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(Bell)

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(Bell)

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(Bell)

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(Bell)

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So, dear respected Thay, dear sangha,
dear friends,

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I'm very happy we are together again
on this eighth day of November,

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in the year 2018.

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There is a Day of Mindfulness for us,

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you have a Day of Mindfulness
to be together

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with lay practitioners
from many, many countries.

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We are very grateful to Thay

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because he has always made it possible
for the lay practitioners to join us

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at Plum Village for the three month
Rain Retreat,

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which in some countries is not open
for lay practitioners to come

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and practice with the monastics.

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So, since the very beginning
of Plum Village,

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this has been our way of practicing
as a fourfold sangha.

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And that means that

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the monks and nuns,
male and female,

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and then the lay practitioners,
male and female.

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That is meant by four fourfold sangha.

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During this Rains Retreat,
we have been offering

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our understanding and ways of practicing
the 14 mindfulness trainings every Sunday,

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and then, on Thursdays, there has been
a variety of teachings.

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So far, we've shared the basic
Plum Village practices,

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some of the Dharma Doors,

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I believe, such as Beginning Anew,
Shining Light, guided meditations,

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reconciliation within families
and relationships.

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In the coming weeks, we will be offering
our understanding and how we can practice

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some of the sutras.

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This morning, today we will look
at the Discourse on Love.

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We remember that the Dharma talk on Sunday
ended with a line from one of Thay's poems

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and it said:
Let us accept one another.

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Let us share the vision
for Great Love to arise.

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Maybe we're wondering,
what is this Great Love?

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Buddha had some wonderful teachings
on Great Love.

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And Thay has also offered many deep
teachings on what he has called True Love.

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So we know there are four expressions
of this Great Love, of this True Love.

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We know them as
loving kindness,

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it is also known as maitri or metta,

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compassion,

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or also known as karuna,
in Pali or Sanskrit.

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Joy, mudita,

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and then equanimity, upeksha.

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The Buddha has offered an explanation
of these four expressions of love

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in the Discourse on Love.

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This discourse is available in all
of our chanting books,

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Chanting from the Heart and all of
the translations in the Chanting Book.

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And it's found in the session on Monday,
Monday morning.

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This text or this sutra is very important
and really well loved and practiced

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in the Theravada traditions in Buddhism.

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So, we think of the countries where
'source Buddhism', as Thay calls it,

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or 'original Buddhism' is practiced.

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And that is the country of Thailand,
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia,

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Sri Lanka, India and Myanmar.

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Primarily the countries in Southeast Asia.

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The text is in Pali language, and
it's part of their daily practice

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to chant this discourse, this sutra.

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I discovered that there are

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20 translations of this text into English.

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19 are available on the Internet,

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and then the 20th is the one that
Thay and sister Chan Duc did,

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or sister True Virtue, sister Annabel.
And to me, it's the most beautiful.

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If you have an interest in scholarship,

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you can look at the other translations
which are very accurate, I believe,

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I don't read Pali.
But in reading the translation

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that is available to us everyday,
I see that it is very, very beautiful,

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the one that we have.

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So, why don't we listen to
this Discourse on Love.

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And, I'll read it.

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And I believe many of you
have already heard it,

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but it's nice to hear it again.

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Because I've found that it waters
my seeds of happiness and goodness.

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It is a wonderful text to nourish
the wholesome qualities in ourselves.

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So, Discourse on Love. And this is Thay's
translation with sister Annabel.

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“He or she who wants to attain peace

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should practice being upright, humble,
and capable of using loving speech.

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He or she will know how to live simply
and happily, with senses calmed,

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without being covetous and carried away
by the emotions of the majority.

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Let him or her not do anything that
will be disapproved of by the wise ones.

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And this is what he or she contemplates:

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May everyone be happy and safe,
and may all hearts be filled with joy.

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May all beings live
in security and in peace –

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beings who are frail or strong, tall or
short, big or small, visible or invisible,

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near or faraway, already born,
or yet to be born.

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May all of them dwell
in perfect tranquility.

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Let no one do harm to anyone.

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Let no one put the life of anyone
in danger.

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Let no one, out of anger or ill will,
wish anyone any harm.

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Just as a mother loves and protects her
only child at the risk of her own life,

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cultivate boundless love to offer
to all living beings in the entire cosmos.

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Let our boundless love pervade the whole
universe, above, below, and across.

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Our love will know no obstacles.

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Our heart will be absolutely free
from enmity and hatred.

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Whether standing or walking, sitting
or lying, as long as we are awake,

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we should cultivate
this love within our heart.

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This is the noblest way of living.

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Free from wrong views, greed,
and sensual desires,

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living in beauty and realizing
Perfect Understanding,

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those who practice boundless love
will certainly transcend birth and death.”

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I discovered that this sutra
grew within me.

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I heard it the first time and I thought,

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"It's very lovely, very nice, but
how can I practice it?"

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It seemed to be a real challenge,
to have all these qualities,

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and to be able to practice boundless love.

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So what I did is I read it,
I read it very often.

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And I simply waited.

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And I didn't expect myself
to be able to practice it.

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It was simply enough to read it.

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And I still do this everyday.
I read the sutra.

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It's very interesting to know that
this sutra has a history.

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It has an origin.
An origin story.

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But before I share the origin story of
how this sutra was offered by the Buddha,

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I want to say a few words about
what do we mean by origin stories.

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When we

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study or hear some of
the Buddhist teachings.

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Do you know that the lay people

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in the time of the Buddha

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were the source of many
of the mindfulness trainings?

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Or the precepts,
as they were called in those days.

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Both for the lay people
and for the monastics.

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And how was that possible?

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For example, the 5 mindfulness trainings

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were created by the Buddha

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in response to the request
or the mother and father, the parents,

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of a monk who had just ordained.

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His parents went to the Buddha and said,

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"World Honored One, do you have
some guidelines for us,

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the lay people living in the world, so
we could have more happiness and peace?"

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So the Buddha thought and he agreed,

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he said, "Yes,
I will create some guidelines."

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And these guidelines, in those days,
were offered with the phrase,

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"I will refrain from killing.
I will abstain from stealing." Et cetera.

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So the Buddha used words that were
appropriate for the time and culture

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in ancient India.

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I think if we continue to use those words
in our modern era,

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perhaps the mindfulness trainings
will not be so easily accepted.

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So Thay, with his great understanding
and wisdom of our era and culture,

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renamed them to call them
'mindfulness trainings',

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which is truly what they are about.
We'll develop our mindfulness,

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and train our mind to think
and act in wholesome ways.

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So Thay called them mindfulness trainings,

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and then, instead of beginning
each training with the word

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"I will abstain from", or
"I will refrain from",

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because in our era, it's more a culture of
consummation rather than abstaining from.

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So Thay chose to use the words,
"Aware of suffering caused by" killing,

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or stealing.

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If we know that such actions
are going to create suffering,

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or our ways of speaking, or thinking
will create suffering,

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then we think, "Oh, sure!
I'm willing to learn more and practice."

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Practice the trainings.

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So then Thay gives us ways to understand
within the training how to practice.

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I am committed to do this. 
I'm determined

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to do something else in order to
not cause suffering to myself or others.

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The precepts for the monks and nuns
were also created by the Buddha

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after a situation occurred
where there was a mistake

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or after an event.

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The Buddha did not make precepts,
or mindfulness trainings,

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we say "a priori", in advance.

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The Buddha wanted the monastics
to have a way of life

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that would make it easy for the lay people
to be able to ask questions,

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and learn from the monastics,
and respect them.

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So all of the precepts for the monastics

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were made after
a specific situation occurred.

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And how did the Buddha learn
about situations that occurred?

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Or behavior on the part of the monastics?

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It was from the lay people.

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The lay people,
when they observed or heard

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how the monks and nuns
were speaking or acting,

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if they were not pleased with the -
If they were not happy,

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they would go to the Buddha and tell him.

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"This is what we saw,
this is what happened."

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And then the Buddha decided
that he didn't want his monastics

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to make the same mistake.

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So he made precepts for them.

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We have to understand, in the beginning,
the monastic sangha was forming.

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It was brand new. So -

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But they didn't know too much
about how to be monastics,

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so, gradually,

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they learned, Buddha learned,
and the monastics learned

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about what would be the most
appropriate way of life for them.

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And the Buddha created mindful manners
as appropriate codes of behavior.

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We are all very grateful
to the lay sangha.

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In those days they were helping
the Buddha and the other monastics

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know what they thought
would be appropriate behavior.

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Let us enjoy just a moment

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to come back to ourselves. We'll listen
to one sound of the bell

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for a moment of mindful breathing.

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(Bell)

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So I've shared a little bit about origin,
origin stories.

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The precepts for the monastics,
they all have an origin story.

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We learn about what happened

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and it was a source of maybe
some misunderstanding,

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a source of

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people not being happy,

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and so, a guideline was created.
An origin story.

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And I've used the example of the
mindfulness trainings for the lay sangha,

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and then, monastic mindful manners
and precepts for the monastics.

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And also, I've, with great appreciation
and gratitude, let all of you know

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how important you are for our practice.

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And you were instrumental
in the time of the Buddha

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for helping formulate the appropriate
code of behavior for monastics.

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I want to add that other monastics
also went to the Buddha

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to share what they saw other monastics do.

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So it wasn't just the lay people going,

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it was monastics also
letting the Buddha know.

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I think the Buddha was very busy,
wasn't he?

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Not only teaching,
but receiving all of these reports

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on how people were acting,
and speaking, and thinking, et cetera.

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So the Buddha listened, I'm sure,
very deeply and then reflected.

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So from the time of the Buddha

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he established the fourfold sangha

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of the monastics and the lay people
practicing together

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and supporting one another
in their practice.

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So now I'd like to share with you
the origin story

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of this sutra.

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It is said that on one occasion,

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some 500 bhikkhus, meaning
fully ordained monks,

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after receiving some instruction
on meditation,

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such as awareness of the breathing,

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which is what Thay has chosen
for our basic meditation practice,

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the Anapanasati sutra,
they practiced that daily,

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aware of our in-breath and our out-breath,
aware of our body, relaxing our body.

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So the Buddha gave them some topics
for their meditation.

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Then, they went to a forest
in the Himalayas

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to practice this meditation.

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In those days, they didn't have
a practice center such as we know today.

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They went to the foot of a tree,
or they went into the forest

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to a quite, secluded area to practice.

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Mostly sitting meditation,
and slow walking meditation.

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But we know that they also ate mindfully.

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But there were some devas.

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Maybe a deva would be
someone comparable to an angel

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in the Christian tradition.

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00:25:01,938 --> 00:25:07,090
Devas lived in the forest, in nature,
where there were trees

236
00:25:09,866 --> 00:25:17,337
and bushes, a lot of natural
flora and fauna.

237
00:25:17,932 --> 00:25:22,234
But there was some devas
already living there.

238
00:25:22,988 --> 00:25:26,922
Initially, the devas, devas are like

239
00:25:28,278 --> 00:25:32,806
beings that are not in a body form,

240
00:25:34,726 --> 00:25:41,172
but they have already developed
some certain amount of consciousness.

241
00:25:41,583 --> 00:25:44,797
But there were devas already living there.

242
00:25:45,014 --> 00:25:50,098
In the beginning, the devas tolerated
the presence of the monks.

243
00:25:50,777 --> 00:25:52,965
But they saw

244
00:25:53,449 --> 00:25:59,908
that the bhikkhus were planning
to stay there and practice meditation.

245
00:26:00,300 --> 00:26:04,187
And they had no intention to leave.

246
00:26:04,874 --> 00:26:11,874
So the devas realized that and became
upset and annoyed with the bhikkhus

247
00:26:12,655 --> 00:26:18,233
for taking their space, for moving in
occupying their territory.

248
00:26:18,987 --> 00:26:21,596
So what did they do?

249
00:26:21,777 --> 00:26:27,291
The devas made fearful sighs
and horrible sounds

250
00:26:27,478 --> 00:26:32,418
that agitated the six
sense organs of the monks.

251
00:26:33,317 --> 00:26:36,217
And they did this at night

252
00:26:36,448 --> 00:26:40,311
to frighten the monks,
so they would go away.

253
00:26:41,801 --> 00:26:45,576
The bhikkhus were so disturbed,

254
00:26:45,916 --> 00:26:48,416
that they got sick

255
00:26:48,595 --> 00:26:52,039
and they couldn't make any progress
in their meditation.

256
00:26:52,967 --> 00:26:58,020
So they decided to leave the forest
to return to the Buddha.

257
00:26:58,525 --> 00:27:03,142
And they reported their experiences
of what happened.

258
00:27:04,925 --> 00:27:08,702
So the Buddha received this report,

259
00:27:09,077 --> 00:27:11,610
and in his meditation,

260
00:27:11,987 --> 00:27:17,659
he surveyed the area
to find an alternative forest

261
00:27:18,616 --> 00:27:23,182
where the monks could practice in silence.

262
00:27:23,468 --> 00:27:28,646
But he found no other suitable forest
in that area.

263
00:27:29,190 --> 00:27:34,607
So what he told them
was to return to that forest.

264
00:27:38,589 --> 00:27:42,486
However, before returning to the forest

265
00:27:42,768 --> 00:27:49,648
the Buddha gave them, his monks,
this metta meditation.

266
00:27:51,067 --> 00:27:56,500
The Metta Sutra for them to chant
as a daily practice

267
00:27:56,764 --> 00:28:01,107
and then to offer as a meditation

268
00:28:01,625 --> 00:28:06,884
to make the devas more peaceful,
to appease them,

269
00:28:07,883 --> 00:28:12,176
and as well for the protection
of the monks.

270
00:28:12,781 --> 00:28:17,838
So the monks went back to the same forest
where the devas were,

271
00:28:18,434 --> 00:28:21,828
I imagine they were a little bit anxious,

272
00:28:22,017 --> 00:28:26,637
wondering if the Buddha's teachings
would be enough

273
00:28:27,389 --> 00:28:30,857
to make the devas calm.

274
00:28:31,044 --> 00:28:37,140
Because they had experienced
a lot of agitation from these beings.

275
00:28:38,263 --> 00:28:43,131
So the monks went back, and
daily chanted the Metta Sutra,

276
00:28:44,108 --> 00:28:49,342
and the metta meditation
throughout the day.

277
00:28:49,962 --> 00:28:52,962
And I believe throughout the night.

278
00:28:53,113 --> 00:28:56,423
They had brief periods of sleep.

279
00:28:56,595 --> 00:29:00,256
The result was transformative.

280
00:29:01,109 --> 00:29:05,163
By receiving this metta energy
from the monks,

281
00:29:05,383 --> 00:29:09,988
this energy of loving kindness
and compassion from the monks,

282
00:29:13,690 --> 00:29:19,344
the devas developed trust
and confidence in the monks.

283
00:29:22,169 --> 00:29:24,240
They welcomed them.

284
00:29:25,654 --> 00:29:31,571
They then had goodwill towards the monks
and even looked after them,

285
00:29:31,794 --> 00:29:36,999
making sure they had enough food,
and whatever they needed.

286
00:29:38,571 --> 00:29:44,147
And the monks were also able to
develop these qualities in themselves,

287
00:29:44,612 --> 00:29:51,673
and offer to the devas their friendliness,
their good wishes,

288
00:29:53,354 --> 00:29:57,896
their kindness
and their peaceful presence.

289
00:29:58,134 --> 00:30:04,012
That helped calm and watered
the best seeds in themselves,

290
00:30:04,213 --> 00:30:06,426
but also

291
00:30:06,898 --> 00:30:10,649
in the hearts and minds of the devas.

292
00:30:10,940 --> 00:30:15,459
So everybody benefited from this practice.

293
00:30:15,783 --> 00:30:18,887
And it is said, that

294
00:30:19,652 --> 00:30:23,599
after this three months period
of rains retreat,

295
00:30:23,855 --> 00:30:29,549
that the bhikkhus spent with this
meditation in the forest with the devas,

296
00:30:30,472 --> 00:30:35,313
it is said that all 500 bhikkhus
became arhats.

297
00:30:36,310 --> 00:30:42,182
And in the Theravada tradition
of Buddhism,

298
00:30:42,538 --> 00:30:49,704
an arhat is a person who has purified
all of their afflictions,

299
00:30:50,051 --> 00:30:53,598
such as greed, hatred, ignorance.

300
00:30:53,803 --> 00:30:57,843
He has developed
to the highest extent possible.

301
00:30:58,063 --> 00:31:01,748
Becoming arhat,
you have no more afflictions.

302
00:31:01,916 --> 00:31:05,564
I believe it's just
before becoming a buddha.

303
00:31:08,363 --> 00:31:13,077
Being an arhat is pretty good.

304
00:31:13,851 --> 00:31:19,221
So the good fruits of their practice
of this metta meditation.

305
00:31:26,294 --> 00:31:31,650
As practitioners in our daily life,
wherever we are living,

306
00:31:32,845 --> 00:31:35,221
in the forest,

307
00:31:35,994 --> 00:31:38,532
where there are trees.

308
00:31:38,792 --> 00:31:41,976
And incidentally, you know there are

309
00:31:43,286 --> 00:31:48,563
Greenpeace and organizations that
want to protect the life of trees,

310
00:31:49,367 --> 00:31:53,170
and not let people cut down
the ancient forests,

311
00:31:54,199 --> 00:31:57,609
which is happening in many countries.

312
00:31:57,864 --> 00:32:02,469
To cut down the ancient forests, and then,
what do they do?

313
00:32:02,835 --> 00:32:10,472
In some cases, they plant grass
to bring in the cattle.

314
00:32:11,722 --> 00:32:16,348
To grow - They make pasture land.

315
00:32:17,900 --> 00:32:24,698
But the ancient forests provide
beautiful fresh oxygen.

316
00:32:24,953 --> 00:32:30,890
The leaves of the trees give us oxygen
and they absorb the carbon dioxide

317
00:32:31,304 --> 00:32:34,636
in the process of photosynthesis.

318
00:32:35,172 --> 00:32:38,783
So, the ancient forests are precious.

319
00:32:39,254 --> 00:32:44,466
So whether we live in the ancient forest
or in the cities,

320
00:32:45,370 --> 00:32:52,276
there are practices that we can do
related to this metta sutra.

321
00:32:57,273 --> 00:33:02,688
I reflected on how I could
share this sutra this morning.

322
00:33:04,397 --> 00:33:08,041
And the only thing I could think of

323
00:33:08,405 --> 00:33:11,979
was to do what Thay did.

324
00:33:12,356 --> 00:33:16,604
Because during the winter retreat,
the three month rain retreat,

325
00:33:17,956 --> 00:33:21,755
Thay would chose a sutra.

326
00:33:22,368 --> 00:33:28,678
And them he would take
short sections of the sutra

327
00:33:29,653 --> 00:33:34,699
and then, share some commentary
on each section.

328
00:33:35,606 --> 00:33:41,709
So I hope that's alright with you
if I simply do what Thay did.

329
00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:49,242
We'll listen to some commentary
on this sutra,

330
00:33:49,902 --> 00:33:54,567
and then we'll learn about this meditation

331
00:33:55,440 --> 00:34:00,141
that is based on the sutra,
the metta meditation.

332
00:34:02,556 --> 00:34:07,651
Let us take a moment to stretch
or change your sitting position

333
00:34:08,987 --> 00:34:14,360
if you wish, or sit in a chair
if that will be more comfortable.

334
00:34:14,579 --> 00:34:18,717
We'll have a sound of the bell
to reconnect us

335
00:34:19,653 --> 00:34:25,519
with ourselves and with one another.
Because when we all breathe together,

336
00:34:26,230 --> 00:34:32,681
at the same time, we're creating
a collective energy of mindfulness,

337
00:34:33,253 --> 00:34:37,792
a collective energy of concentration
that is shared.

338
00:34:38,321 --> 00:34:42,364
It's an interbeing experience.

339
00:34:42,839 --> 00:34:48,942
(Bell)

340
00:35:01,998 --> 00:35:05,786
So what we share on the sutra

341
00:35:06,647 --> 00:35:10,101
is a different kind of sharing sometimes.

342
00:35:10,492 --> 00:35:12,815
I appreciate

343
00:35:14,274 --> 00:35:19,869
just your willingness to listen,
and whatever results is also okay.

344
00:35:21,004 --> 00:35:25,840
It begins with: "He or she
who wants to attain peace

345
00:35:26,319 --> 00:35:33,856
should practice being upright, humble,
and capable of using loving speech."

346
00:35:37,057 --> 00:35:42,591
So the beginning of the sutra
gives us an opportunity

347
00:35:43,304 --> 00:35:48,948
to think about how we can live
simply and happily.

348
00:35:49,869 --> 00:35:53,222
How to speak lovingly.

349
00:35:53,893 --> 00:35:58,656
We know we have the mindfulness
trainings to help us speak lovingly.

350
00:36:03,269 --> 00:36:07,054
We have also the practice
of Beginning Anew,

351
00:36:07,286 --> 00:36:10,508
where we learn how to speak lovingly

352
00:36:10,719 --> 00:36:14,365
by sharing our appreciations of others,

353
00:36:14,580 --> 00:36:21,294
how much we have a lot of gratitude
for people in our life.

354
00:36:25,756 --> 00:36:29,600
When we are upright, what does that mean?

355
00:36:29,841 --> 00:36:33,124
It means that we have some ethical values.

356
00:36:33,813 --> 00:36:36,872
We live by our values.

357
00:36:37,261 --> 00:36:40,134
So, this person is upright,

358
00:36:40,371 --> 00:36:46,570
that suggests this person is reliable,
has ethical values.

359
00:36:50,641 --> 00:36:55,502
We can take refuge in this person
because of their honesty,

360
00:36:56,553 --> 00:37:00,780
their capacity to understand.

361
00:37:01,661 --> 00:37:07,350
And not do anything
that would be disappointing.

362
00:37:08,244 --> 00:37:10,794
We want not perfect, okay?

363
00:37:10,995 --> 00:37:16,888
But someone who is upright is someone
who practices, maybe we put it simply.

364
00:37:17,162 --> 00:37:22,293
Someone who loves the practice
and does it wholeheartedly.

365
00:37:22,641 --> 00:37:27,205
But we don't speak of perfect uprightness.

366
00:37:28,420 --> 00:37:32,268
There isn't perfect uprightness.

367
00:37:32,533 --> 00:37:37,643
But just human uprightness. Okay?
It is good enough.

368
00:37:41,712 --> 00:37:48,516
We don't covet or want what others have
in this simple lifestyle.

369
00:37:49,143 --> 00:37:54,278
We have enough. There is
the Sanskrit word 'samtusta'.

370
00:37:54,495 --> 00:37:58,073
We are content with what we have.

371
00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:03,053
It says: We know how to live simply
and happily, with senses calmed,

372
00:38:03,575 --> 00:38:09,991
without being covetous and carried away
by the emotions of the majority.

373
00:38:10,229 --> 00:38:15,081
So if we are in an environment
where there is a majority of people

374
00:38:16,278 --> 00:38:23,142
and we find that right now what I need
is to feel peaceful and calm,

375
00:38:23,413 --> 00:38:27,299
and maybe the environment is such that

376
00:38:27,699 --> 00:38:30,719
the majority of the people are

377
00:38:31,363 --> 00:38:35,525
a little bit agitated,
not so peaceful and calm,

378
00:38:35,875 --> 00:38:38,419
we can choose

379
00:38:40,679 --> 00:38:45,650
to not be carried away
by the emotions that are there.

380
00:38:46,346 --> 00:38:51,757
But we are not going to judge at all
the emotions of the majority.

381
00:38:52,082 --> 00:38:54,954
We simply observe.

382
00:38:55,186 --> 00:38:59,186
And that is bare attention.
We observe what is there,

383
00:38:59,384 --> 00:39:03,290
what are the emotions being expressed.

384
00:39:03,548 --> 00:39:10,869
We observe. We don't judge. And
if we wish to not be carried away

385
00:39:11,689 --> 00:39:16,385
by whatever the majority of
the emotions are,

386
00:39:16,654 --> 00:39:19,991
that we don't wish to experience,

387
00:39:22,872 --> 00:39:26,001
then we come back to ourselves

388
00:39:26,176 --> 00:39:30,334
and we can practice mindful breathing,
mindful walking.

389
00:39:30,576 --> 00:39:35,504
Sometimes, we feel
that we have to step outside.

390
00:39:36,062 --> 00:39:38,690
And that is certainly okay,

391
00:39:38,871 --> 00:39:42,076
to not be carried away
in certain environments,

392
00:39:42,259 --> 00:39:46,840
we can choose to find temporarily
another environment.

393
00:39:47,107 --> 00:39:52,113
We step outside and enjoy mindful walking,

394
00:39:52,881 --> 00:39:58,311
mindful breathing. We learned about
protecting our six sense organs.

395
00:39:58,672 --> 00:40:01,901
The sutra says, with senses calmed.

396
00:40:02,158 --> 00:40:06,804
That means that whatever we see, hear,

397
00:40:08,877 --> 00:40:16,974
taste or touch, if it has
the effect on us of creating

398
00:40:19,103 --> 00:40:25,178
agitation, or making us feel upset,
we are no longer peaceful,

399
00:40:25,489 --> 00:40:30,994
then we want to think of how can I protect
my eyes, or my ears,

400
00:40:31,964 --> 00:40:38,955
so they are not going to
continually receive this stimulation.

401
00:40:42,226 --> 00:40:45,206
And we learn how to do this gradually.

402
00:40:45,456 --> 00:40:51,305
We learn about the environment,
and how I'm feeling,

403
00:40:52,309 --> 00:40:55,972
and to do this,
we become aware of our body.

404
00:40:57,098 --> 00:41:01,642
And if we are having
emotions come up in us,

405
00:41:02,043 --> 00:41:07,368
such as worry, anxiety,
anger or fear.

406
00:41:07,558 --> 00:41:11,898
We can keep our stability.
We can keep our peace.

407
00:41:12,731 --> 00:41:15,824
And that is, in a sense,

408
00:41:16,449 --> 00:41:22,264
the practice of
keeping our six senses calm.

409
00:41:22,920 --> 00:41:26,296
We keep our stability
and we keep our peace.

410
00:41:26,458 --> 00:41:29,902
In a situation where I am the minority,

411
00:41:30,064 --> 00:41:33,802
and I am in an environment where
others are the majority,

412
00:41:33,914 --> 00:41:37,787
I accept being minority. Okay?

413
00:41:39,089 --> 00:41:44,600
In our daily lives,
you may be a minority at work.

414
00:41:45,384 --> 00:41:48,128
Or at school.

415
00:41:48,281 --> 00:41:54,745
And you are invited
to join your colleagues on Friday, for -

416
00:41:55,479 --> 00:41:59,019
They call it happiness hour
or something like that.

417
00:41:59,119 --> 00:42:01,829
It means going to the bar. Yes.

418
00:42:01,962 --> 00:42:03,700
(Laughter)

419
00:42:03,834 --> 00:42:07,599
And you are a practitioner.
And you practice the five trainings.

420
00:42:07,789 --> 00:42:09,875
Oh!, What do you do?

421
00:42:10,035 --> 00:42:13,221
You say: Okay, I'm a minority.
What do I do?

422
00:42:14,865 --> 00:42:20,691
So, if you know you -
If your practice is solid enough,

423
00:42:21,053 --> 00:42:25,721
and you won't be carried away
by spending some time in the bar,

424
00:42:25,900 --> 00:42:31,359
or a bistro, or wherever it is,
if you have confidence in your practice,

425
00:42:31,539 --> 00:42:34,823
then you can go. It's alright.

426
00:42:35,202 --> 00:42:39,362
But the big challenge is:
what do you order to drink?

427
00:42:39,556 --> 00:42:41,274
(Laughter)

428
00:42:41,352 --> 00:42:44,119
This is the challenge. Okay?

429
00:42:44,268 --> 00:42:46,813
I leave that to you.

430
00:42:46,950 --> 00:42:48,641
(Laughter)

431
00:42:48,752 --> 00:42:56,222
To find ways to be a minority with the
majority of your friends, or colleagues,

432
00:42:56,344 --> 00:42:59,042
or family members,

433
00:42:59,175 --> 00:43:02,306
when you share Christmas
or New Year with them.

434
00:43:02,659 --> 00:43:08,572
And maybe that would be something to share
in a Dharma sharing group at some point.

435
00:43:09,019 --> 00:43:14,698
How to be a minority and still
take refuge in our practice?

436
00:43:15,480 --> 00:43:18,972
But it's fine to be a minority.

437
00:43:19,149 --> 00:43:22,651
Don't feel upset,

438
00:43:22,874 --> 00:43:29,426
or feel that if I'm a minority,
I can't succeed in my practice. You can.

439
00:43:30,065 --> 00:43:36,328
It is just your experience
of yourself practicing

440
00:43:36,776 --> 00:43:39,974
mindful breathing and mindful walking

441
00:43:40,126 --> 00:43:45,436
that gives you the assurance that
my practice is there, in me.

442
00:43:46,347 --> 00:43:49,103
And we don't have to speak,

443
00:43:49,299 --> 00:43:51,921
for example while eating.

444
00:43:52,107 --> 00:43:59,118
Suppose you are invited to join everyone,
the majority group, for a lunch or dinner.

445
00:44:00,029 --> 00:44:05,727
And you say, how can I practice
mindful eating? I'm a minority.

446
00:44:06,220 --> 00:44:13,867
You can. You can chew mindfully,
gently, taste the food, and smile.

447
00:44:14,996 --> 00:44:19,417
But you can keep your silence
for a little bit.

448
00:44:19,604 --> 00:44:22,534
And we know we are flexible
in our practice.

449
00:44:22,677 --> 00:44:25,371
You may say a few words.

450
00:44:25,575 --> 00:44:30,482
But I've learned, while practicing
mindful eating with a group,

451
00:44:30,601 --> 00:44:36,526
and they may not be practitioners,
I've learned not to ask questions.

452
00:44:37,526 --> 00:44:41,348
That means I'm going to be talking,
and then, they may want,

453
00:44:41,537 --> 00:44:45,319
Please, tell us, clarify your question.

454
00:44:45,485 --> 00:44:51,497
And then I'm caught. I'm talking more
during a mindful meal with friends,

455
00:44:51,660 --> 00:44:56,873
or with people who may not know
the practice so well.

456
00:45:00,165 --> 00:45:05,370
So, we know that
we can live simply and happily

457
00:45:07,314 --> 00:45:11,301
with a lifestyle of a practitioner.

458
00:45:11,508 --> 00:45:16,725
And you can keep your religious tradition,
if you are not Buddhist,

459
00:45:16,877 --> 00:45:19,711
you don't have to be Buddhist.

460
00:45:19,855 --> 00:45:23,982
Thay encourages everyone
to keep their root tradition,

461
00:45:24,125 --> 00:45:27,704
whatever it is, you can continue.

462
00:45:27,838 --> 00:45:32,152
And just add your mindfulness practices.
That's it.

463
00:45:32,331 --> 00:45:35,283
So, without being covetous.

464
00:45:35,421 --> 00:45:39,377
That means without wanting
what you see other people have.

465
00:45:39,969 --> 00:45:44,021
Maybe someone has a new pair of shoes,
or they are nice,

466
00:45:44,133 --> 00:45:48,976
but you know they cost 150 euros, so
we let go of wanting that.

467
00:45:50,229 --> 00:45:55,845
Or a new car, or whatever that is new.

468
00:45:56,946 --> 00:45:59,056
Or old.

469
00:45:59,325 --> 00:46:06,227
So we don't covet, we are not envious.
Envious of wanting what other people have.

470
00:46:07,359 --> 00:46:12,571
And then, not being carried away
by the emotions of the majority.

471
00:46:12,720 --> 00:46:15,826
We take refuge in our practice.

472
00:46:16,869 --> 00:46:19,126
Okay. It continues:

473
00:46:19,283 --> 00:46:24,958
May everyone be happy and safe,
and may all hearts be filled with joy.

474
00:46:29,009 --> 00:46:32,676
So we want everyone to experience joy.

475
00:46:32,818 --> 00:46:39,377
You know, we can say these words even if
we don't feel the joy in our heart.

476
00:46:40,872 --> 00:46:45,269
Because as we continue
to repeat these words,

477
00:46:45,624 --> 00:46:50,298
we are opening a neural pathway
in our brain.

478
00:46:52,391 --> 00:46:56,589
And we are going to let joy
walk down the pathway.

479
00:46:57,018 --> 00:47:01,113
We are going to let loving kindness
walk down the neural pathway.

480
00:47:01,374 --> 00:47:05,228
We are going to let compassion,
joy and equanimity

481
00:47:05,536 --> 00:47:12,823
walk down this new neural pathway that
we are creating when we say words.

482
00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:15,539
When we repeat them.

483
00:47:17,266 --> 00:47:22,324
So our heart and mind are
in a beautiful state of awareness

484
00:47:23,915 --> 00:47:28,835
when we repeat these words
and we wish to share this energy,

485
00:47:29,566 --> 00:47:36,580
our wish, our volition, with all beings.
May everyone be happy and safe.

486
00:47:38,972 --> 00:47:44,754
So how can we help contribute
to the happiness and safety of everyone?

487
00:47:47,536 --> 00:47:51,811
One of the practices I do
to protect the safety

488
00:47:52,945 --> 00:47:55,346
of small beings.

489
00:47:55,600 --> 00:48:00,493
It doesn't have to be this big act that
is going to protect the whole world.

490
00:48:00,889 --> 00:48:05,775
But of course, we do it when we
are protecting Mother Earth.

491
00:48:06,334 --> 00:48:11,083
If I see a snail, something so tiny,
or a slug,

492
00:48:11,422 --> 00:48:14,546
we know what the slugs are, the 'limaces',

493
00:48:14,698 --> 00:48:18,546
sometimes I see them
trying to cross the road.

494
00:48:19,967 --> 00:48:22,137
And they're slow.

495
00:48:22,313 --> 00:48:24,070
(Laughter)

496
00:48:24,280 --> 00:48:26,332
So,

497
00:48:26,589 --> 00:48:30,017
what I do? I really try to do this.

498
00:48:30,275 --> 00:48:32,852
I look for a leaf, because I -

499
00:48:33,192 --> 00:48:39,338
You know, they are cold and slimy,
so I try to find a leaf or a twig.

500
00:48:39,584 --> 00:48:43,755
Or a worm. We can see worms
trying to cross the road.

501
00:48:44,414 --> 00:48:47,366
I pick them up with my hand, no problem,

502
00:48:47,559 --> 00:48:51,405
but I pick them up and
I take them to the other side.

503
00:48:52,077 --> 00:48:54,332
To the other shore.

504
00:48:54,509 --> 00:48:56,204
(Laughter)

505
00:48:56,379 --> 00:48:58,472
Shore of non suffering.

506
00:48:58,688 --> 00:49:02,020
The shore of the grass is greener
on the other side.

507
00:49:02,170 --> 00:49:07,258
They usually try to go to the other side
of the road where there is grass.

508
00:49:07,972 --> 00:49:12,741
And when I see them,
they're walking slowly on the pavement.

509
00:49:13,044 --> 00:49:17,307
So I pick up the snails,
the slugs, and the worms.

510
00:49:17,519 --> 00:49:20,610
And take them to the other side.

511
00:49:21,163 --> 00:49:25,909
That is helping something be safe.
And happy.

512
00:49:28,427 --> 00:49:33,640
We know when we live in the present moment
we have many opportunities

513
00:49:33,925 --> 00:49:37,115
to see what is really there.

514
00:49:37,282 --> 00:49:42,312
We've let go of the past, where
maybe there wasn't too much happiness,

515
00:49:42,963 --> 00:49:47,084
and we come back to
what is in front of us,

516
00:49:47,286 --> 00:49:51,558
what is so beautiful.
We have the autumn leaves.

517
00:49:52,174 --> 00:49:55,844
This morning there was the beautiful fog,

518
00:49:56,196 --> 00:49:58,329
when we came from.

519
00:49:58,490 --> 00:50:01,875
There was mist
and everything was so soft.

520
00:50:02,837 --> 00:50:05,696
There was greatness and softness,

521
00:50:06,056 --> 00:50:09,601
and the mist was very beautiful.

522
00:50:10,262 --> 00:50:16,160
So it brings a lot of happiness
when we are able to simply be there.

523
00:50:17,381 --> 00:50:20,176
To be there in the present moment.

524
00:50:20,381 --> 00:50:26,388
And for that, we let go of our thinking.
I've discovered that helps a lot

525
00:50:26,756 --> 00:50:31,847
to not think. Instead of thinking,
I breathe in and out.

526
00:50:33,710 --> 00:50:38,285
When I notice a thought arising,
I think: Oh! A thought is there.

527
00:50:38,477 --> 00:50:42,706
Hello, my thought. Hello, my worry
about the future.

528
00:50:44,048 --> 00:50:50,009
Hello, my regret about the past. Because
all of this comes up naturally.

529
00:50:50,716 --> 00:50:58,564
The store consciousness continually sends
these messengers up to our mind.

530
00:50:59,255 --> 00:51:02,465
These little messengers from the past

531
00:51:02,933 --> 00:51:06,204
if something waters that seed.

532
00:51:06,370 --> 00:51:09,622
The store consciousness,
the deepest level, alaya,

533
00:51:09,799 --> 00:51:14,595
will always let a seed
manifest if we've watered it.

534
00:51:15,659 --> 00:51:19,959
So, to help protect us,
to be happy and safe,

535
00:51:20,623 --> 00:51:27,748
we can be aware of what kind of seeds
in my environment are being watered

536
00:51:30,134 --> 00:51:32,778
by what people say,

537
00:51:32,923 --> 00:51:38,235
what I listen to, what I hear,
what I see, okay?

538
00:51:39,158 --> 00:51:45,667
So to be happy, I really enjoy the
practice of living in the present moment.

539
00:51:46,030 --> 00:51:48,921
I see the beautiful orchid.

540
00:51:49,097 --> 00:51:52,340
The orchid is there, just being an orchid.

541
00:51:53,117 --> 00:51:58,801
He or she doesn't have to do anything else
but be, be present.

542
00:51:59,140 --> 00:52:02,550
And the orchid is there for all of us.

543
00:52:02,774 --> 00:52:07,011
So life is available for all of us.

544
00:52:09,419 --> 00:52:14,206
Thay would quote André Gide,
the French writer,

545
00:52:14,403 --> 00:52:19,602
who said that God is available
24 hours a day.

546
00:52:20,927 --> 00:52:25,357
The question is, are we available to God?

547
00:52:27,082 --> 00:52:31,976
And Thay would then say:
"Life is available to us.

548
00:52:32,136 --> 00:52:35,240
The beauties, the wonders.

549
00:52:40,264 --> 00:52:47,861
The happiness is available to us 24 hours
a day. But are we available to life?"

550
00:52:49,664 --> 00:52:57,296
And Thay would often begin his talks by
saying: "Breathing in, I know I'm alive.

551
00:52:58,440 --> 00:53:04,525
Breathing out, I smile to life
in me and around me."

552
00:53:06,086 --> 00:53:12,541
So our practice can be,
let us smile to life in us and around us.

553
00:53:13,841 --> 00:53:18,891
Life is all forms of life.
All forms of life.

554
00:53:20,851 --> 00:53:24,883
One of the practices I love to do
to be happy,

555
00:53:27,951 --> 00:53:32,588
to water my seeds of happiness
and feel at peace,

556
00:53:33,034 --> 00:53:37,119
is whenever I come to Upper Hamlet,
if time permits,

557
00:53:37,279 --> 00:53:41,514
I enjoy walking around the lotus pond
you have here.

558
00:53:41,743 --> 00:53:45,535
It's so beautiful in all seasons.

559
00:53:45,883 --> 00:53:47,811
And,

560
00:53:48,423 --> 00:53:51,916
I love to look in the water
and see the fish.

561
00:53:52,133 --> 00:53:54,383
There are fish there.

562
00:53:54,707 --> 00:53:58,681
Gold fish you call them? Carp? Carp.

563
00:54:01,471 --> 00:54:04,040
They travel together, they are a sangha.

564
00:54:04,885 --> 00:54:09,097
You usually don't see one alone.
They're together.

565
00:54:09,650 --> 00:54:13,479
There is a nice history of the fish
in that pond.

566
00:54:13,939 --> 00:54:17,047
There was a time when after breakfast

567
00:54:17,456 --> 00:54:21,245
the residents here

568
00:54:21,701 --> 00:54:25,685
would give them some of the bread.

569
00:54:26,637 --> 00:54:30,435
So there was a time when we would see
pieces of bread floating

570
00:54:30,787 --> 00:54:34,121
everywhere in the pond.
But that stopped.

571
00:54:35,042 --> 00:54:41,026
And I enjoy looking how the fish grow,
you know? They grow, and I wondered,

572
00:54:41,165 --> 00:54:45,744
how do they grow? What is their nutriment?
What is feeding them?

573
00:54:46,067 --> 00:54:48,875
But apparently
they don't need much to eat.

574
00:54:52,595 --> 00:54:57,138
So we want all beings,
their hearts to be filled with joy.

575
00:54:57,303 --> 00:54:59,662
And we send out this energy.

576
00:54:59,843 --> 00:55:04,976
May you be happy and safe,
and may your heart be filled with joy.

577
00:55:06,783 --> 00:55:11,362
It continues: May all beings
live in security and in peace.

578
00:55:13,503 --> 00:55:16,480
So we want this for everybody.

579
00:55:16,637 --> 00:55:22,485
We want our children to experience
security and peace in society.

580
00:55:23,121 --> 00:55:27,269
Of course, at home, and at school.

581
00:55:27,946 --> 00:55:30,518
We want our sanghas,

582
00:55:31,644 --> 00:55:34,150
our family, our friends.

583
00:55:34,379 --> 00:55:38,314
So we discover with our practice
of being peaceful,

584
00:55:39,066 --> 00:55:43,381
and knowing how to transform
our strong emotions

585
00:55:43,922 --> 00:55:46,825
into peace and happiness

586
00:55:47,021 --> 00:55:53,039
we can contribute to the security
and peace of all beings.

587
00:55:56,588 --> 00:56:00,923
We want to contribute to the peace
and happiness of Mother Earth,

588
00:56:01,207 --> 00:56:07,156
because we know that Mother Earth
is in us, all the elements

589
00:56:08,352 --> 00:56:12,340
that are in the food we eat,
that's Mother Earth.

590
00:56:13,603 --> 00:56:19,628
And we are in Mother Earth, of course.
We're living on Mother Earth.

591
00:56:19,784 --> 00:56:23,082
So there is a real,
deep connection that we have,

592
00:56:23,249 --> 00:56:26,746
an interbeing connection
with Mother Earth.

593
00:56:27,265 --> 00:56:30,870
And we want to live
in security and in peace,

594
00:56:31,359 --> 00:56:34,898
and provide this for Mother Earth.

595
00:56:35,193 --> 00:56:42,309
Beings who are frail or strong, tall or
short, big or small, visible or invisible,

596
00:56:42,592 --> 00:56:47,676
near or faraway, already born,
or yet to be born.

597
00:56:48,613 --> 00:56:53,104
May all of them dwell
in perfect tranquility.

598
00:56:53,795 --> 00:56:57,510
Nothing is left out.
That's everything.

599
00:56:57,709 --> 00:57:00,919
All forms of life, everywhere.

600
00:57:01,169 --> 00:57:09,437
Whether they're frail, poor health,
good health, tall, short, big, tiny,

601
00:57:10,441 --> 00:57:13,561
visible, we can see them,
or we can't see them,

602
00:57:13,759 --> 00:57:17,216
like the 'aoûtats' in August,
if you have been here.

603
00:57:17,765 --> 00:57:20,222
Do we know about these little

604
00:57:21,927 --> 00:57:26,157
harvest mites, in other countries
their live in the grass,

605
00:57:26,370 --> 00:57:30,393
and when it's hot, they love us.
They bite.

606
00:57:30,717 --> 00:57:32,891
And then we itch.

607
00:57:33,003 --> 00:57:35,902
Okay, whether we can see them,
or can't see them,

608
00:57:36,106 --> 00:57:41,691
like the flu virus. Has it arrived yet?
We can't see it, but we see the effects.

609
00:57:41,871 --> 00:57:47,130
Visible or not visible,
near or faraway,

610
00:57:50,173 --> 00:57:55,581
already born or yet to be born.
They are on their way to manifesting.

611
00:57:56,365 --> 00:58:02,066
May everyone dwell in perfect tranquility.

612
00:58:02,969 --> 00:58:06,279
That means tranquility to be

613
00:58:07,497 --> 00:58:11,622
free of fear, anxiety, worry,

614
00:58:13,335 --> 00:58:17,062
related to being discriminated against.

615
00:58:17,229 --> 00:58:20,562
That is, there is
discrimination in the world,

616
00:58:20,774 --> 00:58:26,684
discriminated against based on their size,
or other characteristics,

617
00:58:27,271 --> 00:58:33,013
such as race, nationality,
religion, or gender.

618
00:58:34,381 --> 00:58:39,978
Discrimination can take many forms
and expressions.

619
00:58:41,703 --> 00:58:46,030
So, we are bodhisattvas, awakened beings.

620
00:58:46,519 --> 00:58:50,233
We want to wish everyone well-being.

621
00:58:51,878 --> 00:58:54,099
No harm.

622
00:58:54,291 --> 00:58:59,108
And we send this energy
of love and well-being to everyone,

623
00:58:59,388 --> 00:59:07,769
near or far, already born,
visible, not visible, the whole cosmos.

624
00:59:09,924 --> 00:59:12,955
I want to mention something that -

625
00:59:13,832 --> 00:59:17,020
There are bodhisattvas everywhere now.

626
00:59:17,568 --> 00:59:20,458
So, it's very encouraging.

627
00:59:21,537 --> 00:59:25,624
We know there have been
many refugees worldwide.

628
00:59:25,806 --> 00:59:29,739
And the United Nation's
High Commission on Refugees

629
00:59:29,876 --> 00:59:38,550
has published the figures that now there
are 68.5 million people around the world

630
00:59:38,951 --> 00:59:41,363
who are refugees.

631
00:59:42,007 --> 00:59:47,678
25.4 million have had to settle
in different countries.

632
00:59:48,782 --> 00:59:52,887
And more than half of them
are now under 18.

633
00:59:54,857 --> 01:00:01,621
And we've learned that the United Nation's
High Commission on Refugees has a staff

634
01:00:02,876 --> 01:00:10,202
of 11,517 people,
and I've called them bodhisattvas.

635
01:00:10,788 --> 01:00:16,349
But they are out there, helping.
They are rescue at sea,

636
01:00:16,950 --> 01:00:20,320
in boats out there rescuing people.

637
01:00:20,532 --> 01:00:24,054
We know during the War in Vietnam
Thay and su co Chan Khong,

638
01:00:24,262 --> 01:00:28,155
perhaps were the first
to start the rescue at sea,

639
01:00:29,439 --> 01:00:34,925
hiring big boats to go out at sea
and save the refugees.

640
01:00:35,862 --> 01:00:39,785
So this bodhisattva practice continues.

641
01:00:40,510 --> 01:00:45,861
And you know, some of these bodhisattvas,
we have the honor to meet at Plum Village.

642
01:00:47,659 --> 01:00:52,867
You may be those bodhisattvas already.
You are there, you are bodhisattvas.

643
01:00:53,144 --> 01:00:55,769
It's just we don't know it.

644
01:00:56,085 --> 01:01:01,934
But during the summer retreat,
we had the honor of meeting some of them.

645
01:01:02,490 --> 01:01:07,274
They are ordinary human beings,
but, they have a great heart.

646
01:01:08,520 --> 01:01:14,591
There was one retreatant,
she and her family adopted

647
01:01:16,294 --> 01:01:21,619
a family of four refugees
from a war torn country,

648
01:01:21,836 --> 01:01:26,163
from a war devastated country.
The family fled

649
01:01:26,434 --> 01:01:29,915
and she and her husband and family
adopted them.

650
01:01:30,879 --> 01:01:36,609
And, believe it or not, this summer
two dogs arrived at New Hamlet.

651
01:01:37,844 --> 01:01:42,524
It seems to be in the summer,
the cats, the dogs, they arrive.

652
01:01:42,933 --> 01:01:44,778
So,

653
01:01:45,210 --> 01:01:49,148
two dogs were abandoned,
they arrived to the New Hamlet

654
01:01:49,298 --> 01:01:53,377
and you know what?
She drove home with one of these dogs,

655
01:01:53,617 --> 01:01:56,381
and her daughter, in a small car.

656
01:01:56,536 --> 01:01:58,405
That's -

657
01:01:58,609 --> 01:02:01,675
That's metta. That's this love.

658
01:02:03,139 --> 01:02:06,991
We learned there is a water company,
a mineral water company,

659
01:02:07,196 --> 01:02:11,890
in the Auvergne region of France.

660
01:02:13,507 --> 01:02:19,174
And they have been in partnership
with UNESCO for more than 12 years

661
01:02:19,882 --> 01:02:25,901
to make clean, drinkable water available
to the children and families in Africa.

662
01:02:26,538 --> 01:02:30,535
And the drought ridden areas of Africa.

663
01:02:30,880 --> 01:02:36,797
And they say, for every 1 liter
of their water that we buy,

664
01:02:37,230 --> 01:02:44,328
they provide 10 liters
of fresh drinkable water in Africa.

665
01:02:45,609 --> 01:02:47,949
So this is metta.

666
01:02:48,143 --> 01:02:52,236
Making it possible for everyone
to be happy and safe,

667
01:02:52,449 --> 01:02:55,250
and to protect their lives.

668
01:02:57,118 --> 01:03:02,626
Just as a mother loves and protects her
only child at the risk of her own life,

669
01:03:02,986 --> 01:03:11,222
let us cultivate boundless love to offer
to all living beings in the entire cosmos.

670
01:03:14,456 --> 01:03:20,991
We learn from the neuroscientists
there is a region in the brain

671
01:03:21,668 --> 01:03:25,767
where compassion is located,
so to speak.

672
01:03:27,473 --> 01:03:30,979
And this area of the brain

673
01:03:31,675 --> 01:03:35,206
that they identified as compassion

674
01:03:35,428 --> 01:03:40,234
is very, very close to the center
for maternal love.

675
01:03:41,264 --> 01:03:43,953
That's interesting.

676
01:03:44,232 --> 01:03:49,578
So just as a mother will protect her
only child, this is the love

677
01:03:50,423 --> 01:03:55,311
that can be instinctual perhaps.

678
01:03:55,478 --> 01:04:00,266
I've seen pictures of lionesses
protecting their cubs,

679
01:04:01,548 --> 01:04:06,222
mother dogs protecting their puppies,
et cetera.

680
01:04:07,981 --> 01:04:11,070
And in my own personal experience,

681
01:04:11,516 --> 01:04:17,248
in listening to consultations,
when retreatants want to share

682
01:04:17,932 --> 01:04:22,238
about something in their life,
how to practice with it,

683
01:04:23,474 --> 01:04:27,940
I have listened to many mothers
and also fathers.

684
01:04:29,068 --> 01:04:34,996
And I've learned that they really love
their daughters and their sons.

685
01:04:35,327 --> 01:04:38,068
There is really love there.

686
01:04:38,279 --> 01:04:41,762
No matter what age their children are,

687
01:04:42,378 --> 01:04:47,210
or no matter what their children are up to
or have done,

688
01:04:48,046 --> 01:04:52,544
or if their children haven't talked
to them for 5 years, 10 years, whatever.

689
01:04:53,572 --> 01:04:58,529
There can be suffering, of course,
but I've had heard

690
01:04:59,483 --> 01:05:05,353
and learned there is love, there,
there is this maternal and paternal love.

691
01:05:06,355 --> 01:05:09,232
But the difficulty is

692
01:05:09,477 --> 01:05:13,458
that sometimes the parents' suffering
is just too great.

693
01:05:13,611 --> 01:05:19,409
The mother's suffering has just been
too great over a long period of time,

694
01:05:19,709 --> 01:05:23,443
or she received this suffering
from her parents,

695
01:05:23,620 --> 01:05:27,641
an ancestor's suffering
has been transmitted.

696
01:05:27,975 --> 01:05:32,774
So that is why they haven't learned
how to express their love.

697
01:05:34,503 --> 01:05:38,032
And their sons and daughters may believe

698
01:05:38,218 --> 01:05:42,292
that their mother doesn't love them,
or their father doesn't love them.

699
01:05:42,979 --> 01:05:46,033
But it's my belief

700
01:05:46,394 --> 01:05:49,714
the parental love is there.

701
01:05:50,242 --> 01:05:58,101
And that deep down inside of us
we can learn to forgive, if necessary,

702
01:05:58,320 --> 01:06:02,690
and love our parents
when we understand and learn more.

703
01:06:07,818 --> 01:06:12,639
So this love, this boundless love
is developing now

704
01:06:13,372 --> 01:06:15,829
to the point where the Buddha said:

705
01:06:15,984 --> 01:06:20,423
Let our boundless love
pervade this whole universe,

706
01:06:21,517 --> 01:06:27,119
in all directions, above,
below, and across.

707
01:06:27,586 --> 01:06:30,393
In the ten directions.

708
01:06:30,562 --> 01:06:33,270
That is northwest, southwest,
you know,

709
01:06:33,453 --> 01:06:36,720
northeast, southeast,
you know that, okay.

710
01:06:37,034 --> 01:06:40,879
All the directions
let this boundless love.

711
01:06:41,709 --> 01:06:48,092
We can have this thought and
this intention, and this volition,

712
01:06:48,745 --> 01:06:54,986
even if it hasn't been
developed yet in us. Okay?

713
01:06:55,366 --> 01:07:00,573
So, please, believe me.
It's enough to say the words.

714
01:07:03,398 --> 01:07:08,469
This love is perhaps like the love
that is described in the New Testament,

715
01:07:08,662 --> 01:07:11,571
the King James version.

716
01:07:11,792 --> 01:07:16,449
The love that Jesus offered and spoke of.

717
01:07:16,947 --> 01:07:22,420
When the new Testament was translated
into the Greek language,

718
01:07:22,517 --> 01:07:27,242
the word used was 'agape', 'agape'.

719
01:07:27,953 --> 01:07:33,418
So this was the word used to describe
this spiritual love.

720
01:07:34,212 --> 01:07:37,033
And we know there are many kinds of love.

721
01:07:37,980 --> 01:07:40,647
You have many relationships,

722
01:07:40,886 --> 01:07:45,652
and you can reflect on the nature
of the love in your relationships.

723
01:07:45,816 --> 01:07:49,672
But the boundless love is like

724
01:07:49,971 --> 01:07:54,566
the love that we read about in the Bible,
the 'agape',

725
01:07:54,769 --> 01:07:59,490
and in the Old Testament there is a word
from the Hebrew language called

726
01:08:01,575 --> 01:08:04,865
'chesed', I don't know
if I pronounce it correctly,

727
01:08:05,490 --> 01:08:08,431
c-h-e-s-e-d.

728
01:08:09,416 --> 01:08:11,234
[xesed]?

729
01:08:11,378 --> 01:08:14,636
Yes, [xesed], we have a resource here.

730
01:08:14,819 --> 01:08:20,757
Good. And that means for love, goodness
and kindness, like metta.

731
01:08:21,225 --> 01:08:25,427
So this kind of love,
this boundless love is found

732
01:08:26,111 --> 01:08:33,526
in other spiritual traditions, it has its
counterpart in other spiritual traditions.

733
01:08:35,373 --> 01:08:39,485
So, there are no obstacles to this love.

734
01:08:39,684 --> 01:08:44,340
Even if in our mind we have anger,
and hatred arising.

735
01:08:44,546 --> 01:08:48,483
Okay, they are just mental formations.

736
01:08:48,675 --> 01:08:50,730
Don't be -

737
01:08:50,916 --> 01:08:53,548
Don't water them.

738
01:08:53,993 --> 01:08:57,088
Don't be too attached to all of this,

739
01:08:57,346 --> 01:09:01,303
these mental formations called
anger, and hatred, and all that.

740
01:09:01,434 --> 01:09:04,519
They are mental formations,
and they will arise.

741
01:09:04,660 --> 01:09:08,210
They are there, in the depth
of our consciousness, okay.

742
01:09:08,417 --> 01:09:12,430
They arise when conditions are favorable.

743
01:09:12,606 --> 01:09:15,609
And then, we let them go back.

744
01:09:15,793 --> 01:09:21,385
But now we want to help arise this metta,
this boundless love.

745
01:09:22,835 --> 01:09:27,740
So what is this boundless love?
How can we help it arise?

746
01:09:29,901 --> 01:09:33,870
He said there are no obstacles, really.

747
01:09:34,040 --> 01:09:37,488
The first thing we want to do
is to convince our mind

748
01:09:37,793 --> 01:09:40,492
that there is boundless love.

749
01:09:40,697 --> 01:09:45,237
Because the mind consciousness sometimes
says: "No, there is no love in the world.

750
01:09:45,424 --> 01:09:48,631
Read the news, look at
all of that. No love."

751
01:09:48,786 --> 01:09:52,753
We want to convince our mind.
Yes, there is love.

752
01:09:52,914 --> 01:09:57,393
All right. So, as I've hinted to so far,

753
01:09:57,549 --> 01:10:02,072
there is this boundless love
and what will help is

754
01:10:02,562 --> 01:10:05,999
reciting the sutra.

755
01:10:07,700 --> 01:10:11,670
There is a poem Thay wrote called
'Alone Again'.

756
01:10:11,786 --> 01:10:14,797
It's a beautiful poem.

757
01:10:14,951 --> 01:10:20,818
Some of the words towards the end are:
"Knowing the immortality of love,

758
01:10:21,033 --> 01:10:24,927
those who love you will behold you,

759
01:10:25,116 --> 01:10:31,831
will continue to behold you across
ten thousand worlds of birth and dying."

760
01:10:32,464 --> 01:10:38,969
Bodhisattvas never abandon anyone.
We keep this love in our heart

761
01:10:39,140 --> 01:10:42,777
no matter what is happening.

762
01:10:42,961 --> 01:10:47,884
No matter what we see, or what we hear.

763
01:10:48,365 --> 01:10:52,120
We cultivate this love,
the immortality of love.

764
01:10:54,550 --> 01:10:58,528
You know, people loving, practicing love,

765
01:10:58,914 --> 01:11:03,057
we are impermanent.
People come and go, right?

766
01:11:03,521 --> 01:11:07,950
But love has continued.
It continues to manifest.

767
01:11:08,888 --> 01:11:11,661
People playing the guitar,

768
01:11:11,805 --> 01:11:15,472
their hands come and go.
Different hands play the guitar.

769
01:11:15,598 --> 01:11:18,554
But guitars stay.

770
01:11:18,709 --> 01:11:21,465
So love stays.

771
01:11:22,605 --> 01:11:25,287
People breathe in and out.

772
01:11:25,438 --> 01:11:29,102
The lungs come and go.
They are different lungs, right?

773
01:11:29,241 --> 01:11:33,926
But breath has continued.
Mindful breathing has continued.

774
01:11:34,090 --> 01:11:38,766
Mindful walking has continued.
The feet change,

775
01:11:38,883 --> 01:11:44,486
people doing the mindful walking,
their feet change, right?

776
01:11:45,028 --> 01:11:49,423
But mindful walking has continued.

777
01:11:51,828 --> 01:11:58,268
So: "Living in beauty and realizing
Perfect Understanding,

778
01:11:58,446 --> 01:12:04,278
those who practice boundless love
will certainly transcend birth and death."

779
01:12:05,256 --> 01:12:09,701
Living in beauty and realizing
Perfect Understanding.

780
01:12:09,926 --> 01:12:12,660
How can we live in beauty?

781
01:12:12,821 --> 01:12:17,773
There is a Native American song,
Now I Walk in Beauty.

782
01:12:17,984 --> 01:12:21,989
Beauty is before me,
beauty is above me,

783
01:12:22,334 --> 01:12:26,576
beauty is around me,
above and below me.

784
01:12:26,808 --> 01:12:30,041
So there is beauty in the ten directions.

785
01:12:30,204 --> 01:12:36,423
We can live in beauty, as I mentioned,
by living in the present moment.

786
01:12:37,489 --> 01:12:40,531
And the Perfect Understanding.

787
01:12:40,701 --> 01:12:46,184
To understand, we want to
be able to stop for a minute,

788
01:12:46,572 --> 01:12:51,472
to practice stopping with each step.
It's vipassana, okay?

789
01:12:51,654 --> 01:12:54,817
In the southern tradition we stop,

790
01:12:54,960 --> 01:12:58,364
come back to ourselves
with mindful breathing,

791
01:12:58,485 --> 01:13:01,247
and then, we look deeply.

792
01:13:01,400 --> 01:13:04,612
And this is the understanding
that will come

793
01:13:04,753 --> 01:13:09,023
when we have mindfulness,
concentration, and then

794
01:13:09,186 --> 01:13:12,397
that will lead to insight.

795
01:13:12,552 --> 01:13:17,848
So let us practice now
the first vipassana, the stopping.

796
01:13:18,094 --> 01:13:21,839
We will stop for a minute and breathe.

797
01:13:24,137 --> 01:13:27,368
And we will hear a sound of the bell.

798
01:13:27,495 --> 01:13:33,016
The bell is always this voice
inviting us to come back to ourselves.

799
01:13:33,718 --> 01:13:39,746
(Bell)

800
01:13:50,812 --> 01:13:53,355
So -

801
01:13:55,179 --> 01:13:59,458
And now we are ready
for the shorter version of this sutra.

802
01:13:59,615 --> 01:14:04,258
It has been written on the board.
It is the metta meditation.

803
01:14:04,416 --> 01:14:10,479
The monks practiced the longer sutra,
every single sentence of that sutra,

804
01:14:10,641 --> 01:14:13,429
and then it was shortened.

805
01:14:13,716 --> 01:14:18,020
The shortened version actually was first

806
01:14:19,424 --> 01:14:23,912
created by Buddhaghosa. He was

807
01:14:27,284 --> 01:14:32,319
a commentator, he was a monk
who lived in the 5th century in Sri Lanka,

808
01:14:33,153 --> 01:14:36,679
more that 1,500 years ago.

809
01:14:36,879 --> 01:14:42,274
He was a scholar who wrote commentaries
on the Buddhist teachings.

810
01:14:42,815 --> 01:14:49,625
He wrote a book called the Visuddhimagga,
which is The Path of Purification.

811
01:14:50,161 --> 01:14:55,840
And it is the most important manual
of Buddhist meditation

812
01:14:56,397 --> 01:15:00,938
for the Theravada school of Buddhism.

813
01:15:01,324 --> 01:15:06,199
That is the Buddhism that is practiced
in the southeast Asian countries

814
01:15:06,424 --> 01:15:09,090
that I mentioned.

815
01:15:09,265 --> 01:15:12,019
Buddhaghosa,

816
01:15:12,828 --> 01:15:19,391
he gave this teaching
on the four Brahmaviharas,

817
01:15:19,770 --> 01:15:23,308
the four unlimited minds.

818
01:15:23,497 --> 01:15:28,197
And it's in the part two
in the section on concentration,

819
01:15:28,343 --> 01:15:31,458
because it helps us concentrate.

820
01:15:31,600 --> 01:15:37,309
And Thay has based this metta meditation
that we have written for you,

821
01:15:37,521 --> 01:15:40,151
it's Thay's version

822
01:15:40,298 --> 01:15:45,101
of the meditation that was offered
by the Buddhaghosa

823
01:15:45,393 --> 01:15:49,002
on the four unlimited minds,

824
01:15:49,154 --> 01:15:56,957
which are loving kindness, as I mentioned,
compassion, equanimity - Excuse me,

825
01:15:57,359 --> 01:16:03,841
loving kindness, compassion,
joy, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.

826
01:16:05,197 --> 01:16:09,887
We use all four of
these expressions of love

827
01:16:10,045 --> 01:16:14,435
when we practice this meditation.

828
01:16:14,986 --> 01:16:18,943
I want to share
from my personal experience

829
01:16:19,171 --> 01:16:22,992
why I offer this meditation to you.

830
01:16:23,174 --> 01:16:27,534
Because it has been a practice
I do every morning

831
01:16:27,856 --> 01:16:30,943
for about a year and a half.

832
01:16:31,073 --> 01:16:34,534
And I share this very often.

833
01:16:34,725 --> 01:16:40,188
Because I've experienced
that I had a lot to transform.

834
01:16:40,515 --> 01:16:48,022
With seeds of anger, ill-will,
or irritation, getting upset easily,

835
01:16:48,328 --> 01:16:51,007
all of that.

836
01:16:51,181 --> 01:16:55,069
Maybe you have some of that too.
I don't know.

837
01:16:55,257 --> 01:16:57,805
But I decided,

838
01:16:57,991 --> 01:17:03,182
after hearing I think our lay friends
and some monastics say

839
01:17:04,009 --> 01:17:08,522
that first of all they begin by reading
this sutra every morning.

840
01:17:08,656 --> 01:17:12,506
So I started doing that.
I woke up a little bit earlier,

841
01:17:12,626 --> 01:17:17,012
I read this sutra to myself,
that was very good,

842
01:17:17,144 --> 01:17:20,359
and then, I got our of bed.

843
01:17:20,493 --> 01:17:24,547
So I do this practice
before getting out of bed.

844
01:17:24,723 --> 01:17:27,647
It's my first action.

845
01:17:27,832 --> 01:17:30,798
My first thoughts of the day.

846
01:17:30,942 --> 01:17:33,110
For me,

847
01:17:33,269 --> 01:17:37,094
the firsts moments
of every day are so important.

848
01:17:37,228 --> 01:17:39,762
Before I brush my teeth.

849
01:17:39,909 --> 01:17:42,800
Because usually I have to wait.

850
01:17:42,886 --> 01:17:46,073
Many people share
the bathroom, so we wait.

851
01:17:46,203 --> 01:17:49,613
I start my practice before that.

852
01:17:49,835 --> 01:17:54,198
Sit up in bed, I started
by reading this sutra.

853
01:17:54,543 --> 01:17:58,456
And then I noticed,
how can I help my mind?

854
01:17:58,552 --> 01:18:01,974
Because reading the sutra was helpful.

855
01:18:02,153 --> 01:18:05,102
So, then I decided to try

856
01:18:05,303 --> 01:18:11,218
this guided meditation:
May I be happy, may I be peaceful.

857
01:18:11,795 --> 01:18:18,336
Very good. I was sending this good energy
to myself before starting the day.

858
01:18:18,868 --> 01:18:22,371
That was very nice.
I was giving myself

859
01:18:24,300 --> 01:18:30,093
a good start before the mental
formations were watered.

860
01:18:32,347 --> 01:18:37,045
So that unwholesome mental
formations would manifest.

861
01:18:37,311 --> 01:18:41,893
So I would start by watering
the good mental formations,

862
01:18:42,090 --> 01:18:45,157
bringing up the wholesome thoughts.

863
01:18:45,330 --> 01:18:48,659
And then I noticed that
sometimes in the sangha

864
01:18:48,787 --> 01:18:51,722
there were situations where there was

865
01:18:52,417 --> 01:18:57,786
disharmony, or two people were
having difficulty in their relationship.

866
01:18:58,257 --> 01:19:02,138
Or another sister wasn't happy with me.

867
01:19:02,337 --> 01:19:07,475
And I knew by the way she acted,

868
01:19:07,650 --> 01:19:12,347
she would turn away when she saw me,
she would run away.

869
01:19:12,816 --> 01:19:17,909
And I knew that doing Beginning Anew
was not the right time.

870
01:19:18,072 --> 01:19:25,427
Because words were not acceptable,
were not possible.

871
01:19:25,641 --> 01:19:29,369
Sometimes people's suffering is so great,

872
01:19:29,525 --> 01:19:33,544
that whatever you say
can water their suffering.

873
01:19:33,760 --> 01:19:37,481
You have the intention of helping,

874
01:19:37,701 --> 01:19:41,432
and you speak lovingly
and with good words.

875
01:19:41,569 --> 01:19:49,407
However, how people receive
is based on how they perceive. Okay?

876
01:19:50,406 --> 01:19:55,560
How they hear what you say
is based on their perception.

877
01:19:56,037 --> 01:19:59,588
And what determines our perception?

878
01:20:00,127 --> 01:20:02,887
Past experiences.

879
01:20:03,064 --> 01:20:06,295
So we have past experiences,

880
01:20:06,911 --> 01:20:10,391
with the tone of voice people have used,

881
01:20:10,574 --> 01:20:13,360
or what words they have used.

882
01:20:13,572 --> 01:20:18,199
And all of these past experiences
are in store consciousness.

883
01:20:18,973 --> 01:20:21,759
They are sleeping.

884
01:20:21,909 --> 01:20:29,082
So even if approach someone who runs away,
and I say with kind words and gentle voice,

885
01:20:29,187 --> 01:20:32,361
she may hear it differently.

886
01:20:32,505 --> 01:20:37,562
Because in her past, people spoke
with a loud voice and angrily.

887
01:20:38,654 --> 01:20:42,892
So I cannot control how people perceive.

888
01:20:43,677 --> 01:20:50,789
I have my intention, my motivation,
but how people will perceive it,

889
01:20:51,157 --> 01:20:53,699
I don't know.

890
01:20:53,812 --> 01:20:56,135
But I observe.

891
01:20:56,310 --> 01:21:00,969
And if I see that words are not
the best thing at this moment,

892
01:21:01,170 --> 01:21:05,915
what I started to do is this meditation.

893
01:21:06,130 --> 01:21:10,230
In the morning I would say,
I would have this person,

894
01:21:10,820 --> 01:21:14,268
I would see her, whatever.

895
01:21:14,422 --> 01:21:18,270
You can do this for family members,
for roommates,

896
01:21:19,474 --> 01:21:22,490
for politicians.

897
01:21:22,753 --> 01:21:25,104
Anyone.

898
01:21:25,323 --> 01:21:28,331
You think of this person,
you have this person.

899
01:21:28,508 --> 01:21:33,161
And then you send this energy. So there
is a part of this meditation that says:

900
01:21:33,271 --> 01:21:37,571
May you be happy, may you be peaceful.

901
01:21:37,783 --> 01:21:41,246
And you say every single line.

902
01:21:41,365 --> 01:21:45,219
May you be safe and free from accidents.

903
01:21:45,369 --> 01:21:51,231
May you be free from your anger,
your fear, your anxiety.

904
01:21:51,398 --> 01:21:56,818
And you can specify whatever it is
you wish for this person

905
01:21:57,062 --> 01:22:00,204
that they can transform.

906
01:22:00,375 --> 01:22:05,608
May you learn to look at yourself
with the eyes of understanding and love.

907
01:22:05,754 --> 01:22:11,567
Very often we don't know how to look
at ourselves with understanding and love.

908
01:22:11,706 --> 01:22:14,992
So we send this wish for this person:

909
01:22:15,170 --> 01:22:21,735
May you be able to begin to look at
yourself with understanding and compassion.

910
01:22:22,673 --> 01:22:28,901
May you be able to look at
whatever is causing your suffering,

911
01:22:29,109 --> 01:22:34,439
begin to look at it. Because sometimes
we can't. It's too scary.

912
01:22:34,818 --> 01:22:38,793
We can say:
When the time is right for you,

913
01:22:38,923 --> 01:22:44,644
may you begin to look at your source
of what makes you upset.

914
01:22:45,323 --> 01:22:48,259
And then we send the wish:

915
01:22:48,429 --> 01:22:54,751
May you learn how to recognize
what will bring you happiness and joy.

916
01:22:57,197 --> 01:23:01,161
And may you learn how to nourish

917
01:23:02,232 --> 01:23:06,633
and be in contact with
what brings you happiness and joy.

918
01:23:07,814 --> 01:23:12,577
When you are able to do this, then
you may continue to live

919
01:23:12,762 --> 01:23:16,713
with freshness, solidity and freedom.

920
01:23:16,901 --> 01:23:21,646
You feel fresh, more fresh,
when you wake up.

921
01:23:22,431 --> 01:23:25,014
You have more solidity,

922
01:23:25,187 --> 01:23:31,468
in terms of doing your practice
and knowing the practice is helping.

923
01:23:31,815 --> 01:23:37,070
And you are more free
from these moments of suffering.

924
01:23:38,007 --> 01:23:42,382
So I started to do this,
with a particular situation,

925
01:23:42,550 --> 01:23:47,510
and I continued even though
the present moment was difficult.

926
01:23:47,827 --> 01:23:53,944
I did not go out of my way
to have contact, I respected.

927
01:23:54,193 --> 01:23:57,539
I gave distance and space.

928
01:23:57,698 --> 01:24:03,179
And, you know? After 21 days,
one day she came up to me, and she said:

929
01:24:03,398 --> 01:24:05,951
"Good morning."

930
01:24:06,068 --> 01:24:10,455
So it has proven to be effective.

931
01:24:10,585 --> 01:24:14,377
There was this one situation
that was really -

932
01:24:14,921 --> 01:24:20,457
Brought me a lot of confirmation
that the practice helps.

933
01:24:21,301 --> 01:24:25,794
And I've seen it how it helps in general.

934
01:24:26,068 --> 01:24:29,490
So, if you don't know what to do,

935
01:24:29,871 --> 01:24:35,371
and really there is nothing
to be done for the moment in a situation,

936
01:24:35,746 --> 01:24:41,072
there is something you can do. There is
this practice of metta meditation.

937
01:24:45,341 --> 01:24:50,540
So it's just offered as a possibility.
You don't have to.

938
01:24:51,292 --> 01:24:58,777
You can take it step by step
or read just one sentence of the sutra.

939
01:24:59,093 --> 01:25:02,198
You can choose what sentence.

940
01:25:02,354 --> 01:25:05,990
Or you don't read the sutra at all,
you don't have to.

941
01:25:06,139 --> 01:25:10,493
And if you want to choose one sentence

942
01:25:10,742 --> 01:25:13,241
from the meditation,

943
01:25:13,805 --> 01:25:16,306
that's possible.

944
01:25:16,498 --> 01:25:19,778
Remember we don't have to do
everything all at once.

945
01:25:19,993 --> 01:25:22,891
Like the 5 mindfulness trainings.

946
01:25:23,059 --> 01:25:26,323
We don't have to practice
everything all at once.

947
01:25:26,515 --> 01:25:30,612
We can choose that which resonates in us.

948
01:25:32,279 --> 01:25:38,987
And we remember that this sutra and
this metta meditation of universal love,

949
01:25:38,987 --> 01:25:41,900
sending our love everywhere,

950
01:25:42,015 --> 01:25:46,269
made it possible for the monks
to go back to the forest

951
01:25:46,429 --> 01:25:50,128
and continue their practice
for three months.

952
01:25:50,532 --> 01:25:54,393
It calmed that negative energy.

953
01:25:55,671 --> 01:26:02,686
We can offer this metta meditation
in many situations.

954
01:26:02,941 --> 01:26:06,674
Any difficult relationship.

955
01:26:06,984 --> 01:26:10,751
It doesn't have to be that
you are in a difficult relationship.

956
01:26:10,872 --> 01:26:15,538
It can be our parents,
your brothers and sisters, whatever.

957
01:26:15,685 --> 01:26:19,313
It's possible. People who are ill.

958
01:26:23,336 --> 01:26:25,570
It is possible to apply this.

959
01:26:25,896 --> 01:26:30,933
I mentioned also a metta practice
of the four mantras of love

960
01:26:31,091 --> 01:26:34,834
that Thay has created.
You may also know these.

961
01:26:35,227 --> 01:26:39,986
We say: I am here for you.
You say that to someone.

962
01:26:40,636 --> 01:26:44,412
And that is your bringing happiness
to the other.

963
01:26:44,594 --> 01:26:48,454
That is the first, that's loving kindness.

964
01:26:48,614 --> 01:26:51,367
You say this to someone who likes you.

965
01:26:51,550 --> 01:26:55,700
You doesn't say it to someone
who doesn't like you. They won't be happy.

966
01:26:55,849 --> 01:27:00,866
Someone that you love, it's the mantra
of love, four love mantras. Okay.

967
01:27:02,184 --> 01:27:07,260
Second one: I know you are there
and I am happy. Okay?

968
01:27:10,146 --> 01:27:14,656
So this is the joy,
and the loving kindness.

969
01:27:14,900 --> 01:27:18,964
I know you are there,
and I am joyful, I am happy.

970
01:27:19,158 --> 01:27:22,726
Your presence brings me joy and happiness.

971
01:27:22,878 --> 01:27:25,178
Third mantra:

972
01:27:25,357 --> 01:27:29,478
I know you suffer, and that is why
I am here for you.

973
01:27:29,693 --> 01:27:32,635
So now we are going to practice compassion

974
01:27:32,764 --> 01:27:38,349
of the four unlimited minds of love,
compassion. I see you are suffering.

975
01:27:38,660 --> 01:27:43,008
Compassion is wanting to relieve
the suffering of others.

976
01:27:43,718 --> 01:27:47,181
You want to and you are capable.

977
01:27:47,807 --> 01:27:51,982
Loving kindness is wanting
to bring happiness to others.

978
01:27:52,141 --> 01:27:55,469
You want to bring happiness,
and you are capable.

979
01:27:55,645 --> 01:27:59,844
So the third mantra of love is:
I know you suffer,

980
01:27:59,984 --> 01:28:03,169
that is why I am here for you.

981
01:28:03,661 --> 01:28:07,752
You have compassion,
you want to relieve their suffering,

982
01:28:08,066 --> 01:28:14,427
and you offer enough of your happiness
to be able to relieve their suffering.

983
01:28:14,849 --> 01:28:20,467
I can be there for you.
I have enough happiness and compassion.

984
01:28:21,550 --> 01:28:26,694
I want to relieve your suffering,
that is why I come to be with you,

985
01:28:26,884 --> 01:28:29,750
or I call you, or whatever.

986
01:28:31,549 --> 01:28:37,900
The fourth mantra of love is:
I suffer, please help. Please, help me.

987
01:28:38,834 --> 01:28:45,372
This is when we are suffering and
we need other's compassion to help us.

988
01:28:46,274 --> 01:28:52,361
But we want to ask people who like us.
Okay? Alright.

989
01:28:52,772 --> 01:28:57,793
We call on others, our sangha,
our friends, our loved ones.

990
01:28:58,272 --> 01:29:02,019
We let them know.
I'm in a difficult situation.

991
01:29:03,230 --> 01:29:07,830
You can help me by doing the following.

992
01:29:08,796 --> 01:29:12,676
So we call on not only compassion,

993
01:29:12,841 --> 01:29:16,125
but their loving kindness.

994
01:29:17,005 --> 01:29:20,819
And their joy at being able to help us.

995
01:29:21,010 --> 01:29:26,598
So loving kindness, compassion,
joy, the equanimity is

996
01:29:26,798 --> 01:29:34,140
the practice of non discrimination.
Not taking sides, and including everyone.

997
01:29:34,950 --> 01:29:40,061
That's the fourth aspect
of unbounded love,

998
01:29:40,675 --> 01:29:48,202
is that our heart is wide and big,
it includes everyone, no discrimination.

999
01:29:49,264 --> 01:29:54,828
We don't take sides,
we have a balanced attitude.

1000
01:29:55,275 --> 01:30:00,050
We have equanimity, which is balance.

1001
01:30:05,136 --> 01:30:08,391
We've heard about
the beginning a new practice

1002
01:30:08,594 --> 01:30:11,552
and that is also practicing.

1003
01:30:11,732 --> 01:30:16,223
Loving kindness, bringing happiness
with our words, with listening.

1004
01:30:16,508 --> 01:30:19,977
Being able to say: "I'm sorry".

1005
01:30:20,138 --> 01:30:25,573
We are practicing compassion
by apologizing for mistakes,

1006
01:30:25,756 --> 01:30:30,160
so we can relieve their suffering
at our mistake.

1007
01:30:30,335 --> 01:30:34,113
We have compassion enough to apologize.

1008
01:30:34,585 --> 01:30:41,698
And we share our difficulties so that
gives them a possibility of understanding

1009
01:30:42,331 --> 01:30:46,203
and opening their heart of equanimity.

1010
01:30:46,315 --> 01:30:53,974
They will understand and have a better
possibility of accepting our difficulty.

1011
01:30:55,167 --> 01:30:58,283
Share our suffering, our hurts,

1012
01:30:58,412 --> 01:31:01,848
so we call on their compassion for that.

1013
01:31:01,955 --> 01:31:05,482
And their understanding and equanimity.

1014
01:31:05,617 --> 01:31:09,781
So loving kindness, compassion,
joy, and equanimity

1015
01:31:10,277 --> 01:31:15,542
are seeds that we have, all of us.
They are in the store consciousness.

1016
01:31:16,433 --> 01:31:20,627
We just want to be able
to water them daily,

1017
01:31:21,142 --> 01:31:26,810
if you wish, so that they will manifest
and become stronger and stronger.

1018
01:31:27,438 --> 01:31:33,356
We know when a seed manifests, because
it has been watered in store consciousness

1019
01:31:33,622 --> 01:31:38,711
when it manifests it becomes
stronger, well-developed.

1020
01:31:39,767 --> 01:31:43,799
So instead of letting
our anger and resentment, and

1021
01:31:44,611 --> 01:31:50,073
judgementalness, fear, all of that

1022
01:31:50,389 --> 01:31:54,446
come up so often so that
it gets so strong and big,

1023
01:31:54,545 --> 01:32:01,525
we want to let those seeds of suffering
go back and invite other seeds to come up.

1024
01:32:02,454 --> 01:32:10,412
We know now that the metta meditation,
the Discourse on Love is one way

1025
01:32:11,975 --> 01:32:18,323
to do selective watering of the most
wholesome and beneficial seeds

1026
01:32:19,063 --> 01:32:21,669
in our store consciousness,

1027
01:32:21,864 --> 01:32:25,356
so they will manifest
in our mind consciousness

1028
01:32:25,569 --> 01:32:28,668
and become stronger
and more solid.

1029
01:32:28,825 --> 01:32:32,794
And the result will be happier.

1030
01:32:33,528 --> 01:32:36,087
We will have more peace.

1031
01:32:36,268 --> 01:32:41,285
And we will be able to transcend
our fear of birth and death.

1032
01:32:41,955 --> 01:32:49,756
That means we will have so much confidence
and trust in this metta meditation,

1033
01:32:50,545 --> 01:32:54,948
that we will see that
everything is just manifesting.

1034
01:32:55,159 --> 01:32:57,954
Our love, our peace, our joy.

1035
01:32:58,106 --> 01:33:02,918
Everything just manifests,
and then ceases to manifest.

1036
01:33:03,733 --> 01:33:10,246
The love, and the boundless love
and the four aspects

1037
01:33:11,167 --> 01:33:15,032
will become our experience of life.

1038
01:33:17,558 --> 01:33:22,328
We will understand that birth and death
are just ideas.

1039
01:33:22,526 --> 01:33:25,135
They are just concepts.

1040
01:33:25,273 --> 01:33:30,128
I read that Thay said that
birth and death exist

1041
01:33:31,180 --> 01:33:35,353
only because we think they exist.

1042
01:33:35,686 --> 01:33:38,038
That is very deep.

1043
01:33:38,207 --> 01:33:41,277
Just because we think they exist.

1044
01:33:41,467 --> 01:33:45,071
What is there instead of birth and death
there is manifestation

1045
01:33:45,222 --> 01:33:52,119
and ceasing to manifest because the causes
are no longer there for manifestation.

1046
01:33:53,788 --> 01:33:58,362
But I do want to honor the translations,

1047
01:33:58,628 --> 01:34:02,961
the 19 other translations
that have been made of this sutra.

1048
01:34:06,644 --> 01:34:09,946
And they say: Those who practice
boundless love

1049
01:34:10,112 --> 01:34:13,968
will no longer be born again in a womb.

1050
01:34:15,054 --> 01:34:19,830
So that is how the traditional translation
of the Pali words means

1051
01:34:19,969 --> 01:34:23,082
you won't have rebirth.

1052
01:34:23,368 --> 01:34:29,852
Okay? You will not be subject to
coming to remanifesting in the world.

1053
01:34:31,140 --> 01:34:35,137
But Thay and sister Chan Duc translated,
instead of saying:

1054
01:34:35,298 --> 01:34:38,915
"You won't be reborn in a womb",
they said:

1055
01:34:39,527 --> 01:34:45,462
If you practice boundless love, you will
certainly transcend birth and death.

1056
01:34:45,804 --> 01:34:48,646
That is very beautiful.

1057
01:34:48,954 --> 01:34:51,877
Dear friends, I thank you
for your patience,

1058
01:34:52,031 --> 01:34:54,890
which is a sign of love.

1059
01:34:55,301 --> 01:34:58,922
I must say you have to love me,
it's been long.

1060
01:34:59,100 --> 01:35:02,857
Thank you for your patience
and for your listening.

1061
01:35:03,025 --> 01:35:06,786
I have provided for each hamlet CTC

1062
01:35:08,538 --> 01:35:12,327
some copies of the sutra,
both in French, and English,

1063
01:35:12,489 --> 01:35:17,078
and also the guided meditation
that we wrote on the board.

1064
01:35:17,235 --> 01:35:22,764
Maybe the CTCs can make
more copies available to our friends

1065
01:35:22,994 --> 01:35:26,154
who are here for another five weeks.

1066
01:35:26,406 --> 01:35:30,887
And if you won't be here for another
five weeks, you may be able

1067
01:35:32,524 --> 01:35:37,036
to take a picture of that,
because everyone has devices now,

1068
01:35:37,378 --> 01:35:39,966
or write it down.

1069
01:35:40,124 --> 01:35:42,974
Now we will listen
to three sounds of the bell,

1070
01:35:43,094 --> 01:35:46,622
and maybe there are some announcements.
Thank you, dear friends.

1071
01:35:46,745 --> 01:35:50,479
It's been my happiness and joy
to be with you.

1072
01:35:54,592 --> 01:36:00,505
(Bell)

1073
01:36:17,687 --> 01:36:24,143
(Bell)

1074
01:36:40,372 --> 01:36:48,124
(Bell)

1075
01:37:27,580 --> 01:37:29,477
(Bell)