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[The Plum Village Online Monastery]

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[Mindful online broadcasts like this are supported
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[Donate at http:pvom.org]
[Thank you for your generosity.]

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Good morning dear friends,
today is the fifth of September 2015,

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and we are on the last day
of our retreat in Blue Cliff Monastery,

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in a beautiful hall, all together.

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With the children we already saw
the nature of interbeing of all that is.

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We looked into the cookie,

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and we saw all the non-cookie elements
that are the cookie.

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The cookie is made up
of non-cookie elements,

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and this is true for all that is.

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During this retreat we have been looking
at the 16 exercises of breathing.

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We already looked into 12, and today
we're going to look into the last four.

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I'll write them on the board.

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I hope somebody took
a picture, for the records.

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(Laughing)

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This is us, eating the cookie.
In case you didn't know.

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(Laughing)

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The cookie manifested itself as joy,
right here on the board.

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Contemplating impermanence.

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Contemplating throwing away.

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Contemplating non-desire.

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Contemplating cessation.

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I'd like to start with 'Throwing away'.

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This contemplation has also been called:
'Contemplating letting go',

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and I like 'throwing away',
which we use also,

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because throwing away, for me
clearly indicates an insight.

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The things you throw away
are the things you don't need,

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they are of no use to us,
that is what we throw away.

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Once we have the insight, 'I really
don't need this, this is of no use to me',

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it's easy to just throw it away.

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And we have been talking
about multitasking at this retreat.

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I find myself sometimes
multitasking during my walking;

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my body is walking but my mind is doing
something else: I am multitasking.

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Then I stop; we have a practice
of stopping the NST radio station:

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the Non Stop Thinking channel.

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So when I'm walking
and I find myself thinking,

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I look for a moment into the thought
to see whether it is useful at all,

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and I can tell you, most of my thoughts
are utterly useless.

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(Laughing)

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And once I see this: throw it away.

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It's fun, you may like to try it, if you
find yourself multitasking in that way.

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Just throw it away.

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It makes us light and it allows us
to be present for what is,

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to touch the wonders of life,
and see more of this earth.

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We all have drawers,
cabinets, we have a fridge,

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and in there we keep things.

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From time to time we clean up.

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We open the fridge and we look
at everything that's in the fridge:

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'This is outdated, sorry,
kept it too long'.

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We open our file cabinet,
we go through all the drawers,

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we go through all the documents,
some dating from 1964,

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'Is this still applicable?'

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OK, shall I archive it for history's sake
or shall I throw it away?

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We go and we create space
for other things to be possible.

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We also have a mental filing cabinet,


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a mental archive, where we
keep a lot of things.

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In this cabinet there is this one drawer
that is called 'perceptions'.

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Another one is called 'Notions'.

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Another one, 'views'.

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And they are filled with perceptions,
with views, with notions.

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It's good from time to time
to stop to look into them,

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and to see: are they really useful?

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Are they out of date?
Have they ever been useful?

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Have they served myself?
Others? The world?

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Have they caused suffering?

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And throw them away.

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So we're free to look at what
is there, right on front of us,

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and to see what is needed to respond
appropriately to the situation,

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be it ourselves, others, or the world.

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So throwing away is a wonderful practice.

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We look at something, we ask ourselves,
'Am I sure that I still need this?'

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If not, we throw it away.

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And for the just-in-case people among us:

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you can always check it again,
and then you throw it away.

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(Laughing)

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So throwing away is a daily practice,

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and it will contribute greatly
to our well being,

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and the well being of others,
and everything that is.

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When we speak of throwing away
in this context here,

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we speak of throwing away our views
and our notions that we hold onto,

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that have not served us, that have not served anybody,

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in fact they have caused a lot
of suffering to ourselves and others.

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Together, we would like
to look a little bit into that.

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To do that we're going to look
into the Three Doors of Liberation,

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together with the Three Dharma Seals.

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For people taking notes,
something to put in you archive,

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(Laughing)

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I'll write it on the board.

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I'll try to write big enough for you to read:

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- Emptiness;

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- Signlessness;

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- and Aimlessness.

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We combine them with
the Three Dharma Seals:

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- Emptiness is non-self;

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- Signlessness is Impermanence;

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- and Aimlessness is Nirvana.

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Any teaching that reflects
the Three Dharma Seals

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is an authentic teaching of the Buddha.

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That is how we can see this.

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So these Three Doors of Liberation

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(Caughing)

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-- I'm sorry, I can't turn away
from the microphone --

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these Three Doors of Liberation

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are what we turn to in our daily life
for support and also for healing.

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We have already looked
at the non-self nature of the cookie,

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and we know that the cookie is empty
of a separate individual self,

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all the elements that it is made up of,
we would classify as non-cookie.

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We call this interbeing:

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everything needs everything else
in order to manifest.

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A few days ago, you practiced
the Five Touchings of the Earth?

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Looking deeply into yourself?

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When we practice
the Five Touchings of the Earth

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and we look deeply into ourselves,
we see our parents, our ancestors,

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spiritual and blood ancestors,
we see our land ancestors,

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and we also see the earth.

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We see all our non-self ancestors,
all non-self elements.

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When we really, really touch
our interbeing nature,

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when we really touch this insight,
when we have this insight of non-self,

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we will take good care of ourselves
by taking care of our non-self elements,

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and we will take good care
of the non-self elements

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by taking good care of ourselves.

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We know that the earth
is hurting right now.

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When we look into ourselves,
we will see that we are the earth:

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the cookie, where did it come from?

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We eat the cookie, we become the cookie,
we eat the carrot, we become the carrot,

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we breathe the air, we are the air.

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The earth ís our body, we don't have
a body outside of the earth.

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This insight, we need to take
some time to look into this.

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The earth is out body.

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We take care of our body in many ways,
we go to the hairdresser

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-- well, we don't

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(Laughing)

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but most people do --

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well in sòme way we take care of our hair,
we wash our bodies, we clean it, feed it,

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when it hurts, we do something
to relieve the pain,

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we go and see a doctor,
we keep ourselves healthy --

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Can we do the same thing with the earth?

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It is our body.

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This insight will make it very easy,

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to live a in way that reflects
that the earth is our body.

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How often do we use our car?

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Or an airplane?

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What do we eat?

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Is what we eat healthy for our earth?

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Does it make our earth healthy?

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What we eat, does it contribute
to the health of the earth?

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Since the earth is our body.

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In Plum Village, the last few years
we have been vegan.

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Also in that light: the earth is our body.

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So, you may like to look
into the earthbody.

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We all need to look into the body
of the earth being our body.

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We have no body outside of the earthbody.

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When we have a difficulty, we can
take refuge in all our non-self elements,

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like our ancestors, our blood ancestors,
our spiritual ancestors,

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they are in us.

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When we look at our hand 
-- let's look at our hand --

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our hand has been
transmitted to us by our parents.

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They have transmitted
their whole being to us.

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So, looking at our hand, we know it's made
of the cells of the body of our parents:

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it is our parents' hand.

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Our parents' hand is the hand
of our ancestors, of our grandparents,

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our great-grandparents,
of all our ancestors;

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all our blood ancestors
are present in our hand.

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Somewhere along that line of ancestors,
there are those who are compassionate,

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who are loving, who are caring,
they are in our hands.

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When we look into our hand,
we also see our spiritual teachers.

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Our spiritual teachers
who are transmitting to us

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their understanding, their love
and their compassion.

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It's in our hand.

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It's in our mind, it's in our hand.

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It's right here.

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So, let us just look
at our hand a little bit,

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and become aware
of the ancestors present in us.

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We are the continuation of our ancestors,
blood as well as spiritual ancestors.

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Now, if there is a moment 
where there's a storm raging in our mind,

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when we are sad or angry or in despair,
we can call on our ancestors in our hand,

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their care, their understanding,
their compassion.

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So, we can close our eyes and call
on our ancestors in our hand,

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and allow our ancestors
to put their hand on our head,

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gently, lovingly and caring.

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We can feel the energy of understanding
and compassion flow into our bodies,

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we can hear their breathing,
steady and calm.

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This is also Thay's hand on our head.

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After a few moments, we will calm,
the storm has calmed.

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We could hear them say,

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'Breathe, my dear,
it will be okay, it will be okay.'

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As the storm has calmed, we can see
more clearly what is happening,

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and we know what to do and what not to do.

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Let us enjoy the sound of the bell,

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and just enjoy that energy we just received
from our blood and spiritual ancestors.

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(Bell rings)

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We are much larger than we think we are.

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We are our ancestors, we can call
on them any time we need support.

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Everything is impermanent, nothing remains
the same for two consecutive moments.

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Impermanence, we can bring to mind
when we are in a difficulty,

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like when there is a storm
raging in our mind:

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that storm is impermanent, as we just saw.

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I like to say, 'this too will pass.'

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'This too will pass.' It's impermanent.

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On the other hand, when we're
looking at impermanence,

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we become aware
of the preciousness of all that is:

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the preciousness of life,
the preciousness of our beloved ones,

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the preciousness
of the flower, of everything,

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and we will enjoy it and treasure it.

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We do not know,

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how long we will be able to enjoy them.

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We treasure, and while we treasure
their presence we are nourished.

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We are nourished by it,

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and we will do everything we can today
to make them happy,

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to make the flower happy,
the earth, our beloved ones.

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To make ourselves happy,

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so that we will not have regrets later.

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But is we do have regrets
there is a way to heal them,

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and I will come to that later.

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Thanks to impermanence, life is possible.

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We have a seed,
and the seed becomes a flower.

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If it weren't for impermanence,
the seed would never become a flower.

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The flower becomes a seed again,
and the seed becomes more flowers.

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The seed is a seed, but when I look deeply
into the seed, we will see the flower.

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When I look deeply
into the flower, I see the seed.

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So the seed is a seed,
and the flower is a flower:

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they inter-are.

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In Zen terms they call this: 'not two'.

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Not two.

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If you've ever visited
Zen temples in China,

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they have a gate, and it's
kind of a tradition that on the gate

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there is a character, a Chinese character,
that means: not two.

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It is the heart of the practice,
to touch this 'not two'.

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Not two.

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We already have had guided meditations,


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we have looked into ourselves
as a five year old child.

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Is the five year old child
the same as we are now, an adult?

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Yes? No?

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Neither the same, nor different.

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Not two.

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We've looked into our mother,
our father, as five year old children,

238
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We've looked into ourselves,
are we the same or different?

239
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Not two.

240
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Look at anything, it is not two.

241
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we really look deeply
into impermanence,

242
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we touch the signlessness,
the nature of signlessness of all that is,

243
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and when we touch that, we can
overcome our grief and our fear.

244
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You may or may not know most of monastics
like hiking in the mountains.

245
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I'm one of the monastics that likes
to go hiking with other monastics.

246
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
On one of our hiking trips
in the Alps a few years ago,

247
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I was lying on my back, having a nap
after lunch, and then I woke up.

248
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We were in a valley, high up
in the mountains,

249
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so there is a valley
and there are just some peaks,

250
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
very sharp high peaks that you need to --

251
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
what would you call it, mountain-climb,
you need an axe or something

252
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and ropes and things to get up,
we decided not to go that day

253
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Laughing)

254
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we just enjoyed the valley,
high up in the mountain --

255
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I opened my eyes and I was
looking at this clear blue sky.

256
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The peaks on one side, a wide open valley,
and some more peaks there,

257
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and then, just at the edge
of the peak of the mountain,

258
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I saw something whitish, but very vaguely,

259
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and kept looking and it became
whiter and whiter and whiter

260
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and whiter and --
a white cloud manifested.

261
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Out of the blue.

262
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Laughing)

263
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
-- Maybe that's where
the expression comes from? --

264
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That white cloud just manifested itself,

265
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and as I was looking at this wonder
of this white cloud manifesting itself,

266
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
all of a sudden a thought came,

267
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
ooh, what if it gets denser and denser
and it will rain and no shelter.

268
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There's another way of looking at this.

269
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If it gets denser and denser,
what will become of that cloud?

270
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Rain.

271
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The cloud will continue
to manifest itself as rain,

272
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
like we've seen in the cookie.

273
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
As rain, good.

274
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's time for tea anyway, so the rain,
the cloud as rain will become my tea,

275
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I will drink my cloud as tea,
and then I will probably have to pee --

276
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Laughing)

277
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in a while.

278
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Pee my cloud;

279
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in fact I will be returning the cloud
to where it originally came from, partly.

280
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Return the cloud to the earth, which will
be turning to vapor at a certain point.

281
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The vapor will rise up again into the air,

282
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the atmospheric conditions,
weather conditions,

283
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it will come together,
and there will be another cloud.

284
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
A cloud never dies.

285
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
A cloud never dies, and this
is the same with everything.

286
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Things manifest, or stop to manifest,

287
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
according to causes and conditions.

288
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The French scientist and chemist
Antoine Lavoisier said:

289
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Nothing is created and nothing is lost,
everything transforms."

290
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
A cloud never dies.

291
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we know also of the law of
conservation of matter and energy,

292
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that we cannot create matter,
we cannot create energy.

293
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We cannot destroy:
matter can become matter,

294
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
matter can become energy, energy energy, 
energy can manifest as matter,

295
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
matter as matter as energy --

296
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's a journey with
no beginning and no end.

297
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So, what we tend to call birth or death
are moments of continuation.

298
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That is the nature of
no birth and no death:

299
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
moments of continuation.

300
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Just because we do not see something

301
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in the form, in the sign that we're
used to, doesn't mean it's not there.

302
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's difficult to see vapor,
but the vapor is there,

303
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we will see it in water form, right?

304
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In our breath.

305
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In fact, the cloud,
we're breathing in and out clouds.

306
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Are you aware of that? Nice. We don't
just drink it, we also breathe our cloud.

307
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I like that.

308
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So this is signlessness.

309
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Signlessness is not a theory, it is a practice.

310
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I ordained first
in a Japanese tradition in Japan,

311
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in a temple tucked away in the mountains
on the northern shore of Japan.

312
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Shortly after I ordained, about six weeks,

313
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I received a telephone call
from one of my siblings

314
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
telling me my mother
had been taken to hospital.

315
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I had asked her,

316
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"If anything happens to you or mother,
please let me know as soon as possible.

317
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Don't ring me to tell me
when the cremation will be.

318
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If possible, let me know beforehand.

319
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So, I was only there for six weeks


320
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I went to my master
and shared this with him, and he asked me,

321
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Would you like to go home,
to be with your mother?"

322
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I said, "Yes."

323
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And within two days I was back in Europe.

324
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
All our siblings were there,

325
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we were all at our mother's 
bedside when she passed away,

326
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I realized what a privilege that was
for our mother and for us.

327
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She was very peaceful,
breathing, no sign of fear.

328
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We asked her whether she would like us
to recite her favorite prayers;

329
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
she was Catholic.

330
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She nodded, and we did.

331
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We sang, and she passed away.

332
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Just like that.

333
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Outside was a beautiful day,
blue sky and snow on the ground.

334
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We stayed there telling her
how beautiful it was outside.

335
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So beautiful, so peaceful, so calm.

336
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I was only there for a very short time,
and then I was back in Japan.

337
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It was not until I was sitting in my room,

338
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I sat down and thought,
'oh, I'm going to write a letter to mom.'

339
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then I thought, wait a minute,
no, she just passed away.

340
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
At that time I was just recently ordained,

341
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I didn't really know much about
the teaching of no birth and death.

342
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I didn't know it very well.

343
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I sat down -- well I was sitting down --
but I continued to think,

344
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
where is mom now? Where is she?

345
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What happened to her? I know her body --
I know what happened to her body,

346
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it was cremated, ashes were distributed
over the ocean as she has wished,

347
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but where --

348
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you know, mom is more than her body.

349
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What happened?

350
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I couldn't figure it out.

351
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I wanted a reply.

352
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I thought, well, what was mom,
besides a physical body?

353
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What did I call mom? Not just
her body, other things.

354
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And this is how I quite naturally,
without knowing --

355
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
just about anything about
the teachings of no birth and no death --

356
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What was mom?

357
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Immediately came to my mind:
love for nature.

358
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Everything she liked: love for nature,
poetry, music, dance.

359
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Her sense of humor.

360
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Her total acceptance
of her children, as we were.

361
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We didn't need to be different.

362
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She loved us as we were.

363
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Her capacity to face difficulties,

364
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
even what we saw, being blown away
at sometimes by a difficulty,

365
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to fall over, to get back onto her feet,
and to continue her perseverance.

366
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Friends were always welcome,
there was always a bed in the house.

367
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There was always a bed
for us in the house,

368
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
even long after we had
built our own life, if you like.

369
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In cases we needed it, it was there.

370
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She was Irish, a Quak woman, spirited.

371
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I looked into 'what was my mother' and saw

372
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
all her strengths and all her weaknesses.

373
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then I thought,
but all that is still there.

374
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Nature is there, and the love
for nature is still there,

375
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in me, in my siblings, in others.

376
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Poetry is there,

377
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
dance, music, sense of music is there,

378
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
perseverance is there,
it is all still there.

379
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's just not all together
in one form as I am used to

380
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
have seen it in that
particular manifestation.

381
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But all my non-mom elements
were all still there.

382
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I had always been close to my mom,

383
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I take after her if you like,
we had many things in common,

384
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but when I saw this --
I found my mother inside.

385
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I thought, everything she was, still is.

386
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And it brought me
great relief of my grief.

387
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I still missed her presence,
physical, if you like, in some way.

388
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But the grief, was not there.

389
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Just gratitude, gratitude,

390
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and joy of having found my mother inside.

391
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we enjoyed poetry together, music,


392
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
was not supposed to dance
in that Zen temple,

393
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Laughing)

394
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but I know it was there.

395
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I recognized her strengths in me.

396
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It took me a little bit more time
to recognize and say,

397
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Yes, the weaknesses are also in me."

398
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And now we practice together, we nourish
together and we transform together.

399
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So it became very clear:
my mother is still there.

400
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I am my mother's continuation,
my siblings are my mother's continuation,

401
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
my mother continues in many, many ways.

402
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Now I think, how about my continuation,
I don't have children, how about that?

403
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I think I need to breathe a little bit.

404
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Laughing)

405
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Let's enjoy the sound of the bell.

406
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Bell rings)

407
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Nothing is ever lost.

408
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
A little over ten years ago,
a group of us visited Israel.

409
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In Jerusalem we visited the wall.

410
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Very powerful energy
in the whole of Israel, everywhere.

411
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It calls for presence.

412
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
As I was standing in front of the wall,
I put my hands against the wall.

413
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The stones were warm,
and I stood there breathing.

414
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then inside of me, came this thought,
kind of this voice saying,

415
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
nothing is ever lost,
no thought is ever lost.

416
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I thought, all my thoughts,
they don't disappear?

417
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There're not lost?

418
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thay tells us that our thoughts
wear our signature,

419
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and that our thoughts
are our continuation.

420
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When I was standing there at the wall,

421
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I thought, nothing ever lost, no thoughts,
no words, no action ever lost,

422
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it only transforms.

423
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I wondered about the unskillful thoughts
I had, the unwholesome thoughts I've had,

424
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the unskillful words I've spoken,
the unskillful actions I've committed.

425
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They're not lost? I found it scary.

426
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thay teaches us, if we've had
a thought, our continuation,

427
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and we're not so happy about that thought,

428
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we can think another thought,
to balance it out, to neutralize it.

429
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If we've said something, we arere not
happy about, say something else,

430
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that you are happy about, that makes
you happy, that makes others happy,

431
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that contributes to the well-being.

432
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We have an action we're not happy about,
do something you'll be happy about,

433
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for your benefit, the benefit of all,
the benefit of the cosmos.

434
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I thought, wow, this is what I call
empowerment, this is empowerment.

435
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It was so healing to hear that,
so healing, it was just what I needed.

436
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is an empowerment.

437
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The five mindfulness trainings
we looked at together,

438
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and the fourteen mindfulness trainings
we looked at together

439
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and heard being recited yesterday,

440
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they are a very good guideline for that.

441
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To think, to speak, to act,
in order to balance, to neutralize,

442
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to unwholesome thoughts, words and actions


443
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that are there in the cosmos,
either produced by us or by others.

444
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we think, speak or act wholesomely, 
we neutralize any unwholesome thought,

445
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
any unwholesome word,
any unwholesome action that is there.

446
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Not just our own.

447
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is hope.

448
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is the practice we can do,
any moment, anywhere.

449
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Maybe, we have another bell.

450
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We can breathe, breathe
and come back to ourselves,

451
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
find our stability, our freedom,

452
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and we will send out stability and freedom
as our continuation into the cosmos.

453
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Bell rings)

454
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Our path is a path --

455
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
into happiness, into well-being,
from ill-being to well-being.

456
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If we have many desires --

457
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
all those things that we think
we need in order to be happy,

458
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I call them the 'ifs' and the 'whens'.

459
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If this were only different,
I would be happy.

460
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
One of our sisters
shared with me many years ago,

461
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that part of her body was sick,
and she felt very sad.

462
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then she decided to look into her body,
and look into all the parts of her body.

463
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She then said, "You know what,

464
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I realized, one part of my body is sick,
and the other parts are still healthy.

465
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then I asked my healthy parts, to send
their love and energy to my sick part,

466
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I felt much better."

467
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I thanked her for her sharing.
Not the 'if', but what can I do,

468
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
how can I respond to the situation?

469
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The 'ifs' and the 'whens':

470
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When I have this, when I'm wealthy,
when I'm famous,

471
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
when I will be more powerful,
then I will be happy.

472
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So if we can throw away
the 'whens' and the 'ifs'

473
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and stop running after all those things,
when we come back to the present moment,

474
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we will see we already have
enough conditions to be happy.

475
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There are enough conditions to be happy.

476
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We may see that, thát moment we are
waiting for, is actually this moment.

477
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This moment ís the moment
we are waiting for.

478
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It is that moment.

479
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We will see that 'this' is 'it'.

480
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Laughing)

481
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
No need to run after anything anymore.

482
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There is nothing lacking,
as our brother said.

483
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we touch non-self
and impermanence deeply,

484
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we touch our true nature,
which is Nirvana.

485
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
No coming, no going, no birth, no death,

486
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
not same, not different,
no being, no non-being.

487
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We find Nirvana
in impermanence and non-self.

488
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I didn't write it on the board,
but you can imagine,

489
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
impermanence and non-self on the top,
line underneath: Nirvana.

490
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Simple equation
-- to write on the board, I mean --

491
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Laughing)

492
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and then we have time to practice.

493
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We've been here over one week together,

494
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and this retreat was scheduled to happen
in the physical presence of Thay.

495
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Was Thay here, was Thay not here?
Is Thay here, is Thay not here?

496
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I see -- means yes? Here?

497
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
OK, yes, here.

498
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
All together, we've made manifest Thay.

499
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thay is: breathing in, breathing out.
Enjoying our breathing.

500
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thay is: enjoying our steps.
Thay is: mindful eating.

501
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thay is: deep listening.
Thay is: loving speech.

502
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thay is: compassion.
Thay is understanding.

503
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We cannot find Thay outside of that.

504
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thay is nothing other than that,

505
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so together we have made manifest Thay.

506
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thay is here, and we can touch Thay.

507
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thay is in us.

508
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We are in each other.

509
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We have shared, whoever
we have touched, we are in them.

510
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
By whomever we have been touched,
in our education for instance, at school,

511
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they are in us.

512
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So we are in each other.

513
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We are in you, you are in us.

514
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we can nourish
each other in each other.

515
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We can enhance
each other in each other.

516
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We can transform
each other in each other.

517
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We cannot take each other
out of each other.

518
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We inter-are.

519
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You may like to study

520
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the sixteen exercises of breathing,
full awareness of breathing,

521
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in the light of the practice
of the five mindfulness trainings

522
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and the fourteen mindfulness trainings.

523
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You will see, they inter-are.

524
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It will help you
to concretely practice them.

525
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So study the sixteen in the light
of the five and the fourteen,

526
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
study the five and the fourteen
in the light of the sixteen exercises.

527
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They inter-are.

528
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Dear friends, we know you are there,
and we are so happy.

529
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Happy continuation.

530
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Bell rings)

531
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Bell rings)

532
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Bell rings)

533
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Bell rings)

534
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[The Plum Village Online Monastery]

535
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[Mindful online broadcasts like this
are supported entirely by donations.]

536
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[Donate at http://pvom.org]

537
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[Thank you for your generosity.]

538
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[The Plum Village Online Monastery]