we can still

1:29:07.646,1:29:11.772
point out that this or[br]that action is not correct

1:29:11.797,1:29:13.585
and it's not ethical.

1:29:13.701,1:29:16.645
And as a society,[br]we have to have that courage

1:29:16.670,1:29:18.873
to have an open conversation.

1:29:19.649,1:29:21.383
And to trust in ourselves.

1:29:21.542,1:29:24.408
And to trust in the wisdom[br]of our ancestors.

1:29:28.438,1:29:31.963
I want to finish with something[br]that our teacher said.

1:29:32.802,1:29:35.571
It came up in our group the other day.

1:29:39.143,1:29:44.499
In the realm of ethics[br]and spirituality,

1:29:45.743,1:29:50.575
we cannot allow "others"

1:29:52.269,1:29:56.179
to monopolise God and spirituality.

1:29:57.149,1:30:01.796
And to use it[br]in the service of intolerance,

1:30:02.056,1:30:08.253
hatred, discrimination, dogmatism,[br]even craving and greed.

1:30:09.277,1:30:14.717
We cannot allow others to monopolise,[br]he even used the word "hijack",

1:30:15.224,1:30:17.815
to hijack God and spirituality

1:30:18.003,1:30:20.355
in the service of those things.

1:30:21.575,1:30:24.692
I may be thinking that the others here ...

1:30:24.958,1:30:27.890
I don't know if I need to spell it out.

1:30:28.957,1:30:32.705
If we think of[br]the conservative Christian right,

1:30:33.897,1:30:37.706
we can ask: Have they hijacked God

1:30:38.204,1:30:45.105
in the service of intolerance,[br]hatred, discrimination, dogmatism

1:30:45.294,1:30:47.732
and even craving or greed?

1:30:47.892,1:30:51.307
To take care of themselves,[br]their own survival,

1:30:51.444,1:30:53.247
the survival of the few.

1:30:53.653,1:30:55.681
The few who have the same beliefs.

1:30:55.875,1:30:59.021
The same values.[br]The same ethnicity.

1:31:02.328,1:31:07.244
And our teacher was asked

1:31:07.532,1:31:12.029
after John Kerry lost[br]the election in 2005,

1:31:12.451,1:31:13.995
a very narrow margin,

1:31:14.974,1:31:15.974
by some counts,

1:31:18.375,1:31:19.853
he was asked:

1:31:21.894,1:31:23.670
How is it possible?

1:31:24.323,1:31:30.478
Why did ... why did the goodness[br]of the country fail in that moment?

1:31:31.482,1:31:35.024
That was 2005. [br]We've all lived through 2016.

1:31:35.174,1:31:39.821
It was traumatic for people in the US[br]and traumatic for people in the UK.

1:31:43.621,1:31:45.398
This is what Thay said:

1:31:45.675,1:31:50.451
"I think if the Democratic Party[br]didn't succeed this time,

1:31:51.144,1:31:54.450
it is because they lacked[br]a spiritual dimension.

1:31:56.513,1:31:59.979
They allowed the other side[br]to monopolise God,

1:32:00.304,1:32:03.492
to hijack God,[br]in the direction of division,

1:32:03.863,1:32:07.716
hate, discrimination, non-tolerance.

1:32:09.178,1:32:13.380
And they want to suggest[br]the other side is condoning

1:32:14.958,1:32:19.563
all sorts of things that they claim[br]go against the will of God."

1:32:20.518,1:32:24.318
And Thay said:[br]"This is fundamentalist thinking.

1:32:25.270,1:32:27.151
It's dangerous thinking."

1:32:27.614,1:32:29.041
And then he said:

1:32:29.766,1:32:32.842
"We need a God of compassion.

1:32:32.878,1:32:35.621
We need a God of non-discrimination.

1:32:36.100,1:32:40.286
A God of tolerance.[br]We need a God of love.

1:32:41.301,1:32:44.565
And if we don't come together[br]and practise together,

1:32:44.669,1:32:49.514
in order to bring the spiritual[br]dimension into our daily life,

1:32:50.052,1:32:52.852
I guess that we will[br]not be able to succeed

1:32:53.248,1:32:54.902
in our future attempts.

1:32:57.250,1:33:02.155
To be spiritual is not something[br]very far from our daily life."

1:33:02.728,1:33:04.906
So if you've never heard[br]our teacher speak,

1:33:05.012,1:33:09.403
he used God as a way[br]to describe the ultimate dimension.

1:33:09.778,1:33:12.208
His God is very inclusive.

1:33:13.949,1:33:17.210
Of the gods that many of us might[br]recognise in our upbringing

1:33:17.235,1:33:19.785
and that many of us still hold dear.

1:33:22.052,1:33:25.892
So, to be spiritual is something[br]not far from our daily life.

1:33:26.133,1:33:28.978
"We are spiritual in the way[br]we drink our tea," he said.

1:33:29.199,1:33:30.719
In the way we walk.

1:33:32.314,1:33:35.969
In the way, when people say[br]something with hatred and anger,

1:33:36.182,1:33:40.061
our response can carry[br]spirituality in it.

1:33:40.836,1:33:43.209
That's the compassionate communication.

1:33:44.664,1:33:46.344
"That is spirituality.

1:33:46.369,1:33:48.914
That is a training.[br]That is life."

1:33:51.833,1:33:54.781
And then he said:[br]"This is why peace

1:33:54.843,1:33:59.931
social justice and equality[br]should always begin with ourselves.

1:34:00.590,1:34:03.617
We have to learn[br]to deal with ourselves,

1:34:03.705,1:34:06.105
to handle ourselves with compassion,

1:34:06.677,1:34:09.941
so that we can be[br]with our families with compassion

1:34:10.154,1:34:12.554
and help other families do the same.

1:34:12.650,1:34:15.550
And that is the spirit[br]of community-building.

1:34:17.235,1:34:18.291
Even ... "

1:34:18.316,1:34:20.350
This is a really amazing line.

1:34:20.457,1:34:24.804
"Even if you have a perfect[br]analysis of the situation.

1:34:26.108,1:34:29.735
Even if you have a plan[br]of action that is perfect.

1:34:30.325,1:34:34.180
Without this kind of spiritual[br]training or practise,

1:34:34.583,1:34:39.448
without a spiritual dimension[br]to your way of being and doing,

1:34:40.103,1:34:42.579
I don't think that you can succeed."

1:34:44.559,1:34:45.559
And then he said:

1:34:45.757,1:34:47.321
(laughs) "Thank you."

1:34:47.356,1:34:48.656
[laughter]

1:34:49.294,1:34:51.103
I would also like to thank you.

1:34:51.183,1:34:55.353
Thank you for your patience.[br]For listening to me.

1:34:59.792,1:35:03.964
I have done my best.[br]And that is why I can be at peace.

1:35:11.049,1:35:14.170
[sound of the bell]

1:35:31.209,1:35:35.351
[sound of the bell]

1:35:53.100,1:35:57.050
[sound of the bell]

1:36:12.142,1:36:13.738
[chime]