1
00:00:00,001 --> 00:00:04,269
My first intention this morning is
that I would like to be

2
00:00:06,434 --> 00:00:09,266
fearless in speaking the truth.

3
00:00:10,250 --> 00:00:16,358
I was with our teacher when he
spoke at the World Bank in 2013.

4
00:00:16,863 --> 00:00:20,359
In that giant atrium that many
of you know in Washington, D.C.

5
00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,817
Our teacher was so fearless
in speaking the truth.

6
00:00:26,042 --> 00:00:28,278
If I could have one percent
of that this morning,

7
00:00:28,375 --> 00:00:29,873
I would be very happy.

8
00:00:29,926 --> 00:00:33,574
So I will do my best to be
fearless in speaking the truth.

9
00:00:33,625 --> 00:00:37,529
I will also do my best to speak
from a place of love and care.

10
00:00:40,676 --> 00:00:42,613
As Christiana was saying earlier:

11
00:00:42,738 --> 00:00:45,265
I think some of
the issues of our time

12
00:00:45,292 --> 00:00:49,936
bring up an energy
of anger and injustice.

13
00:00:50,435 --> 00:00:52,035
And we're all human.

14
00:00:52,084 --> 00:00:53,764
I think I feel that, too.

15
00:00:54,876 --> 00:00:57,347
And I think ...

16
00:01:02,014 --> 00:01:05,021
Part of the deep work that
each of us need to do

17
00:01:05,250 --> 00:01:08,322
and that's my work this morning
as I speak to you,

18
00:01:08,408 --> 00:01:13,209
is to have my love at least as strong
as my anger and my sense of injustice.

19
00:01:15,666 --> 00:01:18,199
So I hope my siblings will support me.

20
00:01:18,351 --> 00:01:21,026
There's a bell master,
Brother [name].

21
00:01:21,375 --> 00:01:23,078
If I get a little too passionate,

22
00:01:23,150 --> 00:01:27,067
I'm sure he will help me
with a wake-up sound of the bell

23
00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:33,983
to remind me to keep my heart
really open as I share today.

24
00:01:35,513 --> 00:01:37,674
I also want to share with joy

25
00:01:38,833 --> 00:01:39,833
sometimes ...

26
00:01:41,500 --> 00:01:46,212
our spiritual practise can seem
like a really serious endeavour.

27
00:01:46,474 --> 00:01:50,251
But for me, to understand
myself and the world,

28
00:01:50,399 --> 00:01:52,734
to cultivate insight,

29
00:01:53,542 --> 00:01:56,678
to start to see what
Right Action could look like,

30
00:01:57,358 --> 00:01:58,837
what a source of joy!

31
00:01:58,919 --> 00:02:00,664
That is a wonderful thing
to be doing

32
00:02:00,732 --> 00:02:03,248
and a great use
of our time and energy.

33
00:02:03,398 --> 00:02:06,668
So. Even though ethics
is a really tough topic,

34
00:02:06,992 --> 00:02:09,209
I hope to bring joy to it this morning.

35
00:02:11,750 --> 00:02:15,654
And finally, I also deeply aspire
in this talk to kind of ...

36
00:02:19,006 --> 00:02:21,662
get out of the way myself,
to step aside,

37
00:02:21,885 --> 00:02:23,565
and let the dharma speak.

38
00:02:24,500 --> 00:02:27,846
In Buddhism, when we
speak about non-self,

39
00:02:28,291 --> 00:02:30,224
it's really a lived practise.

40
00:02:30,375 --> 00:02:33,737
I don't think that I'm a separate
self saying these things.

41
00:02:34,289 --> 00:02:37,734
Any sense of me and mine
I want to put to the side

42
00:02:38,009 --> 00:02:41,760
so I can just simply share
some of the wisdom

43
00:02:41,959 --> 00:02:48,439
of 2500 years that I
happen to have been learning

44
00:02:48,916 --> 00:02:52,275
and continue to learn in this community.

45
00:02:54,021 --> 00:02:56,566
So this is also not really my talk.

46
00:02:56,824 --> 00:02:58,501
It's a collective talk.

47
00:03:00,166 --> 00:03:04,483
So, with that spirit, we can listen
to three sounds of the bell.

48
00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:07,259
Sometimes we're being a bit efficient.

49
00:03:07,378 --> 00:03:08,764
We're just having one.

50
00:03:09,209 --> 00:03:13,817
But this morning it would be beautiful
to enjoy three sounds of the bell

51
00:03:14,795 --> 00:03:19,692
and listening to the bell truly
as a practise of systems change

52
00:03:20,419 --> 00:03:24,400
can we find our freedom
in the sound of the bell,

53
00:03:24,675 --> 00:03:30,502
can we touch what is most
sacred and precious in life.

54
00:03:41,907 --> 00:03:48,529
[sound of the bell]

55
00:04:16,029 --> 00:04:23,441
[sound of the bell]

56
00:04:55,292 --> 00:05:02,812
[sound of the bell]

57
00:05:31,153 --> 00:05:33,339
Thank you, everybody.

58
00:05:34,565 --> 00:05:39,256
There is actually a bodhisattva
of crying in the Buddhist tradition.

59
00:05:39,666 --> 00:05:42,859
I was wondering where
my tears are coming from.

60
00:05:43,249 --> 00:05:47,733
I realised it was the tears of the earth
and then they flowed even stronger.

61
00:05:50,261 --> 00:05:51,261
Okay.

62
00:05:55,792 --> 00:05:58,609
In our dharma sharing yesterday,

63
00:05:58,666 --> 00:06:03,458
someone gave rise to an intention
to be a good ancestor.

64
00:06:03,917 --> 00:06:08,817
We had asked our group:
What's the most important thing for you?

65
00:06:09,414 --> 00:06:12,208
What is most important in your life?

66
00:06:12,413 --> 00:06:17,150
What do you want to commit
your time and energy to?

67
00:06:18,098 --> 00:06:19,098
Thank you.

68
00:06:19,583 --> 00:06:23,531
For every bodhisattva that cries
there is a bodhisattva with tissues.

69
00:06:23,635 --> 00:06:24,635
[laughter]

70
00:06:31,256 --> 00:06:35,734
What would it mean
to be a good ancestor?

71
00:06:38,541 --> 00:06:42,863
And what would it mean
to be a good descendant

72
00:06:43,029 --> 00:06:45,275
of those who have come before us?

73
00:06:46,736 --> 00:06:49,136
We stand on the shoulders of giants.

74
00:06:54,569 --> 00:06:56,583
Those that came before us
in the recent past,

75
00:06:57,667 --> 00:07:00,775
but also those that came before us
a long, long time ago.

76
00:07:03,155 --> 00:07:06,441
The wise ones.
The wiser ones, maybe.

77
00:07:09,917 --> 00:07:12,050
Someone also asked in our group:

78
00:07:12,158 --> 00:07:15,091
What's the Buddhist
understanding of time?

79
00:07:18,750 --> 00:07:22,274
And for us, as we've picked up,

80
00:07:22,500 --> 00:07:28,714
we say that the present moment
contains the past.

81
00:07:29,512 --> 00:07:31,468
And it contains the future.

82
00:07:36,100 --> 00:07:39,487
My tears are the tears of the past
and the tears of the future.

83
00:07:42,250 --> 00:07:45,921
Our actions now ...

84
00:07:47,068 --> 00:07:51,405
already contain all
of the past conditioning in them.

85
00:07:55,932 --> 00:07:58,773
The way we walk
as though we're in a hurry.

86
00:08:01,617 --> 00:08:04,040
They say our sense
of urgency and time

87
00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:07,262
came with the invention of the clock
in the industrial revolution.

88
00:08:08,796 --> 00:08:11,730
Our speed of walking
carries history within it.

89
00:08:15,250 --> 00:08:17,662
And when we can
take a step in freedom now,

90
00:08:18,624 --> 00:08:22,625
we're transforming the rushing
and running and striving

91
00:08:23,084 --> 00:08:24,444
of our ancestors.

92
00:08:25,500 --> 00:08:27,608
And we're making it
a little bit more possible

93
00:08:27,795 --> 00:08:34,250
that future generations will also
be able to walk in peace and freedom.

94
00:08:36,541 --> 00:08:42,317
When we imagine the kind of society
all of us are working to make possible

95
00:08:42,617 --> 00:08:46,358
for the future: A just society,
a more equitable society,

96
00:08:49,389 --> 00:08:51,410
an inclusive society,

97
00:08:51,652 --> 00:08:55,068
whether we're contributing to that
as a monastic

98
00:08:55,584 --> 00:08:57,517
or as someone with the B team

99
00:08:57,891 --> 00:09:00,375
or someone with Global Optimism

100
00:09:01,064 --> 00:09:02,591
or Project Everyone.

101
00:09:02,784 --> 00:09:05,558
All the organisations represented here.

102
00:09:07,393 --> 00:09:10,246
We have in mind a kind of society

103
00:09:10,275 --> 00:09:12,071
and those future generations

104
00:09:12,667 --> 00:09:15,995
that we want to make possible
with our actions today.

105
00:09:16,500 --> 00:09:19,400
We want to believe
such a future is possible.

106
00:09:22,917 --> 00:09:24,843
In Buddhism,

107
00:09:25,331 --> 00:09:27,864
we believe that in the present moment,

108
00:09:27,963 --> 00:09:31,583
we have immense energy and agency,

109
00:09:31,608 --> 00:09:33,702
immense kind of capacity,

110
00:09:34,542 --> 00:09:37,331
to create the preconditions
for that future.

111
00:09:37,387 --> 00:09:41,025
and in a way to create
that future with this present.

112
00:09:53,694 --> 00:09:55,692
What is it that we think that we do

113
00:09:57,417 --> 00:09:59,559
when we're being alive?

114
00:10:00,255 --> 00:10:02,149
What is it we're talking about

115
00:10:02,260 --> 00:10:06,311
when we talk about life
and how we're spending our life?

116
00:10:10,018 --> 00:10:13,917
In some of the settings in which
some of us might find ourselves

117
00:10:14,083 --> 00:10:15,443
most of the time,

118
00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:19,706
life might be about productivity

119
00:10:20,792 --> 00:10:23,705
or profit, or innovation,

120
00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:25,617
or agility.

121
00:10:26,677 --> 00:10:30,109
KPIs? Apparently it's a thing.

122
00:10:34,375 --> 00:10:37,095
In Buddhism, we naturally have
a different sense

123
00:10:37,167 --> 00:10:40,067
of what we're doing
with our time and energy.

124
00:10:47,069 --> 00:10:48,680
[KARMA]

125
00:10:49,061 --> 00:10:51,595
We speak about something called karma.

126
00:10:55,470 --> 00:10:59,143
I know some of you think something
when you see that word.

127
00:10:59,296 --> 00:11:04,751
But actually, it's a technical term
that simply means 'action'.

128
00:11:04,856 --> 00:11:07,176
The energy of action.

129
00:11:07,361 --> 00:11:11,733
All of us are producing karma
in every moment.

130
00:11:13,107 --> 00:11:15,414
And we speak about triple action.

131
00:11:21,408 --> 00:11:23,528
Our way of thinking.

132
00:11:23,671 --> 00:11:25,531
[THINKING]

133
00:11:26,660 --> 00:11:28,802
Our way of speaking.

134
00:11:29,291 --> 00:11:30,633
[SPEAKING]

135
00:11:31,452 --> 00:11:33,475
And our way of acting.

136
00:11:33,633 --> 00:11:35,347
[ACTING]

137
00:11:38,950 --> 00:11:41,698
Our thoughts go out into the world

138
00:11:42,789 --> 00:11:46,642
and kind of ripple out
and continue us.

139
00:11:48,422 --> 00:11:50,816
The reason we say
that thinking is important

140
00:11:51,625 --> 00:11:55,017
is because we are cultivating
those seeds in our mind,

141
00:11:55,212 --> 00:11:58,150
our thinking, all the time.

142
00:11:58,433 --> 00:12:00,898
I think many of you in this room
are the kind of people,

143
00:12:01,097 --> 00:12:04,734
if you have a good idea,
it's a very quick channel

144
00:12:04,956 --> 00:12:07,089
to then say it and implement it.

145
00:12:08,890 --> 00:12:12,584
Our ideas are really important.
Our ideas, our values,

146
00:12:12,791 --> 00:12:14,609
our way of seeing the world.

147
00:12:15,250 --> 00:12:18,488
It gives rise to what we say
and to action.

148
00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,557
We really do call thinking
a kind of action.

149
00:12:26,248 --> 00:12:30,290
Our teacher used to like
quoting Jean Paul Sartre.

150
00:12:31,129 --> 00:12:34,704
L'homme est la somme de ses actes.

151
00:12:35,315 --> 00:12:38,427
Man is the sum of his actions.

152
00:12:40,735 --> 00:12:45,373
Each one of us, the imprint
we leave on the world,

153
00:12:45,653 --> 00:12:51,946
is primarily,
exclusively

154
00:12:52,042 --> 00:12:59,357
the legacy of our thinking,
speaking, and acting.

155
00:13:00,339 --> 00:13:01,940
Our way of being.

156
00:13:14,452 --> 00:13:16,367
In our professional life,

157
00:13:16,375 --> 00:13:18,222
we might end up focusing
so much on acting,

158
00:13:19,496 --> 00:13:24,195
and it can be a really interesting
exercise to ask ourselves:

159
00:13:24,368 --> 00:13:29,674
What do I think my professional
legacy is going to be?

160
00:13:32,264 --> 00:13:35,042
And is that what's on our gravestone?

161
00:13:43,592 --> 00:13:45,801
I was contemplating this

162
00:13:47,580 --> 00:13:49,834
when I first became
practising in Plum Village.

163
00:13:50,103 --> 00:13:53,117
At that time, I was working
in the BBC newsroom

164
00:13:53,369 --> 00:13:55,815
in political news, of all things.

165
00:13:57,577 --> 00:14:01,668
And I had heard this line:

166
00:14:04,204 --> 00:14:06,524
I'm definitely going to get sick

167
00:14:06,712 --> 00:14:08,263
I cannot escape sickness,

168
00:14:08,341 --> 00:14:11,248
I'm definitely going to get old,
I cannot escape old age,

169
00:14:11,288 --> 00:14:14,232
I'm definitely gonna die,
I can't escape death.

170
00:14:15,105 --> 00:14:20,472
I'm certainly going to be separated
from all and everyone I love.

171
00:14:23,313 --> 00:14:27,075
And the fifth point: Only my actions

172
00:14:28,321 --> 00:14:31,905
of body, speech and mind
are the ground on which I stand.

173
00:14:32,716 --> 00:14:34,176
My actions.

174
00:14:35,256 --> 00:14:38,123
I was working in the newsroom
and I thought: Gosh.

175
00:14:44,990 --> 00:14:47,523
I thought: If I continue working here,

176
00:14:49,375 --> 00:14:52,065
how will my life be summed up?

177
00:14:52,319 --> 00:14:53,919
Suddenly I realised,

178
00:14:53,929 --> 00:15:03,188
maybe my gravestone would just say
my name and something like: BBC Editor.

179
00:15:06,082 --> 00:15:08,349
It was an interesting realisation.

180
00:15:08,580 --> 00:15:11,567
Because if any of you have
ever worked with the BBC,

181
00:15:11,679 --> 00:15:14,178
"Editor" is a big thing.

182
00:15:14,488 --> 00:15:18,275
It's kind of the holy grail
for everyone working there.

183
00:15:22,042 --> 00:15:25,370
And I wanted my life to be
about much more than that.

184
00:15:25,474 --> 00:15:29,634
I realised that when we think about
our professional achievements,

185
00:15:29,659 --> 00:15:32,555
it can be so disillusioning.

186
00:15:37,263 --> 00:15:42,474
Maybe the realm of our action
is not exactly what we think it is.

187
00:15:42,900 --> 00:15:44,991
We often speak about impact.

188
00:15:45,125 --> 00:15:46,805
I want to have impact.

189
00:15:47,792 --> 00:15:51,466
[name]'s favourite phrase is
"scale & speed". Speed and scale.

190
00:15:51,625 --> 00:15:53,305
Speed. Scale. Impact.

191
00:15:57,667 --> 00:16:00,467
How is that going to be
on your gravestone?

192
00:16:01,958 --> 00:16:06,192
This policy document. This report.
Getting this funding.

193
00:16:08,501 --> 00:16:13,930
In Buddhism we really say
that our continuation

194
00:16:13,974 --> 00:16:20,007
and kind of our impact is so much deeper
than the ends of what we achieve.

195
00:16:20,189 --> 00:16:22,722
It's also the How of How we get there.

196
00:16:22,747 --> 00:16:23,875
The means.

197
00:16:26,776 --> 00:16:31,611
If we could describe
our way of being like a candle,

198
00:16:37,875 --> 00:16:47,482
and our thinking and speaking
and acting is radiating out in the world.

199
00:16:50,708 --> 00:16:53,041
The quality of our ...

200
00:17:13,878 --> 00:17:14,998
Loving action.

201
00:17:19,417 --> 00:17:23,658
How we think, speak and act
is also ...

202
00:17:23,753 --> 00:17:26,626
If you think of a candle radiating light.

203
00:17:26,651 --> 00:17:30,593
That light is also shining
on the candle itself.

204
00:17:33,250 --> 00:17:37,039
When we say something
that is not quite true,

205
00:17:37,667 --> 00:17:41,635
that is affecting our consciousness,
it's affecting our selves.

206
00:17:42,161 --> 00:17:43,934
When we do an action

207
00:17:44,021 --> 00:17:52,170
that doesn't quite have full integrity and
alignment with our own personal values,

208
00:17:53,269 --> 00:17:55,468
that is affecting us.

209
00:17:59,625 --> 00:18:03,357
It is affecting, maybe,
how we can sleep at night.

210
00:18:05,704 --> 00:18:09,367
Whether we have anxiety
or despair.

211
00:18:10,708 --> 00:18:14,845
But when we can act, speak
and think in such a way

212
00:18:14,870 --> 00:18:17,386
that's really in alignment
with our values,

213
00:18:17,411 --> 00:18:20,078
we can kind of be coherent to ourselves.

214
00:18:21,375 --> 00:18:23,575
And here's something interesting.

215
00:18:23,833 --> 00:18:30,525
If we get too preoccupied
by thinking that our main actions

216
00:18:30,989 --> 00:18:33,295
are our professional actions,
we may miss the fact

217
00:18:33,432 --> 00:18:39,702
that perhaps our deepest transmission
is maybe in the way we are as a person.

218
00:18:41,500 --> 00:18:46,073
For example to our children,
to our family members.

219
00:18:48,005 --> 00:18:50,712
How we are with feelings of anger.

220
00:18:50,958 --> 00:18:54,164
How we are with feelings of anxiety.

221
00:18:55,667 --> 00:19:01,283
How we are with craving and habits.

222
00:19:01,667 --> 00:19:09,142
In fact, all the time, we are
imprinting that on the next generation.

223
00:19:11,494 --> 00:19:15,014
Maybe your greatest legacy
is not your professional one,

224
00:19:15,202 --> 00:19:18,402
but the family and people
that we are with at home.

225
00:19:18,492 --> 00:19:22,392
And maybe you spend more time
with your colleagues than with your kids.

226
00:19:22,828 --> 00:19:25,964
And so maybe that patterning
and that transmission

227
00:19:25,989 --> 00:19:28,589
is actually happening in the workplace.

228
00:19:28,801 --> 00:19:34,549
And we are participating in increasing
the energy of impatience.

229
00:19:34,890 --> 00:19:40,775
The energy of not-enough-ness.

230
00:19:41,105 --> 00:19:43,940
I'll come to that in a moment.

231
00:19:45,542 --> 00:19:49,579
And we are not transmitting what
we were learning about on the first day,

232
00:19:49,667 --> 00:19:53,605
which is the power of presence.
A quality of presence.

233
00:19:54,375 --> 00:19:59,001
So we may be looking in the wrong place
for our legacy.

234
00:20:00,619 --> 00:20:04,549
For our transmission,
our continuation.

235
00:20:04,700 --> 00:20:07,033
These are all great Buddhist words.

236
00:20:07,105 --> 00:20:11,585
The way we continue in the world,
what we transmit to people around us.

237
00:20:17,708 --> 00:20:20,757
And one reason why this is important,

238
00:20:20,782 --> 00:20:23,688
it comes back to something
to do with systems change

239
00:20:23,728 --> 00:20:27,056
and something we heard
from Brother Spirit yesterday.

240
00:20:28,083 --> 00:20:34,543
Which is that we can take actions
to mitigate the problems of our time.

241
00:20:34,833 --> 00:20:39,982
We can take actions to adapt
our economic systems and infrastructure.

242
00:20:41,212 --> 00:20:44,476
But ultimately,
that third pillar of transformation,

243
00:20:44,648 --> 00:20:46,328
transforming the system,

244
00:20:46,664 --> 00:20:49,990
are the humans who will be in that system.

245
00:20:50,542 --> 00:20:57,249
In 20 years, 50 years,
100 years, 150 years.

246
00:20:58,750 --> 00:21:03,863
How will those humans be responding
to the challenges of their time?

247
00:21:04,442 --> 00:21:07,309
We can't even anticipate
all the challenges.

248
00:21:08,208 --> 00:21:14,523
But what if we could establish
a way of being that we learn and train in,

249
00:21:14,563 --> 00:21:18,896
and cultivate, and that is
what we are transmitting?

250
00:21:18,936 --> 00:21:24,853
As the ultimate kind of toolkit,
life-kit, life support system

251
00:21:25,083 --> 00:21:27,261
for the generations to come

252
00:21:27,286 --> 00:21:31,734
so that they will know
how to breathe in a crisis.

253
00:21:32,980 --> 00:21:40,781
So they will know how to walk in such
a way that they can enjoy a forest.

254
00:21:41,797 --> 00:21:46,246
We may be so busy protecting forests

255
00:21:47,208 --> 00:21:52,172
that we're not able to transmit
to our children how to enjoy a forest

256
00:21:52,220 --> 00:21:55,425
and walk in freedom through a forest.

257
00:21:57,065 --> 00:22:01,926
In what I'm trying to share,
maybe, actually,

258
00:22:01,958 --> 00:22:06,566
what's more important is to help
the children know how to walk in freedom

259
00:22:06,632 --> 00:22:10,200
and enjoy a forest,
so that they can protect forests

260
00:22:10,208 --> 00:22:13,464
in 50 years or 100 years
or 150 years.

261
00:22:13,610 --> 00:22:18,311
Maybe, maybe, more important
than saving one tiny corner

262
00:22:18,661 --> 00:22:20,341
with one campaign now.

263
00:22:21,215 --> 00:22:25,763
It's something about ...
We hate using computer metaphors.

264
00:22:25,859 --> 00:22:29,849
But like the operating system
of collective consciousness.

265
00:22:29,992 --> 00:22:33,896
That is where we need to insert
our program of transformation.

266
00:22:34,098 --> 00:22:39,624
How we're processing, how we're running,
how we're creating and responding to life.

267
00:22:39,958 --> 00:22:43,926
That's where it's very important
to invest our time and energy.

268
00:22:44,333 --> 00:22:47,067
And that has something to do with ethics.

269
00:22:51,708 --> 00:22:57,615
I'd like to phone a friend
and ask Brother Phap Huu to help me.

270
00:22:57,702 --> 00:23:01,329
Sorry, Who Wants
To Be A Millionaire reference.

271
00:23:01,956 --> 00:23:04,223
It may come out of the blue there.

272
00:23:05,607 --> 00:23:08,807
Brother Phap Huu
will help me draw a little circle.

273
00:23:09,309 --> 00:23:11,293
[laughter]

274
00:23:21,632 --> 00:23:23,632
Thank you, brother, thank you.

275
00:23:26,015 --> 00:23:30,628
We are doing our best
to come back to our selves.

276
00:23:30,653 --> 00:23:33,869
Some of us have had the question:
What does this actually mean?

277
00:23:33,995 --> 00:23:40,140
It means to listen, for example,
what is most important to us.

278
00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:45,200
On that first day we were learning
about listening to our breathing

279
00:23:45,232 --> 00:23:49,072
and our body, and what
our breathing and body are telling us.

280
00:23:50,083 --> 00:23:52,692
SOS. I'm here.

281
00:23:52,722 --> 00:23:54,402
Please take care of me.

282
00:23:54,427 --> 00:23:58,075
You've completely forgotten
about me, your body. I'm here.

283
00:23:59,333 --> 00:24:01,800
Coming back to take care of our body.

284
00:24:02,292 --> 00:24:05,025
Coming back to take care of our feelings,

285
00:24:06,458 --> 00:24:08,992
including the most uncomfortable ones:

286
00:24:09,125 --> 00:24:12,033
Grief, anxiety, despair.

287
00:24:13,485 --> 00:24:14,925
Jealousy, craving.

288
00:24:16,542 --> 00:24:21,839
It's a 101 human life skill.
Can we handle these feelings?

289
00:24:24,989 --> 00:24:27,456
And then, can we generate well-being?

290
00:24:27,481 --> 00:24:31,273
Can we know what is
being most important to us?

291
00:24:31,298 --> 00:24:38,246
And we may, in the last couple of days,
have had some new insights already

292
00:24:38,309 --> 00:24:40,857
about what's important to us.

293
00:24:42,875 --> 00:24:46,023
And then we had the lines coming out.

294
00:24:50,165 --> 00:24:53,557
Brother Phap Huu thinks
I can draw some small circles.

295
00:24:58,500 --> 00:24:59,500
Almost.

296
00:25:00,375 --> 00:25:02,759
We are helping our loved ones.

297
00:25:03,489 --> 00:25:05,847
When we leave this retreat,

298
00:25:05,872 --> 00:25:09,811
we're not going out
to then fix the people we love.

299
00:25:09,836 --> 00:25:13,456
And tell them that they need to eat
in silence for five minutes with us,

300
00:25:13,647 --> 00:25:17,236
or sit in meditation with us
every morning,

301
00:25:17,414 --> 00:25:21,257
or walk with us.

302
00:25:22,010 --> 00:25:26,565
What we would like to do is
to help them listen to themselves.

303
00:25:27,288 --> 00:25:32,906
And with those practises of
deep listening that we've been learning,

304
00:25:33,192 --> 00:25:36,059
simply the way we show up
with our presence,

305
00:25:36,375 --> 00:25:39,565
will help our loved ones,
our colleagues,

306
00:25:39,867 --> 00:25:41,884
listen to themselves.

307
00:25:42,417 --> 00:25:45,454
We are a kind of witness,
a companion, a friend.

308
00:25:45,518 --> 00:25:48,950
We're showing up in such a way ...

309
00:25:49,035 --> 00:25:56,144
It's not showing off. It's simply being
there to allow them to feel at ease.

310
00:25:56,295 --> 00:26:01,208
Calm and able to hear
what's going on for them.

311
00:26:02,684 --> 00:26:05,851
Thay, our teacher, said ...

312
00:26:13,652 --> 00:26:18,476
We can then imagine that our family,

313
00:26:18,593 --> 00:26:22,950
it can also be our friendship network,

314
00:26:22,974 --> 00:26:25,374
it can be those people we live with.

315
00:26:25,420 --> 00:26:28,220
Our teacher described it as our home base.

316
00:26:28,245 --> 00:26:32,880
He called it the base or
the foundation of our operations.

317
00:26:33,210 --> 00:26:40,464
And this could even be your team at work
that you spend quite some time with.

318
00:26:41,583 --> 00:26:45,530
The wellness of this body,

319
00:26:46,117 --> 00:26:49,898
this collection of human beings,

320
00:26:50,886 --> 00:26:56,081
is the base of our operations
to then influence our society.

321
00:26:56,303 --> 00:26:59,644
And you can imagine:
Society is here somewhere.

322
00:27:03,082 --> 00:27:05,164
We've spoken a lot about collaboration.

323
00:27:05,268 --> 00:27:09,428
I know that's essential to all
the organisations represented here.

324
00:27:10,708 --> 00:27:14,228
The quality of collaboration,
we could even say harmony,

325
00:27:14,718 --> 00:27:21,612
will determine the quality
of our impact on the collective.

326
00:27:23,096 --> 00:27:27,960
So here, we have practises
of listening, and loving speech

327
00:27:28,627 --> 00:27:30,944
and conflict resolution.

328
00:27:33,167 --> 00:27:40,305
Also the practise at a collective level
of embracing pain and suffering.

329
00:27:41,623 --> 00:27:45,207
There can be pain and suffering
at the level of a family.

330
00:27:45,274 --> 00:27:49,769
When a family member is not well,
or dying, or passing away.

331
00:27:50,293 --> 00:27:56,480
There can be pain and suffering in a team
when a project falls through.

332
00:27:57,424 --> 00:28:00,392
Or when a project is undermined.

333
00:28:01,417 --> 00:28:08,192
Think of the challenge
of the ESG framework.

334
00:28:08,217 --> 00:28:12,031
That brings up a lot of emotions
in lots of people.

335
00:28:13,265 --> 00:28:19,825
And we need to be able to take care of
these emotions at the level of our teams.

336
00:28:19,896 --> 00:28:23,273
To share our despair, to share our grief,

337
00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:26,260
to help each other
handle the strong emotions

338
00:28:28,042 --> 00:28:33,793
in order to be able to arrive
at collective insight for a new way out.

339
00:28:34,952 --> 00:28:40,196
And, as been shared already, there's
no shortage of intelligence in this room.

340
00:28:40,902 --> 00:28:43,235
In our teams, in our organisations.

341
00:28:43,260 --> 00:28:46,466
And no shortage of good will,
of good intention.

342
00:28:59,167 --> 00:29:02,175
I spoke about what
we would like for the future,

343
00:29:03,136 --> 00:29:08,753
and how we can live it in our own life now
to make it more possible in the future.

344
00:29:10,583 --> 00:29:13,847
We have the example
of being able to walk in freedom

345
00:29:13,872 --> 00:29:15,619
or enjoy a forest,

346
00:29:16,103 --> 00:29:19,904
or see an apple
for the miracle that an apple is.

347
00:29:20,797 --> 00:29:23,672
My deepest wish would be

348
00:29:23,697 --> 00:29:28,386
that people can enjoy
an apple deeply in 100 years' time

349
00:29:29,496 --> 00:29:32,027
and know it for the miracle it is.

350
00:29:34,500 --> 00:29:38,105
And for that I need to eat
an apple in that way now

351
00:29:39,168 --> 00:29:42,432
and share with others
how to eat an apple like that.

352
00:29:44,917 --> 00:29:49,990
When we speak about actions and projects,

353
00:29:50,299 --> 00:29:54,203
that are ethical projects
for more ethical business practises,

354
00:29:56,792 --> 00:30:01,031
that we want to happen
by others or in the future,

355
00:30:01,484 --> 00:30:04,367
in our way of operating as a team,

356
00:30:04,517 --> 00:30:06,784
to get those good social outcomes,

357
00:30:07,886 --> 00:30:10,652
the kind of values that
we're aiming for in our project

358
00:30:10,938 --> 00:30:14,906
need to be there in the way
that we're approaching the project.

359
00:30:15,375 --> 00:30:17,175
Inclusiveness, for example.

360
00:30:17,335 --> 00:30:18,335
Or equity.

361
00:30:18,792 --> 00:30:21,864
Do we have inclusiveness
and equity in our teams?

362
00:30:26,333 --> 00:30:29,791
Transparency,
accountability.

363
00:30:31,251 --> 00:30:36,408
Thay sometimes described this as
transforming our team or our organisation

364
00:30:36,599 --> 00:30:38,551
into a community.

365
00:30:38,958 --> 00:30:44,003
Into a community that is embodying
the values we want to see in the world.

366
00:30:44,833 --> 00:30:49,329
I'm sure you have wonderful
mission statements already.

367
00:30:49,575 --> 00:30:51,642
But as a kind of reality check,

368
00:30:51,763 --> 00:30:55,027
are the values in our organisation
in full alignment

369
00:30:55,055 --> 00:30:57,801
with the impact we're
trying to have in the world?

370
00:30:57,826 --> 00:31:01,432
The values of how we work together,
how we listen to each other,

371
00:31:01,583 --> 00:31:04,276
how we include each others' ideas.

372
00:31:06,575 --> 00:31:11,434
To ensure that as a team,
as an organisation,

373
00:31:11,459 --> 00:31:15,323
we are already embodying
the values we want to bring.

374
00:31:15,585 --> 00:31:22,601
and not falling into the trap
the kind of toxic systems of the world

375
00:31:22,626 --> 00:31:24,493
that we're trying to change.

376
00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:28,585
So how can our way of
working for change already resist

377
00:31:28,656 --> 00:31:33,073
some of the pernicious practises
out in the world?

378
00:31:35,740 --> 00:31:38,140
This relates even to things like ...

379
00:31:42,833 --> 00:31:44,246
Communications.

380
00:31:44,271 --> 00:31:47,407
I say this as someone
who used to be a journalist.

381
00:31:49,458 --> 00:31:52,507
Are we honest in our communications?

382
00:31:55,999 --> 00:32:03,297
Are we telling the whole truth about
the impact of our company on the world?

383
00:32:05,043 --> 00:32:10,142
And if we have that kind of integrity
of speech within our own company,

384
00:32:10,452 --> 00:32:16,111
then we can inspire other organisations
who are struggling much more

385
00:32:17,182 --> 00:32:21,690
to see that we really embody
these values of deep honesty.

386
00:32:29,250 --> 00:32:33,218
I want to speak about something
that Christiana mentioned to me

387
00:32:34,333 --> 00:32:37,448
a few days ago when I was asking:

388
00:32:37,536 --> 00:32:42,555
What is keeping this particular
constellation of people awake at night?

389
00:32:44,087 --> 00:32:47,773
Christiana was silent for a long time.

390
00:32:48,781 --> 00:32:52,712
And one of the threads
that Christiana offered

391
00:32:53,140 --> 00:32:57,950
was perhaps a feeling of deep frustration.

392
00:32:59,736 --> 00:33:01,669
That we are good people here.

393
00:33:02,003 --> 00:33:03,870
And you are doing good work.

394
00:33:03,899 --> 00:33:06,099
And you are even doing your best.

395
00:33:06,417 --> 00:33:10,531
But somehow, it's just
not moving the needle.

396
00:33:10,611 --> 00:33:14,707
It's just not having the kind of change
that we know is possible.

397
00:33:14,875 --> 00:33:20,599
And we can't quite get our head around
all the obstacles

398
00:33:20,653 --> 00:33:24,139
and why this is just so hard.

399
00:33:27,042 --> 00:33:30,562
So one thing that we as Buddhist
practitioners can offer

400
00:33:30,750 --> 00:33:33,871
to this feeling of frustration is:

401
00:33:35,497 --> 00:33:40,005
Be ready for indirect
consequences to your work.

402
00:33:40,667 --> 00:33:46,688
Maybe the success of that project,
campaign, initiative or partnership,

403
00:33:47,949 --> 00:33:52,857
maybe measuring the work
that you're doing on a daily basis

404
00:33:52,882 --> 00:33:56,674
by the outcome of that one project
is not the right place to look

405
00:33:56,714 --> 00:33:58,936
for your impact in the world.

406
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:04,369
The fact that you are already
bringing a good intention

407
00:34:04,488 --> 00:34:07,869
to the way you live your own life,

408
00:34:09,208 --> 00:34:13,751
the fact that you are already
collaborating in our teams

409
00:34:14,125 --> 00:34:20,259
with generosity, inclusiveness,
presence, listening, values,

410
00:34:21,238 --> 00:34:26,329
that is already action
that is fully radiating into the world

411
00:34:26,354 --> 00:34:29,618
and into the people around you
at home, and at work.

412
00:34:30,375 --> 00:34:33,740
That is already saying:
It is worth trying.

413
00:34:34,986 --> 00:34:39,623
Your daily actions can already
be embodying the message:

414
00:34:39,964 --> 00:34:42,097
What we are doing now is not OK.

415
00:34:42,605 --> 00:34:45,613
And each one of us can do
our part to change it.

416
00:34:45,638 --> 00:34:49,542
That is a patterning, a legacy,
that we're leaving in society.

417
00:34:51,792 --> 00:34:54,327
And I'd like to invite
Brother Phap Huu again.

418
00:34:54,382 --> 00:35:00,523
We're gonna recall our circle
of the first day on seeds.

419
00:35:08,417 --> 00:35:10,217
Thank you so much, brother.

420
00:35:11,667 --> 00:35:15,083
We were understanding there's
this thing called store consciousness.

421
00:35:15,131 --> 00:35:16,559
[STORE C.]

422
00:35:16,819 --> 00:35:20,507
This is a model of our mind
and we have the seeds ...

423
00:35:21,208 --> 00:35:27,343
And all of us have all the seeds
in the depths of our consciousness.

424
00:35:29,654 --> 00:35:32,321
Our actions, every day,
the way we speak,

425
00:35:32,432 --> 00:35:37,113
the way we listen,
the way we walk,

426
00:35:37,350 --> 00:35:40,644
the ideals we give rise to,
the value,

427
00:35:40,825 --> 00:35:45,299
we are watering good seeds
in our consciousness.

428
00:35:45,521 --> 00:35:47,454
And Sister Hero also said,

429
00:35:47,561 --> 00:35:54,134
this is both collective and individual.

430
00:36:02,050 --> 00:36:05,280
In Buddhism we say that we trust --

431
00:36:05,304 --> 00:36:07,876
it's been all about trust this morning --

432
00:36:08,489 --> 00:36:13,140
that all seeds will ripen in time.

433
00:36:13,165 --> 00:36:15,780
In their own time.

434
00:36:16,434 --> 00:36:18,515
Some seeds ripen right away.

435
00:36:18,801 --> 00:36:20,706
Others need longer.

436
00:36:21,127 --> 00:36:25,785
We may now be in the process
of cultivating seeds

437
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:29,456
that don't just take
one season around the sun to bloom

438
00:36:30,192 --> 00:36:37,142
not just 17 years like some cicadas
that, I think, have a 17-year lifecycle.

439
00:36:39,341 --> 00:36:44,013
Maybe there are some seeds that will
take more than a generation to ripen.

440
00:36:46,583 --> 00:36:51,021
What if now, the fact
that we can be here,

441
00:36:51,665 --> 00:36:56,144
is the ripening of seeds
from one generation ago?

442
00:36:57,684 --> 00:36:59,417
Maybe two generations ago?

443
00:37:01,416 --> 00:37:05,402
My grandfather was the first person in
my family to buy a book on meditation

444
00:37:05,442 --> 00:37:07,070
in the 1970s.

445
00:37:07,875 --> 00:37:11,696
I feel like I'm a ripening
across two generations.

446
00:37:11,958 --> 00:37:13,892
That even I just can be here.

447
00:37:14,417 --> 00:37:17,003
And my grandfather didn't,
in his whole life,

448
00:37:17,028 --> 00:37:19,361
have a chance to go on one retreat.

449
00:37:19,626 --> 00:37:22,159
It still wasn't available in his time.

450
00:37:22,208 --> 00:37:27,405
I think he started getting sick in 1991.

451
00:37:28,436 --> 00:37:30,250
Before the internet.

452
00:37:31,857 --> 00:37:36,017
He didn't know there were places
where he could go to learn meditation.

453
00:37:36,917 --> 00:37:40,117
The wonderful thing
about the ripening of seeds is:

454
00:37:40,337 --> 00:37:46,801
Our life now, our actions and careers
are already the ripening from the past.

455
00:37:47,467 --> 00:37:52,499
And we can trust that we may not see
all the fruits in our own lifetime.

456
00:37:52,619 --> 00:37:54,686
But the good seeds we water now

457
00:37:55,003 --> 00:37:57,203
will continue to ripen over time.

458
00:37:59,583 --> 00:38:01,103
So the question is:

459
00:38:01,792 --> 00:38:04,513
What seeds are we watering?

460
00:38:09,750 --> 00:38:13,053
When we were learning about mind,

461
00:38:13,109 --> 00:38:19,216
and Sister Hero explained

462
00:38:19,626 --> 00:38:22,977
that there's a part of our mind called 'manas'

463
00:38:23,223 --> 00:38:26,521
which is the grasping part of our mind.

464
00:38:26,617 --> 00:38:31,545
Which always wants
to take care of me and mine.

465
00:38:31,760 --> 00:38:35,132
Me and mine,
it's to have, to hold.

466
00:38:35,815 --> 00:38:37,569
To protect.

467
00:38:38,792 --> 00:38:40,490
To appropriate.

468
00:38:41,754 --> 00:38:42,754
To extract.

469
00:38:44,792 --> 00:38:46,925
And we had some characteristics,

470
00:38:46,950 --> 00:38:49,775
which I will just remind us of.

471
00:38:51,250 --> 00:38:52,757
Appropriating,

472
00:38:59,125 --> 00:39:00,680
surviving,

473
00:39:02,343 --> 00:39:04,077
survival instinct,

474
00:39:12,875 --> 00:39:14,343
avoiding pain,

475
00:39:18,167 --> 00:39:19,527
seeking pleasure,

476
00:39:35,375 --> 00:39:40,128
ignoring the danger of seeking pleasure,

477
00:39:49,583 --> 00:39:51,917
ignoring the goodness of suffering,

478
00:40:06,708 --> 00:40:10,319
and ignoring the law of moderation.

479
00:40:18,792 --> 00:40:23,265
This is a couple of thousand years'
worth of Buddhist insight --

480
00:40:23,583 --> 00:40:28,127
one and a half thousand years.
It came from a later phase of Buddhism --

481
00:40:29,792 --> 00:40:32,347
about how our mind works.

482
00:40:32,792 --> 00:40:38,748
And when we saw this on the board
the other day,

483
00:40:40,250 --> 00:40:44,090
I don't know how many of you saw
that this doesn't only apply

484
00:40:44,115 --> 00:40:46,422
only at the individual level.

485
00:40:47,575 --> 00:40:51,809
Is this not quite an accurate description

486
00:40:52,022 --> 00:40:57,456
of how humanity is living as a species

487
00:40:57,481 --> 00:40:59,093
on this Earth?

488
00:40:59,118 --> 00:41:01,118
We're appropriating the Earth.

489
00:41:01,501 --> 00:41:03,930
We're exploiting it.

490
00:41:05,112 --> 00:41:09,200
We think of our survival as being separate

491
00:41:09,231 --> 00:41:12,175
of the survival of other species
and the Earth.

492
00:41:15,133 --> 00:41:22,585
As a species, we like to avoid pain
and we definitely seek pleasure.

493
00:41:24,254 --> 00:41:27,619
And we ignore the danger
of seeking pleasure.

494
00:41:28,626 --> 00:41:31,293
And we ignore the goodness of suffering.

495
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:36,761
So these ones, number 3 to 7,

496
00:41:38,054 --> 00:41:41,654
is our culture of consumerism.

497
00:41:44,208 --> 00:41:45,208
Right there.

498
00:41:46,890 --> 00:41:54,630
We consume because we can't bear
the feeling of pain inside.

499
00:41:54,813 --> 00:41:58,299
We consume to cover up our suffering.

500
00:42:01,823 --> 00:42:07,432
We think we need more things
because we think that we're not enough.

501
00:42:07,725 --> 00:42:09,295
What we have is not enough.

502
00:42:09,581 --> 00:42:16,434
And there's an economic system
that reminds us, that tells us

503
00:42:16,459 --> 00:42:19,225
that we don't have enough,
all the time.

504
00:42:34,750 --> 00:42:36,550
I was doing my anger check.

505
00:42:36,750 --> 00:42:38,683
I'm going to speak from love.

506
00:42:45,469 --> 00:42:49,532
[sound of the bell]

507
00:43:16,458 --> 00:43:18,658
I'm also going to tell the truth.

508
00:43:19,208 --> 00:43:21,327
In pursuit of profit,

509
00:43:22,142 --> 00:43:24,808
marketing departments all over the world

510
00:43:24,833 --> 00:43:27,100
tell us that we don't have enough.

511
00:43:29,750 --> 00:43:32,283
According to the insights of Buddhism,

512
00:43:32,308 --> 00:43:34,218
we do have enough.

513
00:43:34,457 --> 00:43:36,390
The present moment is enough.

514
00:43:36,833 --> 00:43:39,571
Each one of us is enough.

515
00:43:39,680 --> 00:43:42,580
Our presence,
the presence of our loved ones,

516
00:43:43,031 --> 00:43:45,631
to be able to walk deeply on the Earth,

517
00:43:45,682 --> 00:43:49,884
listen to the birds and trees,
is enough to be happy.

518
00:43:50,805 --> 00:43:54,021
We can live very simply and be happy.

519
00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:57,867
I've heard quite a few
of you say this week:

520
00:43:57,875 --> 00:44:01,928
It's been so powerful to touch
simplicity in these days.

521
00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:04,600
To not be needing
these devices so much.

522
00:44:04,625 --> 00:44:07,889
To not having to buy things online
while we're here.

523
00:44:08,405 --> 00:44:11,305
Our level of consumerism
has gone right down.

524
00:44:11,330 --> 00:44:14,466
And yet, our level of happiness
has gone right up.

525
00:44:15,008 --> 00:44:17,198
We are touching the truth

526
00:44:17,261 --> 00:44:20,589
that we have more
than enough conditions to be happy.

527
00:44:22,672 --> 00:44:27,905
Our teacher once said something,
I find it very deep,

528
00:44:27,929 --> 00:44:29,757
and quite brave.

529
00:44:30,417 --> 00:44:36,682
He said: It's because as a species
we don't know what true happiness is.

530
00:44:38,404 --> 00:44:41,137
That is why we are destroying our planet.

531
00:44:44,333 --> 00:44:45,613
It's quite deep.

532
00:44:45,721 --> 00:44:48,674
We don't know and haven't learned

533
00:44:48,699 --> 00:44:52,436
how to touch true happiness
in our daily life.

534
00:44:55,123 --> 00:44:58,619
We consume to cover up our pain.

535
00:44:58,644 --> 00:45:02,500
We're seeking pleasure
to cover up our pain

536
00:45:02,525 --> 00:45:06,173
because we don't know how
to find happiness in simplicity.

537
00:45:06,212 --> 00:45:07,777
So we consume.

538
00:45:08,251 --> 00:45:12,267
And that culture of consumerism
is destroying our planet.

539
00:45:19,333 --> 00:45:22,648
This means it's really important

540
00:45:22,719 --> 00:45:27,178
to be able to touch
the wonder of the present moment

541
00:45:27,250 --> 00:45:30,450
in order to touch happiness
in a really simple way.

542
00:45:30,958 --> 00:45:35,273
And it's really important
that each one of us

543
00:45:35,344 --> 00:45:37,944
learns how to handle a painful feeling.

544
00:45:38,348 --> 00:45:41,420
So that the first response
to our painful feeling

545
00:45:41,445 --> 00:45:43,055
is not consuming.

546
00:45:44,952 --> 00:45:49,337
Mindfulness can be our first response
to a painful feeling.

547
00:45:49,789 --> 00:45:54,144
Being present. Meeting our self,
this is us, coming back:

548
00:45:54,318 --> 00:45:56,521
The way out is in.

549
00:45:56,542 --> 00:46:00,646
Meeting our self and our painful feelings

550
00:46:00,750 --> 00:46:03,736
with tenderness, with kindness,

551
00:46:04,141 --> 00:46:06,725
with curiosity.

552
00:46:13,138 --> 00:46:17,369
In terms of ethics, it means that

553
00:46:19,188 --> 00:46:26,144
an ethical corporation is one
that is not participating

554
00:46:27,327 --> 00:46:31,051
in enhancing this mechanism.

555
00:46:36,392 --> 00:46:41,361
But is helping people realise
that we have enough.

556
00:46:42,167 --> 00:46:45,809
Helping people nourish true happiness.

557
00:46:46,549 --> 00:46:50,240
Helping people handle painful feelings.

558
00:46:51,667 --> 00:46:54,867
And we might say: Oh,
that's the role of education.

559
00:46:55,128 --> 00:46:56,995
That is the role of society.

560
00:46:57,028 --> 00:47:00,404
The role of ... something else.

561
00:47:00,958 --> 00:47:05,646
But if our corporations
are truly in the service

562
00:47:06,805 --> 00:47:08,805
of something more than profit,

563
00:47:08,917 --> 00:47:12,049
ideally in the service of humanity,

564
00:47:12,208 --> 00:47:15,108
and even bigger,
in the service of the planet,

565
00:47:15,160 --> 00:47:21,970
we would need to be aware of this
ethical dimension to our operations

566
00:47:22,001 --> 00:47:23,608
as an enterprise.

567
00:47:30,777 --> 00:47:33,771
It's also really interesting,

568
00:47:35,589 --> 00:47:40,380
we also have agency
and sovereignty as individuals

569
00:47:40,738 --> 00:47:45,244
to free ourselves from the systems
of our own creation.

570
00:47:46,379 --> 00:47:49,964
According to the insights of Buddhism,
we don't make the system,

571
00:47:50,139 --> 00:47:56,041
or other corporations, or some
culture of consumerism outside of us,

572
00:47:56,042 --> 00:47:57,722
responsible for this.

573
00:47:58,792 --> 00:48:04,265
With the energy of mindfulness,
we expand our zone of free will.

574
00:48:05,249 --> 00:48:08,095
We get to choose what to consume,

575
00:48:08,120 --> 00:48:09,333
how to live.

576
00:48:09,361 --> 00:48:12,871
We can set our self free
from these machines,

577
00:48:12,896 --> 00:48:16,490
systems, mechanisms
of our own creation.

578
00:48:18,292 --> 00:48:19,972
And that is why for us,

579
00:48:20,208 --> 00:48:25,017
mindfulness has to do
with awakening and freedom.

580
00:48:25,391 --> 00:48:27,524
It gives us so much more agency.

581
00:48:28,325 --> 00:48:31,365
When we can transform this for ourselves,

582
00:48:31,667 --> 00:48:38,101
because of this, the impact
we're having with our presence,

583
00:48:38,292 --> 00:48:40,625
we are forming it for our children.

584
00:48:40,650 --> 00:48:42,692
For our friends.

585
00:48:42,717 --> 00:48:45,073
I remember our teacher saying:

586
00:48:45,097 --> 00:48:50,217
One of the greatest skills we can develop
in our time in Plum Village is to learn

587
00:48:50,357 --> 00:48:54,128
how to generate
a moment of happiness.

588
00:48:55,042 --> 00:48:58,755
Because learning to generate
a moment of happiness

589
00:48:58,780 --> 00:49:02,044
has something to do
with handling a painful feeling.

590
00:49:02,069 --> 00:49:03,936
The two kind of go together.

591
00:49:03,961 --> 00:49:07,801
We need a moment of happiness
when we're feeling low or down.

592
00:49:09,382 --> 00:49:11,382
Or when we're feeling neutral.

593
00:49:11,500 --> 00:49:15,365
Numb.
A bit 'meh'.

594
00:49:17,333 --> 00:49:22,482
The skill of generating
a moment of happiness

595
00:49:22,625 --> 00:49:25,492
is one of the best skills
we can learn here.

596
00:49:25,750 --> 00:49:30,244
Because when we know how
to create a moment of happiness,

597
00:49:33,703 --> 00:49:37,206
we can create such a moment
for our family.

598
00:49:38,182 --> 00:49:41,638
We can create such a moment
for the teams we work with.

599
00:49:41,833 --> 00:49:44,167
Or for our organisation as a whole.

600
00:49:46,136 --> 00:49:50,303
It doesn't take much
to create a moment of happiness.

601
00:49:50,469 --> 00:49:56,690
Thay even said we can create
a moment of happiness

602
00:49:57,583 --> 00:50:00,190
whenever we want.

603
00:50:01,579 --> 00:50:02,939
It's a tough one.

604
00:50:02,964 --> 00:50:05,067
But I'm working on it.

605
00:50:05,329 --> 00:50:09,192
It is possible to really
ask myself this question.

606
00:50:10,851 --> 00:50:13,651
If I'm feeling neutral,
if I'm feeling low,

607
00:50:13,682 --> 00:50:16,896
if I'm feeling not happy, not well,

608
00:50:17,929 --> 00:50:21,051
I ask myself:
What can I do in this moment?

609
00:50:22,035 --> 00:50:26,195
On this retreat we've been learning
many ways that we can do that.

610
00:50:26,916 --> 00:50:32,198
Relaxing the body when the discomfort
we find is a physical discomfort.

611
00:50:32,223 --> 00:50:34,738
Anxiety, restlessness, tension.

612
00:50:35,039 --> 00:50:37,906
That's when we can
practise deep relaxation.

613
00:50:38,333 --> 00:50:41,789
And on our app there are lots of
recordings you can use

614
00:50:41,814 --> 00:50:44,014
as you go home from this retreat.

615
00:50:45,464 --> 00:50:49,123
Sharing a meal with friends.
In person.

616
00:50:49,271 --> 00:50:53,678
Not eating alone is a source
of joy and happiness.

617
00:50:54,125 --> 00:50:59,029
But also, learning,
when we're eating alone,

618
00:50:59,474 --> 00:51:01,407
to not feel that we're alone.

619
00:51:01,704 --> 00:51:05,672
But to really see the whole planet
and cosmos and Mother Earth,

620
00:51:06,167 --> 00:51:12,277
the miracle of life, in our sandwich,
in our lunchbox, in our food.

621
00:51:12,317 --> 00:51:16,293
And to say: I will use my eye of insight

622
00:51:16,375 --> 00:51:21,343
that even in this moment,
a part of me feels so alone to eat alone.

623
00:51:21,763 --> 00:51:24,363
But I know that is not the whole truth.

624
00:51:24,547 --> 00:51:28,698
I know that the whole cosmos
is supporting my lunch.

625
00:51:28,975 --> 00:51:32,055
The whole cosmos
is supporting my apple.

626
00:51:32,826 --> 00:51:37,321
And using the eye of insight,
we can flip a moment of loneliness

627
00:51:37,393 --> 00:51:42,577
into a moment of happiness and connection
with the whole planet, the whole cosmos.

628
00:51:51,750 --> 00:51:55,142
So when we speak about
what seeds we've been watering,

629
00:52:02,917 --> 00:52:07,269
the name of these seeds, for those,
who have missed the presentation,

630
00:52:07,557 --> 00:52:11,374
it could be fear. It could be anxiety.

631
00:52:11,708 --> 00:52:13,308
It could be despair.

632
00:52:13,465 --> 00:52:15,532
But it also could be happiness.

633
00:52:15,833 --> 00:52:18,357
Gratitude, mindfulness.

634
00:52:23,148 --> 00:52:24,480
Generosity.

635
00:52:27,174 --> 00:52:31,168
A question for all of us is:

636
00:52:31,549 --> 00:52:35,470
What seeds are we watering
in our daily life?

637
00:52:36,010 --> 00:52:39,594
And what has that got to do
with transforming the system,

638
00:52:39,619 --> 00:52:41,638
transforming our society?

639
00:52:43,513 --> 00:52:45,380
Many of us, on this retreat,

640
00:52:45,427 --> 00:52:50,587
we've had a feeling of fear,
or anger, or panic,

641
00:52:54,766 --> 00:52:57,481
things aren't moving fast enough.

642
00:52:58,148 --> 00:53:01,132
Scale and speed!

643
00:53:06,838 --> 00:53:10,248
These may be seeds in our organisation.

644
00:53:10,273 --> 00:53:13,985
The collective consciousness
of our organisation and teams.

645
00:53:14,042 --> 00:53:16,204
Maybe it can be a really good exercise.

646
00:53:16,243 --> 00:53:17,923
How are we all feeling?

647
00:53:17,948 --> 00:53:20,148
Could you go home with your teams

648
00:53:20,173 --> 00:53:24,992
and have a whiteboard and
name the compost, name the mud?

649
00:53:26,418 --> 00:53:28,785
Maybe everyone has to write it
privately on a post-it note

650
00:53:28,810 --> 00:53:30,285
and then you collect it up.

651
00:53:30,310 --> 00:53:35,920
Maybe you need an equal number
of positive ones to negative ones.

652
00:53:36,777 --> 00:53:39,492
What seeds are we watering?

653
00:53:44,376 --> 00:53:48,325
I'm going to write
'culture of consumerism' here.

654
00:53:48,968 --> 00:53:53,769
[CULTURE OF CONSUMERISM]

655
00:53:55,875 --> 00:54:01,023
Maybe our culture of consumerism
is watering the seed of craving in us.

656
00:54:01,618 --> 00:54:03,138
So one question is:

657
00:54:03,833 --> 00:54:09,059
When we talk about having free will
to live differently on our planet,

658
00:54:09,250 --> 00:54:11,694
how can we guard our mind

659
00:54:13,472 --> 00:54:19,029
from the collective consciousness
watering our seed of craving all the time?

660
00:54:19,125 --> 00:54:23,541
Every time we see an advertisement,
it's watering the seed of craving.

661
00:54:24,125 --> 00:54:27,261
"If you have this product,
you will feel happier."

662
00:54:27,406 --> 00:54:32,112
"If you have this product,
you will be cool and acceptable."

663
00:54:32,917 --> 00:54:34,597
"You will have status."

664
00:54:35,167 --> 00:54:39,234
"Having this product is
a mark of power or influence."

665
00:54:40,075 --> 00:54:43,147
These seeds are being
watered in us all the time.

666
00:54:43,962 --> 00:54:47,017
The power of mindfulness is
that it gives us the freedom

667
00:54:47,081 --> 00:54:48,761
to choose to be different

668
00:54:48,786 --> 00:54:52,972
and to operate outside
of this culture of consumerism.

669
00:54:59,795 --> 00:55:03,257
In Buddhism we speak about fuel.

670
00:55:04,678 --> 00:55:07,115
What is driving us?

671
00:55:07,353 --> 00:55:10,902
Our deepest intention or volition.

672
00:55:11,640 --> 00:55:15,416
We can also speak about that
as a seed in our consciousness.

673
00:55:15,958 --> 00:55:19,692
For example ...
Some of us might have been this:

674
00:55:19,898 --> 00:55:25,853
I'm going to have that kind of car
and my own house by the time I'm 30.

675
00:55:25,917 --> 00:55:30,351
That is a volition and intention
that we set at a certain point

676
00:55:30,557 --> 00:55:32,327
and it drives us.

677
00:55:33,833 --> 00:55:40,416
We may have a volition and intention
to get a certain amount of money,

678
00:55:41,511 --> 00:55:45,402
a certain paygrade,
maybe a certain status.

679
00:55:47,768 --> 00:55:51,715
In Buddhism we have
a practise of deep inquiry

680
00:55:51,740 --> 00:55:54,664
around what our volitions are.

681
00:55:54,688 --> 00:55:56,688
It's kind of a technical term.

682
00:55:57,158 --> 00:55:58,825
Volition.

683
00:56:02,802 --> 00:56:04,669
What is our deepest concern?

684
00:56:06,417 --> 00:56:10,656
Actually, according to
the wise ones in Buddhism,

685
00:56:11,101 --> 00:56:18,224
Money, status, power,
and even, kind of, sensual pleasures,

686
00:56:18,648 --> 00:56:20,088
they don't cut it.

687
00:56:20,113 --> 00:56:24,511
It might be what you crave
or think you crave,

688
00:56:24,769 --> 00:56:28,571
or society tells you you should crave,

689
00:56:29,467 --> 00:56:32,539
but it might not be
what's most important to you.

690
00:56:32,599 --> 00:56:34,773
What you really want.

691
00:56:35,313 --> 00:56:39,273
What you really want to offer.

692
00:56:39,829 --> 00:56:42,696
And I have the feeling
that for many of you,

693
00:56:42,750 --> 00:56:46,194
one of the flavours of your volition
is you want to be of service.

694
00:56:46,368 --> 00:56:52,345
Of service to society,
to support inclusiveness,

695
00:56:52,376 --> 00:56:54,437
non-discrimination,

696
00:56:54,462 --> 00:56:57,178
for your life to help people
fall in love with the Earth,

697
00:56:57,203 --> 00:56:58,640
and protect the planet.

698
00:56:58,700 --> 00:57:02,055
To have a more equitable
economic system.

699
00:57:02,095 --> 00:57:05,100
That is a fantastic volition.

700
00:57:05,180 --> 00:57:10,357
We say that our volition is like a fire
in our, kind of, belly.

701
00:57:10,382 --> 00:57:13,582
And we have to feed it
and keep it alive every day.

702
00:57:15,375 --> 00:57:18,895
And we have to really know
what is most important to us.

703
00:57:18,920 --> 00:57:25,119
And maybe the How of how
we're doing our deepest dreams --

704
00:57:25,144 --> 00:57:28,472
sometimes we also call volition
our deepest desire --

705
00:57:31,753 --> 00:57:33,947
[DEEPEST DESIRE]

706
00:57:36,317 --> 00:57:40,678
The How of realising
is as important as the What.

707
00:57:40,861 --> 00:57:44,484
If we sacrifice our friends
and family and health

708
00:57:44,896 --> 00:57:47,296
in order to take care of the planet,

709
00:57:49,958 --> 00:57:52,692
maybe we haven't taken care of the planet

710
00:57:52,875 --> 00:57:55,775
in the way that future
generations need us to.

711
00:57:56,083 --> 00:57:58,983
Maybe that isn't the way
to be a good ancestor

712
00:57:59,008 --> 00:58:01,748
for the future of the planet,
because we're patterning in

713
00:58:01,922 --> 00:58:05,826
not taking care of our health,
sacrificing friends and family,

714
00:58:05,851 --> 00:58:08,251
we're patterning that in to society.

715
00:58:13,951 --> 00:58:17,791
A really deep insight that Thay had
about volition and desire

716
00:58:18,071 --> 00:58:24,251
is that it is a way to transform manas.

717
00:58:24,276 --> 00:58:27,513
He used a technical term:
We sublimate manas

718
00:58:27,583 --> 00:58:32,996
in the service of our good intention,
our deepest desire.

719
00:58:33,083 --> 00:58:37,486
He had the image that manas
had kind of appropriated --

720
00:58:39,216 --> 00:58:41,599
if you remember
this energy of appropriating --

721
00:58:41,917 --> 00:58:45,309
a part of store consciousness
in saying: "This is me."

722
00:58:45,563 --> 00:58:47,083
"This is me, here."

723
00:58:48,417 --> 00:58:51,017
And he said that we can transform manas

724
00:58:51,042 --> 00:58:52,457
into a lotus.

725
00:58:53,357 --> 00:58:57,470
And that it can be a lotus
of serving society,

726
00:58:57,644 --> 00:58:59,858
serving the world.

727
00:59:00,218 --> 00:59:03,107
And we take our survival instinct,

728
00:59:03,132 --> 00:59:06,524
which Sister Hero described
as the energy of vitality.

729
00:59:08,750 --> 00:59:10,551
We have a life force

730
00:59:11,952 --> 00:59:14,085
that becomes our deepest desire.

731
00:59:14,542 --> 00:59:17,898
That, then, is self-reinforcing.

732
00:59:18,565 --> 00:59:22,003
We take care of our pain.

733
00:59:22,083 --> 00:59:25,091
We take care of generating
moments of happiness.

734
00:59:25,174 --> 00:59:28,438
We understand the goodness
of embracing the compost.

735
00:59:28,501 --> 00:59:31,401
We understand that
we don't want to waste time

736
00:59:31,432 --> 00:59:33,763
on streaming and screens.

737
00:59:34,458 --> 00:59:36,792
We understand the law of moderation

738
00:59:36,817 --> 00:59:39,182
because we have got something
much more important to do

739
00:59:39,207 --> 00:59:41,274
with our waking days and hours.

740
00:59:47,136 --> 00:59:51,843
I would like to read a part of ...

741
00:59:52,057 --> 00:59:54,724
We have an ethical code in Plum Village.

742
00:59:55,012 --> 01:00:00,267
We will now go into the applied ethics
part of everything I've been saying.

743
01:00:00,878 --> 01:00:04,904
We have a particular ethical principle

744
01:00:18,233 --> 01:00:21,689
which we can describe as
having the right kind of fuel.

745
01:00:25,067 --> 01:00:27,192
[RIGHT FUEL]

746
01:00:29,583 --> 01:00:31,263
And this is what it says:

747
01:00:32,083 --> 01:00:36,541
Aware of the suffering
caused by unmindful consumption,

748
01:00:37,184 --> 01:00:40,317
I'm committed to cultivating good health,

749
01:00:40,500 --> 01:00:42,180
both physical and mental,

750
01:00:42,396 --> 01:00:47,609
for myself, my family and my society

751
01:00:48,276 --> 01:00:52,279
by practising mindful eating,
drinking and consuming.

752
01:00:52,946 --> 01:00:57,442
Consuming edible foods,
sensory impressions,

753
01:00:57,743 --> 01:01:01,327
consuming volition -- because
we say it's a kind of food,

754
01:01:01,352 --> 01:01:05,551
it gets us out of bed
in the morning, just like the coffee.

755
01:01:05,833 --> 01:01:09,039
And consuming consciousness.

756
01:01:09,064 --> 01:01:14,120
What's really interesting in Buddhism
is that we say we consume our environment.

757
01:01:14,145 --> 01:01:16,612
The consciousness of our environment.

758
01:01:16,636 --> 01:01:20,668
That's why, if our team is struggling
and having a lot of fear and anxiety,

759
01:01:20,693 --> 01:01:23,327
we will feel fear and anxiety.

760
01:01:23,772 --> 01:01:27,356
If there is a lot of despair
and loneliness in the world,

761
01:01:28,125 --> 01:01:31,389
say after the pandemic,
if we say that it increased,

762
01:01:31,417 --> 01:01:33,950
as some of the research seems to show.

763
01:01:33,975 --> 01:01:38,027
That collective consciousness is going
to affect our individual consciousness.

764
01:01:38,052 --> 01:01:40,452
We're feeling not only our own pain,

765
01:01:40,480 --> 01:01:42,409
but the pain of our society.

766
01:01:42,472 --> 01:01:46,287
It's as though we're eating
collective consciousness.

767
01:01:48,012 --> 01:01:51,591
Here's another line from
this principle of right fuel.

768
01:01:51,875 --> 01:01:55,011
I am determined --
so, aware of the suffering

769
01:01:55,083 --> 01:01:56,966
caused by unmindful consumption --

770
01:01:57,180 --> 01:02:01,273
I am determined not to try
to cover up loneliness,

771
01:02:01,298 --> 01:02:05,930
anxiety, or other suffering,
by losing myself in consumption

772
01:02:06,250 --> 01:02:08,438
I will contemplate interbeing

773
01:02:08,501 --> 01:02:11,811
and consume in a way
that preserves peace,

774
01:02:11,900 --> 01:02:15,876
joy and wellbeing in my body
and consciousness

775
01:02:16,164 --> 01:02:19,613
and in the collective
body and consciousness

776
01:02:19,756 --> 01:02:23,914
of my family, my society, and the Earth.

777
01:02:25,875 --> 01:02:29,940
When we speak
about individual transformation

778
01:02:30,170 --> 01:02:32,313
and systems transformation,

779
01:02:32,479 --> 01:02:34,869
our systems are an expression

780
01:02:34,916 --> 01:02:38,289
of individuals, of humanity.

781
01:02:40,369 --> 01:02:42,896
When we transform
our own way of consuming,

782
01:02:42,921 --> 01:02:48,674
we have the right to ask
of the organisations we're in

783
01:02:49,480 --> 01:02:53,242
as a business: Are we helping people

784
01:02:53,333 --> 01:02:57,746
consume in a way that preserves
peace, joy, and wellbeing?

785
01:02:59,042 --> 01:03:01,308
These ethics start with ourselves,

786
01:03:01,333 --> 01:03:03,942
but apply to our livelihoods, too.

787
01:03:07,605 --> 01:03:09,843
We have another ethical principle.

788
01:03:09,875 --> 01:03:11,555
It's about simplicity.

789
01:03:11,581 --> 01:03:13,986
We could call it Deep Simplicity.

790
01:03:15,541 --> 01:03:18,081
[DEEP SIMPLICITY]

791
01:03:22,667 --> 01:03:29,047
The last few days, we've touched
simplicity in so many ways.

792
01:03:29,384 --> 01:03:31,575
We've done all sorts of normal things.

793
01:03:31,600 --> 01:03:33,899
I hope you noticed everything
we did is quite normal.

794
01:03:33,924 --> 01:03:35,683
We walked. We ate.

795
01:03:35,708 --> 01:03:37,388
We had conversations.

796
01:03:37,413 --> 01:03:41,750
We listened to presentations.

797
01:03:41,775 --> 01:03:44,190
We sat. We laid down.

798
01:03:45,268 --> 01:03:48,767
But we did it in a way
that was restful and healing.

799
01:03:49,641 --> 01:03:52,121
One question coming away
from this retreat is:

800
01:03:52,152 --> 01:03:57,456
How can I have more of this restful
simplicity in my daily life?

801
01:03:58,496 --> 01:04:01,585
If we have the advantage
of working from home,

802
01:04:02,143 --> 01:04:04,865
maybe you, after having lunch,

803
01:04:04,889 --> 01:04:09,497
you can follow a ten or twenty minute
relaxation on the Plum Village app.

804
01:04:09,542 --> 01:04:12,142
That's a great joy
of working from home.

805
01:04:12,250 --> 01:04:16,400
In the newsroom, I had
to use the toilet cubicle

806
01:04:16,425 --> 01:04:19,615
for my body scan relaxations.

807
01:04:19,640 --> 01:04:22,949
Luckily, the toilets were very fancy.

808
01:04:25,635 --> 01:04:28,492
That's where I did my deep relaxation

809
01:04:28,611 --> 01:04:29,978
in moments of crisis.

810
01:04:30,003 --> 01:04:35,503
This is another thing: Relaxation
can be applied in moments of real panic.

811
01:04:35,828 --> 01:04:43,099
I used to work on a live TV show
and we lost our guest at 9 am.

812
01:04:43,182 --> 01:04:45,529
And we broadcast at 2 pm.

813
01:04:45,855 --> 01:04:49,529
My boss just said:
"Find a replacement!"

814
01:04:50,324 --> 01:04:51,805
And I was like ... 
(gulps).

815
01:04:51,917 --> 01:04:54,351
I realised I wasn't breathing
and thought: I know what to do.

816
01:04:54,557 --> 01:04:59,660
So I went to sit on the toilet
and do my deep relaxation.

817
01:05:01,684 --> 01:05:05,660
And it's amazing because the mind
that exited that body scan

818
01:05:05,685 --> 01:05:09,404
after 10 or 15 minutes
was so much clearer and calmer.

819
01:05:09,833 --> 01:05:13,033
It had so much more resources
to solve the problem.

820
01:05:13,444 --> 01:05:15,690
So, deep relaxation

821
01:05:15,788 --> 01:05:17,660
a bit of a tip here.

822
01:05:17,851 --> 01:05:20,251
You can use it in moments of crisis.

823
01:05:22,662 --> 01:05:27,218
So: Deep Simplicity.
We've had rest and deep relaxation.

824
01:05:27,694 --> 01:05:29,708
We've also had time in nature.

825
01:05:32,477 --> 01:05:36,192
It's very important to spend time
in the world we want to save.

826
01:05:36,274 --> 01:05:40,017
That's what we want to transmit
to future generations.

827
01:05:40,042 --> 01:05:43,632
A love and an intimacy
with the world we want to protect.

828
01:05:44,363 --> 01:05:46,908
So, coming back home from this retreat,

829
01:05:47,003 --> 01:05:48,695
how will you make sure --

830
01:05:48,720 --> 01:05:52,059
maybe it needs to be
a scheduled item in your calendar

831
01:05:52,390 --> 01:05:54,121
called: Time in nature.

832
01:05:54,660 --> 01:05:57,049
Whether it is one tree
near your office,

833
01:05:57,074 --> 01:06:00,680
this one park,
one corner of garden.

834
01:06:01,355 --> 01:06:03,648
The plants on your window sill.

835
01:06:03,673 --> 01:06:07,173
And you sit and enjoy being
with the plants while having a cup of tea.

836
01:06:07,402 --> 01:06:11,728
How will you spend time,
in silence, with nature,

837
01:06:12,546 --> 01:06:15,295
and enjoy that simple happiness

838
01:06:15,852 --> 01:06:18,996
that feeling of enough-ness.

839
01:06:21,631 --> 01:06:23,914
Another element of this retreat

840
01:06:23,939 --> 01:06:26,263
that has made the simplicity so delicious

841
01:06:26,347 --> 01:06:29,910
has been that we've enjoyed
this retreat in person.

842
01:06:29,958 --> 01:06:31,670
With other people.

843
01:06:31,827 --> 01:06:34,486
We are social beings.

844
01:06:34,986 --> 01:06:39,073
How, as teams, with family, with friends,

845
01:06:39,133 --> 01:06:42,653
can we make an effort,
or organise our life differently,

846
01:06:43,493 --> 01:06:48,478
so that we truly have
in-person quality time together?

847
01:06:49,000 --> 01:06:51,293
I would say that is an ethical principle.

848
01:06:52,057 --> 01:06:53,684
To show up.

849
01:06:54,407 --> 01:06:58,029
In Buddhism,
community is so important.

850
01:06:58,371 --> 01:07:00,626
One of our principles
of being in community

851
01:07:00,667 --> 01:07:02,533
is to gather under one roof.

852
01:07:03,614 --> 01:07:06,514
So we have to gather
in person, in real life,

853
01:07:06,543 --> 01:07:08,810
under one roof,
with those we love.

854
01:07:09,472 --> 01:07:11,692
This life is very short.

855
01:07:12,232 --> 01:07:13,950
Life is very short.

856
01:07:14,650 --> 01:07:19,420
It is truly nourishing and fulfilling
to be with people we care about.

857
01:07:23,158 --> 01:07:25,674
I spoke about enough-ness.

858
01:07:29,557 --> 01:07:32,470
In Buddhism, we say:

859
01:07:33,128 --> 01:07:36,345
this is partly because of something
I said at the beginning

860
01:07:36,417 --> 01:07:39,855
about the present moment
containing the past and the future,

861
01:07:40,672 --> 01:07:42,636
that is why we can say

862
01:07:42,809 --> 01:07:46,714
that this moment is enough.

863
01:07:47,999 --> 01:07:50,055
It is enough.

864
01:07:52,032 --> 01:07:56,432
In this moment,
each one of us is enough.

865
01:07:57,006 --> 01:07:58,529
I am enough.

866
01:07:59,122 --> 01:08:00,765
You are enough.

867
01:08:05,813 --> 01:08:09,027
As Brother Spirit shared,
there was that line:

868
01:08:09,441 --> 01:08:12,535
You already are
what you want to become.

869
01:08:13,870 --> 01:08:17,386
This insight belongs
to the ultimate dimension.

870
01:08:19,585 --> 01:08:22,021
The insight of enough-ness.

871
01:08:24,272 --> 01:08:27,994
In our daily life,
each one of us

872
01:08:28,398 --> 01:08:32,432
needs to find a way
to kind of cycle into

873
01:08:32,829 --> 01:08:36,347
that beautiful ultimate dimension
and spend some time

874
01:08:37,025 --> 01:08:39,044
in a moment of enough-ness.

875
01:08:40,327 --> 01:08:44,359
Maybe five minutes in the morning,
while you enjoy a cup of tea.

876
01:08:45,758 --> 01:08:52,009
It may be the ten minutes of relaxation
after a really difficult work morning.

877
01:08:53,312 --> 01:08:56,384
It might be sitting down
for a meal with family and friends

878
01:08:56,409 --> 01:08:58,876
and just saying silently to yourself:

879
01:08:59,054 --> 01:09:00,886
This is enough.

880
01:09:01,188 --> 01:09:03,021
This IS enough.

881
01:09:03,556 --> 01:09:05,210
We are enough.

882
01:09:06,234 --> 01:09:10,603
And that sense of
living in the present moment

883
01:09:10,667 --> 01:09:13,675
is ultimately the only moment
that is available.

884
01:09:14,256 --> 01:09:17,567
It's a truism, but it's still so true!

885
01:09:18,860 --> 01:09:21,716
That future is not there
and will never be there.

886
01:09:21,741 --> 01:09:24,208
There will only be present moments.

887
01:09:24,295 --> 01:09:26,650
And if we can't enjoy
this present moment,

888
01:09:26,675 --> 01:09:30,416
how will future generations ever know
how to enjoy a present moment?

889
01:09:31,736 --> 01:09:35,549
So we cycle in to
this insight of enough-ness.

890
01:09:35,732 --> 01:09:38,101
This is enough.
I am enough.

891
01:09:38,126 --> 01:09:40,432
And we make it a training
and a practise.

892
01:09:40,457 --> 01:09:42,686
In Buddhism we speak about koans.

893
01:09:42,980 --> 01:09:44,525
Write it on a piece of paper.

894
01:09:44,625 --> 01:09:47,450
Maybe Brother Phap Huu
can do some calligraphies.

895
01:09:47,855 --> 01:09:52,448
Put it somewhere where you might
like to sit and enjoy a cup of tea.

896
01:09:52,567 --> 01:09:57,325
And you breathe and touch
that insight that you are enough.

897
01:09:57,557 --> 01:10:00,938
Because if we spend 24 hours a day

898
01:10:01,319 --> 01:10:03,319
feeling that we're not enough.

899
01:10:03,527 --> 01:10:06,297
We are corroding our humanity

900
01:10:06,322 --> 01:10:09,330
and corroding our access
to the wonders of life.

901
01:10:10,456 --> 01:10:12,676
It's a real training.

902
01:10:13,470 --> 01:10:17,958
There was something
a journalist once asked our teacher.

903
01:10:17,958 --> 01:10:23,910
"Are you an optimist or a pessimist
when it comes to environmental issues?

904
01:10:24,681 --> 01:10:27,918
It was a journalist from
The Independent in the UK.

905
01:10:28,902 --> 01:10:34,355
And I thought:
How will Thay handle this?

906
01:10:35,307 --> 01:10:39,240
Thay was very tired
during the whole interview.

907
01:10:39,526 --> 01:10:43,110
Thay was quiet for a very long time
and suddenly he went:

908
01:10:43,345 --> 01:10:45,365
An optimist!

909
01:10:46,105 --> 01:10:49,406
And I thought: 
OK! What is he going to say now?

910
01:10:50,780 --> 01:10:52,319
And he said:

911
01:10:56,265 --> 01:11:02,382
We can be at peace because
we know we've done our best.

912
01:11:03,771 --> 01:11:07,841
We are doing our best
and we know we have done our best.

913
01:11:09,137 --> 01:11:11,216
In his optimism

914
01:11:11,375 --> 01:11:16,494
was also the seed of trust
in the ripening of his seeds.

915
01:11:17,994 --> 01:11:21,539
We do our best and that is
why we can have peace.

916
01:11:21,564 --> 01:11:24,494
And that is why you can guard for yourself

917
01:11:24,519 --> 01:11:27,720
five minutes of saying
"I am enough."

918
01:11:27,944 --> 01:11:30,976
"We are enough."
"My team is enough."

919
01:11:31,095 --> 01:11:33,242
"My organisation is enough."

920
01:11:33,495 --> 01:11:35,821
Because we are doing our best.

921
01:11:36,257 --> 01:11:38,511
And that is why we can have peace.

922
01:11:38,992 --> 01:11:40,856
And at the same time,

923
01:11:41,525 --> 01:11:43,978
we can cycle out of the ultimate

924
01:11:44,494 --> 01:11:47,835
and always challenge ourselves:
"Am I doing my best?"

925
01:11:48,180 --> 01:11:50,847
And our friends can also challenge us.

926
01:11:51,685 --> 01:11:54,160
So we spend time in the ultimate.

927
01:11:54,185 --> 01:11:56,454
It's very nice, every day, a few minutes.

928
01:11:57,071 --> 01:12:00,079
And we come back out
and really keep challenging

929
01:12:00,147 --> 01:12:02,269
in that pragmatic, historical realm

930
01:12:03,095 --> 01:12:04,410
"What else could we do?"

931
01:12:04,435 --> 01:12:07,162
But not with a feeling of scarcity,

932
01:12:07,187 --> 01:12:09,148
but one of possibility.

933
01:12:09,211 --> 01:12:11,013
What else could we do?

934
01:12:16,206 --> 01:12:17,968
And we can ask ourselves:

935
01:12:18,333 --> 01:12:21,311
Are we asking the right questions?

936
01:12:21,375 --> 01:12:23,980
about our culture of consumerism?

937
01:12:24,123 --> 01:12:29,166
Are we asking the right questions
about economic systems?

938
01:12:30,541 --> 01:12:32,143
That is quite a challenge.

939
01:12:32,303 --> 01:12:34,242
And I think in the B Team
as an organisation,

940
01:12:34,267 --> 01:12:36,599
this is something you're concerned with.

941
01:12:36,676 --> 01:12:40,263
I think, with Global Optimism,
this is what you're concerned with.

942
01:12:40,312 --> 01:12:43,027
Are we asking the right questions
of the problem?

943
01:12:43,075 --> 01:12:45,236
Have we defined the problem?

944
01:12:46,465 --> 01:12:49,688
If we want to challenge or transform

945
01:12:50,550 --> 01:12:55,819
our individualistic,
consumerist, capitalist culture,

946
01:12:56,086 --> 01:13:00,184
we can ask questions I heard this morning:
Is there enough love in it?

947
01:13:01,294 --> 01:13:03,521
What is the role of love there?

948
01:13:03,625 --> 01:13:07,593
Is there love in our organisations?
Is there love in our teams?

949
01:13:07,668 --> 01:13:10,625
How can we bring compassion into this?

950
01:13:11,617 --> 01:13:15,043
How can we question things
that we're not yet questioning?

951
01:13:17,210 --> 01:13:21,904
In this principle
of Deep Simplicity, we say:

952
01:13:22,461 --> 01:13:28,140
Aware of the suffering caused
by exploitation, social injustice,

953
01:13:28,307 --> 01:13:30,807
stealing and oppression,

954
01:13:47,111 --> 01:13:51,259
Aware of the suffering caused
by exploitation, social injustice,

955
01:13:51,283 --> 01:13:53,203
stealing and oppression,

956
01:13:53,228 --> 01:13:56,701
i am committed to practising generosity

957
01:13:56,947 --> 01:14:00,539
in my thinking, speaking and acting.

958
01:14:01,192 --> 01:14:03,732
I am determined not to steal

959
01:14:03,928 --> 01:14:08,200
and not to possess anything
that should belong to others.

960
01:14:08,829 --> 01:14:10,583
And I will share my time,

961
01:14:10,875 --> 01:14:14,075
energy and material resources

962
01:14:14,319 --> 01:14:16,289
with those who are in need.

963
01:14:17,385 --> 01:14:19,984
There's a bit more,
and then another line is:

964
01:14:20,126 --> 01:14:23,055
I am committed to practising
Right Livelihood.

965
01:14:23,666 --> 01:14:27,324
so that I can help reduce the suffering
of living beings on Earth

966
01:14:28,069 --> 01:14:31,087
and stop contributing to climate change.

967
01:14:33,309 --> 01:14:37,380
This second ethical principle,
we can practise and embody

968
01:14:37,581 --> 01:14:42,569
as an individual, but we can also
apply it at an organisational level.

969
01:14:46,368 --> 01:14:49,781
I was very happy to discover
that the B Team

970
01:14:49,934 --> 01:14:53,257
has some responsible tax principles.

971
01:14:53,924 --> 01:14:57,470
I don't know if there's anyone here
who's involved in that particular project.

972
01:14:57,517 --> 01:14:59,509
OK! Thank you so much!

973
01:14:59,730 --> 01:15:05,353
So, it's a wonderful way of
applying this ethical principle

974
01:15:05,448 --> 01:15:07,289
to organisations.

975
01:15:07,391 --> 01:15:11,908
How can organisations be transparent
and have transparent tax practises?

976
01:15:12,051 --> 01:15:15,517
That it's not all about
avoiding and obfuscating

977
01:15:15,667 --> 01:15:20,208
and calibrating, 
but there's genuine ethical integrity

978
01:15:20,250 --> 01:15:24,858
at the organisational level about the need
to contribute back to society.

979
01:15:25,479 --> 01:15:30,657
This is applying the line
"I'm determined not to steal

980
01:15:30,682 --> 01:15:34,214
and not to possess anything
that should belong to others."

981
01:15:34,254 --> 01:15:39,140
We can say that the principle of taxation
applied by a democratic system

982
01:15:40,506 --> 01:15:43,180
is about equity. It's about inclusion.

983
01:15:43,205 --> 01:15:46,539
We can't say that that profit
belongs only to that company.

984
01:15:47,460 --> 01:15:51,658
Just like the whole cosmos
is in the flower, or the apple,

985
01:15:51,667 --> 01:15:54,000
the whole cosmos is in that profit.

986
01:15:54,053 --> 01:15:58,305
So we share back that profit
with the spirit of reciprocity.

987
01:15:59,876 --> 01:16:03,934
We could also apply
that principle of reciprocity maybe to

988
01:16:05,023 --> 01:16:07,741
I'm just going to throw out some ideas,
they may be controversial,

989
01:16:07,773 --> 01:16:10,148
but I'll be brave,

990
01:16:10,476 --> 01:16:13,404
salary ratios in organisations.

991
01:16:13,508 --> 01:16:16,551
Between the top of the organisation
and the bottom.

992
01:16:16,655 --> 01:16:19,321
Maybe there can be
some ethical principles.

993
01:16:19,353 --> 01:16:21,797
We're taking the work on the tax framework

994
01:16:21,874 --> 01:16:25,404
Can we also have another
ethical framework about salaries?

995
01:16:26,597 --> 01:16:29,111
And with this ethical principle --

996
01:16:29,136 --> 01:16:33,716
I will hand you all out
a copy of this sheet, don't worry.

997
01:16:33,855 --> 01:16:36,743
With this ethical principle, we can say

998
01:16:36,825 --> 01:16:40,672
that fossil fuel subsidies
are not ethically OK.

999
01:16:41,817 --> 01:16:44,954
It is a simple moral truth.

1000
01:16:46,008 --> 01:16:48,986
This gives us the language
to describe that.

1001
01:16:49,440 --> 01:16:53,543
It is not possible to use shared resources

1002
01:16:53,987 --> 01:16:57,067
to subsidise something
that is destroying the planet.

1003
01:16:57,417 --> 01:16:59,571
That is ethically not acceptable.

1004
01:17:00,276 --> 01:17:02,603
And as Buddhists,

1005
01:17:02,750 --> 01:17:05,563
we can feel fearless just to name it.

1006
01:17:05,588 --> 01:17:10,527
And we can support others to also
name it in the language of ethics.

1007
01:17:13,523 --> 01:17:15,923
I know that being bold and brave

1008
01:17:16,000 --> 01:17:17,904
is part of the B Team's mission.

1009
01:17:17,929 --> 01:17:19,769
I'm just kind of going there.

1010
01:17:20,767 --> 01:17:24,095
There has been some interesting research.

1011
01:17:24,133 --> 01:17:27,287
I recently saw a paper
published last year.

1012
01:17:29,230 --> 01:17:34,656
about how our economic system
is still globally inequitable.

1013
01:17:34,883 --> 01:17:37,829
There was some very powerful research

1014
01:17:38,485 --> 01:17:42,027
revealing the drain
from the Global South

1015
01:17:42,083 --> 01:17:45,525
through the unequal exchange of resources.

1016
01:17:46,678 --> 01:17:48,890
There was a very powerful way

1017
01:17:48,915 --> 01:17:54,966
of measuring labour, land,
resources, investment,

1018
01:17:55,037 --> 01:17:58,565
that is being done
in the Global South to make it possible

1019
01:17:58,590 --> 01:18:00,590
to have the economies of the Global North.

1020
01:18:00,674 --> 01:18:02,398
And this paper concluded

1021
01:18:02,671 --> 01:18:05,004
that colonialism is still operating

1022
01:18:05,105 --> 01:18:06,986
at the economic level

1023
01:18:07,010 --> 01:18:10,082
however much we tell ourselves
stories otherwise.

1024
01:18:11,462 --> 01:18:13,662
We could apply this ethical principle

1025
01:18:13,708 --> 01:18:15,849
to a commentary on that.

1026
01:18:18,128 --> 01:18:21,976
With this ethical principle
also about not taking,

1027
01:18:22,989 --> 01:18:26,109
not stealing, not taking,
being generous,

1028
01:18:26,375 --> 01:18:29,966
we can recognise that
we live on a finite planet.

1029
01:18:30,022 --> 01:18:34,769
And that must mean:
Finite growth of a certain kind.

1030
01:18:35,357 --> 01:18:39,432
We cannot have infinite growth
on a finite planet.

1031
01:18:41,677 --> 01:18:45,043
I also remember a journalist ...
I can't remember if it was you, Jo.

1032
01:18:45,068 --> 01:18:46,932
I don't know if Jo
is sitting here somewhere.

1033
01:18:46,972 --> 01:18:50,758
I wasn't hearing his loud laughter.
So maybe that's why.

1034
01:18:51,594 --> 01:18:56,094
I think it might have been Jo
who asked Thay once

1035
01:18:56,255 --> 01:18:59,109
when Thay was teaching at
Nottingham University in the UK,

1036
01:18:59,167 --> 01:19:01,815
and he asked him:
"But Thay ...

1037
01:19:02,220 --> 01:19:04,186
you do like growth as a principle.

1038
01:19:04,292 --> 01:19:06,425
You want to grow your monastery.

1039
01:19:06,450 --> 01:19:08,470
You want to grow your reach and impact.

1040
01:19:08,495 --> 01:19:10,637
You want lots of people
to hear your dharma.

1041
01:19:10,805 --> 01:19:13,321
So you can't be anti-growth."

1042
01:19:14,093 --> 01:19:17,924
And Thay, he smiled.
He quite likes people being cheeky.

1043
01:19:18,835 --> 01:19:21,317
He smiled and said:

1044
01:19:21,823 --> 01:19:25,611
"That is true. But we know
what we want to grow.

1045
01:19:27,467 --> 01:19:30,294
We want to grow compassion.
We want to grow wisdom.

1046
01:19:30,458 --> 01:19:34,361
We want to grow community spirit,
a sense of community.

1047
01:19:35,353 --> 01:19:38,654
And yes, we might need to grow
in terms of resources.

1048
01:19:38,696 --> 01:19:40,464
But in the service of that.

1049
01:19:41,258 --> 01:19:45,290
We're not seeking growth
for growth's sake or for profit itself."

1050
01:19:48,125 --> 01:19:49,757
(whispers) OK, I know.

1051
01:19:50,393 --> 01:19:53,154
We have a couple of other principles.

1052
01:19:53,552 --> 01:19:55,741
One is reverence for life.

1053
01:19:57,042 --> 01:20:03,961
[REVERENCE FOR LIFE]

1054
01:20:23,131 --> 01:20:28,249
Reverence for life also involves
the spirit of non-violence

1055
01:20:28,464 --> 01:20:30,091
and not killing.

1056
01:20:30,432 --> 01:20:33,563
Not extracting. Not exploiting.

1057
01:20:36,635 --> 01:20:39,928
Aware of the suffering
caysed by the destruction of life,

1058
01:20:39,958 --> 01:20:44,458
I'm committed to cultivating
the insight of interbeing and compassion

1059
01:20:44,483 --> 01:20:47,291
and learning ways to protect
the lives of people,

1060
01:20:47,364 --> 01:20:50,205
animals, plants and minerals.

1061
01:20:50,848 --> 01:20:53,190
I'm determined not to kill,

1062
01:20:53,468 --> 01:20:55,148
not to let others kill,

1063
01:20:55,302 --> 01:20:58,502
and not to support any
active killing in the world

1064
01:20:58,675 --> 01:21:01,614
in my thinking, 
or in my way of life.

1065
01:21:02,936 --> 01:21:05,851
Seeing that harmful actions

1066
01:21:07,079 --> 01:21:09,493
arise from anger,

1067
01:21:10,069 --> 01:21:13,938
fear, greed, and intolerance,

1068
01:21:14,797 --> 01:21:18,307
which in turn come from dualistic
and discriminative thinking,

1069
01:21:19,402 --> 01:21:23,202
I commit to cultivating

1070
01:21:23,578 --> 01:21:26,767
openness, non-discrimination,

1071
01:21:26,831 --> 01:21:28,918
and non-attachment to views

1072
01:21:29,236 --> 01:21:32,184
in order to help transform violence,

1073
01:21:32,319 --> 01:21:37,351
fanaticism and dogmatism
in myself and in the world.

1074
01:21:38,987 --> 01:21:40,789
This is how we as Buddhists

1075
01:21:40,917 --> 01:21:43,650
apply the principle
of Reverence for Life.

1076
01:21:45,663 --> 01:21:49,178
So caring for the world can be
an intellectual idea,

1077
01:21:49,864 --> 01:21:53,269
or it can be a practise
that we express with our body.

1078
01:21:56,510 --> 01:21:59,710
So we invite you
to ask yourself this question.

1079
01:22:00,009 --> 01:22:02,767
I care for society,
I care for the Earth,

1080
01:22:03,037 --> 01:22:07,067
how are my bodily actions showing that?

1081
01:22:09,750 --> 01:22:13,523
As you have realised,
we do believe

1082
01:22:13,833 --> 01:22:17,861
that a plant-based diet is one very

1083
01:22:19,075 --> 01:22:23,898
possible and yet radical step
that each one of us can go towards.

1084
01:22:24,502 --> 01:22:27,996
We're not judging or
being dogmatic about it,

1085
01:22:28,021 --> 01:22:30,686
which is also a principle
of this training.

1086
01:22:31,862 --> 01:22:33,542
In ethics, we're saying:

1087
01:22:33,792 --> 01:22:36,258
That is a direction we can all go in.

1088
01:22:36,283 --> 01:22:39,343
And it's an easy way
to practise non-violence

1089
01:22:39,724 --> 01:22:41,164
in our daily life.

1090
01:22:45,958 --> 01:22:47,904
When we speak about

1091
01:22:51,254 --> 01:22:52,871
non-violence here,

1092
01:22:53,911 --> 01:23:00,126
sometimes we might think that
this just relates to physical violence.

1093
01:23:00,913 --> 01:23:06,159
But we would also say that our thinking
can be violent and extractive.

1094
01:23:07,129 --> 01:23:08,888
Our speaking can be violent.

1095
01:23:09,531 --> 01:23:13,160
As well as our behaviour.

1096
01:23:13,185 --> 01:23:15,585
Here, it could be our way of consuming.

1097
01:23:18,417 --> 01:23:20,538
We're also not absolutist.

1098
01:23:20,563 --> 01:23:23,569
This is a very interesting principle
about Buddhist ethics.

1099
01:23:23,667 --> 01:23:25,467
If I had three hours today,

1100
01:23:25,492 --> 01:23:28,972
I could share with you
some more of the criteria

1101
01:23:29,033 --> 01:23:33,124
about how we apply our principles
in different situations.

1102
01:23:34,139 --> 01:23:39,387
One of them is that we never apply them
in an absolutist, puritanical way.

1103
01:23:40,207 --> 01:23:43,690
And I know that in the B Team

1104
01:23:43,964 --> 01:23:48,816
and in many corporations
who would like to go good things,

1105
01:23:48,841 --> 01:23:53,129
the danger is that you end up
in the center of a circular firing squad.

1106
01:23:53,517 --> 01:23:56,410
Others are always pointing the finger

1107
01:23:56,436 --> 01:23:59,303
and we may have a fear
of ethical principles

1108
01:23:59,329 --> 01:24:01,278
because we don't want them
to become a stick

1109
01:24:01,303 --> 01:24:03,765
that we beat other people with.

1110
01:24:04,303 --> 01:24:06,970
So in the Buddhist principles of ethics,

1111
01:24:08,302 --> 01:24:09,982
they are not a stick.

1112
01:24:10,306 --> 01:24:12,973
We like to describe them
as a North Star.

1113
01:24:13,042 --> 01:24:15,427
A direction of travel.

1114
01:24:16,449 --> 01:24:18,393
The applying of which

1115
01:24:18,553 --> 01:24:22,811
has a lot of space in it,
a lot of compassion and patience.

1116
01:24:22,875 --> 01:24:24,883
A lot of openness.

1117
01:24:24,976 --> 01:24:29,446
And that first of all these principles
are something that we ourselves do

1118
01:24:29,458 --> 01:24:34,261
as individuals, as teams,
and as organisations.

1119
01:24:34,497 --> 01:24:36,669
So we kind of walk the talk.

1120
01:24:37,048 --> 01:24:40,767
The ethical principles are something
we can have a conversation around.

1121
01:24:40,882 --> 01:24:45,355
But we don't use them
to blame, to judge, or to punish.

1122
01:24:45,796 --> 01:24:47,948
That's something about Buddhist ethics.

1123
01:24:49,476 --> 01:24:51,572
Very briefly.

1124
01:24:52,704 --> 01:24:56,602
We've learnt a lot about another one

1125
01:24:56,625 --> 01:24:59,779
which is about
compassionate communication.

1126
01:24:59,841 --> 01:25:01,774
[COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION]

1127
01:25:02,532 --> 01:25:04,814
I won't say much more about that.

1128
01:25:05,987 --> 01:25:07,371
But for us,

1129
01:25:09,916 --> 01:25:13,928
our way of communicating
in integrity and honesty

1130
01:25:15,426 --> 01:25:18,120
while also being skillful

1131
01:25:19,950 --> 01:25:23,688
and patient, and aware
of the impact of our words,

1132
01:25:24,071 --> 01:25:26,418
and we've learnt a lot
about that this week.

1133
01:25:26,443 --> 01:25:29,307
The final principle is about True Love.

1134
01:25:29,332 --> 01:25:31,166
[TRUE LOVE]

1135
01:25:31,191 --> 01:25:34,135
What's really interesting
about Buddhist ethics

1136
01:25:34,302 --> 01:25:37,059
is that we include
our intimate relationships

1137
01:25:37,178 --> 01:25:43,813
in the orbit of our ethical action.

1138
01:25:45,375 --> 01:25:47,375
How we are with those we love.

1139
01:25:47,400 --> 01:25:49,717
Are we able to respect our partner?

1140
01:25:49,788 --> 01:25:52,997
Can we allow them to be different?

1141
01:25:53,284 --> 01:25:55,849
Can we embrace their shortcomings?

1142
01:25:55,943 --> 01:25:58,151
Can we help them
transform their suffering?

1143
01:25:58,971 --> 01:26:02,031
How can we see them
as a wonder of life?

1144
01:26:02,056 --> 01:26:04,174
How can we not take them for granted?

1145
01:26:10,500 --> 01:26:14,276
When we say what can Buddhists
contribute to a global ethic,

1146
01:26:14,750 --> 01:26:18,828
we might say that maybe the B Team

1147
01:26:18,875 --> 01:26:25,503
could develop some
kind of compassionate ethics

1148
01:26:26,324 --> 01:26:30,020
to bring -- and I will now pass around --

1149
01:26:47,749 --> 01:26:49,654
For some of the home team,

1150
01:26:50,033 --> 01:26:51,632
You don't need to see them.

1151
01:26:51,695 --> 01:26:54,604
I only printed 40 copies to save paper.

1152
01:26:54,771 --> 01:26:58,890
Those are the five mindfulness
trainings, the Plum Village vision

1153
01:26:58,998 --> 01:27:03,198
of ethics and what we could
call global spirituality.

1154
01:27:04,088 --> 01:27:06,904
Wouldn't it be an interesting challenge

1155
01:27:07,487 --> 01:27:12,751
to see if there could be a written code
just like the tax principles?

1156
01:27:13,255 --> 01:27:16,454
If there could be a written code
to express the kind of ethics

1157
01:27:16,493 --> 01:27:19,426
we would like to see
in our corporate world.

1158
01:27:21,686 --> 01:27:23,826
So this text that you see,

1159
01:27:23,851 --> 01:27:26,818
our teacher has been evolving over time

1160
01:27:26,843 --> 01:27:30,827
and he was very passionate
about renewing it in 2009,

1161
01:27:30,900 --> 01:27:34,990
and the latest update
was last year.

1162
01:27:35,034 --> 01:27:37,556
It's something we're continuing to evolve.

1163
01:27:37,581 --> 01:27:38,999
It's a living document.

1164
01:27:40,534 --> 01:27:45,278
We should not be afraid
to define our values.

1165
01:27:45,958 --> 01:27:51,031
I think sometimes,
because we're here in Europe

1166
01:27:51,097 --> 01:27:55,495
oh, I don't want to say that,
what do I want to say?

1167
01:27:56,744 --> 01:28:00,498
In the Judeo-Christian north,
is that what I want to say?

1168
01:28:01,898 --> 01:28:04,978
We're in a slightly
post-religious era.

1169
01:28:05,382 --> 01:28:10,482
And we get very afraid
about defining ethics

1170
01:28:10,583 --> 01:28:12,583
and a moral compass.

1171
01:28:13,124 --> 01:28:17,763
Our teacher has taught our community
that we don't need to be afraid

1172
01:28:17,825 --> 01:28:21,150
about saying what is right
and what is wrong

1173
01:28:21,175 --> 01:28:22,516
in the light of suffering.

1174
01:28:22,542 --> 01:28:24,862
So as you see each of those principles,

1175
01:28:24,887 --> 01:28:29,035
it's framed by awareness of the
suffering caused by certain actions.

1176
01:28:29,578 --> 01:28:31,901
Based on our insight into suffering,

1177
01:28:32,042 --> 01:28:34,506
we can come up with behaviours

1178
01:28:34,559 --> 01:28:39,021
to reduce suffering in ourselves,
our family and the world.

1179
01:28:39,948 --> 01:28:43,250
And it's OK to define
harmful behaviours.

1180
01:28:45,046 --> 01:28:47,469
Sometimes we can feel
that we don't want to shame others.

1181
01:28:47,500 --> 01:28:49,868
Something I've learnt
here in this community

1182
01:28:49,956 --> 01:28:53,130
is that we can say:
"That behaviour is not OK"

1183
01:28:53,314 --> 01:28:55,309
while still loving the person.

1184
01:28:56,681 --> 01:28:59,153
We love the person for who they are

1185
01:28:59,193 --> 01:29:02,698
and we recognise that
all humans have shortcomings.

1186
01:29:03,165 --> 01:29:04,765
And yet we can still

1187
01:29:07,646 --> 01:29:11,772
point out that this or
that action is not correct

1188
01:29:11,797 --> 01:29:13,585
and it's not ethical.

1189
01:29:13,701 --> 01:29:16,645
And as a society,
we have to have that courage

1190
01:29:16,670 --> 01:29:18,873
to have an open conversation.

1191
01:29:19,649 --> 01:29:21,383
And to trust in ourselves.

1192
01:29:21,542 --> 01:29:24,408
And to trust in the wisdom
of our ancestors.

1193
01:29:28,438 --> 01:29:31,963
I want to finish with something
that our teacher said.

1194
01:29:32,802 --> 01:29:35,571
It came up in our group the other day.

1195
01:29:39,143 --> 01:29:44,499
In the realm of ethics
and spirituality,

1196
01:29:45,743 --> 01:29:50,575
we cannot allow "others"

1197
01:29:52,269 --> 01:29:56,179
to monopolise God and spirituality.

1198
01:29:57,149 --> 01:30:01,796
And to use it
in the service of intolerance,

1199
01:30:02,056 --> 01:30:08,253
hatred, discrimination, dogmatism,
even craving and greed.

1200
01:30:09,277 --> 01:30:14,717
We cannot allow others to monopolise,
he even used the word "hijack",

1201
01:30:15,224 --> 01:30:17,815
to hijack God and spirituality

1202
01:30:18,003 --> 01:30:20,355
in the service of those things.

1203
01:30:21,575 --> 01:30:24,692
I may be thinking that the others here ...

1204
01:30:24,958 --> 01:30:27,890
I don't know if I need to spell it out.

1205
01:30:28,957 --> 01:30:32,705
If we think of
the conservative Christian right,

1206
01:30:33,897 --> 01:30:37,706
we can ask: Have they hijacked God

1207
01:30:38,204 --> 01:30:45,105
in the service of intolerance,
hatred, discrimination, dogmatism

1208
01:30:45,294 --> 01:30:47,732
and even craving or greed?

1209
01:30:47,892 --> 01:30:51,307
To take care of themselves,
their own survival,

1210
01:30:51,444 --> 01:30:53,247
the survival of the few.

1211
01:30:53,653 --> 01:30:55,681
The few who have the same beliefs.

1212
01:30:55,875 --> 01:30:59,021
The same values.
The same ethnicity.

1213
01:31:02,328 --> 01:31:07,244
And our teacher was asked

1214
01:31:07,532 --> 01:31:12,029
after John Kerry lost
the election in 2005,

1215
01:31:12,451 --> 01:31:13,995
a very narrow margin,

1216
01:31:14,974 --> 01:31:15,974
by some counts,

1217
01:31:18,375 --> 01:31:19,853
he was asked:

1218
01:31:21,894 --> 01:31:23,670
How is it possible?

1219
01:31:24,323 --> 01:31:30,478
Why did ... why did the goodness
of the country fail in that moment?

1220
01:31:31,482 --> 01:31:35,024
That was 2005. 
We've all lived through 2016.

1221
01:31:35,174 --> 01:31:39,821
It was traumatic for people in the US
and traumatic for people in the UK.

1222
01:31:43,621 --> 01:31:45,398
This is what Thay said:

1223
01:31:45,675 --> 01:31:50,451
"I think if the Democratic Party
didn't succeed this time,

1224
01:31:51,144 --> 01:31:54,450
it is because they lacked
a spiritual dimension.

1225
01:31:56,513 --> 01:31:59,979
They allowed the other side
to monopolise God,

1226
01:32:00,304 --> 01:32:03,492
to hijack God,
in the direction of division,

1227
01:32:03,863 --> 01:32:07,716
hate, discrimination, non-tolerance.

1228
01:32:09,178 --> 01:32:13,380
And they want to suggest
the other side is condoning

1229
01:32:14,958 --> 01:32:19,563
all sorts of things that they claim
go against the will of God."

1230
01:32:20,518 --> 01:32:24,318
And Thay said:
"This is fundamentalist thinking.

1231
01:32:25,270 --> 01:32:27,151
It's dangerous thinking."

1232
01:32:27,614 --> 01:32:29,041
And then he said:

1233
01:32:29,766 --> 01:32:32,842
"We need a God of compassion.

1234
01:32:32,878 --> 01:32:35,621
We need a God of non-discrimination.

1235
01:32:36,100 --> 01:32:40,286
A God of tolerance.
We need a God of love.

1236
01:32:41,301 --> 01:32:44,565
And if we don't come together
and practise together,

1237
01:32:44,669 --> 01:32:49,514
in order to bring the spiritual
dimension into our daily life,

1238
01:32:50,052 --> 01:32:52,852
I guess that we will
not be able to succeed

1239
01:32:53,248 --> 01:32:54,902
in our future attempts.

1240
01:32:57,250 --> 01:33:02,155
To be spiritual is not something
very far from our daily life."

1241
01:33:02,728 --> 01:33:04,906
So if you've never heard
our teacher speak,

1242
01:33:05,012 --> 01:33:09,403
he used God as a way
to describe the ultimate dimension.

1243
01:33:09,778 --> 01:33:12,208
His God is very inclusive.

1244
01:33:13,949 --> 01:33:17,210
Of the gods that many of us might
recognise in our upbringing

1245
01:33:17,235 --> 01:33:19,785
and that many of us still hold dear.

1246
01:33:22,052 --> 01:33:25,892
So, to be spiritual is something
not far from our daily life.

1247
01:33:26,133 --> 01:33:28,978
"We are spiritual in the way
we drink our tea," he said.

1248
01:33:29,199 --> 01:33:30,719
In the way we walk.

1249
01:33:32,314 --> 01:33:35,969
In the way, when people say
something with hatred and anger,

1250
01:33:36,182 --> 01:33:40,061
our response can carry
spirituality in it.

1251
01:33:40,836 --> 01:33:43,209
That's the compassionate communication.

1252
01:33:44,664 --> 01:33:46,344
"That is spirituality.

1253
01:33:46,369 --> 01:33:48,914
That is a training.
That is life."

1254
01:33:51,833 --> 01:33:54,781
And then he said:
"This is why peace

1255
01:33:54,843 --> 01:33:59,931
social justice and equality
should always begin with ourselves.

1256
01:34:00,590 --> 01:34:03,617
We have to learn
to deal with ourselves,

1257
01:34:03,705 --> 01:34:06,105
to handle ourselves with compassion,

1258
01:34:06,677 --> 01:34:09,941
so that we can be
with our families with compassion

1259
01:34:10,154 --> 01:34:12,554
and help other families do the same.

1260
01:34:12,650 --> 01:34:15,550
And that is the spirit
of community-building.

1261
01:34:17,235 --> 01:34:18,291
Even ... "

1262
01:34:18,316 --> 01:34:20,350
This is a really amazing line.

1263
01:34:20,457 --> 01:34:24,804
"Even if you have a perfect
analysis of the situation.

1264
01:34:26,108 --> 01:34:29,735
Even if you have a plan
of action that is perfect.

1265
01:34:30,325 --> 01:34:34,180
Without this kind of spiritual
training or practise,

1266
01:34:34,583 --> 01:34:39,448
without a spiritual dimension
to your way of being and doing,

1267
01:34:40,103 --> 01:34:42,579
I don't think that you can succeed."

1268
01:34:44,559 --> 01:34:45,559
And then he said:

1269
01:34:45,757 --> 01:34:47,321
(laughs) "Thank you."

1270
01:34:47,356 --> 01:34:48,656
[laughter]

1271
01:34:49,294 --> 01:34:51,103
I would also like to thank you.

1272
01:34:51,183 --> 01:34:55,353
Thank you for your patience.
For listening to me.

1273
01:34:59,792 --> 01:35:03,964
I have done my best.
And that is why I can be at peace.

1274
01:35:11,049 --> 01:35:14,170
[sound of the bell]

1275
01:35:31,209 --> 01:35:35,351
[sound of the bell]

1276
01:35:53,100 --> 01:35:57,050
[sound of the bell]

1277
01:36:12,142 --> 01:36:13,738
[chime]