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[Plum Village, France, May 2014]

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[Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
answers questions]

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(Bell)

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[How can your teachings help societies
with unemployment and political crisis?]

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Dear Thay, dear sangha,

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It is a question that I think reflects

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the interest of many Spaniards
at this moment.

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As you know, we have
an unemployment rate close to 25%,

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and a huge political crisis.

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So, I would like to know how the teachings

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can help us, not only individually,

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but as a society.

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There are those of us
who have lost our job,

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who have not much money to spend.

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They manage to live happily, also.

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We know that
there are those who have a job,

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there are those who have enough money,

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but they still suffer.

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So, our happiness does not
depend entirely on having a job,

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or having enough money,

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or even a political stability
in the country.

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Because in any circumstance,

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the practice of mindfulness
can help us to suffer less.

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And, we are able, also, to create
moments of joy and happiness,

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if we know how to.

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Because there are
many conditions of happiness.

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And job, money,

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political stability
are only a few of them.

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Practicing mindfulness, we can protect
ourselves from despair, from anger,

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from frustration.

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First of all, we recognize
that we are still luckier

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than many other people in the world.

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There are many people in many countries

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who spend less than one dollar a day.

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They live in extreme poverty.

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But, they still have
moments of joy together.

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And we have to observe
if the family is still together,

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if they can still talk to each other,

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and discuss with each other

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how to improve the situation,

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and then they don't suffer as much as
those who have more money.

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So, mindfulness, as you have learned
here in Plum Village,

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helps us to recognize that
there are so many conditions of happiness

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available in the here and the now.

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Having a body, with no serious disease,

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is already happiness.

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And mindfulness helps us
to be aware of that,

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that is a condition of happiness.

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Many people are rich,
but do not have a body like that.

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So, recognizing
these conditions of happiness

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can help us not to suffer too much,

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and brings joy and happiness to us.

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If you manage to live mindfully

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and retain your calm, your peace,

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your joy, you help the country
to restart again.

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And, if you lose your hope,

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if you lose your joy,

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if you are caught by your anger,
your fear, your frustration,

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you make the situation
worse in your country,

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and your country will not have a chance

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to recover, to get a new start.

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So, we have to sit down and find out

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what kind of practice that can help us

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keep the hope, keep compassion,

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keep the joy of living,

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so that we can
improve the situation day by day.

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[connect,
be inspired, be nourished]

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(Bell)