[Plum Village, France, May 2014]
[Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh answers questions]
(Bell)
[How can your teachings help societies with unemployment and political crisis?]
Dear Thay, dear sangha,
It is a question that I think reflects
the interest of many Spaniards at this moment.
As you know, we have an unemployment rate close to 25%,
and a huge political crisis.
So, I would like to know how the teachings
can help us, not only individually,
but as a society.
There are those of us who have lost our job,
who have not much money to spend.
They manage to live happily, also.
We know that there are those who have a job,
there are those who have enough money,
but they still suffer.
So, our happiness does not depend entirely on having a job,
or having enough money,
or even a political stability in the country.
Because in any circumstance,
the practice of mindfulness can help us to suffer less.
And, we are able, also, to create moments of joy and happiness,
if we know how to.
Because there are many conditions of happiness.
And job, money,
political stability are only a few of them.
Practicing mindfulness, we can protect ourselves from despair, from anger,
from frustration.
First of all, we recognize that we are still luckier
than many other people in the world.
There are many people in many countries
who spend less than one dollar a day.
They live in extreme poverty.
But, they still have moments of joy together.
And we have to observe if the family is still together,
if they can still talk to each other,
and discuss with each other
how to improve the situation,
and then they don't suffer as much as those who have more money.
So, mindfulness, as you have learned here in Plum Village,
helps us to recognize that there are so many conditions of happiness
available in the here and the now.
Having a body, with no serious disease,
is already happiness.
And mindfulness helps us to be aware of that,
that is a condition of happiness.
Many people are rich, but do not have a body like that.
So, recognizing these conditions of happiness
can help us not to suffer too much,
and brings joy and happiness to us.
If you manage to live mindfully
and retain your calm, your peace,
your joy, you help the country to restart again.
And, if you lose your hope,
if you lose your joy,
if you are caught by your anger, your fear, your frustration,
you make the situation worse in your country,
and your country will not have a chance
to recover, to get a new start.
So, we have to sit down and find out
what kind of practice that can help us
keep the hope, keep compassion,
keep the joy of living,
so that we can improve the situation day by day.
[connect, be inspired, be nourished]
(Bell)