WEBVTT

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My first intention this morning is
that I would like to be

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fearless in speaking the truth.

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I was with our teacher when he
spoke at the World Bank in 2013.

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In that giant atrium that many
of you know in Washington, D.C.

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Our teacher was so fearless
in speaking the truth.

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If I could have one percent
of that this morning,

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I would be very happy.

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So I will do my best to be
fearless in speaking the truth.

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I will also do my best to speak
from a place of love and care.

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As Christiana was saying earlier:

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I think some of
the issues of our time

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bring up an energy
of anger and injustice.

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And we're all human.

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I think I feel that, too.

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And I think ...

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Part of the deep work that
each of us need to do

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and that's my work this morning
as I speak to you,

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is to have my love at least as strong
as my anger and my sense of injustice.

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So I hope my siblings will support me.

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There's a bell master,
Brother [name].

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If I get a little too passionate,

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I'm sure he will help me
with a wake-up sound of the bell

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to remind me to keep my heart
really open as I share today.

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I also want to share with joy

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sometimes ...

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our spiritual practise can seem
like a really serious endeavour.

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But for me, to understand
myself and the world,

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to cultivate insight,

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to start to see what
Right Action could look like,

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what a source of joy!

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That is a wonderful thing
to be doing

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and a great use
of our time and energy.

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So. Even though ethics
is a really tough topic,

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I hope to bring joy to it this morning.

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And finally, I also deeply aspire
in this talk to kind of ...

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get out of the way myself,
to step aside,

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and let the dharma speak.

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In Buddhism, when we
speak about non-self,

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it's really a lived practise.

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I don't think that I'm a separate
self saying these things.

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Any sense of me and mine
I want to put to the side

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so I can just simply share
some of the wisdom

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of 2500 years that I
happen to have been learning

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and continue to learn in this community.

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So this is also not really my talk.

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It's a collective talk.

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So, with that spirit, we can listen
to three sounds of the bell.

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Sometimes we're being a bit efficient.

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We're just having one.

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But this morning it would be beautiful
to enjoy three sounds of the bell

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and listening to the bell truly
as a practise of systems change

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can we find our freedom
in the sound of the bell,

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can we touch what is most
sacred and precious in life.

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[sound of the bell]

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[sound of the bell]

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[sound of the bell]

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Thank you, everybody.

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There is actually a bodhisattva
of crying in the Buddhist tradition.

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I was wondering where
my tears are coming from.

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I realised it was the tears of the earth
and then they flowed even stronger.

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Okay.

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In our dharma sharing yesterday,

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someone gave rise to an intention
to be a good ancestor.

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We had asked our group:
What's the most important thing for you?

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What is most important in your life?

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What do you want to commit
your time and energy to?

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Thank you.

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For every bodhisattva that cries
there is a bodhisattva with tissues.

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[laughter]

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What would it mean
to be a good ancestor?

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And what would it mean
to be a good descendant

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of those who have come before us?

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We stand on the shoulders of giants.

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Those that came before us
in the recent past,

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but also those that came before us
a long, long time ago.

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The wise ones.
The wiser ones, maybe.

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Someone also asked in our group:

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What's the Buddhist
understanding of time?

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And for us, as we've picked up,

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we say that the present moment
contains the past.

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And it contains the future.

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My tears are the tears of the past
and the tears of the future.

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Our actions now ...

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already contain all
of the past conditioning in them.

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The way we walk
as though we're in a hurry.

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They say our sense
of urgency and time

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came with the invention of the clock
in the industrial revolution.

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Our speed of walking
carries history within it.

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And when we can
take a step in freedom now,

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we're transforming the rushing
and running and striving

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of our ancestors.

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And we're making it
a little bit more possible

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that future generations will also
be able to walk in peace and freedom.

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When we imagine the kind of society
all of us are working to make possible

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for the future: A just society,
a more equitable society,

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an inclusive society,

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whether we're contributing to that
as a monastic

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or as someone with the B team

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or someone with Global Optimism

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or Project Everyone.

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All the organisations represented here.

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We have in mind a kind of society

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and those future generations

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that we want to make possible
with our actions today.

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We want to believe
such a future is possible.

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In Buddhism,

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we believe that in the present moment,

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we have immense energy and agency,

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immense kind of capacity,

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to create the preconditions
for that future.

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and in a way to create
that future with this present.

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What is it that we think that we do

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when we're being alive?

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What is it we're talking about

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when we talk about life
and how we're spending our life?

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In some of the settings in which
some of us might find ourselves

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most of the time,

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life might be about productivity

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or profit, or innovation,

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or agility.

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KPIs? Apparently it's a thing.

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In Buddhism, we naturally have
a different sense

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of what we're doing
with our time and energy.

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[KARMA]

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We speak about something called karma.

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I know some of you think something
when you see that word.

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But actually, it's a technical term
that simply means 'action'.

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The energy of action.

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All of us are producing karma
in every moment.

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And we speak about triple action.

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Our way of thinking.

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[THINKING]

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Our way of speaking.

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[SPEAKING]

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And our way of acting.

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[ACTING]

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Our thoughts go out into the world

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and kind of ripple out
and continue us.

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The reason we say
that thinking is important

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is because we are cultivating
those seeds in our mind,

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our thinking, all the time.

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I think many of you in this room
are the kind of people,

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if you have a good idea,
it's a very quick channel

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to then say it and implement it.

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Our ideas are really important.
Our ideas, our values,

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our way of seeing the world.

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It gives rise to what we say
and to action.

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We really do call thinking
a kind of action.

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Our teacher used to like
quoting Jean Paul Sartre.

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L'homme est la somme de ses actes.

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Man is the sum of his actions.

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Each one of us, the imprint
we leave on the world,

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is primarily,
exclusively

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the legacy of our thinking,
speaking, and acting.

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Our way of being.

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In our professional life,

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we might end up focusing
so much on acting,

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and it can be a really interesting
exercise to ask ourselves:

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What do I think my professional
legacy is going to be?

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And is that what's on our gravestone?

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I was contemplating this

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when I first became
practising in Plum Village.

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At that time, I was working
in the BBC newsroom

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in political news, of all things.

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And I had heard this line:

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I'm definitely going to get sick

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I cannot escape sickness,

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I'm definitely going to get old,
I cannot escape old age,

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I'm definitely gonna die,
I can't escape death.

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I'm certainly going to be separated
from all and everyone I love.

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And the fifth point: Only my actions

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of body, speech and mind
are the ground on which I stand.

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My actions.

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I was working in the newsroom
and I thought: Gosh.

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I thought: If I continue working here,

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how will my life be summed up?

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Suddenly I realised,

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maybe my gravestone would just say
my name and something like: BBC Editor.

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It was an interesting realisation.

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Because if any of you have
ever worked with the BBC,

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"Editor" is a big thing.

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It's kind of the holy grail
for everyone working there.

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And I wanted my life to be
about much more than that.

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I realised that when we think about
our professional achievements,

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it can be so disillusioning.

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Maybe the realm of our action
is not exactly what we think it is.

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We often speak about impact.

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I want to have impact.

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[name]'s favourite phrase is
"scale & speed". Speed and scale.

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Speed. Scale. Impact.

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How is that going to be
on your gravestone?

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This policy document. This report.
Getting this funding.

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In Buddhism we really say
that our continuation

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and kind of our impact is so much deeper
than the ends of what we achieve.

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It's also the How of How we get there.

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The means.

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If we could describe
our way of being like a candle,

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and our thinking and speaking
and acting is radiating out in the world.

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The quality of our ...

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Loving action.

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How we think, speak and act
is also ...

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If you think of a candle radiating light.

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That light is also shining
on the candle itself.

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When we say something
that is not quite true,

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that is affecting our consciousness,
it's affecting our selves.

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When we do an action

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that doesn't quite have full integrity and
alignment with our own personal values,

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that is affecting us.

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It is affecting, maybe,
how we can sleep at night.

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Whether we have anxiety
or despair.

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But when we can act, speak
and think in such a way

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that's really in alignment
with our values,

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we can kind of be coherent to ourselves.

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And here's something interesting.

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If we get too preoccupied
by thinking that our main actions

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are our professional actions,
we may miss the fact

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that perhaps our deepest transmission
is maybe in the way we are as a person.

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For example to our children,
to our family members.

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How we are with feelings of anger.

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How we are with feelings of anxiety.

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How we are with craving and habits.

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In fact, all the time, we are
imprinting that on the next generation.

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Maybe your greatest legacy
is not your professional one,

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but the family and people
that we are with at home.

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And maybe you spend more time
with your colleagues than with your kids.

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And so maybe that patterning
and that transmission

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is actually happening in the workplace.

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And we are participating in increasing
the energy of impatience.

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The energy of not-enough-ness.

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I'll come to that in a moment.

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And we are not transmitting what
we were learning about on the first day,

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which is the power of presence.
A quality of presence.

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So we may be looking in the wrong place
for our legacy.

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For our transmission,
our continuation.

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These are all great Buddhist words.

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The way we continue in the world,
what we transmit to people around us.

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And one reason why this is important,

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it comes back to something
to do with systems change

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and something we heard
from Brother Spirit yesterday.

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Which is that we can take actions
to mitigate the problems of our time.

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We can take actions to adapt
our economic systems and infrastructure.

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But ultimately,
that third pillar of transformation,

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transforming the system,

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are the humans who will be in that system.

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In 20 years, 50 years,
100 years, 150 years.

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How will those humans be responding
to the challenges of their time?

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We can't even anticipate
all the challenges.

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But what if we could establish
a way of being that we learn and train in,

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and cultivate, and that is
what we are transmitting?

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As the ultimate kind of toolkit,
life-kit, life support system

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for the generations to come

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so that they will know
how to breathe in a crisis.

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So they will know how to walk in such
a way that they can enjoy a forest.

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We may be so busy protecting forests

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that we're not able to transmit
to our children how to enjoy a forest

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and walk in freedom through a forest.

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In what I'm trying to share,
maybe, actually,

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what's more important is to help
the children know how to walk in freedom

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and enjoy a forest,
so that they can protect forests

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in 50 years or 100 years
or 150 years.

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Maybe, maybe, more important
than saving one tiny corner

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with one campaign now.

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It's something about ...
We hate using computer metaphors.

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But like the operating system
of collective consciousness.

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That is where we need to insert
our program of transformation.

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How we're processing, how we're running,
how we're creating and responding to life.

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That's where it's very important
to invest our time and energy.

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And that has something to do with ethics.

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I'd like to phone a friend
and ask Brother Phap Huu to help me.

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Sorry, Who Wants
To Be A Millionaire reference.

00:23:01.956 --> 00:23:04.223
It may come out of the blue there.

00:23:05.607 --> 00:23:08.807
Brother Phap Huu
will help me draw a little circle.

00:23:09.309 --> 00:23:11.293
[laughter]

00:23:21.632 --> 00:23:23.632
Thank you, brother, thank you.

00:23:26.015 --> 00:23:30.628
We are doing our best
to come back to our selves.

00:23:30.653 --> 00:23:33.869
Some of us have had the question:
What does this actually mean?

00:23:33.995 --> 00:23:40.140
It means to listen, for example,
what is most important to us.

00:23:41.720 --> 00:23:45.200
On that first day we were learning
about listening to our breathing

00:23:45.232 --> 00:23:49.072
and our body, and what
our breathing and body are telling us.

00:23:50.083 --> 00:23:52.692
SOS. I'm here.

00:23:52.722 --> 00:23:54.402
Please take care of me.

00:23:54.427 --> 00:23:58.075
You've completely forgotten
about me, your body. I'm here.

00:23:59.333 --> 00:24:01.800
Coming back to take care of our body.

00:24:02.292 --> 00:24:05.025
Coming back to take care of our feelings,

00:24:06.458 --> 00:24:08.992
including the most uncomfortable ones:

00:24:09.125 --> 00:24:12.033
Grief, anxiety, despair.

00:24:13.485 --> 00:24:14.925
Jealousy, craving.

00:24:16.542 --> 00:24:21.839
It's a 101 human life skill.
Can we handle these feelings?

00:24:24.989 --> 00:24:27.456
And then, can we generate well-being?

00:24:27.481 --> 00:24:31.273
Can we know what is
being most important to us?

00:24:31.298 --> 00:24:38.246
And we may, in the last couple of days,
have had some new insights already

00:24:38.309 --> 00:24:40.857
about what's important to us.

00:24:42.875 --> 00:24:46.023
And then we had the lines coming out.

00:24:50.165 --> 00:24:53.557
Brother Phap Huu thinks
I can draw some small circles.

00:24:58.500 --> 00:24:59.500
Almost.

00:25:00.375 --> 00:25:02.759
We are helping our loved ones.

00:25:03.489 --> 00:25:05.847
When we leave this retreat,

00:25:05.872 --> 00:25:09.811
we're not going out
to then fix the people we love.

00:25:09.836 --> 00:25:13.456
And tell them that they need to eat
in silence for five minutes with us,

00:25:13.647 --> 00:25:17.236
or sit in meditation with us
every morning,

00:25:17.414 --> 00:25:21.257
or walk with us.

00:25:22.010 --> 00:25:26.565
What we would like to do is
to help them listen to themselves.

00:25:27.288 --> 00:25:32.906
And with those practises of
deep listening that we've been learning,

00:25:33.192 --> 00:25:36.059
simply the way we show up
with our presence,

00:25:36.375 --> 00:25:39.565
will help our loved ones,
our colleagues,

00:25:39.867 --> 00:25:41.884
listen to themselves.

00:25:42.417 --> 00:25:45.454
We are a kind of witness,
a companion, a friend.

00:25:45.518 --> 00:25:48.950
We're showing up in such a way ...

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.

00:25:56.295 --> 00:26:01.208
Calm and able to hear
what's going on for them.

00:26:02.684 --> 00:26:05.851
Thay, our teacher, said ...

00:26:13.652 --> 00:26:18.476
We can then imagine that our family,

00:26:18.593 --> 00:26:22.950
it can also be our friendship network,

00:26:22.974 --> 00:26:25.374
it can be those people we live with.

00:26:25.420 --> 00:26:28.220
Our teacher described it as our home base.

00:26:28.245 --> 00:26:32.880
He called it the base or
the foundation of our operations.

00:26:33.210 --> 00:26:40.464
And this could even be your team at work
that you spend quite some time with.

00:26:41.583 --> 00:26:45.530
The wellness of this body,

00:26:46.117 --> 00:26:49.898
this collection of human beings,

00:26:50.886 --> 00:26:56.081
is the base of our operations
to then influence our society.

00:26:56.303 --> 00:26:59.644
And you can imagine:
Society is here somewhere.

00:27:03.082 --> 00:27:05.164
We've spoken a lot about collaboration.

00:27:05.268 --> 00:27:09.428
I know that's essential to all
the organisations represented here.

00:27:10.708 --> 00:27:14.228
The quality of collaboration,
we could even say harmony,

00:27:14.718 --> 00:27:21.612
will determine the quality
of our impact on the collective.

00:27:23.096 --> 00:27:27.960
So here, we have practises
of listening, and loving speech

00:27:28.627 --> 00:27:30.944
and conflict resolution.

00:27:33.167 --> 00:27:40.305
Also the practise at a collective level
of embracing pain and suffering.

00:27:41.623 --> 00:27:45.207
There can be pain and suffering
at the level of a family.

00:27:45.274 --> 00:27:49.769
When a family member is not well,
or dying, or passing away.

00:27:50.293 --> 00:27:56.480
There can be pain and suffering in a team
when a project falls through.

00:27:57.424 --> 00:28:00.392
Or when a project is undermined.

00:28:01.417 --> 00:28:08.192
Think of the challenge
of the ESG framework.

00:28:08.217 --> 00:28:12.031
That brings up a lot of emotions
in lots of people.

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.

00:28:19.896 --> 00:28:23.273
To share our despair, to share our grief,

00:28:23.360 --> 00:28:26.260
to help each other
handle the strong emotions

00:28:28.042 --> 00:28:33.793
in order to be able to arrive
at collective insight for a new way out.

00:28:34.952 --> 00:28:40.196
And, as been shared already, there's
no shortage of intelligence in this room.

00:28:40.902 --> 00:28:43.235
In our teams, in our organisations.

00:28:43.260 --> 00:28:46.466
And no shortage of good will,
of good intention.

00:28:59.167 --> 00:29:02.175
I spoke about what
we would like for the future,

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.

00:29:10.583 --> 00:29:13.847
We have the example
of being able to walk in freedom

00:29:13.872 --> 00:29:15.619
or enjoy a forest,

00:29:16.103 --> 00:29:19.904
or see an apple
for the miracle that an apple is.

00:29:20.797 --> 00:29:23.672
My deepest wish would be

00:29:23.697 --> 00:29:28.386
that people can enjoy
an apple deeply in 100 years' time

00:29:29.496 --> 00:29:32.027
and know it for the miracle it is.

00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:38.105
And for that I need to eat
an apple in that way now

00:29:39.168 --> 00:29:42.432
and share with others
how to eat an apple like that.

00:29:44.917 --> 00:29:49.990
When we speak about actions and projects,

00:29:50.299 --> 00:29:54.203
that are ethical projects
for more ethical business practises,

00:29:56.792 --> 00:30:01.031
that we want to happen
by others or in the future,

00:30:01.484 --> 00:30:04.367
in our way of operating as a team,

00:30:04.517 --> 00:30:06.784
to get those good social outcomes,

00:30:07.886 --> 00:30:10.652
the kind of values that
we're aiming for in our project

00:30:10.938 --> 00:30:14.906
need to be there in the way
that we're approaching the project.

00:30:15.375 --> 00:30:17.175
Inclusiveness, for example.

00:30:17.335 --> 00:30:18.335
Or equity.

00:30:18.792 --> 00:30:21.864
Do we have inclusiveness
and equity in our teams?

00:30:26.333 --> 00:30:29.791
Transparency,
accountability.

00:30:31.251 --> 00:30:36.408
Thay sometimes described this as
transforming our team or our organisation

00:30:36.599 --> 00:30:38.551
into a community.

00:30:38.958 --> 00:30:44.003
Into a community that is embodying
the values we want to see in the world.

00:30:44.833 --> 00:30:49.329
I'm sure you have wonderful
mission statements already.

00:30:49.575 --> 00:30:51.642
But as a kind of reality check,

00:30:51.763 --> 00:30:55.027
are the values in our organisation
in full alignment

00:30:55.055 --> 00:30:57.801
with the impact we're
trying to have in the world?

00:30:57.826 --> 00:31:01.432
The values of how we work together,
how we listen to each other,

00:31:01.583 --> 00:31:04.276
how we include each others' ideas.

00:31:06.575 --> 00:31:11.434
To ensure that as a team,
as an organisation,

00:31:11.459 --> 00:31:15.323
we are already embodying
the values we want to bring.

00:31:15.585 --> 00:31:22.601
and not falling into the trap
the kind of toxic systems of the world

00:31:22.626 --> 00:31:24.493
that we're trying to change.

00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:28.585
So how can our way of
working for change already resist

00:31:28.656 --> 00:31:33.073
some of the pernicious practises
out in the world?

00:31:35.740 --> 00:31:38.140
This relates even to things like ...

00:31:42.833 --> 00:31:44.246
Communications.

00:31:44.271 --> 00:31:47.407
I say this as someone
who used to be a journalist.

00:31:49.458 --> 00:31:52.507
Are we honest in our communications?

00:31:55.999 --> 00:32:03.297
Are we telling the whole truth about
the impact of our company on the world?

00:32:05.043 --> 00:32:10.142
And if we have that kind of integrity
of speech within our own company,

00:32:10.452 --> 00:32:16.111
then we can inspire other organisations
who are struggling much more

00:32:17.182 --> 00:32:21.690
to see that we really embody
these values of deep honesty.

00:32:29.250 --> 00:32:33.218
I want to speak about something
that Christiana mentioned to me

00:32:34.333 --> 00:32:37.448
a few days ago when I was asking:

00:32:37.536 --> 00:32:42.555
What is keeping this particular
constellation of people awake at night?

00:32:44.087 --> 00:32:47.773
Christiana was silent for a long time.

00:32:48.781 --> 00:32:52.712
And one of the threads
that Christiana offered

00:32:53.140 --> 00:32:57.950
was perhaps a feeling of deep frustration.

00:32:59.736 --> 00:33:01.669
That we are good people here.

00:33:02.003 --> 00:33:03.870
And you are doing good work.

00:33:03.899 --> 00:33:06.099
And you are even doing your best.

00:33:06.417 --> 00:33:10.531
But somehow, it's just
not moving the needle.

00:33:10.611 --> 00:33:14.707
It's just not having the kind of change
that we know is possible.

00:33:14.875 --> 00:33:20.599
And we can't quite get our head around
all the obstacles

00:33:20.653 --> 00:33:24.139
and why this is just so hard.

00:33:27.042 --> 00:33:30.562
So one thing that we as Buddhist
practitioners can offer

00:33:30.750 --> 00:33:33.871
to this feeling of frustration is:

00:33:35.497 --> 00:33:40.005
Be ready for indirect
consequences to your work.

00:33:40.667 --> 00:33:46.688
Maybe the success of that project,
campaign, initiative or partnership,

00:33:47.949 --> 00:33:52.857
maybe measuring the work
that you're doing on a daily basis

00:33:52.882 --> 00:33:56.674
by the outcome of that one project
is not the right place to look

00:33:56.714 --> 00:33:58.936
for your impact in the world.

00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.369
The fact that you are already
bringing a good intention

00:34:04.488 --> 00:34:07.869
to the way you live your own life,

00:34:09.208 --> 00:34:13.751
the fact that you are already
collaborating in our teams

00:34:14.125 --> 00:34:20.259
with generosity, inclusiveness,
presence, listening, values,

00:34:21.238 --> 00:34:26.329
that is already action
that is fully radiating into the world

00:34:26.354 --> 00:34:29.618
and into the people around you
at home, and at work.

00:34:30.375 --> 00:34:33.740
That is already saying:
It is worth trying.

00:34:34.986 --> 00:34:39.623
Your daily actions can already
be embodying the message:

00:34:39.964 --> 00:34:42.097
What we are doing now is not OK.

00:34:42.605 --> 00:34:45.613
And each one of us can do
our part to change it.

00:34:45.638 --> 00:34:49.542
That is a patterning, a legacy,
that we're leaving in society.

00:34:51.792 --> 00:34:54.327
And I'd like to invite
Brother Phap Huu again.

00:34:54.382 --> 00:35:00.523
We're gonna recall our circle
of the first day on seeds.

00:35:08.417 --> 00:35:10.217
Thank you so much, brother.

00:35:11.667 --> 00:35:15.083
We were understanding there's
this thing called store consciousness.

00:35:15.131 --> 00:35:16.559
[STORE C.]

00:35:16.819 --> 00:35:20.507
This is a model of our mind
and we have the seeds ...

00:35:21.208 --> 00:35:27.343
And all of us have all the seeds
in the depths of our consciousness.

00:35:29.654 --> 00:35:32.321
Our actions, every day,
the way we speak,

00:35:32.432 --> 00:35:37.113
the way we listen,
the way we walk,

00:35:37.350 --> 00:35:40.644
the ideals we give rise to,
the value,

00:35:40.825 --> 00:35:45.299
we are watering good seeds
in our consciousness.

00:35:45.521 --> 00:35:47.454
And Sister Hero also said,

00:35:47.561 --> 00:35:54.134
this is both collective and individual.

00:36:02.050 --> 00:36:05.280
In Buddhism we say that we trust --

00:36:05.304 --> 00:36:07.876
it's been all about trust this morning --

00:36:08.489 --> 00:36:13.140
that all seeds will ripen in time.

00:36:13.165 --> 00:36:15.780
In their own time.

00:36:16.434 --> 00:36:18.515
Some seeds ripen right away.

00:36:18.801 --> 00:36:20.706
Others need longer.

00:36:21.127 --> 00:36:25.785
We may now be in the process
of cultivating seeds

00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:29.456
that don't just take
one season around the sun to bloom

00:36:30.192 --> 00:36:37.142
not just 17 years like some cicadas
that, I think, have a 17-year lifecycle.

00:36:39.341 --> 00:36:44.013
Maybe there are some seeds that will
take more than a generation to ripen.

00:36:46.583 --> 00:36:51.021
What if now, the fact
that we can be here,

00:36:51.665 --> 00:36:56.144
is the ripening of seeds
from one generation ago?

00:36:57.684 --> 00:36:59.417
Maybe two generations ago?

00:37:01.416 --> 00:37:05.402
My grandfather was the first person in
my family to buy a book on meditation

00:37:05.442 --> 00:37:07.070
in the 1970s.

00:37:07.875 --> 00:37:11.696
I feel like I'm a ripening
across two generations.

00:37:11.958 --> 00:37:13.892
That even I just can be here.

00:37:14.417 --> 00:37:17.003
And my grandfather didn't,
in his whole life,

00:37:17.028 --> 00:37:19.361
have a chance to go on one retreat.

00:37:19.626 --> 00:37:22.159
It still wasn't available in his time.

00:37:22.208 --> 00:37:27.405
I think he started getting sick in 1991.

00:37:28.436 --> 00:37:30.250
Before the internet.

00:37:31.857 --> 00:37:36.017
He didn't know there were places
where he could go to learn meditation.

00:37:36.917 --> 00:37:40.117
The wonderful thing
about the ripening of seeds is:

00:37:40.337 --> 00:37:46.801
Our life now, our actions and careers
are already the ripening from the past.

00:37:47.467 --> 00:37:52.499
And we can trust that we may not see
all the fruits in our own lifetime.

00:37:52.619 --> 00:37:54.686
But the good seeds we water now

00:37:55.003 --> 00:37:57.203
will continue to ripen over time.

00:37:59.583 --> 00:38:01.103
So the question is:

00:38:01.792 --> 00:38:04.513
What seeds are we watering?

00:38:09.750 --> 00:38:13.053
When we were learning about mind,

00:38:13.109 --> 00:38:19.216
and Sister Hero explained

00:38:19.626 --> 00:38:22.977
that there's a part of our mind called 'manas'

00:38:23.223 --> 00:38:26.521
which is the grasping part of our mind.

00:38:26.617 --> 00:38:31.545
Which always wants
to take care of me and mine.

00:38:31.760 --> 00:38:35.132
Me and mine,
it's to have, to hold.

00:38:35.815 --> 00:38:37.569
To protect.

00:38:38.792 --> 00:38:40.490
To appropriate.

00:38:41.754 --> 00:38:42.754
To extract.

00:38:44.792 --> 00:38:46.925
And we had some characteristics,

00:38:46.950 --> 00:38:49.775
which I will just remind us of.

00:38:51.250 --> 00:38:52.757
Appropriating,

00:38:59.125 --> 00:39:00.680
surviving,

00:39:02.343 --> 00:39:04.077
survival instinct,

00:39:12.875 --> 00:39:14.343
avoiding pain,

00:39:18.167 --> 00:39:19.527
seeking pleasure,

00:39:35.375 --> 00:39:40.128
ignoring the danger of seeking pleasure,

00:39:49.583 --> 00:39:51.917
ignoring the goodness of suffering,

00:40:06.708 --> 00:40:10.319
and ignoring the law of moderation.

00:40:18.792 --> 00:40:23.265
This is a couple of thousand years'
worth of Buddhist insight --

00:40:23.583 --> 00:40:28.127
one and a half thousand years.
It came from a later phase of Buddhism --

00:40:29.792 --> 00:40:32.347
about how our mind works.

00:40:32.792 --> 00:40:38.748
And when we saw this on the board
the other day,

00:40:40.250 --> 00:40:44.090
I don't know how many of you saw
that this doesn't only apply

00:40:44.115 --> 00:40:46.422
only at the individual level.

00:40:47.575 --> 00:40:51.809
Is this not quite an accurate description

00:40:52.022 --> 00:40:57.456
of how humanity is living as a species

00:40:57.481 --> 00:40:59.093
on this Earth?

00:40:59.118 --> 00:41:01.118
We're appropriating the Earth.

00:41:01.501 --> 00:41:03.930
We're exploiting it.

00:41:05.112 --> 00:41:09.200
We think of our survival as being separate

00:41:09.231 --> 00:41:12.175
of the survival of other species
and the Earth.

00:41:15.133 --> 00:41:22.585
As a species, we like to avoid pain
and we definitely seek pleasure.

00:41:24.254 --> 00:41:27.619
And we ignore the danger
of seeking pleasure.

00:41:28.626 --> 00:41:31.293
And we ignore the goodness of suffering.

00:41:32.000 --> 00:41:36.761
So these ones, number 3 to 7,

00:41:38.054 --> 00:41:41.654
is our culture of consumerism.

00:41:44.208 --> 00:41:45.208
Right there.

00:41:46.890 --> 00:41:54.630
We consume because we can't bear
the feeling of pain inside.

00:41:54.813 --> 00:41:58.299
We consume to cover up our suffering.

00:42:01.823 --> 00:42:07.432
We think we need more things
because we think that we're not enough.

00:42:07.725 --> 00:42:09.295
What we have is not enough.

00:42:09.581 --> 00:42:16.434
And there's an economic system
that reminds us, that tells us

00:42:16.459 --> 00:42:19.225
that we don't have enough,
all the time.

00:42:34.750 --> 00:42:36.550
I was doing my anger check.

00:42:36.750 --> 00:42:38.683
I'm going to speak from love.

00:42:45.469 --> 00:42:49.532
[sound of the bell]

00:43:16.458 --> 00:43:18.658
I'm also going to tell the truth.

00:43:19.208 --> 00:43:21.327
In pursuit of profit,

00:43:22.142 --> 00:43:24.808
marketing departments all over the world

00:43:24.833 --> 00:43:27.100
tell us that we don't have enough.

00:43:29.750 --> 00:43:32.283
According to the insights of Buddhism,

00:43:32.308 --> 00:43:34.218
we do have enough.

00:43:34.457 --> 00:43:36.390
The present moment is enough.

00:43:36.833 --> 00:43:39.571
Each one of us is enough.

00:43:39.680 --> 00:43:42.580
Our presence,
the presence of our loved ones,

00:43:43.031 --> 00:43:45.631
to be able to walk deeply on the Earth,

00:43:45.682 --> 00:43:49.884
listen to the birds and trees,
is enough to be happy.

00:43:50.805 --> 00:43:54.021
We can live very simply and be happy.

00:43:55.000 --> 00:43:57.867
I've heard quite a few
of you say this week:

00:43:57.875 --> 00:44:01.928
It's been so powerful to touch
simplicity in these days.

00:44:02.000 --> 00:44:04.600
To not be needing
these devices so much.

00:44:04.625 --> 00:44:07.889
To not having to buy things online
while we're here.

00:44:08.405 --> 00:44:11.305
Our level of consumerism
has gone right down.

00:44:11.330 --> 00:44:14.466
And yet, our level of happiness
has gone right up.

00:44:15.008 --> 00:44:17.198
We are touching the truth

00:44:17.261 --> 00:44:20.589
that we have more
than enough conditions to be happy.

00:44:22.672 --> 00:44:27.905
Our teacher once said something,
I find it very deep,

00:44:27.929 --> 00:44:29.757
and quite brave.

00:44:30.417 --> 00:44:36.682
He said: It's because as a species
we don't know what true happiness is.

00:44:38.404 --> 00:44:41.137
That is why we are destroying our planet.

00:44:44.333 --> 00:44:45.613
It's quite deep.

00:44:45.721 --> 00:44:48.674
We don't know and haven't learned

00:44:48.699 --> 00:44:52.436
how to touch true happiness
in our daily life.

00:44:55.123 --> 00:44:58.619
We consume to cover up our pain.

00:44:58.644 --> 00:45:02.500
We're seeking pleasure
to cover up our pain

00:45:02.525 --> 00:45:06.173
because we don't know how
to find happiness in simplicity.

00:45:06.212 --> 00:45:07.777
So we consume.

00:45:08.251 --> 00:45:12.267
And that culture of consumerism
is destroying our planet.

00:45:19.333 --> 00:45:22.648
This means it's really important

00:45:22.719 --> 00:45:27.178
to be able to touch
the wonder of the present moment

00:45:27.250 --> 00:45:30.450
in order to touch happiness
in a really simple way.

00:45:30.958 --> 00:45:35.273
And it's really important
that each one of us

00:45:35.344 --> 00:45:37.944
learns how to handle a painful feeling.

00:45:38.348 --> 00:45:41.420
So that the first response
to our painful feeling

00:45:41.445 --> 00:45:43.055
is not consuming.

00:45:44.952 --> 00:45:49.337
Mindfulness can be our first response
to a painful feeling.

00:45:49.789 --> 00:45:54.144
Being present. Meeting our self,
this is us, coming back:

00:45:54.318 --> 00:45:56.521
The way out is in.

00:45:56.542 --> 00:46:00.646
Meeting our self and our painful feelings

00:46:00.750 --> 00:46:03.736
with tenderness, with kindness,

00:46:04.141 --> 00:46:06.725
with curiosity.

00:46:13.138 --> 00:46:17.369
In terms of ethics, it means that

00:46:19.188 --> 00:46:26.144
an ethical corporation is one
that is not participating

00:46:27.327 --> 00:46:31.051
in enhancing this mechanism.

00:46:36.392 --> 00:46:41.361
But is helping people realise
that we have enough.

00:46:42.167 --> 00:46:45.809
Helping people nourish true happiness.

00:46:46.549 --> 00:46:50.240
Helping people handle painful feelings.

00:46:51.667 --> 00:46:54.867
And we might say: Oh,
that's the role of education.

00:46:55.128 --> 00:46:56.995
That is the role of society.

00:46:57.028 --> 00:47:00.404
The role of ... something else.

00:47:00.958 --> 00:47:05.646
But if our corporations
are truly in the service

00:47:06.805 --> 00:47:08.805
of something more than profit,

00:47:08.917 --> 00:47:12.049
ideally in the service of humanity,

00:47:12.208 --> 00:47:15.108
and even bigger,
in the service of the planet,

00:47:15.160 --> 00:47:21.970
we would need to be aware of this
ethical dimension to our operations

00:47:22.001 --> 00:47:23.608
as an enterprise.

00:47:30.777 --> 00:47:33.771
It's also really interesting,

00:47:35.589 --> 00:47:40.380
we also have agency
and sovereignty as individuals

00:47:40.738 --> 00:47:45.244
to free ourselves from the systems
of our own creation.

00:47:46.379 --> 00:47:49.964
According to the insights of Buddhism,
we don't make the system,

00:47:50.139 --> 00:47:56.041
or other corporations, or some
culture of consumerism outside of us,

00:47:56.042 --> 00:47:57.722
responsible for this.

00:47:58.792 --> 00:48:04.265
With the energy of mindfulness,
we expand our zone of free will.

00:48:05.249 --> 00:48:08.095
We get to choose what to consume,

00:48:08.120 --> 00:48:09.333
how to live.

00:48:09.361 --> 00:48:12.871
We can set our self free
from these machines,

00:48:12.896 --> 00:48:16.490
systems, mechanisms
of our own creation.

00:48:18.292 --> 00:48:19.972
And that is why for us,

00:48:20.208 --> 00:48:25.017
mindfulness has to do
with awakening and freedom.

00:48:25.391 --> 00:48:27.524
It gives us so much more agency.

00:48:28.325 --> 00:48:31.365
When we can transform this for ourselves,

00:48:31.667 --> 00:48:38.101
because of this, the impact
we're having with our presence,

00:48:38.292 --> 00:48:40.625
we are forming it for our children.

00:48:40.650 --> 00:48:42.692
For our friends.

00:48:42.717 --> 00:48:45.073
I remember our teacher saying:

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

00:48:50.357 --> 00:48:54.128
how to generate
a moment of happiness.

00:48:55.042 --> 00:48:58.755
Because learning to generate
a moment of happiness

00:48:58.780 --> 00:49:02.044
has something to do
with handling a painful feeling.

00:49:02.069 --> 00:49:03.936
The two kind of go together.

00:49:03.961 --> 00:49:07.801
We need a moment of happiness
when we're feeling low or down.

00:49:09.382 --> 00:49:11.382
Or when we're feeling neutral.

00:49:11.500 --> 00:49:15.365
Numb.
A bit 'meh'.

00:49:17.333 --> 00:49:22.482
The skill of generating
a moment of happiness

00:49:22.625 --> 00:49:25.492
is one of the best skills
we can learn here.

00:49:25.750 --> 00:49:30.244
Because when we know how
to create a moment of happiness,

00:49:33.703 --> 00:49:37.206
we can create such a moment
for our family.

00:49:38.182 --> 00:49:41.638
We can create such a moment
for the teams we work with.

00:49:41.833 --> 00:49:44.167
Or for our organisation as a whole.

00:49:46.136 --> 00:49:50.303
It doesn't take much
to create a moment of happiness.

00:49:50.469 --> 00:49:56.690
Thay even said we can create
a moment of happiness

00:49:57.583 --> 00:50:00.190
whenever we want.

00:50:01.579 --> 00:50:02.939
It's a tough one.

00:50:02.964 --> 00:50:05.067
But I'm working on it.

00:50:05.329 --> 00:50:09.192
It is possible to really
ask myself this question.

00:50:10.851 --> 00:50:13.651
If I'm feeling neutral,
if I'm feeling low,

00:50:13.682 --> 00:50:16.896
if I'm feeling not happy, not well,

00:50:17.929 --> 00:50:21.051
I ask myself:
What can I do in this moment?

00:50:22.035 --> 00:50:26.195
On this retreat we've been learning
many ways that we can do that.

00:50:26.916 --> 00:50:32.198
Relaxing the body when the discomfort
we find is a physical discomfort.

00:50:32.223 --> 00:50:34.738
Anxiety, restlessness, tension.

00:50:35.039 --> 00:50:37.906
That's when we can
practise deep relaxation.

00:50:38.333 --> 00:50:41.789
And on our app there are lots of
recordings you can use

00:50:41.814 --> 00:50:44.014
as you go home from this retreat.

00:50:45.464 --> 00:50:49.123
Sharing a meal with friends.
In person.

00:50:49.271 --> 00:50:53.678
Not eating alone is a source
of joy and happiness.

00:50:54.125 --> 00:50:59.029
But also, learning,
when we're eating alone,

00:50:59.474 --> 00:51:01.407
to not feel that we're alone.

00:51:01.704 --> 00:51:05.672
But to really see the whole planet
and cosmos and Mother Earth,

00:51:06.167 --> 00:51:12.277
the miracle of life, in our sandwich,
in our lunchbox, in our food.

00:51:12.317 --> 00:51:16.293
And to say: I will use my eye of insight

00:51:16.375 --> 00:51:21.343
that even in this moment,
a part of me feels so alone to eat alone.

00:51:21.763 --> 00:51:24.363
But I know that is not the whole truth.

00:51:24.547 --> 00:51:28.698
I know that the whole cosmos
is supporting my lunch.

00:51:28.975 --> 00:51:32.055
The whole cosmos
is supporting my apple.

00:51:32.826 --> 00:51:37.321
And using the eye of insight,
we can flip a moment of loneliness

00:51:37.393 --> 00:51:42.577
into a moment of happiness and connection
with the whole planet, the whole cosmos.

00:51:51.750 --> 00:51:55.142
So when we speak about
what seeds we've been watering,

00:52:02.917 --> 00:52:07.269
the name of these seeds, for those,
who have missed the presentation,

00:52:07.557 --> 00:52:11.374
it could be fear. It could be anxiety.

00:52:11.708 --> 00:52:13.308
It could be despair.

00:52:13.465 --> 00:52:15.532
But it also could be happiness.

00:52:15.833 --> 00:52:18.357
Gratitude, mindfulness.

00:52:23.148 --> 00:52:24.480
Generosity.

00:52:27.174 --> 00:52:31.168
A question for all of us is:

00:52:31.549 --> 00:52:35.470
What seeds are we watering
in our daily life?

00:52:36.010 --> 00:52:39.594
And what has that got to do
with transforming the system,

00:52:39.619 --> 00:52:41.638
transforming our society?

00:52:43.513 --> 00:52:45.380
Many of us, on this retreat,

00:52:45.427 --> 00:52:50.587
we've had a feeling of fear,
or anger, or panic,

00:52:54.766 --> 00:52:57.481
things aren't moving fast enough.

00:52:58.148 --> 00:53:01.132
Scale and speed!

00:53:06.838 --> 00:53:10.248
These may be seeds in our organisation.

00:53:10.273 --> 00:53:13.985
The collective consciousness
of our organisation and teams.

00:53:14.042 --> 00:53:16.204
Maybe it can be a really good exercise.

00:53:16.243 --> 00:53:17.923
How are we all feeling?

00:53:17.948 --> 00:53:20.148
Could you go home with your teams

00:53:20.173 --> 00:53:24.992
and have a whiteboard and
name the compost, name the mud?

00:53:26.418 --> 00:53:28.785
Maybe everyone has to write it
privately on a post-it note

00:53:28.810 --> 00:53:30.285
and then you collect it up.

00:53:30.310 --> 00:53:35.920
Maybe you need an equal number
of positive ones to negative ones.

00:53:36.777 --> 00:53:39.492
What seeds are we watering?

00:53:44.376 --> 00:53:48.325
I'm going to write
'culture of consumerism' here.

00:53:48.968 --> 00:53:53.769
[CULTURE OF CONSUMERISM]

00:53:55.875 --> 00:54:01.023
Maybe our culture of consumerism
is watering the seed of craving in us.

00:54:01.618 --> 00:54:03.138
So one question is:

00:54:03.833 --> 00:54:09.059
When we talk about having free will
to live differently on our planet,

00:54:09.250 --> 00:54:11.694
how can we guard our mind

00:54:13.472 --> 00:54:19.029
from the collective consciousness
watering our seed of craving all the time?

00:54:19.125 --> 00:54:23.541
Every time we see an advertisement,
it's watering the seed of craving.

00:54:24.125 --> 00:54:27.261
"If you have this product,
you will feel happier."

00:54:27.406 --> 00:54:32.112
"If you have this product,
you will be cool and acceptable."

00:54:32.917 --> 00:54:34.597
"You will have status."

00:54:35.167 --> 00:54:39.234
"Having this product is
a mark of power or influence."

00:54:40.075 --> 00:54:43.147
These seeds are being
watered in us all the time.

00:54:43.962 --> 00:54:47.017
The power of mindfulness is
that it gives us the freedom

00:54:47.081 --> 00:54:48.761
to choose to be different

00:54:48.786 --> 00:54:52.972
and to operate outside
of this culture of consumerism.

00:54:59.795 --> 00:55:03.257
In Buddhism we speak about fuel.

00:55:04.678 --> 00:55:07.115
What is driving us?

00:55:07.353 --> 00:55:10.902
Our deepest intention or volition.

00:55:11.640 --> 00:55:15.416
We can also speak about that
as a seed in our consciousness.

00:55:15.958 --> 00:55:19.692
For example ...
Some of us might have been this:

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.

00:55:25.917 --> 00:55:30.351
That is a volition and intention
that we set at a certain point

00:55:30.557 --> 00:55:32.327
and it drives us.

00:55:33.833 --> 00:55:40.416
We may have a volition and intention
to get a certain amount of money,

00:55:41.511 --> 00:55:45.402
a certain paygrade,
maybe a certain status.

00:55:47.768 --> 00:55:51.715
In Buddhism we have
a practise of deep inquiry

00:55:51.740 --> 00:55:54.664
around what our volitions are.

00:55:54.688 --> 00:55:56.688
It's kind of a technical term.

00:55:57.158 --> 00:55:58.825
Volition.

00:56:02.802 --> 00:56:04.669
What is our deepest concern?

00:56:06.417 --> 00:56:10.656
Actually, according to
the wise ones in Buddhism,

00:56:11.101 --> 00:56:18.224
Money, status, power,
and even, kind of, sensual pleasures,

00:56:18.648 --> 00:56:20.088
they don't cut it.

00:56:20.113 --> 00:56:24.511
It might be what you crave
or think you crave,

00:56:24.769 --> 00:56:28.571
or society tells you you should crave,

00:56:29.467 --> 00:56:32.539
but it might not be
what's most important to you.

00:56:32.599 --> 00:56:34.773
What you really want.

00:56:35.313 --> 00:56:39.273
What you really want to offer.

00:56:39.829 --> 00:56:42.696
And I have the feeling
that for many of you,

00:56:42.750 --> 00:56:46.194
one of the flavours of your volition
is you want to be of service.

00:56:46.368 --> 00:56:52.345
Of service to society,
to support inclusiveness,

00:56:52.376 --> 00:56:54.437
non-discrimination,

00:56:54.462 --> 00:56:57.178
for your life to help people
fall in love with the Earth,

00:56:57.203 --> 00:56:58.640
and protect the planet.

00:56:58.700 --> 00:57:02.055
To have a more equitable
economic system.

00:57:02.095 --> 00:57:05.100
That is a fantastic volition.

00:57:05.180 --> 00:57:10.357
We say that our volition is like a fire
in our, kind of, belly.

00:57:10.382 --> 00:57:13.582
And we have to feed it
and keep it alive every day.

00:57:15.375 --> 00:57:18.895
And we have to really know
what is most important to us.

00:57:18.920 --> 00:57:25.119
And maybe the How of how
we're doing our deepest dreams --

00:57:25.144 --> 00:57:28.472
sometimes we also call volition
our deepest desire --

00:57:31.753 --> 00:57:33.947
[DEEPEST DESIRE]

00:57:36.317 --> 00:57:40.678
The How of realising
is as important as the What.

00:57:40.861 --> 00:57:44.484
If we sacrifice our friends
and family and health

00:57:44.896 --> 00:57:47.296
in order to take care of the planet,

00:57:49.958 --> 00:57:52.692
maybe we haven't taken care of the planet

00:57:52.875 --> 00:57:55.775
in the way that future
generations need us to.

00:57:56.083 --> 00:57:58.983
Maybe that isn't the way
to be a good ancestor

00:57:59.008 --> 00:58:01.748
for the future of the planet,
because we're patterning in

00:58:01.922 --> 00:58:05.826
not taking care of our health,
sacrificing friends and family,

00:58:05.851 --> 00:58:08.251
we're patterning that in to society.

00:58:13.951 --> 00:58:17.791
A really deep insight that Thay had
about volition and desire

00:58:18.071 --> 00:58:24.251
is that it is a way to transform manas.

00:58:24.276 --> 00:58:27.513
He used a technical term:
We sublimate manas

00:58:27.583 --> 00:58:32.996
in the service of our good intention,
our deepest desire.

00:58:33.083 --> 00:58:37.486
He had the image that manas
had kind of appropriated --

00:58:39.216 --> 00:58:41.599
if you remember
this energy of appropriating --

00:58:41.917 --> 00:58:45.309
a part of store consciousness
in saying: "This is me."

00:58:45.563 --> 00:58:47.083
"This is me, here."

00:58:48.417 --> 00:58:51.017
And he said that we can transform manas

00:58:51.042 --> 00:58:52.457
into a lotus.

00:58:53.357 --> 00:58:57.470
And that it can be a lotus
of serving society,

00:58:57.644 --> 00:58:59.858
serving the world.

00:59:00.218 --> 00:59:03.107
And we take our survival instinct,

00:59:03.132 --> 00:59:06.524
which Sister Hero described
as the energy of vitality.

00:59:08.750 --> 00:59:10.551
We have a life force

00:59:11.952 --> 00:59:14.085
that becomes our deepest desire.

00:59:14.542 --> 00:59:17.898
That, then, is self-reinforcing.

00:59:18.565 --> 00:59:22.003
We take care of our pain.

00:59:22.083 --> 00:59:25.091
We take care of generating
moments of happiness.

00:59:25.174 --> 00:59:28.438
We understand the goodness
of embracing the compost.

00:59:28.501 --> 00:59:31.401
We understand that
we don't want to waste time

00:59:31.432 --> 00:59:33.763
on streaming and screens.

00:59:34.458 --> 00:59:36.792
We understand the law of moderation

00:59:36.817 --> 00:59:39.182
because we have got something
much more important to do

00:59:39.207 --> 00:59:41.274
with our waking days and hours.

00:59:47.136 --> 00:59:51.843
I would like to read a part of ...

00:59:52.057 --> 00:59:54.724
We have an ethical code in Plum Village.

00:59:55.012 --> 01:00:00.267
We will now go into the applied ethics
part of everything I've been saying.

01:00:00.878 --> 01:00:04.904
We have a particular ethical principle

01:00:18.233 --> 01:00:21.689
which we can describe as
having the right kind of fuel.

01:00:25.067 --> 01:00:27.192
[RIGHT FUEL]

01:00:29.583 --> 01:00:31.263
And this is what it says:

01:00:32.083 --> 01:00:36.541
Aware of the suffering
caused by unmindful consumption,

01:00:37.184 --> 01:00:40.317
I'm committed to cultivating good health,

01:00:40.500 --> 01:00:42.180
both physical and mental,

01:00:42.396 --> 01:00:47.609
for myself, my family and my society

01:00:48.276 --> 01:00:52.279
by practising mindful eating,
drinking and consuming.

01:00:52.946 --> 01:00:57.442
Consuming edible foods,
sensory impressions,

01:00:57.743 --> 01:01:01.327
consuming volition -- because
we say it's a kind of food,

01:01:01.352 --> 01:01:05.551
it gets us out of bed
in the morning, just like the coffee.

01:01:05.833 --> 01:01:09.039
And consuming consciousness.

01:01:09.064 --> 01:01:14.120
What's really interesting in Buddhism
is that we say we consume our environment.

01:01:14.145 --> 01:01:16.612
The consciousness of our environment.

01:01:16.636 --> 01:01:20.668
That's why, if our team is struggling
and having a lot of fear and anxiety,

01:01:20.693 --> 01:01:23.327
we will feel fear and anxiety.

01:01:23.772 --> 01:01:27.356
If there is a lot of despair
and loneliness in the world,

01:01:28.125 --> 01:01:31.389
say after the pandemic,
if we say that it increased,

01:01:31.417 --> 01:01:33.950
as some of the research seems to show.

01:01:33.975 --> 01:01:38.027
That collective consciousness is going
to affect our individual consciousness.

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

01:01:40.480 --> 01:01:42.409
but the pain of our society.

01:01:42.472 --> 01:01:46.287
It's as though we're eating
collective consciousness.

01:01:48.012 --> 01:01:51.591
Here's another line from
this principle of right fuel.

01:01:51.875 --> 01:01:55.011
I am determined --
so, aware of the suffering

01:01:55.083 --> 01:01:56.966
caused by unmindful consumption --

01:01:57.180 --> 01:02:01.273
I am determined not to try
to cover up loneliness,

01:02:01.298 --> 01:02:05.930
anxiety, or other suffering,
by losing myself in consumption

01:02:06.250 --> 01:02:08.438
I will contemplate interbeing

01:02:08.501 --> 01:02:11.811
and consume in a way
that preserves peace,

01:02:11.900 --> 01:02:15.876
joy and wellbeing in my body
and consciousness

01:02:16.164 --> 01:02:19.613
and in the collective
body and consciousness

01:02:19.756 --> 01:02:23.914
of my family, my society, and the Earth.

01:02:25.875 --> 01:02:29.940
When we speak
about individual transformation

01:02:30.170 --> 01:02:32.313
and systems transformation,

01:02:32.479 --> 01:02:34.869
our systems are an expression

01:02:34.916 --> 01:02:38.289
of individuals, of humanity.

01:02:40.369 --> 01:02:42.896
When we transform
our own way of consuming,

01:02:42.921 --> 01:02:48.674
we have the right to ask
of the organisations we're in

01:02:49.480 --> 01:02:53.242
as a business: Are we helping people

01:02:53.333 --> 01:02:57.746
consume in a way that preserves
peace, joy, and wellbeing?

01:02:59.042 --> 01:03:01.308
These ethics start with ourselves,

01:03:01.333 --> 01:03:03.942
but apply to our livelihoods, too.

01:03:07.605 --> 01:03:09.843
We have another ethical principle.

01:03:09.875 --> 01:03:11.555
It's about simplicity.

01:03:11.581 --> 01:03:13.986
We could call it Deep Simplicity.

01:03:15.541 --> 01:03:18.081
[DEEP SIMPLICITY]

01:03:22.667 --> 01:03:29.047
The last few days, we've touched
simplicity in so many ways.

01:03:29.384 --> 01:03:31.575
We've done all sorts of normal things.

01:03:31.600 --> 01:03:33.899
I hope you noticed everything
we did is quite normal.

01:03:33.924 --> 01:03:35.683
We walked. We ate.

01:03:35.708 --> 01:03:37.388
We had conversations.

01:03:37.413 --> 01:03:41.750
We listened to presentations.

01:03:41.775 --> 01:03:44.190
We sat. We laid down.

01:03:45.268 --> 01:03:48.767
But we did it in a way
that was restful and healing.

01:03:49.641 --> 01:03:52.121
One question coming away
from this retreat is:

01:03:52.152 --> 01:03:57.456
How can I have more of this restful
simplicity in my daily life?

01:03:58.496 --> 01:04:01.585
If we have the advantage
of working from home,

01:04:02.143 --> 01:04:04.865
maybe you, after having lunch,

01:04:04.889 --> 01:04:09.497
you can follow a ten or twenty minute
relaxation on the Plum Village app.

01:04:09.542 --> 01:04:12.142
That's a great joy
of working from home.

01:04:12.250 --> 01:04:16.400
In the newsroom, I had
to use the toilet cubicle

01:04:16.425 --> 01:04:19.615
for my body scan relaxations.

01:04:19.640 --> 01:04:22.949
Luckily, the toilets were very fancy.

01:04:25.635 --> 01:04:28.492
That's where I did my deep relaxation

01:04:28.611 --> 01:04:29.978
in moments of crisis.

01:04:30.003 --> 01:04:35.503
This is another thing: Relaxation
can be applied in moments of real panic.

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.

01:04:43.182 --> 01:04:45.529
And we broadcast at 2 pm.

01:04:45.855 --> 01:04:49.529
My boss just said:
"Find a replacement!"

01:04:50.324 --> 01:04:51.805
And I was like ... 
(gulps).

01:04:51.917 --> 01:04:54.351
I realised I wasn't breathing
and thought: I know what to do.

01:04:54.557 --> 01:04:59.660
So I went to sit on the toilet
and do my deep relaxation.

01:05:01.684 --> 01:05:05.660
And it's amazing because the mind
that exited that body scan

01:05:05.685 --> 01:05:09.404
after 10 or 15 minutes
was so much clearer and calmer.

01:05:09.833 --> 01:05:13.033
It had so much more resources
to solve the problem.

01:05:13.444 --> 01:05:15.690
So, deep relaxation

01:05:15.788 --> 01:05:17.660
a bit of a tip here.

01:05:17.851 --> 01:05:20.251
You can use it in moments of crisis.

01:05:22.662 --> 01:05:27.218
So: Deep Simplicity.
We've had rest and deep relaxation.

01:05:27.694 --> 01:05:29.708
We've also had time in nature.

01:05:32.477 --> 01:05:36.192
It's very important to spend time
in the world we want to save.

01:05:36.274 --> 01:05:40.017
That's what we want to transmit
to future generations.

01:05:40.042 --> 01:05:43.632
A love and an intimacy
with the world we want to protect.

01:05:44.363 --> 01:05:46.908
So, coming back home from this retreat,

01:05:47.003 --> 01:05:48.695
how will you make sure --

01:05:48.720 --> 01:05:52.059
maybe it needs to be
a scheduled item in your calendar

01:05:52.390 --> 01:05:54.121
called: Time in nature.

01:05:54.660 --> 01:05:57.049
Whether it is one tree
near your office,

01:05:57.074 --> 01:06:00.680
this one park,
one corner of garden.

01:06:01.355 --> 01:06:03.648
The plants on your window sill.

01:06:03.673 --> 01:06:07.173
And you sit and enjoy being
with the plants while having a cup of tea.

01:06:07.402 --> 01:06:11.728
How will you spend time,
in silence, with nature,

01:06:12.546 --> 01:06:15.295
and enjoy that simple happiness

01:06:15.852 --> 01:06:18.996
that feeling of enough-ness.

01:06:21.631 --> 01:06:23.914
Another element of this retreat

01:06:23.939 --> 01:06:26.263
that has made the simplicity so delicious

01:06:26.347 --> 01:06:29.910
has been that we've enjoyed
this retreat in person.

01:06:29.958 --> 01:06:31.670
With other people.

01:06:31.827 --> 01:06:34.486
We are social beings.

01:06:34.986 --> 01:06:39.073
How, as teams, with family, with friends,

01:06:39.133 --> 01:06:42.653
can we make an effort,
or organise our life differently,

01:06:43.493 --> 01:06:48.478
so that we truly have
in-person quality time together?

01:06:49.000 --> 01:06:51.293
I would say that is an ethical principle.

01:06:52.057 --> 01:06:53.684
To show up.

01:06:54.407 --> 01:06:58.029
In Buddhism,
community is so important.

01:06:58.371 --> 01:07:00.626
One of our principles
of being in community

01:07:00.667 --> 01:07:02.533
is to gather under one roof.

01:07:03.614 --> 01:07:06.514
So we have to gather
in person, in real life,

01:07:06.543 --> 01:07:08.810
under one roof,
with those we love.

01:07:09.472 --> 01:07:11.692
This life is very short.

01:07:12.232 --> 01:07:13.950
Life is very short.

01:07:14.650 --> 01:07:19.420
It is truly nourishing and fulfilling
to be with people we care about.

01:07:23.158 --> 01:07:25.674
I spoke about enough-ness.

01:07:29.557 --> 01:07:32.470
In Buddhism, we say:

01:07:33.128 --> 01:07:36.345
this is partly because of something
I said at the beginning

01:07:36.417 --> 01:07:39.855
about the present moment
containing the past and the future,

01:07:40.672 --> 01:07:42.636
that is why we can say

01:07:42.809 --> 01:07:46.714
that this moment is enough.

01:07:47.999 --> 01:07:50.055
It is enough.

01:07:52.032 --> 01:07:56.432
In this moment,
each one of us is enough.

01:07:57.006 --> 01:07:58.529
I am enough.

01:07:59.122 --> 01:08:00.765
You are enough.

01:08:05.813 --> 01:08:09.027
As Brother Spirit shared,
there was that line:

01:08:09.441 --> 01:08:12.535
You already are
what you want to become.

01:08:13.870 --> 01:08:17.386
This insight belongs
to the ultimate dimension.

01:08:19.585 --> 01:08:22.021
The insight of enough-ness.

01:08:24.272 --> 01:08:27.994
In our daily life,
each one of us

01:08:28.398 --> 01:08:32.432
needs to find a way
to kind of cycle into

01:08:32.829 --> 01:08:36.347
that beautiful ultimate dimension
and spend some time

01:08:37.025 --> 01:08:39.044
in a moment of enough-ness.

01:08:40.327 --> 01:08:44.359
Maybe five minutes in the morning,
while you enjoy a cup of tea.

01:08:45.758 --> 01:08:52.009
It may be the ten minutes of relaxation
after a really difficult work morning.

01:08:53.312 --> 01:08:56.384
It might be sitting down
for a meal with family and friends

01:08:56.409 --> 01:08:58.876
and just saying silently to yourself:

01:08:59.054 --> 01:09:00.886
This is enough.

01:09:01.188 --> 01:09:03.021
This IS enough.

01:09:03.556 --> 01:09:05.210
We are enough.

01:09:06.234 --> 01:09:10.603
And that sense of
living in the present moment

01:09:10.667 --> 01:09:13.675
is ultimately the only moment
that is available.

01:09:14.256 --> 01:09:17.567
It's a truism, but it's still so true!

01:09:18.860 --> 01:09:21.716
That future is not there
and will never be there.

01:09:21.741 --> 01:09:24.208
There will only be present moments.

01:09:24.295 --> 01:09:26.650
And if we can't enjoy
this present moment,

01:09:26.675 --> 01:09:30.416
how will future generations ever know
how to enjoy a present moment?

01:09:31.736 --> 01:09:35.549
So we cycle in to
this insight of enough-ness.

01:09:35.732 --> 01:09:38.101
This is enough.
I am enough.

01:09:38.126 --> 01:09:40.432
And we make it a training
and a practise.

01:09:40.457 --> 01:09:42.686
In Buddhism we speak about koans.

01:09:42.980 --> 01:09:44.525
Write it on a piece of paper.

01:09:44.625 --> 01:09:47.450
Maybe Brother Phap Huu
can do some calligraphies.

01:09:47.855 --> 01:09:52.448
Put it somewhere where you might
like to sit and enjoy a cup of tea.

01:09:52.567 --> 01:09:57.325
And you breathe and touch
that insight that you are enough.

01:09:57.557 --> 01:10:00.938
Because if we spend 24 hours a day

01:10:01.319 --> 01:10:03.319
feeling that we're not enough.

01:10:03.527 --> 01:10:06.297
We are corroding our humanity

01:10:06.322 --> 01:10:09.330
and corroding our access
to the wonders of life.

01:10:10.456 --> 01:10:12.676
It's a real training.

01:10:13.470 --> 01:10:17.958
There was something
a journalist once asked our teacher.

01:10:17.958 --> 01:10:23.910
"Are you an optimist or a pessimist
when it comes to environmental issues?

01:10:24.681 --> 01:10:27.918
It was a journalist from
The Independent in the UK.

01:10:28.902 --> 01:10:34.355
And I thought:
How will Thay handle this?

01:10:35.307 --> 01:10:39.240
Thay was very tired
during the whole interview.

01:10:39.526 --> 01:10:43.110
Thay was quiet for a very long time
and suddenly he went:

01:10:43.345 --> 01:10:45.365
An optimist!

01:10:46.105 --> 01:10:49.406
And I thought: 
OK! What is he going to say now?

01:10:50.780 --> 01:10:52.319
And he said:

01:10:56.265 --> 01:11:02.382
We can be at peace because
we know we've done our best.

01:11:03.771 --> 01:11:07.841
We are doing our best
and we know we have done our best.

01:11:09.137 --> 01:11:11.216
In his optimism

01:11:11.375 --> 01:11:16.494
was also the seed of trust
in the ripening of his seeds.

01:11:17.994 --> 01:11:21.539
We do our best and that is
why we can have peace.

01:11:21.564 --> 01:11:24.494
And that is why you can guard for yourself

01:11:24.519 --> 01:11:27.720
five minutes of saying
"I am enough."

01:11:27.944 --> 01:11:30.976
"We are enough."
"My team is enough."

01:11:31.095 --> 01:11:33.242
"My organisation is enough."

01:11:33.495 --> 01:11:35.821
Because we are doing our best.

01:11:36.257 --> 01:11:38.511
And that is why we can have peace.

01:11:38.992 --> 01:11:40.856
And at the same time,

01:11:41.525 --> 01:11:43.978
we can cycle out of the ultimate

01:11:44.494 --> 01:11:47.835
and always challenge ourselves:
"Am I doing my best?"

01:11:48.180 --> 01:11:50.847
And our friends can also challenge us.

01:11:51.685 --> 01:11:54.160
So we spend time in the ultimate.

01:11:54.185 --> 01:11:56.454
It's very nice, every day, a few minutes.

01:11:57.071 --> 01:12:00.079
And we come back out
and really keep challenging

01:12:00.147 --> 01:12:02.269
in that pragmatic, historical realm

01:12:03.095 --> 01:12:04.410
"What else could we do?"

01:12:04.435 --> 01:12:07.162
But not with a feeling of scarcity,

01:12:07.187 --> 01:12:09.148
but one of possibility.

01:12:09.211 --> 01:12:11.013
What else could we do?

01:12:16.206 --> 01:12:17.968
And we can ask ourselves:

01:12:18.333 --> 01:12:21.311
Are we asking the right questions?

01:12:21.375 --> 01:12:23.980
about our culture of consumerism?

01:12:24.123 --> 01:12:29.166
Are we asking the right questions
about economic systems?

01:12:30.541 --> 01:12:32.143
That is quite a challenge.

01:12:32.303 --> 01:12:34.242
And I think in the B Team
as an organisation,

01:12:34.267 --> 01:12:36.599
this is something you're concerned with.

01:12:36.676 --> 01:12:40.263
I think, with Global Optimism,
this is what you're concerned with.

01:12:40.312 --> 01:12:43.027
Are we asking the right questions
of the problem?

01:12:43.075 --> 01:12:45.236
Have we defined the problem?

01:12:46.465 --> 01:12:49.688
If we want to challenge or transform

01:12:50.550 --> 01:12:55.819
our individualistic,
consumerist, capitalist culture,

01:12:56.086 --> 01:13:00.184
we can ask questions I heard this morning:
Is there enough love in it?

01:13:01.294 --> 01:13:03.521
What is the role of love there?

01:13:03.625 --> 01:13:07.593
Is there love in our organisations?
Is there love in our teams?

01:13:07.668 --> 01:13:10.625
How can we bring compassion into this?

01:13:11.617 --> 01:13:15.043
How can we question things
that we're not yet questioning?

01:13:17.210 --> 01:13:21.904
In this principle
of Deep Simplicity, we say:

01:13:22.461 --> 01:13:28.140
Aware of the suffering caused
by exploitation, social injustice,

01:13:28.307 --> 01:13:30.807
stealing and oppression,

01:13:47.111 --> 01:13:51.259
Aware of the suffering caused
by exploitation, social injustice,

01:13:51.283 --> 01:13:53.203
stealing and oppression,

01:13:53.228 --> 01:13:56.701
i am committed to practising generosity

01:13:56.947 --> 01:14:00.539
in my thinking, speaking and acting.

01:14:01.192 --> 01:14:03.732
I am determined not to steal

01:14:03.928 --> 01:14:08.200
and not to possess anything
that should belong to others.

01:14:08.829 --> 01:14:10.583
And I will share my time,

01:14:10.875 --> 01:14:14.075
energy and material resources

01:14:14.319 --> 01:14:16.289
with those who are in need.

01:14:17.385 --> 01:14:19.984
There's a bit more,
and then another line is:

01:14:20.126 --> 01:14:23.055
I am committed to practising
Right Livelihood.

01:14:23.666 --> 01:14:27.324
so that I can help reduce the suffering
of living beings on Earth

01:14:28.069 --> 01:14:31.087
and stop contributing to climate change.

01:14:33.309 --> 01:14:37.380
This second ethical principle,
we can practise and embody

01:14:37.581 --> 01:14:42.569
as an individual, but we can also
apply it at an organisational level.

01:14:46.368 --> 01:14:49.781
I was very happy to discover
that the B Team

01:14:49.934 --> 01:14:53.257
has some responsible tax principles.

01:14:53.924 --> 01:14:57.470
I don't know if there's anyone here
who's involved in that particular project.

01:14:57.517 --> 01:14:59.509
OK! Thank you so much!

01:14:59.730 --> 01:15:05.353
So, it's a wonderful way of
applying this ethical principle

01:15:05.448 --> 01:15:07.289
to organisations.

01:15:07.391 --> 01:15:11.908
How can organisations be transparent
and have transparent tax practises?

01:15:12.051 --> 01:15:15.517
That it's not all about
avoiding and obfuscating

01:15:15.667 --> 01:15:20.208
and calibrating, 
but there's genuine ethical integrity

01:15:20.250 --> 01:15:24.858
at the organisational level about the need
to contribute back to society.

01:15:25.479 --> 01:15:30.657
This is applying the line
"I'm determined not to steal

01:15:30.682 --> 01:15:34.214
and not to possess anything
that should belong to others."

01:15:34.254 --> 01:15:39.140
We can say that the principle of taxation
applied by a democratic system

01:15:40.506 --> 01:15:43.180
is about equity. It's about inclusion.

01:15:43.205 --> 01:15:46.539
We can't say that that profit
belongs only to that company.

01:15:47.460 --> 01:15:51.658
Just like the whole cosmos
is in the flower, or the apple,

01:15:51.667 --> 01:15:54.000
the whole cosmos is in that profit.

01:15:54.053 --> 01:15:58.305
So we share back that profit
with the spirit of reciprocity.

01:15:59.876 --> 01:16:03.934
We could also apply
that principle of reciprocity maybe to

01:16:05.023 --> 01:16:07.741
I'm just going to throw out some ideas,
they may be controversial,

01:16:07.773 --> 01:16:10.148
but I'll be brave,

01:16:10.476 --> 01:16:13.404
salary ratios in organisations.

01:16:13.508 --> 01:16:16.551
Between the top of the organisation
and the bottom.

01:16:16.655 --> 01:16:19.321
Maybe there can be
some ethical principles.

01:16:19.353 --> 01:16:21.797
We're taking the work on the tax framework

01:16:21.874 --> 01:16:25.404
Can we also have another
ethical framework about salaries?

01:16:26.597 --> 01:16:29.111
And with this ethical principle --

01:16:29.136 --> 01:16:33.716
I will hand you all out
a copy of this sheet, don't worry.

01:16:33.855 --> 01:16:36.743
With this ethical principle, we can say

01:16:36.825 --> 01:16:40.672
that fossil fuel subsidies
are not ethically OK.

01:16:41.817 --> 01:16:44.954
It is a simple moral truth.

01:16:46.008 --> 01:16:48.986
This gives us the language
to describe that.

01:16:49.440 --> 01:16:53.543
It is not possible to use shared resources

01:16:53.987 --> 01:16:57.067
to subsidise something
that is destroying the planet.

01:16:57.417 --> 01:16:59.571
That is ethically not acceptable.

01:17:00.276 --> 01:17:02.603
And as Buddhists,

01:17:02.750 --> 01:17:05.563
we can feel fearless just to name it.

01:17:05.588 --> 01:17:10.527
And we can support others to also
name it in the language of ethics.

01:17:13.523 --> 01:17:15.923
I know that being bold and brave

01:17:16.000 --> 01:17:17.904
is part of the B Team's mission.

01:17:17.929 --> 01:17:19.769
I'm just kind of going there.

01:17:20.767 --> 01:17:24.095
There has been some interesting research.

01:17:24.133 --> 01:17:27.287
I recently saw a paper
published last year.

01:17:29.230 --> 01:17:34.656
about how our economic system
is still globally inequitable.

01:17:34.883 --> 01:17:37.829
There was some very powerful research

01:17:38.485 --> 01:17:42.027
revealing the drain
from the Global South

01:17:42.083 --> 01:17:45.525
through the unequal exchange of resources.

01:17:46.678 --> 01:17:48.890
There was a very powerful way

01:17:48.915 --> 01:17:54.966
of measuring labour, land,
resources, investment,

01:17:55.037 --> 01:17:58.565
that is being done
in the Global South to make it possible

01:17:58.590 --> 01:18:00.590
to have the economies of the Global North.

01:18:00.674 --> 01:18:02.398
And this paper concluded

01:18:02.671 --> 01:18:05.004
that colonialism is still operating

01:18:05.105 --> 01:18:06.986
at the economic level

01:18:07.010 --> 01:18:10.082
however much we tell ourselves
stories otherwise.

01:18:11.462 --> 01:18:13.662
We could apply this ethical principle

01:18:13.708 --> 01:18:15.849
to a commentary on that.

01:18:18.128 --> 01:18:21.976
With this ethical principle
also about not taking,

01:18:22.989 --> 01:18:26.109
not stealing, not taking,
being generous,

01:18:26.375 --> 01:18:29.966
we can recognise that
we live on a finite planet.

01:18:30.022 --> 01:18:34.769
And that must mean:
Finite growth of a certain kind.

01:18:35.357 --> 01:18:39.432
We cannot have infinite growth
on a finite planet.

01:18:41.677 --> 01:18:45.043
I also remember a journalist ...
I can't remember if it was you, Jo.

01:18:45.068 --> 01:18:46.932
I don't know if Jo
is sitting here somewhere.

01:18:46.972 --> 01:18:50.758
I wasn't hearing his loud laughter.
So maybe that's why.

01:18:51.594 --> 01:18:56.094
I think it might have been Jo
who asked Thay once

01:18:56.255 --> 01:18:59.109
when Thay was teaching at
Nottingham University in the UK,

01:18:59.167 --> 01:19:01.815
and he asked him:
"But Thay ...

01:19:02.220 --> 01:19:04.186
you do like growth as a principle.

01:19:04.292 --> 01:19:06.425
You want to grow your monastery.

01:19:06.450 --> 01:19:08.470
You want to grow your reach and impact.

01:19:08.495 --> 01:19:10.637
You want lots of people
to hear your dharma.

01:19:10.805 --> 01:19:13.321
So you can't be anti-growth."

01:19:14.093 --> 01:19:17.924
And Thay, he smiled.
He quite likes people being cheeky.

01:19:18.835 --> 01:19:21.317
He smiled and said:

01:19:21.823 --> 01:19:25.611
"That is true. But we know
what we want to grow.

01:19:27.467 --> 01:19:30.294
We want to grow compassion.
We want to grow wisdom.

01:19:30.458 --> 01:19:34.361
We want to grow community spirit,
a sense of community.

01:19:35.353 --> 01:19:38.654
And yes, we might need to grow
in terms of resources.

01:19:38.696 --> 01:19:40.464
But in the service of that.

01:19:41.258 --> 01:19:45.290
We're not seeking growth
for growth's sake or for profit itself."

01:19:48.125 --> 01:19:49.757
(whispers) OK, I know.

01:19:50.393 --> 01:19:53.154
We have a couple of other principles.

01:19:53.552 --> 01:19:55.741
One is reverence for life.

01:19:57.042 --> 01:20:03.961
[REVERENCE FOR LIFE]

01:20:23.131 --> 01:20:28.249
Reverence for life also involves
the spirit of non-violence

01:20:28.464 --> 01:20:30.091
and not killing.

01:20:30.432 --> 01:20:33.563
Not extracting. Not exploiting.

01:20:36.635 --> 01:20:39.928
Aware of the suffering
caysed by the destruction of life,

01:20:39.958 --> 01:20:44.458
I'm committed to cultivating
the insight of interbeing and compassion

01:20:44.483 --> 01:20:47.291
and learning ways to protect
the lives of people,

01:20:47.364 --> 01:20:50.205
animals, plants and minerals.

01:20:50.848 --> 01:20:53.190
I'm determined not to kill,

01:20:53.468 --> 01:20:55.148
not to let others kill,

01:20:55.302 --> 01:20:58.502
and not to support any
active killing in the world

01:20:58.675 --> 01:21:01.614
in my thinking, 
or in my way of life.

01:21:02.936 --> 01:21:05.851
Seeing that harmful actions

01:21:07.079 --> 01:21:09.493
arise from anger,

01:21:10.069 --> 01:21:13.938
fear, greed, and intolerance,

01:21:14.797 --> 01:21:18.307
which in turn come from dualistic
and discriminative thinking,

01:21:19.402 --> 01:21:23.202
I commit to cultivating

01:21:23.578 --> 01:21:26.767
openness, non-discrimination,

01:21:26.831 --> 01:21:28.918
and non-attachment to views

01:21:29.236 --> 01:21:32.184
in order to help transform violence,

01:21:32.319 --> 01:21:37.351
fanaticism and dogmatism
in myself and in the world.

01:21:38.987 --> 01:21:40.789
This is how we as Buddhists

01:21:40.917 --> 01:21:43.650
apply the principle
of Reverence for Life.

01:21:45.663 --> 01:21:49.178
So caring for the world can be
an intellectual idea,

01:21:49.864 --> 01:21:53.269
or it can be a practise
that we express with our body.

01:21:56.510 --> 01:21:59.710
So we invite you
to ask yourself this question.

01:22:00.009 --> 01:22:02.767
I care for society,
I care for the Earth,

01:22:03.037 --> 01:22:07.067
how are my bodily actions showing that?

01:22:09.750 --> 01:22:13.523
As you have realised,
we do believe

01:22:13.833 --> 01:22:17.861
that a plant-based diet is one very

01:22:19.075 --> 01:22:23.898
possible and yet radical step
that each one of us can go towards.

01:22:24.502 --> 01:22:27.996
We're not judging or
being dogmatic about it,

01:22:28.021 --> 01:22:30.686
which is also a principle
of this training.

01:22:31.862 --> 01:22:33.542
In ethics, we're saying:

01:22:33.792 --> 01:22:36.258
That is a direction we can all go in.

01:22:36.283 --> 01:22:39.343
And it's an easy way
to practise non-violence

01:22:39.724 --> 01:22:41.164
in our daily life.

01:22:45.958 --> 01:22:47.904
When we speak about

01:22:51.254 --> 01:22:52.871
non-violence here,

01:22:53.911 --> 01:23:00.126
sometimes we might think that
this just relates to physical violence.

01:23:00.913 --> 01:23:06.159
But we would also say that our thinking
can be violent and extractive.

01:23:07.129 --> 01:23:08.888
Our speaking can be violent.

01:23:09.531 --> 01:23:13.160
As well as our behaviour.

01:23:13.185 --> 01:23:15.585
Here, it could be our way of consuming.

01:23:18.417 --> 01:23:20.538
We're also not absolutist.

01:23:20.563 --> 01:23:23.569
This is a very interesting principle
about Buddhist ethics.

01:23:23.667 --> 01:23:25.467
If I had three hours today,

01:23:25.492 --> 01:23:28.972
I could share with you
some more of the criteria

01:23:29.033 --> 01:23:33.124
about how we apply our principles
in different situations.

01:23:34.139 --> 01:23:39.387
One of them is that we never apply them
in an absolutist, puritanical way.

01:23:40.207 --> 01:23:43.690
And I know that in the B Team

01:23:43.964 --> 01:23:48.816
and in many corporations
who would like to go good things,

01:23:48.841 --> 01:23:53.129
the danger is that you end up
in the center of a circular firing squad.

01:23:53.517 --> 01:23:56.410
Others are always pointing the finger

01:23:56.436 --> 01:23:59.303
and we may have a fear
of ethical principles

01:23:59.329 --> 01:24:01.278
because we don't want them
to become a stick

01:24:01.303 --> 01:24:03.765
that we beat other people with.

01:24:04.303 --> 01:24:06.970
So in the Buddhist principles of ethics,

01:24:08.302 --> 01:24:09.982
they are not a stick.

01:24:10.306 --> 01:24:12.973
We like to describe them
as a North Star.

01:24:13.042 --> 01:24:15.427
A direction of travel.

01:24:16.449 --> 01:24:18.393
The applying of which

01:24:18.553 --> 01:24:22.811
has a lot of space in it,
a lot of compassion and patience.

01:24:22.875 --> 01:24:24.883
A lot of openness.

01:24:24.976 --> 01:24:29.446
And that first of all these principles
are something that we ourselves do

01:24:29.458 --> 01:24:34.261
as individuals, as teams,
and as organisations.

01:24:34.497 --> 01:24:36.669
So we kind of walk the talk.

01:24:37.048 --> 01:24:40.767
The ethical principles are something
we can have a conversation around.

01:24:40.882 --> 01:24:45.355
But we don't use them
to blame, to judge, or to punish.

01:24:45.796 --> 01:24:47.948
That's something about Buddhist ethics.

01:24:49.476 --> 01:24:51.572
Very briefly.

01:24:52.704 --> 01:24:56.602
We've learnt a lot about another one

01:24:56.625 --> 01:24:59.779
which is about
compassionate communication.

01:24:59.841 --> 01:25:01.774
[COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION]

01:25:02.532 --> 01:25:04.814
I won't say much more about that.

01:25:05.987 --> 01:25:07.371
But for us,

01:25:09.916 --> 01:25:13.928
our way of communicating
in integrity and honesty

01:25:15.426 --> 01:25:18.120
while also being skillful

01:25:19.950 --> 01:25:23.688
and patient, and aware
of the impact of our words,

01:25:24.071 --> 01:25:26.418
and we've learnt a lot
about that this week.

01:25:26.443 --> 01:25:29.307
The final principle is about True Love.

01:25:29.332 --> 01:25:31.166
[TRUE LOVE]

01:25:31.191 --> 01:25:34.135
What's really interesting
about Buddhist ethics

01:25:34.302 --> 01:25:37.059
is that we include
our intimate relationships

01:25:37.178 --> 01:25:43.813
in the orbit of our ethical action.

01:25:45.375 --> 01:25:47.375
How we are with those we love.

01:25:47.400 --> 01:25:49.717
Are we able to respect our partner?

01:25:49.788 --> 01:25:52.997
Can we allow them to be different?

01:25:53.284 --> 01:25:55.849
Can we embrace their shortcomings?

01:25:55.943 --> 01:25:58.151
Can we help them
transform their suffering?

01:25:58.971 --> 01:26:02.031
How can we see them
as a wonder of life?

01:26:02.056 --> 01:26:04.174
How can we not take them for granted?

01:26:10.500 --> 01:26:14.276
When we say what can Buddhists
contribute to a global ethic,

01:26:14.750 --> 01:26:18.828
we might say that maybe the B Team

01:26:18.875 --> 01:26:25.503
could develop some
kind of compassionate ethics

01:26:26.324 --> 01:26:30.020
to bring -- and I will now pass around --

01:26:47.749 --> 01:26:49.654
For some of the home team,

01:26:50.033 --> 01:26:51.632
You don't need to see them.

01:26:51.695 --> 01:26:54.604
I only printed 40 copies to save paper.

01:26:54.771 --> 01:26:58.890
Those are the five mindfulness
trainings, the Plum Village vision

01:26:58.998 --> 01:27:03.198
of ethics and what we could
call global spirituality.

01:27:04.088 --> 01:27:06.904
Wouldn't it be an interesting challenge

01:27:07.487 --> 01:27:12.751
to see if there could be a written code
just like the tax principles?

01:27:13.255 --> 01:27:16.454
If there could be a written code
to express the kind of ethics

01:27:16.493 --> 01:27:19.426
we would like to see
in our corporate world.

01:27:21.686 --> 01:27:23.826
So this text that you see,

01:27:23.851 --> 01:27:26.818
our teacher has been evolving over time

01:27:26.843 --> 01:27:30.827
and he was very passionate
about renewing it in 2009,

01:27:30.900 --> 01:27:34.990
and the latest update
was last year.

01:27:35.034 --> 01:27:37.556
It's something we're continuing to evolve.

01:27:37.581 --> 01:27:38.999
It's a living document.

01:27:40.534 --> 01:27:45.278
We should not be afraid
to define our values.

01:27:45.958 --> 01:27:51.031
I think sometimes,
because we're here in Europe

01:27:51.097 --> 01:27:55.495
oh, I don't want to say that,
what do I want to say?

01:27:56.744 --> 01:28:00.498
In the Judeo-Christian north,
is that what I want to say?

01:28:01.898 --> 01:28:04.978
We're in a slightly
post-religious era.

01:28:05.382 --> 01:28:10.482
And we get very afraid
about defining ethics

01:28:10.583 --> 01:28:12.583
and a moral compass.

01:28:13.124 --> 01:28:17.763
Our teacher has taught our community
that we don't need to be afraid

01:28:17.825 --> 01:28:21.150
about saying what is right
and what is wrong

01:28:21.175 --> 01:28:22.516
in the light of suffering.

01:28:22.542 --> 01:28:24.862
So as you see each of those principles,

01:28:24.887 --> 01:28:29.035
it's framed by awareness of the
suffering caused by certain actions.

01:28:29.578 --> 01:28:31.901
Based on our insight into suffering,

01:28:32.042 --> 01:28:34.506
we can come up with behaviours

01:28:34.559 --> 01:28:39.021
to reduce suffering in ourselves,
our family and the world.

01:28:39.948 --> 01:28:43.250
And it's OK to define
harmful behaviours.

01:28:45.046 --> 01:28:47.469
Sometimes we can feel
that we don't want to shame others.

01:28:47.500 --> 01:28:49.868
Something I've learnt
here in this community

01:28:49.956 --> 01:28:53.130
is that we can say:
"That behaviour is not OK"

01:28:53.314 --> 01:28:55.309
while still loving the person.

01:28:56.681 --> 01:28:59.153
We love the person for who they are

01:28:59.193 --> 01:29:02.698
and we recognise that
all humans have shortcomings.

01:29:03.165 --> 01:29:04.765
And yet we can still

01:29:07.646 --> 01:29:11.772
point out that this or
that action is not correct

01:29:11.797 --> 01:29:13.585
and it's not ethical.

01:29:13.701 --> 01:29:16.645
And as a society,
we have to have that courage

01:29:16.670 --> 01:29:18.873
to have an open conversation.

01:29:19.649 --> 01:29:21.383
And to trust in ourselves.

01:29:21.542 --> 01:29:24.408
And to trust in the wisdom
of our ancestors.

01:29:28.438 --> 01:29:31.963
I want to finish with something
that our teacher said.

01:29:32.802 --> 01:29:35.571
It came up in our group the other day.

01:29:39.143 --> 01:29:44.499
In the realm of ethics
and spirituality,

01:29:45.743 --> 01:29:50.575
we cannot allow "others"

01:29:52.269 --> 01:29:56.179
to monopolise God and spirituality.

01:29:57.149 --> 01:30:01.796
And to use it
in the service of intolerance,

01:30:02.056 --> 01:30:08.253
hatred, discrimination, dogmatism,
even craving and greed.

01:30:09.277 --> 01:30:14.717
We cannot allow others to monopolise,
he even used the word "hijack",

01:30:15.224 --> 01:30:17.815
to hijack God and spirituality

01:30:18.003 --> 01:30:20.355
in the service of those things.

01:30:21.575 --> 01:30:24.692
I may be thinking that the others here ...

01:30:24.958 --> 01:30:27.890
I don't know if I need to spell it out.

01:30:28.957 --> 01:30:32.705
If we think of
the conservative Christian right,

01:30:33.897 --> 01:30:37.706
we can ask: Have they hijacked God

01:30:38.204 --> 01:30:45.105
in the service of intolerance,
hatred, discrimination, dogmatism

01:30:45.294 --> 01:30:47.732
and even craving or greed?

01:30:47.892 --> 01:30:51.307
To take care of themselves,
their own survival,

01:30:51.444 --> 01:30:53.247
the survival of the few.

01:30:53.653 --> 01:30:55.681
The few who have the same beliefs.

01:30:55.875 --> 01:30:59.021
The same values.
The same ethnicity.

01:31:02.328 --> 01:31:07.244
And our teacher was asked

01:31:07.532 --> 01:31:12.029
after John Kerry lost
the election in 2005,

01:31:12.451 --> 01:31:13.995
a very narrow margin,

01:31:14.974 --> 01:31:15.974
by some counts,

01:31:18.375 --> 01:31:19.853
he was asked:

01:31:21.894 --> 01:31:23.670
How is it possible?

01:31:24.323 --> 01:31:30.478
Why did ... why did the goodness
of the country fail in that moment?

01:31:31.482 --> 01:31:35.024
That was 2005. 
We've all lived through 2016.

01:31:35.174 --> 01:31:39.821
It was traumatic for people in the US
and traumatic for people in the UK.

01:31:43.621 --> 01:31:45.398
This is what Thay said:

01:31:45.675 --> 01:31:50.451
"I think if the Democratic Party
didn't succeed this time,

01:31:51.144 --> 01:31:54.450
it is because they lacked
a spiritual dimension.

01:31:56.513 --> 01:31:59.979
They allowed the other side
to monopolise God,

01:32:00.304 --> 01:32:03.492
to hijack God,
in the direction of division,

01:32:03.863 --> 01:32:07.716
hate, discrimination, non-tolerance.

01:32:09.178 --> 01:32:13.380
And they want to suggest
the other side is condoning

01:32:14.958 --> 01:32:19.563
all sorts of things that they claim
go against the will of God."

01:32:20.518 --> 01:32:24.318
And Thay said:
"This is fundamentalist thinking.

01:32:25.270 --> 01:32:27.151
It's dangerous thinking."

01:32:27.614 --> 01:32:29.041
And then he said:

01:32:29.766 --> 01:32:32.842
"We need a God of compassion.

01:32:32.878 --> 01:32:35.621
We need a God of non-discrimination.

01:32:36.100 --> 01:32:40.286
A God of tolerance.
We need a God of love.

01:32:41.301 --> 01:32:44.565
And if we don't come together
and practise together,

01:32:44.669 --> 01:32:49.514
in order to bring the spiritual
dimension into our daily life,

01:32:50.052 --> 01:32:52.852
I guess that we will
not be able to succeed

01:32:53.248 --> 01:32:54.902
in our future attempts.

01:32:57.250 --> 01:33:02.155
To be spiritual is not something
very far from our daily life."

01:33:02.728 --> 01:33:04.906
So if you've never heard
our teacher speak,

01:33:05.012 --> 01:33:09.403
he used God as a way
to describe the ultimate dimension.

01:33:09.778 --> 01:33:12.208
His God is very inclusive.

01:33:13.949 --> 01:33:17.210
Of the gods that many of us might
recognise in our upbringing

01:33:17.235 --> 01:33:19.785
and that many of us still hold dear.

01:33:22.052 --> 01:33:25.892
So, to be spiritual is something
not far from our daily life.

01:33:26.133 --> 01:33:28.978
"We are spiritual in the way
we drink our tea," he said.

01:33:29.199 --> 01:33:30.719
In the way we walk.

01:33:32.314 --> 01:33:35.969
In the way, when people say
something with hatred and anger,

01:33:36.182 --> 01:33:40.061
our response can carry
spirituality in it.

01:33:40.836 --> 01:33:43.209
That's the compassionate communication.

01:33:44.664 --> 01:33:46.344
"That is spirituality.

01:33:46.369 --> 01:33:48.914
That is a training.
That is life."

01:33:51.833 --> 01:33:54.781
And then he said:
"This is why peace

01:33:54.843 --> 01:33:59.931
social justice and equality
should always begin with ourselves.

01:34:00.590 --> 01:34:03.617
We have to learn
to deal with ourselves,

01:34:03.705 --> 01:34:06.105
to handle ourselves with compassion,

01:34:06.677 --> 01:34:09.941
so that we can be
with our families with compassion

01:34:10.154 --> 01:34:12.554
and help other families do the same.

01:34:12.650 --> 01:34:15.550
And that is the spirit
of community-building.

01:34:17.235 --> 01:34:18.291
Even ... "

01:34:18.316 --> 01:34:20.350
This is a really amazing line.

01:34:20.457 --> 01:34:24.804
"Even if you have a perfect
analysis of the situation.

01:34:26.108 --> 01:34:29.735
Even if you have a plan
of action that is perfect.

01:34:30.325 --> 01:34:34.180
Without this kind of spiritual
training or practise,

01:34:34.583 --> 01:34:39.448
without a spiritual dimension
to your way of being and doing,

01:34:40.103 --> 01:34:42.579
I don't think that you can succeed."

01:34:44.559 --> 01:34:45.559
And then he said:

01:34:45.757 --> 01:34:47.321
(laughs) "Thank you."

01:34:47.356 --> 01:34:48.656
[laughter]

01:34:49.294 --> 01:34:51.103
I would also like to thank you.

01:34:51.183 --> 01:34:55.353
Thank you for your patience.
For listening to me.

01:34:59.792 --> 01:35:03.964
I have done my best.
And that is why I can be at peace.

01:35:11.049 --> 01:35:14.170
[sound of the bell]

01:35:31.209 --> 01:35:35.351
[sound of the bell]

01:35:53.100 --> 01:35:57.050
[sound of the bell]

01:36:12.142 --> 01:36:13.738
[chime]