Dear friends,
welcome to the retreat for educators.

This is a retreat,

therefore we will be
practicing mindfulness.

Mindfulness of breathing,

mindfulness of walking,

mindfulness of eating and so on.

The practice of mindfulness...

...like your regrets...

... because your mind is focusing, only,

on one thing, it is our in-breath.

At the same time we release our fear,

our uncertainty about the future.

And we are freer, much freer.

So three or four seconds of breathing in

can bring us quite a bit of freedom.

Freedom from the past,

freedom from the future,

freedom from our projects,
our anger and so on

because while breathing in

we focus our attention
only on our in-breath.

And you don't have to suffer

while we breathe in.

In fact, it's very pleasant to breathe in.

We have lungs, still in good condition,

the air is not too bad,

so it is a pleasure to breathe in.

And there is the energy of mindfulness

that is born during the
time you breathe in.

Is it OK?

Mindfulness is always 
mindfulness of something

and when you practice 
breathing in and out mindfully

that is called mindfulness of breathing.

When you practice walking mindfully 
that is called mindfulness of walking.

And when you eat your breakfast mindfully
that is called mindfulness of eating.

The energy of mindfulness
generated by the breathing or the walking

helps you to be there,
well established in the present moment.

So breathing in you bring 
your mind home to your body

and you need only 2, 3 seconds
in order to do that:

bringing our mind home to our body.

When mind and body are together

you are well established
in the present moment.

And life, joy, happiness and peace

are available in the present moment.

Life with all the wonders and all
refreshing and healing elements

are available in the present moment.

Because the past is already gone
and the future is not yet there

that is why the present moment is the only
moment when you can be truly alive.

You are not lost in the past, 
you are not lost in the future.

To go home to the present moment,
that's easy.

You need to breathe in mindfully and
bring your mind home to your body

and you are in touch with all
the wonders of life that are there.

Breathing in can be a
very pleasant thing to do.

Those of us who are used to
the practice of mindful breathing,

we find breathing in mindfully
very pleasant.

And when you breathe in mindfully 
you get in touch with something,

you get in touch with your body.

When you spend two hours
with your computer

you forget entirely that you have a body.

And when mind is not with the body,

you are not truly alive, you are lost

in your work, in your worry, your fear,
in your projects.

So to breathe in mindfully and bring mind
home to our body.

You become fully alive,
fully present.

Then you are in the situation to
touch the wonders of life.

And our body
is the first wonder of life.

It contains mother earth, father
son, the stars and everything,

including our ancestors.

Breathing in I know I have a body
and our body is a wonder.

So you can enjoy having a body.

But while breathing in you notice that
there is tension and pain in your body.

You would like to do something in order to
help your body feel better

because we may have allowed tension to be
accumulated a little too much in our body.

We have worked our body too hard.

So when while breathing in if we notice
there is tension in our body,

then while breathing out we may like

to allow the tension
to be released from our body.

That is one of the most
practiced exercises of mindful breathing.

Breathing in I am aware of my body
and the tension in my body,

breathing out I release
the tension in my body.

And this practice is possible when you sit
in a car, when you sit in a train.

Everywhere you can practice
mindful breathing

to be aware of your body
and to release the tension in your body.

Of course, this exercise can be practiced
in any kind of position -

sitting, lying down, walking, standing.

You can always enjoy the practice of
mindful breathing

and release the tension in our body.

And if we do it well we can transmit the
practice to our students

because they also have a lot of tension
in their bodies.

There are school teachers
who begin the class

by breathing in and out 
mindfully with their students.

It takes a few minutes;
one or two or three.

They are trying together to be there

and to release
the tension in their bodies.

It helps the work
of teaching and learning.

We know that we don't have
to be a Buddhist

in order to breathe in mindfully,
breathe out mindfully.

There is another energy that goes along 
with mindfulness.

That is concentration.

When you are mindful of something,
when you are very mindful something,

you are naturally concentrated
on that something.

Look at that flower.

If we focus our mind on the flower,

we are mindful that the flower
is there as a wonder.

Breathing in I'm aware
of the presence of that flower.

If you continue
to be mindful of the flower

you are concentrated on it.

So the energy of concentration is born
from the energy of mindfulness

and that make us focus more attention.

Insight is a kind of understanding,

is a kind of awakening.

An insight may happen
in just a few seconds

of mindfulness and concentration.

Suppose we practice
breathing in mindfully.

Breathing in mindfully, I know I'm alive.

I am alive is an insight.

Many people are there but they are not
aware that they are there, they are alive.

Albert Camus, the French novelist,

he spoke about a person

who was about to be executed

because he had killed someone.

Spending time in his cell in prison,

suddenly he saw
the blue sky through the skylight.

It was the first time
he saw the blue sky like that.

Of course he had seen
the blue sky many times,

but this is the first time
he saw the blue sky so deeply

because he had that kind of awareness.

(French) One moment of awareness.

He only had a few days in order to
live before the execution.

A Catholic priest came

in order to perform the ritual that is 
needed for a dying person.

He did not want
to allow the priest to come

because he believed that he is awake.

He is alive but the priest,
he is not alive.

That mindfulness inhabits him
but not the priest.

He said there are people
who live like dead people.

It becomes a morgue.

There are people around us
but they are not truly alive.

They carry their dead body
and circulate around us

because they are not inhabited
by the energy of mindfulness.

So when you breathe in
that insight comes:

'Breathing in, I know I'm alive.'

Knowing that you are alive
is already an insight.

To be alive is a miracle.
It is a miracle to be alive.

That is the greatest of all miracles.

A person that is already
dead does not breathe in anymore.

You who are breathing in,
you are alive.

So just breathing in
you touch the wonder,

the fact that you are alive.

That is an insight,

and that insight liberates you
from forgetfulness, anger, fear.

Because life is so precious.

When you breathe out you can already
celebrate the fact that you are alive.

Breathing in, I know I am alive.

Breathing out, I smile to life
in me and around me.

That is a celebration of life.

You need only 2, 3 seconds in order to
wake up to the fact that you are alive.

You are walking on this beautiful planet
and every minute is precious.

Mindfulness allows you to live deeply
every moment that is given you to live.

Mindfulness brings
concentration and insight.

That insight has the power to liberate you
from the things that are not so important.

You realize that to be alive

and to witness the wonders of life

that are fully present
in the here and the now

is what you want the most.

Breathing in, I know I have a body.

Breathing out, I smile to my body,

because my body
is my first true home.

Breathing in, I know
there is tension in my body.

Breathing out, I allow the tension
in my body to be released.

That is something everyone can do.

At any time of the day.

And it can become a habit,
the habit of being relaxed.

The habit of being peace, peaceful.

Then more insight will come.

When you bring your mind
home to your body,

your mind becomes one with your body.

This state of oneness
between body and mind

you can recognize
the many conditions of happiness

that are already there.

Many of us think
that happiness is not possible now.

They don't believe it.

They think you should
run into the future

and get some more
conditions for happiness.

Most of us think and behave like that.

But with mindfulness we can establish 
ourselves in the present moment

and we can realize that we have
so many conditions of happiness

that are already available.

More than enough for us
to be joyful and to be happy,

right here and right now.

If we take a sheet of paper and write down
the conditions of happiness that you have,

one page is not enough,
two pages are not enough,

three pages are not enough,

ten pages are not enough.

We are very lucky, we are much luckier 
than many people on this planet.

So mindfulness allows us to recognize
the many conditions of happiness

that are available.

That makes you generate
a feeling of joy,

a feeling of happiness

easily and right away.

Suppose we practice 
mindfulness of the eyes.

Breathing in, I'm aware of my eyes.

Breathing out, I smile to my eyes.

When I'm mindful of my eyes
I discover the insight

that I have eyes
still in good condition.

If I open my eyes I can get in touch

with the paradise of forms and colors.

A paradise of forms and colors
is available to me

in the present moment.

Because I have eyes,
still in good condition.

For those of us
who have lost our eyesight

our deepest desire may be

to recover our eyesight
in order to enjoy,

just contemplate the paradise
of forms and colors.

So our eyes, in good condition,

is one of the conditions of happiness.

Breathing in, becoming aware,
mindful of our eyes

helps us to recognize
one condition of happiness.

If we continue like that,

we see thousands
of conditions of happiness

in our body;
our heart still operates normally,

our lungs, our feet are strong enough
for us to walk and climb.

So many conditions of happiness
inside of us and around us.

More than enough for you
to generate a feeling of joy,

a feeling of happiness,
right here and right now.

You don't need to run into the future

to look for more
conditions of happiness.

A good practitioner of mindfulness
should be able to create a feeling of joy,

a feeling of happiness whenever she wants.

For her enjoyment, for her nourishment
and healing.

Schoolteachers can afford
joy and happiness

by the practice of mindfulness 
of breathing, of walking.

From your parking lot,
walking to your school.

You can enjoy every step.

You can enjoy the practice
of mindful walking.

You can combine 
your breath and your steps.

Breathing in you may like
to make two steps.

You pay attention to the contact 
between your foot and the ground.

Don't let your mind here,

bring it down
to the sole of your foot

and touch the ground mindfully.

Walk as if you kiss the Earth,
Mother Earth, with your feet.

You are mindful of Mother Earth.

You are mindful of your touching
of Mother Earth with your foot.

That can be very pleasant.

You don't have to suffer.

You don't have to make
a special effort in order to do so.

While you touch the ground with your foot
you can say, "I have arrived."

"I have arrived."

You can combine
your in breath with two steps.

"I have arrived, I have arrived."

I have arrived at the destination of life

because life
is in the here and the now.

I have arrived in the here and the now
where life is available.

So, "I have arrived" means I have arrived 
in the present moment,

In the here and the now
where life is available.

You arrive with every step,
you arrive with every breath.

Because we have been running
for our whole life.

We have been sacrificing
the present moment

for the sake of the future.

We are not capable of being happy
right in the present moment.

So now this is a kind of revolution.

A kind of a resistance.

You resist the running.

You don't want to run anymore.

You feel comfortable and at peace

in the present moment,

and that is why
you pronounce the words,

"I have arrived in the here
and the now, where life is.

I don't want to run anymore."

Mindfulness gives us enough strength 
in order to resist the running.

The running has become
a strong habit for most of us.

So we stop running with every step,

I have arrived,
I have arrived.

For those of us
who are used to the practice

we can arrive 100%
to the here and the now.

When you can arrive 100%
to the here and the now

you feel peace
and happiness right away.

In the beginning we might like to try
slow walking meditation.

Breathing in you just make one step,
not two steps.

And you say, "I have arrived."

Invest all your mind and body
into the step

and try to arrive 100%

into the here and the now.

If you have not arrived 100%,

you might have arrived
only 20%, 25%.

In that case don't make another step.

Stand here, breathe out
and breathe in again.

Challenge yourself.

Until you can arrive 100%
in the here and the now.

Then you smile, the smile of victory

and then you make another step.

I have arrived, I am home.

My home is right here
in the present moment.

If you know how to walk like that,

touching the present moment deeply

you will find out, like us,

that the Kingdom of God is available
in the here and the now on Earth.

You don't need to die in order to go 
to the Kingdom of God,

it may be too late.

But if you are inhabited
by the energy of mindfulness,

concentration and insight

one step is enough for you
to touch the Kingdom of God

in the here and the now.

It is very healing, very nourishing.

From the parking lot,
walking to your classroom

you can walk like that.

Every step releases
the tension in your body,

every step helps you
to enjoy your body,

the blue sky, the white cloud,

the beautiful trees.

You are in the Kingdom of God.

That flower belongs
to the Kingdom for me.

If you look deeply into a flower
you see the Kingdom inside.

You see the Kingdom of God

and you see God in it.

A flower, a tree, a cloud,

everything is a manifestation
from the Kingdom of God.

If you get in touch deeply with 
mindfulness and concentration

you get insight,

you know that
the Kingdom is available

in the here and the now.

If you have
some mindfulness, concentration,

then you have the Kingdom.

The Kingdom is available,

the problem is whether
you are available to the Kingdom.

You don't have to go
and look for the Kingdom elsewhere

or in the future.
It is right there.

To make yourself 
available to the Kingdom,

that's not too difficult.

Just breathe in mindfully,

concentrating on your step
and you touch the Kingdom.

With the practice,

you touch the Kingdom
deeper and deeper every day.

The Kingdom is happiness.

You realize that true happiness
is made of mindfulness,

concentration and insight.

True happiness
is not made of fame,

power, wealth and sex.

Because there are those
who have plenty of these four things

but they suffer very deeply.

True happiness is made
of understanding, insight and love.

The energy of mindfulness, 
concentration and insight

brings you understanding,
compassion, love and joy.

So a practitioner of mindfulness

is capable of generating
a feeling of joy,

a feeling of happiness
whenever he wants.

Because the energy
of mindfulness helps him

to get in touch with
the many conditions of happiness

which are already available,

even the Kingdom is available.

The practice of mindfulness
is the practice of joy.

It is an art of living.

With mindfulness,
concentration and insight

you can always generate

a feeling of joy
and happiness for yourself.

Then with the energy of mindfulness
you can also handle a painful feeling,

a painful emotion.

If you do not have
the energy of mindfulness,

you'll be afraid of
being overwhelmed by the pain,

the suffering inside.

That is why many of us are trying
to run away from ourselves.

We think that
if we go home to ourselves

we have to encounter a block of pain,

sorrow, fear and despair in us.

That is why most of us
are trying to run away from ourselves.

We try to consume in order to
cover up the suffering inside.

We try to eat something,
we try to listen to music,

we try to go to the Internet.

We try to pick up a newspaper,
we try to do everything

in order to get busy

and not to have to
encounter the loneliness,

the despair, the anger inside of us.

We are afraid of our own suffering.

But those of us
who know the practice of mindfulness,

we are not afraid.

Because generating
the energy of mindfulness

we can go home with strength,

with that energy of mindfulness

we can recognize the pain
and embrace it tenderly.

You can smile to your pain,
your sorrow, your fear.

The suffering inside yourself,

you know how to handle it.

So mindfulness, beside the power to help 
you to create joy and happiness,

it helps you know how to suffer,

how to handle pain,
sorrow and fear in us.

The way a mother does,
holding her baby.

When the baby suffers,

the mother picks the baby up

and holds the baby tenderly like this.

The mother is made of tenderness.

The mother does not know yet
why the baby suffers.

But the fact that she's holding
the baby tenderly, like this,

can help the baby suffer less.

Already.

The practitioner of mindfulness
does very much the same.

First of all, he recognizes
the pain inside of him,

and secondly he holds,
he embraces that pain tenderly.

Breathing in
I know that anger is in me,

that despair is in me.

Breathing out,
I smile and hold my anger,

mindfully and tenderly.

If you continue to breathe
and to walk like that,

embracing your fear,
your anger, you suffer less.

After a few minutes of practice

like the baby
being held by the mother

suffers less.

The fact is
that if we know how to suffer

we suffer much less
than other people.

We are not overwhelmed
by the suffering.

And the way is simple.

With the practice
of mindful breathing, mindful walking

you have enough
of that energy called mindfulness.

And with that energy

you will not be overwhelmed
by the pain inside.

With that energy
you can recognize your pain

and embrace it.

Maybe in the beginning
we need someone else to support us.

Someone else sitting with us,

walking with us,
breathing in mindfully,

walking mindfully.

who lends us 
his or her energy of mindfulness.

Because if we are
a beginner in the practice

our mindfulness
might not be strong enough

to do the work of recognizing
and holding the pain.

So with a friend, with a co-practitioner
doing the same, we are stronger.

If you have 3 friends, 4, 5 doing that
then it is much easier for you

to recognize the pain in you
and to embrace the pain

and suffer less
after a few minutes of practice.

If schoolteachers know how to do that,
they can teach their students.

Because although they are still young,

but already they have a lot of pain
and suffering in them.

We can, as teachers,
breathe in and out

generating the energy of mindfulness

and help our students to suffer less.

That is a very beautiful thing to see.

If teachers know how to do that,

they can transmit the practice
to the students.

And then, holding the suffering
and listening to our suffering

we'll come to understand
the nature of our suffering.

Understanding suffering
will always bring about compassion.

And compassion
is the fourth kind of energy

born from mindfulness,
concentration and insight.

Compassion has the power to heal.

It can transform anger.

Anger makes us sick.

Compassion is the antidote for anger.

When you look at him or her,

if you are mindful enough,
concentrated enough,

you can see
a lot of suffering in that person.

That person has a lot of suffering
in him or in her,

but does not know
how to handle the suffering,

does not know how to suffer less.

That person continues to be
a victim of his own suffering.

No one, so far,
has helped him to suffer less.

That is why he continues to be
the victim of his suffering.

And if you suffer
you are the victim number 2.

Because when you suffer

and you don't know
how to handle your suffering,

you make the people
around you suffer also,

even if it is the closest people to you.

So when you have time and mindfulness
to look into that person

and if you can recognize
the suffering in that person,

the difficulties in that person,

seeing that he's the victim
of his own suffering,

he's helpless,

anger in you is dissolved.

Because your insight about suffering

has brought in
compassion in your heart.

So getting in touch with suffering
always helps us to be compassionate.

That is mindfulness of suffering.

Mindfulness of suffering
is a kind of practice

that can generate
the energy of compassion.

When you are mindful
of his or her suffering,

you begin to understand
the suffering in him or in her.

And that understanding
removes the anger from inside of you.

You don't have the intention
to punish him anymore.

To say something or to do something
to punish him,

because he has dared
to make you suffer.

So it is clear

that understanding suffering always
brings the energy of compassion.

And the energy of compassion
always heals and you suffer less.

When you suffer,
you look at him or her

and don't suffer anymore.

It means you already have
compassion in your heart.

Now you can practice deep listening,

compassionate listening
to help him suffer less.

The other person may be our partner,

our husband,
our wife, our colleague.

When you have seen
the suffering in that person,

you are motivated by a desire
to help him or her suffer less.

Mindfulness of speaking,
mindfulness of listening

helps you to do so.

Compassionate listening and loving speech
can restore communication

and help you to reconcile
with that person.

So if you can see the suffering
in him or in her,

you just come to that person and say,

"My friend, darling,

I know you have suffered quite a lot
during the past many years.

I have not been able
to help you to suffer less.

In fact, I have reacted in such a way

that made you suffer more.

I'm sorry.

It is not my intention
to make you suffer, darling,

just because I did not see
and understand your suffering.

If I had understood your suffering,

I would not have reacted
the way I have.

So please help me,
tell me what is in your heart.

Tell me of your suffering,
your difficulties,

help me to understand."

That is the kind of talking
we call loving speech.

If you have some amount
of compassion in your heart,

you can talk like that.

In the beginning you don't believe

that you can
talk to him or to her like that,

because you are so angry at that person.

But now, as you have seen and understood
the suffering in that person,

you are motivated by a desire
to help him or her suffer less.

So you can talk like that
with him or her

in a language called loving speech,

compassionate speech.

That can always open the heart,

open the door
of the heart of someone.

Then you can sit there and listen.

During the time of listening,

you maintain compassion alive
in your heart

so you can listen for one hour or more.

Because compassion protects you.

While telling you things
the other person may be bitter, angry.

What the other person says

may be full of bitterness,
full of wrong perceptions.

What you hear might touch
on the anger and irritation in you,

and you lose your capacity of listening.

But if you practice mindful breathing

and preserve compassion in you,
you are protected.

Breathing in and out
you remind yourself

that I listen to him
with only one purpose,

to help him empty his heart
and suffer less.

Therefore, even if he says wrong things,

I will not interrupt him and correct him.

Because if I did,

I would transform the session
into a debate

and I ruin the session.

Later on, in a few days,

I may offer him or her
some information

to help him or her
to correct his perceptions.

But not now.

Now is only listening.

If you can breathe in and out
and maintain that awareness alive,

you are protected by compassion

and you can listen
for the whole hour deeply.

That will be very healing
to him or to her.

The practice of listening to the suffering
has to begin with ourselves.

We have to go home
and listen to our own suffering.

Then, when we have suffered less,

when we have enough compassion,

we begin to listen to the other person.

The other person is our partner,

or our father or mother

or whoever lives with us
in the same house.

Then, when we have
restored communication

and reconciled with that person,

we are stronger.

Then we can bring the practice
to our school.

We can practice
with our colleagues in school

and our students,

because all of them suffer.

The students may believe

that their teachers do not suffer,

only they suffer, not their teachers.

We should tell them
that that's not the truth.

We, schoolteachers, we suffer like you.

But as I have learned
how to handle my suffering,

I suffer less now.

If you want,
I can help you to practice

in order to suffer less.

You have difficulties with your parents,

with your family, with your studies.

We can spend time together
and help each other to suffer less.

So that kind of deep listening
and loving speech,

practiced with our students,

helps remove the obstacles
between teachers and students.

If they understand your suffering,

they will not continue
to make you suffer anymore.

If we understand their suffering,

we will know how
to help them to suffer less.

Together we improve the quality
of teaching and of learning,

and the classroom becomes
a very pleasant place to be

for both sides.

(Bell)

(Bell)

Dear friends, you may massage your feet
if you like.

I draw a circle,

representing the schoolteacher.

The schoolteacher has his partner,

his son and daughter and so on.

So we are eager to help our partner,
other members of our family

to suffer less.

And we are eager also

to help our colleagues in schools
and our students

to suffer less.

We have the tendency
of trying to do something.

"I want to do something
to improve the situation."

That's what we want.

But according to this practice,

we should not be too eager
to do something right away.

The first thing
is to go home to us.

With the practice of mindful breathing,

with the practice of mindful walking,

we can calm down
our feelings, our emotions,

we can bring in a feeling of joy
and happiness to nourish us.

We can listen to our own suffering

in order to allow
the energy of compassion

to be born and to heal.

That is what we should begin with.

We can do that with the support
of co-practitioners.

Those who share
the same kind of insight

as how to improve the situation.

When you have enough peace,
joy and compassion,

and you suffer less,

you can go to him or to her, your partner,

the person who is closest to you

and help him or her
to do the same.

Of course, the other person
has to do like you.

You help him or her
to go back to herself

and take care of the things inside.

How to release the tension in the body,

how to generate
a feeling of joy or happiness,

how to listen to the suffering inside

and understand the suffering inside.

The suffering inside of us
carries within itself

the suffering of our father,

of our mother, of our ancestors,
of our nation.

If we understand our suffering,

we understand the suffering
of our father, our mother,

our ancestors, our nation.

We suffer less.

We have enough compassion to help.

After having helped the people
in our own family,

we have a stronger support at home.

Now we can begin to go

and help the people in our workplace,

our colleagues and our students.

The principle is very much the same,

helping them to go home
to themselves and take care.

Always we have to begin like this.

They can also help you
to help other people.

The principle is:
the way out is in.

The way out is in.

Tomorrow we shall have
walking meditation together.

There are those of us
who know the practice.

We shall practice

and support those of us
who are new in the practice.

Every step can generate
the energy of peace.

Every step can release
the tension in our body,

every step can help us get in touch

with the wonders of life
that can nourish and heal.

If we have enough
mindfulness and concentration,

we can touch Mother Earth,

we can touch the Kingdom of God
with every step.

Later on,

we can walk like that
on the railway station,

on the airport,

from the parking lot to our school,

and enjoy the Kingdom
with every step.

I have arrived,

I have arrived.

Two steps while breathing in.

If you like,
you can make three steps.

I have arrived,

arrived, arrived.

I have arrived is not a statement.

That is a realization,

because you have to arrive truly
in the here and the now

with every step.

We have to train ourselves
walking in the Kingdom of God.

If you make two steps
while breathing in,

then you may like to make
three steps while breathing out.

You say, "I am home,

I am home, home."

So the rhythm is 2-3.

I have arrived,
I have arrived,

I am home,
I am home, I am home.

In Plum Village we teach
the children to do the same.

We begin saying...

to teach them how to say 'yes'.

Breathing in, you say

(French) 'yes, yes'.

Teaching the children to say 'yes'.

Because many of them say no, no, no.

(Laughter)

There are so many things
that you have to say yes to.

The blue sky, the flowers,

many things you have to say yes to.

So breathing in, they make two steps

and they say,

(French) 'yes, yes'.

While breathing out, they say,

(French) 'thank you,
thank you, thank you.'

So you can invent
your own words

in order to help you to concentrate.

I have arrived, I have arrived,

I am home, home, home,

are words that can help you
to concentrate

so that you can arrive truly.

I have arrived, I am home.

Later on you may change,

"In the here, in the here,

in the now, now, now."

Because that is the address of life,

the address of the Kingdom of God.

Later on, you may say,

"I am solid, solid.

I am free, free, free."

That is not autosuggestion.

Because if you are mindful

and making steps
and arriving at every step,

you are truly solid.

You are anchored,

you are established
in the here and the now,

you are not being pulled away
by the past or by the future.

Every step helps you

to cultivate more solidity.

"I am solid, I am solid.

I am free, I am free, I am free."

This is not political freedom.

This is freedom from the past,
the future, our worries.

Because as you are solidly
established in the here and the now,

you are free from the regrets,
the sorrow concerning the past,

the fear, the uncertainty
concerning the future.

You walk as a free person.

From the parking lot,

walking to your school,

you walk as a free person.

You stop all the thinking.

Because the thinking removes you
from the here and the now.

That is Noble Silence.

There is a radio
that is going on all the time

called NST,
Non Stop Thinking.

While sitting, breathing and walking,

we turn off that radio,
Non Stop Thinking,

and we enjoy more
every step, every breath.

The healing and the nourishment
take place much more easily

than with the thinking.

That is the mental discourse
always going on in our head.

If you are truly focused
on your breath, on your steps,

you stop the thinking easily

and you enjoy the Kingdom of God
with every step.

It is a habit.

It is like when you learn
playing ping-pong,

or tennis,

you need some training.

This is the same.

You get the habit

of enjoying the breathing
and the walking.

We have that song,

"I have arrived,

I am home,

in the here, in the now.

I am solid, I am free."

Solidity and freedom
make you a happy person.

A person who does not have
stability and solidity

cannot be a happy person.

A person who does not have any freedom

from anger, fear,
the past and the future

cannot be a happy person.

I am solid, I am free.

That is a conformation.

In the ultimate I dwell,

in the Kingdom of God I walk.

Shall we sing together?

# I have arrived, I am home,

# in the here and in the now.

# I have arrived, I am home,

# in the here and in the now.

# I am solid, I am free,

# I am solid, I am free.

# In the ultimate I dwell.

# In the ultimate I dwell.

# I have arrived, I am home,

# in the here and in the now.

# I have arrived, I am home,

# in the here and in the now.

# I am solid, I am free.

# I am solid, I am free.

# In the ultimate I dwell.

# In the ultimate I dwell. #

(Bell)

So during the walking,

not only we do not speak,

but we also do not think.

Because the thinking
removes you

from the here and the now.

I think,
therefore I am not there.

You observe what we call Noble Silence.

This is a kind of silence
that is very eloquent.

It allows you to be fully alive,
fully present

and enjoy every step,
enjoy every breath.

When every one of us
breathes and walks together like that

we can generate
a very powerful collective energy.

That will penetrate into everyone

and help with the healing
and the transformation.

The same thing is true

with sitting together
and breathing together.

The next thing we do

is to share a meal together.

That is called mindful eating.

We allow the talking to stop,

we allow the thinking to stop.

We just enjoy
our togetherness

and the meal.

Because everyone can participate,

can contribute

to the collective energy
of mindfulness and joy.

During the time we have dinner,

we focus our attention
only on two things.

First of all,

is the food that we are serving,
that we are eating.

We breathe in and out

and become aware
of the vegetables,

of the rice,

of whatever we are eating.

When I pick up a piece of carrot,

I do it mindfully

and I take one second
to look at the piece of carrot.

Only one second.

One second is enough

to see that there is
the sunshine in the carrot,

there is the rain in the carrot,

there is the good earth in the carrot,

time, space, the farmer,
the transporter and so on.

The piece of carrot
carries within itself

the whole cosmos.

One second of looking mindfully

can put you in touch
with the whole cosmos.

One second only.

Then you put it into your mouth mindfully.

Don't put anything else,

like your worries, your projects.

Just the piece of carrot.

Get in touch with the piece of carrot
that represents the cosmos.

In the Catholic tradition,

celebrating the Eucharist

you see the piece of bread
as the body of Jesus.

But in this practice,

we see the piece of bread
as the body of the cosmos.

Not very far.
It is the same thing.

You get in touch
with the wonders of life.

The stars, the sun,
Mother Earth

and the cosmos
that have come to you

in the form of a piece of carrot
to nourish you.

That is love.

And when you chew,
you chew only the piece of carrot

and not our projects,
our anger, our fear.

Not good for our health.

So we can enjoy eating each morsel
of our dinner in that way.

Thankful, joyful,

grateful.

The second object of our mindfulness

is the presence of
other practitioners around us.

They are eating the same way,

generating the energy
of mindfulness and joy

so that we will be nourished
not only by the food,

but by the collective energy
of brotherhood, sisterhood,

peace and joy.

Because eating like that
can be very joyful.

Although we are silent.

But a Noble Silence is very eloquent.

It speaks a lot about
togetherness,

brotherhood, sisterhood and so on.

In Plum Village we always enjoy
our breakfast, our lunch,

our dinner together.

Eating like that can be nourishing

for the body and for the spirit
at the same time.

Every time we hear the bell,

the bell is a reminder.

It helps us to stop the thinking,

to stop the talking

and begin to be,

to be alive in the here and the now.

To come home to the here and the now.

Sister Dao

will offer us

half a sound of the bell.

(Bell)

That is a half sound.

Again please.

(Bell)

That is a half sound.

When you hear the half sound,

you know that a full sound
is going to happen very soon.

So you have about 8 seconds
to prepare yourself

to receive the full sound.

When you hear a half sound,

you stop talking, you stop thinking,

you begin to breathe in mindfully
and breathe out mindfully.

It takes 6, 7, 8 seconds.

Then you are ready
to receive the full sound.

The bell master,
after the half sound,

allows you to have enough time

to prepare for the reception
of the full sound.

Please.

(Bell)

(Bell)

That sound does not exactly come
from the outside.

It comes from the inside.

It is the voice
from the Buddha from within

calling us to go home to ourselves.

It is the voice of Jesus Christ

calling us to go home to ourselves,

to be alive again.

To be resurrected again.

Without mindfulness
we are not alive.

We live like dead people.

The bell helps us

to come home to ourselves
with mindfulness.

Mindfulness is the Holy Spirit.

When we have mindfulness in ourselves,

we are fully alive,

we are fully present
to live our life.

Mindfulness has the power to heal.

Jesus is inhabited
by the Holy Spirit.

In the Buddhist tradition,

we see that the Holy Spirit
is made of three elements:

mindfulness,
concentration, insight.

That will bring compassion to you.

So it is not something vague, abstract.

With the practice
we can generate

mindfulness,
concentration and insight.

We can allow the Holy Spirit
to inhabit us

for the healing and
the transformation to be possible.

During the time we sit together,

and listen and breathe together,

the bell helps us
to go home to the here and the now.

There is a practice called
deep listening.

We don't listen just with our ears.

We can invite
all the cells in our body

to join us in listening.

The sound of the bell will penetrate deep
into every cell of our body.

That is possible.

We know that all our ancestors,

blood and spiritual ancestors,

they are fully present
in every cell of our body.

We may like to invite all of them

to join us in listening to the bell.

And become alive again.

We think that our ancestors
are no longer alive.

That is not true.

They are always alive
in every cell of our body.

We can get in touch with them
at any time we want.

We can talk to them.

We can invite them to walk with us,

to breathe with us

and to listen to the bell with us.

When you hear the bell,

you may like to invite
all your ancestors in you

to join you in listening.

Listening like that
can be very healing,

transforming also.

The bell master is there to help us

to go home to ourselves

and enjoy breathing.

Usually when you hear
the full sound of the bell,

you practice breathing in
and out three times.

Breathing in you say,

"I listen, I listen."

And if you have
all your ancestors listening with you,

you say, "We listen, we listen."

This is not an "I",
this is a "we".

"We listen, we listen."

And while breathing out, you say,

"This wonderful sound

brings us back
to our true home."

Our true home
is here and now.

Our true home
is the Kingdom of God.

Breathing in, I say,

"We listen, we are truly listening."

Breathing out, I say,

"This wonderful sound
brings us back

to our true home,
to the Kingdom of God."

You enjoy breathing in
and out three times.

Then the bell master
may invite the second sound.

And every one of us
have a chance to enjoy

three more in-breaths
and out-breaths that way.

Three sounds of the bell mean

nine in-breaths and out-breaths.

A good bell master
would allow ourselves

enough time to enjoy...

(The Plum Village Online Monastery)

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... with mindfulness, concentration,
insight and compassion

that will help to heal us.

(Bell)

(Bell)

(Bell)

(Bell)

The energy is good.

(Laughter)

Now let us massage our feet

and be ready to stand up
when we hear the small bell.

(Mindful online broadcasts
like this are supported

by viewers like you.)

(Donate at http://pvom.org)

(Thank you for your generosity)

(The Plum Village Online Monastery)