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Good morning, dear Sangha,
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most respected Thay.
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Dear Sangha,
today is the 22nd of September
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in the year 2019, and we are in the
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Assembly of Stars Meditation Hall,
in the Lower Hamlet,
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on our day of mindfulness.
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And we shall begin by listening
to three sounds of the bell.
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You can enjoy the sound of the rain,
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and the feeling of your breath
in your body.
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[The bell is awoken.]
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[The bell is invited.]
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[The bell is invited.]
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[The bell is invited.]
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Dear Sangha, about 30 years ago,
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we were having a picnic with Thay
in the Upper Hamlet.
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And we were sitting where
there used to be a forest,
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but now there is the monk's residence.
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Well, not exactly a forest.
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Green grass with some trees.
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And it was a beautiful day.
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And we put our hammocks between the trees
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after we had the picnic.
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And we lay down to have a siesta.
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And then it started to rain very hard.
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So we had to go back
to the nearest building for shelter.
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And the nearest building was
the stone house, which had a veranda.
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And we sat on the veranda.
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And Thay said, "Chan Duc,
write a song about the rain."
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I don't know,
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The rain is falling
oo, so softly,
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washing every leaf of every tree,
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washing every care.
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Namo 'valokiteshvaraya,
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Namo 'valokiteshvaraya.
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The rain is falling, oo so-o strongly,
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reaching every root of every tree.
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Reaching every root of affliction.
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Namo 'valokiteshvaraya,
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Namo 'valokiteshvaraya.
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The rain is falling o-o so-o loudly,
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playing the music of joy
for 10,000's of beings.
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Namo 'valokiteshvaraya,
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Namo 'valokiteshvaraya.
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So, dear Sangha,
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in this song we can see
that the climate outside of us
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and the emotions and
mental formations inside of us
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are not two separate things.
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When we see the rain wash
the leaf of the tree,
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we also feel that
our worry is washed away.
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Because we are children of the Earth.
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We are the Earth.
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So whatever happens to the Earth,
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it also happens to us.
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And that is an insight that we've had
for a very long time.
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We didn't have to wait for climate change
to have that insight.
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But before climate change took place,
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people had forgotten that
they were the Earth.
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And therefore they didn't
take care of the Earth.
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And at the same time,
they didn't take care of themselves.
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But now we have that opportunity,
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to see that we are the Earth.
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And that means that every time
we take care of ourself,
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we take care of the Earth.
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And every time we take care of the Earth,
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we take care of ourself.
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And when I say "ourself", I really mean
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"ourselves".
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I really mean "ourselves",
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because we are not separate
from each other.
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If I take care of myself,
I'm taking care of you,
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my fellow human being.
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And I'm taking care of you,
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animal species,
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the plant species,
and the mineral species.
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We are very lucky in a way
to be living in this time.
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Because it's a time of urgency.
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And it's a time
that forces us to look deeply
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at our relationship with the Earth,
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and our relationship with each other.
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And if we did not have the threat
that we might not be here very long,
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we might be lazy to make that effort.
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That is one human characteristic,
is a little bit lazy.
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And the Buddha said that we are fortunate
to be born human beings,
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because if we are born a god,
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then maybe everything is going our way,
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and we feel very happy,
and everything is OK,
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and so we don't really get
down to the practice.
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But when we're a human being,
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there is quite a bit of ...
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things are not OK,
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and quite a bit of suffering,
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and so that is an impulse
for us to practice.
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So today we have to talk
about the Bodhicitta.
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Bodhicitta is sometimes translated
as the Mind of Love.
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Sometimes translated
as the Mind of Awakening.
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And we have the same word "bodhi"
in the word Bodhisattva.
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And "citta" means our mind,
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and "bodhi" means awakening.
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It's the same root as the word for Buddha.
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If you are Russian, then you know
that the word for "wake up"
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is also from the same root, "Budta".
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So we need to wake up.
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Homo sapiens needs to wake up.
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And become homo...
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I can't remember the Latin word
for being awake.
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Vigila, vigilatus or something, vigilatus?
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We need to become "man awake"
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rather than homo sapiens,
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a name we gave to ourselves.
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I don't know whether we gave it
to ourselves very correctly.
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"Sapiens" means "wise",
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but I don't know if we're always so wise.
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But enough of this kind of wisdom,
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we need to go forward
and become awake.
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And we are lucky, because
we have the teachings of mindfulness.
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And mindfulness is what keeps us awake,
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makes us awake.
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A bodhisattva means "a being
who is waking up,"
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or "a being who is helping
other beings to wake up."
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And now as a species
we have an opportunity
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to practice waking up.
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And every generation,
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every era of the human species
has been here, on planet Earth,
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there have been things
that we've needed to wake up to.
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And now the thing
that we need to wake up to
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is that we've done a lot of damage,
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we're still doing a lot of damage
as a human species.
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Geologists call our age the Anthropocene,
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the age that is made by,
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the geology is made by the humans.
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It's not made by natural processes
in the Earth anymore.
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If you take a look at the Earth,
you will find many chicken bones in it.
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And those chicken bones, they come from
human beings eating too many chickens.
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So as human beings,
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we are making Mother Earth
what she is becoming.
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And we are children of Mother Earth.
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So we want to wake up.
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And we want to wake up to the fact
that we inter-are.
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We are interconnected
with everything on the Earth.
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And what better opportunity
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than when you are eating a meal.
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Eating in mindfulness,
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relating to the food that you are eating.
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When I was young, when I was a teenager,
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in my early twenties,
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I suffered from something called
anorexia nervosa.
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This meant that I didn't eat.
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I didn't want to eat anything.
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And it's very damaging for my body.
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And it's also damaging for my mind.
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And it planted seeds in my body
and my mind which harm myself.
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And so I realize that at that time,
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I was also harming my Mother Earth.
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I was also harming
my genetic mother and father,
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who had to worry a lot about me.
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But at the time, I was not aware
of what I was doing.
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I did not have the bodhicitta,
the mind that was awake.
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I was not the waking up Bodhisattva.
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It took me some time to realize
what I was doing.
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And eating in mindfulness
is what can restore,
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what restores my right relationship
with what I am eating.
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So I am very grateful
for the practice of mindful eating.
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And when I put something in my mouth.
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I put a spoon of millet in my mouth.
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I feel closely connected
to the whole universe.
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I feel connected to the sun, to the stars,
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and to the Earth under my feet,
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and the atmosphere around me,
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which contains the clouds and the rain.
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And I feel all these things
are coming together to nourish me.
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And my heart is filled with gratitude.
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And I know that as a child of the Earth,
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I am being nourished by the Earth.
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And as I eat in mindfulness,
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I am also aware
of where the food comes from.
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And if the food that I am eating
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is contributing
to global carbon footprint.
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So I have to be aware of where,
how far away the food has come from.
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what kind of transport the food used
to come to me.
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And I still see that when I eat,
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there is some carbon footprint
in what I eat.
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But that does not take away
my joy of eating,
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because although I want to minimize
the carbon footprint of what I eat,
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at the same I know that the most important
thing is my relationship to Mother Earth,
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to the atmosphere.
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And when I feel that deep gratitude in me,
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and that deep aspiration
to take care of the Earth,
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as I take care of myself.
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I know that I am doing the very best
that I can.
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So we said that bodhicitta means,
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literally it means the mind of awakening.
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But Thay has translated this into English
as the mind of love.
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As if awakening and love
are not two separate things.
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And we know also that understanding
and love are not two separate things.
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So when I sit and I eat a meal,
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I am also aware of my brothers, my sisters
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who are eating with me,
because they also are the Earth.
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They also are children of the Earth.
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And if I cannot understand them
and love them,
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then I cannot understand
and love the Earth either.
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So a meal time is not just being
grateful for the food,
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feeling love for Mother Earth and
the universe that has produced the food,
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but it's also feeling grateful to our
brothers and sisters who are with us,
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and feeling love for our brothers
and sisters who are with us.
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During the day, I keep alive
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with my mindfulness
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and with the use of the gathas,
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my awareness of Mother Earth.
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When I wash my hands, I wash my hands
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that all may have hands blessed
to save this planet Earth.
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And I know that when I wash my hands,
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I want to be 100% there,
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because I am in touch with the water,
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and the water is such a precious gift
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of the Earth and the sky.
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And we know that sources of clean water
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in the Earth are drying up.
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The aquifers are drying up.
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Those great underground rivers that
used to be there, are no longer there.
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And so clean water is a precious,
precious gift.
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And so I want to do my best
not to waste it.
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Even though it's very difficult sometimes
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to adjust the tap so that too much water
doesn't come out,
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it is a joy for me to be able to adjust it
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so that just the right amount of water
that I need comes out.
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And I can catch that water in a bowl.
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I don't have to let it keep flowing.
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And then I can take the water
from the bowl and wash my face.
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So these things are not an effort.
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It doesn't take an effort to do that.
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I do not have to force myself to do this.
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Because I am the Earth,
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and the Earth is me.
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And when I take care of the Earth,
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I take care of the water,
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I am taking care of me.
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And there are so many things
that we do during the day
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which can keep us in our relationship,
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our right relationship with the Earth
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And of course, the most important one
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is walking on the Earth,
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On Friday,
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some of us had an opportunity
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to walk on the Earth, for maybe two hours.
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And we really had to concentrate,
or at least, I did.
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Because there was a lot of noise
going on around,
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and if I wasn't careful,
I would lose my concentration.
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So I had to use the gatha,
I used the gatha
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"I am home, I have arrived,
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in the here, in the now.
251
00:23:34,376 --> 00:23:37,788
I am solid, I am free.
252
00:23:38,589 --> 00:23:44,394
In the ultimate, the realm of
no birth and no death, I dwell."
253
00:23:45,516 --> 00:23:50,106
And practice that solidly.
254
00:23:51,035 --> 00:23:55,265
And the next morning when I woke up,
I was still practicing it.
255
00:23:55,823 --> 00:24:03,400
Because two hours is quite a long time
to practise one gatha.
256
00:24:05,206 --> 00:24:10,109
But this gatha is very important for us,
257
00:24:10,109 --> 00:24:12,956
who are taking care of the earth.
258
00:24:14,198 --> 00:24:16,696
First of all we see the earth as our home.
259
00:24:19,188 --> 00:24:27,609
Secondly, we see that we have arrived
where we are.
260
00:24:29,270 --> 00:24:31,608
This is a teaching of Plum Village,
261
00:24:32,671 --> 00:24:35,733
the three times inter-are.
262
00:24:36,927 --> 00:24:41,196
The past, the present and the future.
263
00:24:42,098 --> 00:24:45,076
They're not three separate realities.
264
00:24:46,557 --> 00:24:49,123
Some schools of Buddhism say,
265
00:24:49,637 --> 00:24:55,266
the past, the present and the future
exist as separate realities.
266
00:24:55,957 --> 00:24:59,114
Some say there's only the present moment.
267
00:25:00,168 --> 00:25:06,783
Thay, in Plum Village, has taught us
that the three times inter-are.
268
00:25:07,479 --> 00:25:10,811
So when I have arrived
in the present moment,
269
00:25:11,899 --> 00:25:15,637
it doesn't mean to say
that the past is not there,
270
00:25:16,433 --> 00:25:19,078
or the future is not there.
271
00:25:20,351 --> 00:25:24,437
The best way I can take care of the future
272
00:25:25,461 --> 00:25:29,395
is to take care of the present moment.
273
00:25:30,251 --> 00:25:37,341
The present moment is what it is
because of the past moment.
274
00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:43,986
So I have arrived is important.
275
00:25:44,659 --> 00:25:48,670
It's important to keep myself
in the present moment,
276
00:25:49,294 --> 00:25:52,028
in order to take care of the future.
277
00:25:53,281 --> 00:25:56,591
That doesn't mean to say
that I close my eyes,
278
00:25:57,437 --> 00:26:02,192
that I'm not awake to
what could happen in the future
279
00:26:03,441 --> 00:26:06,859
The reason I know
what could happen in the future
280
00:26:07,429 --> 00:26:10,692
is because I know what's happening
in the present.
281
00:26:12,449 --> 00:26:19,354
Of course we care very much
about keeping to 1.5 degrees
282
00:26:23,605 --> 00:26:26,261
and we know the ways we can do this,
283
00:26:26,525 --> 00:26:28,456
we are aware of all that.
284
00:26:30,394 --> 00:26:34,471
But we have to practise
to keep ourselves solid,
285
00:26:35,503 --> 00:26:38,603
to keep ourselves free
in the present moment.
286
00:26:39,205 --> 00:26:41,036
Otherwise we will burn out
287
00:26:41,548 --> 00:26:45,024
and we'll not be able
to do the things we want to do
288
00:26:45,550 --> 00:26:47,544
in order to get everyone to help,
289
00:26:48,285 --> 00:26:49,506
to help the earth.
290
00:26:52,282 --> 00:26:54,637
So when you become a monk or a nun,
291
00:26:55,434 --> 00:27:00,148
it is said you become a monk or a nun
because of the Bodhicitta,
292
00:27:00,825 --> 00:27:03,031
because of the mind of awakening,
293
00:27:03,492 --> 00:27:05,882
because of the mind of love
294
00:27:06,389 --> 00:27:09,830
which is there, for all of us,
in the store consciousness.
295
00:27:10,758 --> 00:27:15,508
When you shave your head, the first time
and every time after,
296
00:27:16,253 --> 00:27:17,653
you say a poem.
297
00:27:20,078 --> 00:27:21,187
[speaking vietnamese]
298
00:27:23,543 --> 00:27:26,852
Shedding my hair completely,
299
00:27:27,641 --> 00:27:30,506
I make the great vow today
300
00:27:32,674 --> 00:27:39,570
that all people
will transform their afflictions
301
00:27:41,218 --> 00:27:48,898
and all species will go
to the other shore.
302
00:27:54,799 --> 00:28:00,379
[speaks vietnamese]
303
00:28:00,877 --> 00:28:02,357
for the world, yes.
304
00:28:02,500 --> 00:28:06,646
And we can take the world
and all its species to the other shore.
305
00:28:07,857 --> 00:28:11,857
That is a very strong vow.
306
00:28:13,368 --> 00:28:17,698
When you vow deeply like that
on the day when you shave your head
307
00:28:18,450 --> 00:28:25,280
you're realizing that you are
not separate from all species.
308
00:28:25,829 --> 00:28:29,442
You're not separate from all human beings
309
00:28:30,644 --> 00:28:37,949
and your suffering and their suffering
are not two separate things.
310
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:40,919
And so you come into the monastery
311
00:28:41,380 --> 00:28:47,015
in order to be able to first of all
transform your own afflictions
312
00:28:47,568 --> 00:28:51,427
and then you see that transforming
your own afflictions
313
00:28:52,222 --> 00:28:54,403
is helping other people to do it.
314
00:28:54,976 --> 00:28:56,633
You don't have to make an effort
315
00:28:57,302 --> 00:29:00,553
to help other people
to transform their afflictions.
316
00:29:01,211 --> 00:29:05,779
When you transform, they only
quite naturally will do that.
317
00:29:07,334 --> 00:29:09,102
And that is the Bodhicitta.
318
00:29:09,679 --> 00:29:12,554
The other gatha that you will read,
319
00:29:13,369 --> 00:29:16,768
when you receive your robe:
320
00:29:19,654 --> 00:29:23,972
How beautiful is the robe
of a monk or a nun,
321
00:29:24,856 --> 00:29:27,435
it's a field of all good seeds.
322
00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:31,199
I bow my head to receive it today,
323
00:29:32,231 --> 00:29:37,549
and I vow to wear it life after life.
324
00:29:39,969 --> 00:29:41,471
I used to think that.
325
00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:49,787
Now I'm 70.
I don't think I'll live much longer.
326
00:29:50,674 --> 00:29:55,653
So maybe I will avoid
all the climate change
327
00:29:58,859 --> 00:30:03,379
But then I saw that is wrong feeling.
It is wrong view.
328
00:30:04,392 --> 00:30:12,139
It is the view of nihilation
that I will cease to exist.
329
00:30:12,491 --> 00:30:15,229
I won't have to go through climate change.
330
00:30:15,597 --> 00:30:20,743
Yesterday I saw a poster, on Friday,
that said
331
00:30:22,340 --> 00:30:29,292
You will die from old age,
but we will die from climate change.
332
00:30:30,454 --> 00:30:32,369
That is written by a young person.
333
00:30:34,281 --> 00:30:36,331
I used to think like that too.
334
00:30:37,202 --> 00:30:39,338
But I don't think like that anymore.
335
00:30:40,207 --> 00:30:42,009
I know that I will continue.
336
00:30:42,444 --> 00:30:44,177
I know that I will be there.
337
00:30:45,581 --> 00:30:51,520
In maybe a slightly different form
to go through climate change.
338
00:30:52,758 --> 00:30:58,537
So I vow to wear my robe life after life.
339
00:30:59,044 --> 00:31:00,737
Not just for this lifetime,
340
00:31:01,319 --> 00:31:05,646
because I know that my practise
as a solid practitioner
341
00:31:06,181 --> 00:31:09,749
will be needed in future lifetimes also.
342
00:31:11,077 --> 00:31:15,478
So these two gathas, in a way,
they represent the Bodhicitta.
343
00:31:17,447 --> 00:31:21,719
I remember when I was young,
I was a lay person,
344
00:31:23,504 --> 00:31:30,656
I wanted to go and do something
to help the world.
345
00:31:32,126 --> 00:31:33,916
And that is Bodhicitta.
346
00:31:35,102 --> 00:31:37,332
We don't think about our own comfort.
347
00:31:38,831 --> 00:31:41,993
We think about doing something
to really help.
348
00:31:42,766 --> 00:31:45,878
I wanted there to be peace in the world.
349
00:31:46,211 --> 00:31:49,410
I didn't want there to be
nuclear armaments
350
00:31:50,678 --> 00:31:54,121
and that morning I got up.
351
00:31:55,726 --> 00:32:00,086
I told myself I'm not going
to sleep in the house anymore.
352
00:32:00,719 --> 00:32:02,793
I'm going to sleep outside.
353
00:32:04,644 --> 00:32:08,853
So that night I slept outside,
and it was freezing.
354
00:32:09,715 --> 00:32:11,783
The temperature was below zero.
355
00:32:12,289 --> 00:32:16,133
But I slept in my sleeping bag,
it wasn't too bad.
356
00:32:16,273 --> 00:32:19,051
And then in my sleeping bag
it was about freezing.
357
00:32:20,048 --> 00:32:24,216
With my sleeping bag
and a pair of rubber boots,
358
00:32:25,555 --> 00:32:27,758
I said, "I'm going to Greenham Common."
359
00:32:28,263 --> 00:32:29,732
And then I felt so free,
360
00:32:30,132 --> 00:32:33,649
I felt like a bird
that was let outside of its cage.
361
00:32:35,490 --> 00:32:38,952
Then I walked and I walked,
until my feet couldn't walk anymore.
362
00:32:41,421 --> 00:32:43,957
I felt that wonderful sense of freedom.
363
00:32:45,575 --> 00:32:47,903
You have the whole world before you.
364
00:32:48,338 --> 00:32:53,306
and you have your aspiration
to do something for the world,
365
00:32:54,053 --> 00:32:57,353
because the world is not you.
366
00:32:58,416 --> 00:32:59,609
The world is you.
367
00:33:02,539 --> 00:33:05,576
You do something for the world,
you do it for yourself.
368
00:33:14,205 --> 00:33:20,968
♪ Breathe and you know
that you are alive, ♪
369
00:33:21,801 --> 00:33:29,068
♪ breathe and you know
that what is helping you ♪
370
00:33:30,093 --> 00:33:37,148
♪ Breathe and you know
that you are the world ♪
371
00:33:37,998 --> 00:33:45,300
♪ breathe and you know
that the flower is breathing too. ♪
372
00:33:46,386 --> 00:33:53,947
♪ Breathe for yourself
and you breathe for the world ♪
373
00:33:54,963 --> 00:34:02,474
♪ breathe in compassion
and breathe out joy. ♪
374
00:34:03,026 --> 00:34:04,532
So that is...
375
00:34:07,108 --> 00:34:12,318
One of the wrong views in Buddhism is,
I am the world and the world is me.
376
00:34:13,945 --> 00:34:17,030
That wrong view is a little bit
in that song.
377
00:34:18,260 --> 00:34:21,129
But when I say that I am the world,
378
00:34:21,870 --> 00:34:24,419
I mean I inter-am with the world.
379
00:34:27,295 --> 00:34:30,096
The world is not a separate self-entity.
380
00:34:30,707 --> 00:34:33,798
I am not a separate self-entity.
381
00:34:39,207 --> 00:34:42,035
Becoming a nun is a little bit like that,
382
00:34:43,364 --> 00:34:48,919
is having a deep aspiration
to do something,
383
00:34:49,645 --> 00:34:51,395
to do something for the world.
384
00:34:52,614 --> 00:34:56,784
You just get up and you go
and you do that.
385
00:34:58,671 --> 00:35:01,618
You don't worry too much
about your comfort.
386
00:35:08,609 --> 00:35:12,645
Awareness of impermanence
387
00:35:13,635 --> 00:35:20,827
is also an important contribution
to our Bodhicitta.
388
00:35:23,250 --> 00:35:27,929
We all know that there are two kinds
of impermanence.
389
00:35:29,234 --> 00:35:33,837
There's the kind of impermanence
that is happening at every second,
390
00:35:33,837 --> 00:35:35,415
every instant.
391
00:35:36,203 --> 00:35:41,155
You are not the same person
as when you came into this hall.
392
00:35:42,258 --> 00:35:44,771
Cells have died in your body
393
00:35:45,408 --> 00:35:48,002
and new cells have been born.
394
00:35:48,801 --> 00:35:51,388
The feelings you had when you came in
395
00:35:52,104 --> 00:35:54,854
are different from the feelings
you have now.
396
00:35:55,477 --> 00:35:59,718
And your perceptions are different,
your mental formations are different.
397
00:36:00,023 --> 00:36:02,321
Your consciousness is different.
398
00:36:02,891 --> 00:36:09,679
So it's that instant impermanence,
happening at every instant is one kind,
399
00:36:10,815 --> 00:36:17,869
and then there's the impermanence when
some major change happens in your life.
400
00:36:20,068 --> 00:36:23,908
You are no longer a child,
you are a teenager.
401
00:36:23,908 --> 00:36:26,812
You're no longer middle-aged, you're old.
402
00:36:29,307 --> 00:36:33,061
Your death certificate is signed.
403
00:36:33,932 --> 00:36:38,691
Those kind of things we call
'the cyclical impermanence'.
404
00:36:40,414 --> 00:36:43,247
Maybe 65 million years ago,
405
00:36:44,631 --> 00:36:46,640
when, we don't quite know why,
406
00:36:46,808 --> 00:36:51,164
but maybe a meteorite
hit our dear mother earth,
407
00:36:52,091 --> 00:36:57,555
then three quarters of the species
on earth went extinct,
408
00:36:58,067 --> 00:37:01,071
and that was a cyclical impermanence.
409
00:37:02,410 --> 00:37:07,539
And now we're also facing
a cyclical impermanence.
410
00:37:08,894 --> 00:37:14,865
The end of the human species
may be the end of life on earth,
411
00:37:14,965 --> 00:37:18,981
at least temporarily
the end of life on earth,
412
00:37:19,608 --> 00:37:24,815
until earth recovers enough
to be able for life to come about again.
413
00:37:25,329 --> 00:37:28,839
Because the sun will be there
for billions of years more
414
00:37:29,461 --> 00:37:31,299
to support life on earth.
415
00:37:32,306 --> 00:37:34,947
So even if we destroy everything now,
416
00:37:37,484 --> 00:37:40,271
maybe a rebirth in the future.
417
00:37:42,598 --> 00:37:44,867
So this cyclical impermanence,
418
00:37:45,091 --> 00:37:48,692
this awareness of impermanence
is so important.
419
00:37:49,568 --> 00:37:52,542
We have this gatha
which we use when we're angry.
420
00:37:57,424 --> 00:38:01,055
Being angry I know I'm angry
421
00:38:01,775 --> 00:38:04,818
in the historical dimension.
422
00:38:05,717 --> 00:38:07,680
I close my eyes.
423
00:38:08,537 --> 00:38:11,280
It's very important to close your eyes.
424
00:38:11,591 --> 00:38:14,713
Don't look at the person
who's making you angry,
425
00:38:15,025 --> 00:38:17,909
it'll only water the seed of anger in you.
426
00:38:18,797 --> 00:38:22,306
I close my eyes and look deeply.
427
00:38:23,670 --> 00:38:27,798
300 years from now, where will you be?
428
00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:29,894
And where shall I be?
429
00:38:30,898 --> 00:38:34,488
Then we remind ourselves
that I am impermanent,
430
00:38:34,889 --> 00:38:37,304
I'm not going to be here much longer.
431
00:38:37,687 --> 00:38:41,747
You're impermanent.
You're not going to be here much longer.
432
00:38:41,959 --> 00:38:44,371
If we can remind ourselves of that,
433
00:38:44,820 --> 00:38:49,490
all we want to do is take the other person
in our arms and say,
434
00:38:50,201 --> 00:38:53,084
we're so grateful that you're still there.
435
00:38:54,651 --> 00:39:02,391
When I was staying in Israel,
in Palestine, one time,
436
00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:06,769
the people there that I was
staying with, told me:
437
00:39:07,058 --> 00:39:10,344
"every day when my partner goes to work,
438
00:39:10,972 --> 00:39:17,170
I don't know if I'll see him
or her in the evening.
439
00:39:17,637 --> 00:39:23,670
And so, we relish each moment
of having breakfast together.
440
00:39:26,188 --> 00:39:33,418
We hug each other before going to work,
we know that it may be the last time.
441
00:39:34,169 --> 00:39:36,360
So it's a very deep hug.
442
00:39:37,690 --> 00:39:42,980
When you hug somebody deeply,
and you breathe in and you breathe out,
443
00:39:43,545 --> 00:39:45,252
you just follow your breathing,
444
00:39:46,435 --> 00:39:52,664
and then you'll recognize how wonderful
this person is warm, this person is alive,
445
00:39:53,468 --> 00:39:57,793
and you also recognize,
it won't always be like that.
446
00:39:58,668 --> 00:40:03,251
I won't always be warm and alive,
nor will the other.
447
00:40:03,565 --> 00:40:08,040
And when you recognize that,
you see how important this moment is.
448
00:40:08,359 --> 00:40:13,059
This moment is
the most important momentof our life.
449
00:40:13,949 --> 00:40:18,277
And you enjoy it deeply,
and you enjoy it fully.
450
00:40:18,926 --> 00:40:25,553
and you may do as Blake did
and see eternity in an hour,
451
00:40:25,869 --> 00:40:31,999
well not in an hour,
eternity in a second, in a minute.
452
00:40:34,314 --> 00:40:39,276
So it's the same when I contemplate
on the impermanence of Mother Earth.
453
00:40:41,435 --> 00:40:47,129
It makes me want to enjoy
every moment on mother Earth.
454
00:40:48,015 --> 00:40:51,491
I want to enjoy
all the beauties of nature,
455
00:40:52,374 --> 00:40:57,125
everything that's wonderful on the earth,
I want to enjoy it deeply,
456
00:40:57,859 --> 00:41:01,063
because I don't know
how long it will be there for.
457
00:41:02,287 --> 00:41:05,338
So in a way, I'm grateful
for that not-knowing.
458
00:41:06,827 --> 00:41:11,874
I think the dinosaurs didn't know that
a meteorite was going to hit the planet
459
00:41:12,803 --> 00:41:15,094
and they were going to become extinct.
460
00:41:15,603 --> 00:41:19,522
So they didn't have the chance
to enjoy every moment.
461
00:41:20,936 --> 00:41:23,432
We do have a bit of time,
462
00:41:24,817 --> 00:41:28,221
we're in a bit of a different situation
from the dinosaurs,
463
00:41:29,093 --> 00:41:31,602
which means we can enjoy every moment.
464
00:41:32,478 --> 00:41:35,558
And enjoying our relationship
with the earth,
465
00:41:35,827 --> 00:41:38,260
enjoying what's beautiful on the earth.
466
00:41:38,652 --> 00:41:41,658
We don't have to make an effort
to conserve it.
467
00:41:43,068 --> 00:41:45,400
We just do it out of love.
468
00:41:46,559 --> 00:41:50,728
In Thay's book Love letters to the earth
469
00:41:51,233 --> 00:41:55,233
Thay tells us he's in love with the earth.
470
00:41:55,871 --> 00:41:59,029
Every time before Thay
goes outside for a walk,
471
00:41:59,255 --> 00:42:02,814
Thay tells himself, "Oh,
I'm going to meet my loved one.
472
00:42:03,355 --> 00:42:06,812
I'm going to see all these beautiful
and wonderful things."
473
00:42:08,134 --> 00:42:12,225
And Thay said that
if we can have a relationship
474
00:42:13,618 --> 00:42:15,901
of falling in love with the earth,
475
00:42:16,798 --> 00:42:21,773
that's the best thing we can do
to take care of the earth.
476
00:42:24,816 --> 00:42:26,971
If we don't have that relationship,
477
00:42:28,050 --> 00:42:32,195
it's possible that we'll not be able
to take care of the earth.
478
00:42:33,778 --> 00:42:38,921
Some of us really become burned out
trying to take care of the earth.
479
00:42:39,863 --> 00:42:44,639
Some of us put a lot of pressure
on ourselves to do things,
480
00:42:45,294 --> 00:42:47,323
to keep taking care of the earth.
481
00:42:48,546 --> 00:42:50,951
But we forgot about ourselves,
482
00:42:50,951 --> 00:42:53,921
we forgot to take care of ourselves.
483
00:42:55,537 --> 00:42:58,765
We forgot we are a child of the earth.
484
00:43:02,052 --> 00:43:09,811
So, just to be able to do nothing
is also a way of taking care of the earth.
485
00:43:10,792 --> 00:43:14,933
To sit peacefully on the earth,
restore your self,
486
00:43:15,421 --> 00:43:17,096
to rest and do nothing.
487
00:43:19,205 --> 00:43:23,277
You may say you're not doing anything
to take care of the earth, but you are.
488
00:43:24,172 --> 00:43:29,571
With every breath that restores you,
you are helping the earth.
489
00:43:36,168 --> 00:43:37,728
[The bell is awoken.]
490
00:43:39,275 --> 00:43:44,667
[The bell is invited.]
491
00:44:50,490 --> 00:44:54,771
This morning, when we were practising
the guided meditation
492
00:44:54,771 --> 00:44:57,937
before the Dharma talk,
493
00:44:58,652 --> 00:45:03,192
when we got to the tongue
I thought we were going to be aware
494
00:45:03,192 --> 00:45:07,473
of the taste of the rain on our tongue.
495
00:45:10,319 --> 00:45:13,050
So I was practising that
in advance of it.
496
00:45:46,273 --> 00:45:48,491
So when we talk about Bodhicitta,
497
00:45:50,626 --> 00:45:53,351
we could talk about 'my' Bodhicitta,
498
00:45:55,750 --> 00:46:00,508
but I think it might be not right
to talk about 'my' Bodhicitta.
499
00:46:02,418 --> 00:46:07,027
Because Bodhicitta is
a seed in consciousness.
500
00:46:08,444 --> 00:46:11,404
It's a seed
in the collective consciousness,
501
00:46:12,677 --> 00:46:16,040
not just in my consciousness.
502
00:46:17,978 --> 00:46:22,384
And it's been handed down
from my ancestors,
503
00:46:27,206 --> 00:46:28,618
my mother, my father,
504
00:46:30,307 --> 00:46:34,447
even though they may not have known it,
they also have the Bodhicitta.
505
00:46:39,145 --> 00:46:46,365
So when you practise the meditation
on your mother and your father,
506
00:46:47,610 --> 00:46:49,517
as five year old children,
507
00:46:51,810 --> 00:46:56,320
you don't just see only that your mother
and father suffered
508
00:46:57,186 --> 00:46:58,835
as five year old children,
509
00:46:59,413 --> 00:47:01,840
although it's very important to see that,
510
00:47:02,459 --> 00:47:06,479
so that you can give rise
to compassion for your mother and father,
511
00:47:07,464 --> 00:47:14,244
but you also see that your parents,
as five year old children,
512
00:47:14,673 --> 00:47:16,337
have the Bodhicitta,
513
00:47:16,662 --> 00:47:18,367
have the mind of love,
514
00:47:19,937 --> 00:47:24,785
and therefore they have
the capacity to transform their suffering,
515
00:47:25,472 --> 00:47:28,544
and they've handed that capacity
on to you.
516
00:47:31,173 --> 00:47:32,664
You look at the children,
517
00:47:33,747 --> 00:47:41,225
you can see that intuitively they know
how to offer love to others.
518
00:47:42,546 --> 00:47:44,516
Sometimes, in Christianity,
519
00:47:44,516 --> 00:47:51,694
you say that you have to be a child
in order to enter the Kingdom of God.
520
00:47:53,345 --> 00:48:00,310
Every day we want to walk on the earth
as if we're walking in the kingdom of God,
521
00:48:00,668 --> 00:48:04,175
as if we're walking in the Pure Land.
522
00:48:05,067 --> 00:48:09,207
I used to think the Earth
was not a perfect place.
523
00:48:10,179 --> 00:48:14,179
There would be somewhere better,
there must be somewhere better.
524
00:48:15,296 --> 00:48:17,703
Somewhere you can go to
when you die.
525
00:48:18,782 --> 00:48:21,082
But then I recognized that...
526
00:48:24,102 --> 00:48:27,092
everything I need is here on earth,
527
00:48:27,763 --> 00:48:31,763
and when I die,
I just want to go back to the earth.
528
00:48:34,910 --> 00:48:39,106
And if I'm not able to go back
to the earth when I'm alive,
529
00:48:39,656 --> 00:48:43,656
it will be very difficult
to go back to the earth when I die.
530
00:48:45,327 --> 00:48:49,327
So every day I want to practise
going back to the earth
531
00:48:49,548 --> 00:48:55,880
and seeing the earth as paradise,
seeing the earth as the kingdom of God.
532
00:48:58,893 --> 00:49:05,779
Because it's said that the pure land
is not something outside of you.
533
00:49:06,684 --> 00:49:10,684
The pure land arises in our mind.
534
00:49:22,087 --> 00:49:30,537
I feel very grateful to people
who take the risk of being arrested
535
00:49:32,503 --> 00:49:39,483
by demonstrating,
by doing non-violent resistance.
536
00:49:41,426 --> 00:49:44,046
I see that their Bodhicitta is strong.
537
00:49:47,363 --> 00:49:50,409
But I also feel concern.
538
00:49:53,470 --> 00:49:58,700
I think Mahatma Gandhi knew very well
how to take care of himself
539
00:50:00,355 --> 00:50:03,464
and he could keep the mind of love alive.
540
00:50:04,702 --> 00:50:06,605
If we have love in our heart,
541
00:50:07,505 --> 00:50:09,610
if we have compassion in our heart,
542
00:50:10,401 --> 00:50:12,839
it's what protects us most of all.
543
00:50:14,185 --> 00:50:20,633
So even when we're being arrested,
we can feel compassion and love,
544
00:50:21,436 --> 00:50:22,827
and that's important,
545
00:50:23,808 --> 00:50:32,457
because if there's someone
who puts himself at risk of being arrested
546
00:50:33,402 --> 00:50:39,508
because they want to do
something good for the world,
547
00:50:43,073 --> 00:50:45,062
but they don't feel love in their heart,
548
00:50:46,548 --> 00:50:47,974
they don't feel compassion,
549
00:50:51,841 --> 00:50:52,751
then...
550
00:50:56,016 --> 00:51:02,269
.. they're not doing the thing
that would be most helpful for the world.
551
00:52:46,744 --> 00:52:53,698
One time, the Buddha taught
a very famous discourse.
552
00:52:54,100 --> 00:52:58,163
It's called Kesaputtiya sutra,
553
00:52:58,900 --> 00:53:02,616
and some people call it the Kalama sutra
554
00:53:57,553 --> 00:54:02,679
The Buddha taught this sutra
to young people.
555
00:54:04,126 --> 00:54:09,907
They were very confused
because Kesaputtiya is a town
556
00:54:10,999 --> 00:54:17,089
that many, many religious teachers
liked to go to.
557
00:54:17,990 --> 00:54:20,860
So the Kalama, young people,
558
00:54:20,860 --> 00:54:25,732
had the chance to listen
to so many Dharma talks.
559
00:54:26,895 --> 00:54:30,516
Maybe they had as many Dharma talks
as we do here.
560
00:54:31,291 --> 00:54:37,261
But one thing about here is that mostly
we Dharma teachers agree with each other.
561
00:54:38,665 --> 00:54:43,055
If every week we say the opposite
of what the person had said before,
562
00:54:43,533 --> 00:54:48,313
then you would be in the same kind
of confusion as the Kalamas were.
563
00:54:50,506 --> 00:54:53,906
So some people would come
and they would say,
564
00:54:55,498 --> 00:55:00,068
"Whether you do a good thing
or a bad thing, that doesn't matter.
565
00:55:01,340 --> 00:55:08,320
Because there's no such thing
as karmic retribution."
566
00:55:30,615 --> 00:55:32,695
There's no karmic retribution.
567
00:55:32,695 --> 00:55:36,559
Karmic retribution means
that you do something good,
568
00:55:36,914 --> 00:55:41,214
you will have merits and
you will enjoy some kind of merit.
569
00:55:43,137 --> 00:55:47,647
You do something bad and
you have demerit and you will suffer.
570
00:55:48,647 --> 00:55:51,672
So that's what's meant
by Karmic retribution.
571
00:55:53,337 --> 00:55:56,224
Then other teachers would come along
and they'd say,
572
00:55:56,226 --> 00:55:59,914
if you do something bad,
then when you'll die, you'll go to hell.
573
00:56:00,367 --> 00:56:04,877
If you do something good, when you'll die,
you'll be reborn as a god or a human.
574
00:56:06,774 --> 00:56:13,574
So the Kalama were very confused
and said: "Oh, the Buddha is coming!
575
00:56:14,132 --> 00:56:20,892
The Buddha is enlightened.
The Buddha can remove our confusion."
576
00:56:25,926 --> 00:56:29,070
So when the Buddha came, they asked:
577
00:56:29,611 --> 00:56:35,481
"So many teachers come and they all
tell us they're teaching the truth,
578
00:56:36,002 --> 00:56:39,912
but their truths,
they contradict each other.
579
00:56:40,371 --> 00:56:43,848
So we're very confused. Can you help?"
580
00:56:44,170 --> 00:56:45,290
And the Buddha said:
581
00:56:46,622 --> 00:56:52,941
"You're right to be confused,
it's very confusing. I understand that.
582
00:56:55,795 --> 00:57:03,105
But before you believe something,
you have to experience it for yourself.
583
00:57:04,130 --> 00:57:08,680
If you do something and you feel well,
584
00:57:08,680 --> 00:57:11,896
and you see that others
around you feel well,
585
00:57:12,535 --> 00:57:16,765
then you may know that that is beneficial.
586
00:57:17,260 --> 00:57:20,730
If you do something and you
don't feel good, and others don't,
587
00:57:21,072 --> 00:57:23,032
you know that that's not beneficial.
588
00:57:24,560 --> 00:57:27,710
But that's not quite enough.
589
00:57:28,444 --> 00:57:34,013
Because like I said, when I was young,
I had anorexia nervosa.
590
00:57:35,264 --> 00:57:39,844
It's not good for me,
it's not good for other people.
591
00:57:40,602 --> 00:57:42,829
But at that time, I wasn't aware.
592
00:57:45,202 --> 00:57:50,552
So I needed some good, kind
spiritual friend to come along
593
00:57:50,552 --> 00:57:55,283
and try to help me see the root of this,
594
00:57:55,283 --> 00:57:58,830
and try and help me to transform it.
595
00:57:59,947 --> 00:58:02,611
So in the sutra the Buddha also says,
596
00:58:04,213 --> 00:58:09,023
"Is this something that
the wise ones would approve of?
597
00:58:09,443 --> 00:58:12,000
Your good spiritual friends
would approve of?
598
00:58:12,327 --> 00:58:16,345
That's also a question
you have to ask yourself.
599
00:58:24,955 --> 00:58:30,758
And then the Buddha tells us,
600
00:58:31,523 --> 00:58:34,043
tells the Kalamas,
601
00:58:36,923 --> 00:58:42,563
You can develop the mind of love,
the Bodhicitta.
602
00:58:43,690 --> 00:58:47,519
If your heart has no enmity in it,
603
00:58:49,785 --> 00:58:54,005
you can be sure...
604
00:58:59,436 --> 00:59:06,476
... that you have peace and joy
in the present moment.
605
00:59:21,058 --> 00:59:27,068
WHEN THERE IS THE MIND OF LOVE
606
00:59:43,337 --> 00:59:50,777
THERE IS HAPPINESS HERE AND NOW
607
01:00:03,561 --> 01:00:09,851
and if there's such a thing as merit,
608
01:00:10,542 --> 01:00:16,542
then there will be happiness
from that deed in the future.
609
01:00:17,378 --> 01:00:23,625
The Buddha didn't want to say
that you will be happy in the future.
610
01:00:24,291 --> 01:00:28,190
You will have merit and
that will make you happy in the future,
611
01:00:29,106 --> 01:00:31,476
because if the Buddha taught like that,
612
01:00:32,391 --> 01:00:34,923
it would mean there was a separate self,
613
01:00:35,812 --> 01:00:39,510
there's a separate me
who's doing good now,
614
01:00:39,785 --> 01:00:45,228
and that same separate me
will have happiness in the future.
615
01:00:45,741 --> 01:00:47,959
And that's not the teaching of the Buddha.
616
01:00:48,347 --> 01:00:53,310
It is the teaching of eternalism,
the opposite of annihilation.
617
01:00:57,560 --> 01:01:03,796
So we know that when there's the mind
of love, there's happiness here and now.
618
01:01:04,760 --> 01:01:09,278
If we understand
and have seen for ourselves
619
01:01:10,176 --> 01:01:15,934
that the future inter-is with the present,
620
01:01:16,079 --> 01:01:20,638
then we can say that basing
on this mind of love now,
621
01:01:21,278 --> 01:01:23,995
there's mind of love in the future.
622
01:01:24,338 --> 01:01:26,848
You don't have to say 'my' mind of love,
623
01:01:28,829 --> 01:01:31,150
or bring 'me' happiness in the future.
624
01:01:38,268 --> 01:01:42,899
So when we are allowing ourselves
to be arrested,
625
01:01:44,343 --> 01:01:51,683
we are living outside,
like at Greenham, no tent,
626
01:01:57,235 --> 01:02:01,720
is mind of love there,
or are we always fighting?
627
01:02:02,548 --> 01:02:05,775
Are we always thinking about the enemy?
628
01:02:07,108 --> 01:02:14,645
And seeing ourselves as separate from
the guards who are guarding the missiles,
629
01:02:16,373 --> 01:02:17,830
as our enemy?
630
01:02:21,029 --> 01:02:22,870
One time I was
in a local sangha somewhere,
631
01:02:22,974 --> 01:02:24,547
I went to lead a retreat,
632
01:02:25,766 --> 01:02:28,962
I said, "I was in Greenham Common,
633
01:02:29,472 --> 01:02:32,488
in 1981 or something,"
634
01:02:35,374 --> 01:02:37,958
and he said, "I was there too!"
635
01:02:38,586 --> 01:02:40,618
but he said, "I was on the other side.
636
01:02:41,807 --> 01:02:44,993
I was one of the soldiers
on the other side."
637
01:02:49,379 --> 01:02:52,428
Then we both found ourselves
in the same sangha.
638
01:03:01,218 --> 01:03:05,700
So we need to keep this mind of love alive
639
01:03:06,767 --> 01:03:14,058
and if we feel that our mind of love
is no longer alive enough,
640
01:03:15,397 --> 01:03:17,617
it's only understandable.
641
01:03:17,926 --> 01:03:22,417
Sometimes a situation is so hard,
642
01:03:23,450 --> 01:03:26,528
that it's difficult
to keep the mind of love alive
643
01:03:27,096 --> 01:03:29,933
So there's nothing wrong with that,
it's natural.
644
01:03:30,623 --> 01:03:33,379
But the important thing is to recognize,
645
01:03:34,221 --> 01:03:37,959
'mind of love is not there
and I need to withdraw.
646
01:03:38,587 --> 01:03:40,639
I need to do something different,'
647
01:03:41,756 --> 01:03:45,756
rather than just resisting all the time,
648
01:03:46,794 --> 01:03:48,442
non-violent resistance,
649
01:03:49,011 --> 01:03:54,263
I have to do something like planting trees
which will nourish me more,
650
01:03:55,760 --> 01:03:57,952
and help the mind of love to come back.
651
01:03:59,730 --> 01:04:02,690
So sometimes I see,
this is a little bit a danger
652
01:04:02,905 --> 01:04:10,734
forof people who, for decades,
are in some kind of resistance.
653
01:04:14,182 --> 01:04:19,193
I'm very grateful to them,
but we have to remember the mind of love.
654
01:04:24,705 --> 01:04:29,315
So that is the first reassurance.
655
01:04:30,315 --> 01:04:35,900
We know that when there's the mind of love
there's peace and happiness here and now.
656
01:04:39,022 --> 01:04:40,922
That peace and happiness is...
657
01:04:42,104 --> 01:04:45,673
If we see that the three times interare,
658
01:04:46,216 --> 01:04:49,869
we can see that it's also in the future.
659
01:04:50,588 --> 01:04:52,758
So the second is,
660
01:05:09,913 --> 01:05:16,373
WHEN THE THREE TIMES INTERARE,
661
01:05:22,694 --> 01:05:32,184
THERE'S HAPPINESS IN THE FUTURE
662
01:05:56,156 --> 01:05:58,783
[The third one:]
663
01:06:03,311 --> 01:06:08,994
WHEN THERE IS ENMITY,
664
01:06:13,174 --> 01:06:19,578
THERE IS SUFFERING HERE AND NOW
665
01:06:35,204 --> 01:06:36,710
[The fourth one:]
666
01:06:43,448 --> 01:06:49,926
SINCE THE THREE TIMES INTERARE,
667
01:06:57,163 --> 01:07:05,485
THERE'S SUFFERING IN THE FUTURE
668
01:07:16,127 --> 01:07:17,716
But the Buddha said,
669
01:07:18,542 --> 01:07:22,730
"You don't have to believe
that the three times interare.
670
01:07:23,432 --> 01:07:25,984
It's something
that you have to experience,
671
01:07:25,984 --> 01:07:28,158
not something you believe.
672
01:07:28,634 --> 01:07:32,120
So if you don't experience that,
and you say,
673
01:07:33,967 --> 01:07:35,812
you can forget about the future,
674
01:07:37,821 --> 01:07:42,497
all the same, you can know that
these are the most important things,
675
01:07:42,907 --> 01:07:44,934
the number one and the number three.
676
01:07:49,759 --> 01:07:55,252
But don't think that
suffering is something bad.
677
01:07:59,310 --> 01:08:02,409
Don't think that we need
to get rid of suffering.
678
01:08:03,964 --> 01:08:05,905
We talk about the Bodhicitta,
679
01:08:07,339 --> 01:08:12,867
and in the Buddhist teachings of the Mahayana
680
01:08:13,744 --> 01:08:23,049
it says clearly that the afflictions,
the klesha, the suffering IS the Bodhi.
681
01:08:24,749 --> 01:08:25,798
The klesha,
682
01:08:44,947 --> 01:08:48,165
the awakening IS the affliction.
683
01:08:48,596 --> 01:08:49,818
IS the suffering.
684
01:08:52,883 --> 01:08:56,125
So it means that the enmity that you feel,
685
01:08:57,626 --> 01:09:09,027
it can be the ground for the Bodhi,
for the awakening,
686
01:09:10,033 --> 01:09:13,943
because in Buddhism we don't want
to make two camps.
687
01:09:15,413 --> 01:09:21,229
We don't want to make a camp
of the good and a camp of the evil.
688
01:09:22,791 --> 01:09:24,751
Thay used to say that.
689
01:09:26,145 --> 01:09:27,941
In the past, Thay said:
690
01:09:30,798 --> 01:09:33,003
"Do not make man your enemy.
691
01:09:35,605 --> 01:09:41,368
Your enemy is greed, hatred,
confusion,
692
01:09:42,374 --> 01:09:45,785
but one day Thay said
he didn't want to say that anymore.
693
01:09:48,384 --> 01:09:53,320
Greed, hatred and confusion
are no longer your enemy.
694
01:09:55,546 --> 01:10:01,964
They are the mud
out of which the lotus can bloom.
695
01:10:13,788 --> 01:10:16,259
But we have enough mud already,
696
01:10:17,730 --> 01:10:19,914
so we don't want to make any more.
697
01:10:21,715 --> 01:10:29,517
We have enough suffering
for us to give rise to awakening,
698
01:10:30,062 --> 01:10:32,862
we don't need to make any more.
699
01:10:35,460 --> 01:10:42,269
So we want to try and avoid
making more suffering, if we can.
700
01:10:43,588 --> 01:10:46,611
We just want to use the suffering
that's already there,
701
01:10:47,101 --> 01:10:50,725
in order to help us to wake up,
to be awake.
702
01:11:15,140 --> 01:11:18,005
I don't know if you can think of a name
703
01:11:21,163 --> 01:11:24,268
for the species that we want to become.
704
01:11:27,318 --> 01:11:30,453
Thay suggested
that we talk about Homo Conscious,
705
01:11:34,749 --> 01:11:36,230
the aware man.
706
01:11:38,629 --> 01:11:43,081
If we can talk about interbeing,
the interbeing man,
707
01:11:43,365 --> 01:11:44,857
I think it will be nice.
708
01:11:49,293 --> 01:11:53,901
In Budhism we have
the Vajracchedikā sutra,
709
01:11:55,622 --> 01:11:58,434
the diamond that cuts through illusion.
710
01:12:02,628 --> 01:12:06,794
In that sutra it talks about
four kinds of wrong perception
711
01:12:09,117 --> 01:12:13,629
which are very linked to the awakening
that we need to have now,
712
01:12:14,965 --> 01:12:19,141
and the first wrong perception is
that I am a separate self.
713
01:12:22,042 --> 01:12:23,849
The second wrong perception is,
714
01:12:24,046 --> 01:12:31,771
the human species is separate
from the other species.
715
01:12:33,311 --> 01:12:36,771
The third wrong perception is
that the living species,
716
01:12:37,045 --> 01:12:39,161
those of us who can move around,
717
01:12:40,409 --> 01:12:43,717
are separate from the non-living species.
718
01:12:46,235 --> 01:12:52,642
The animals are different from the plants
and the minerals, are separate.
719
01:12:53,520 --> 01:12:59,271
And the last wrong perception is
that we have a life-span.
720
01:12:59,650 --> 01:13:01,508
Our life is limited,
721
01:13:02,775 --> 01:13:05,845
we have a birthday and a deathday,
722
01:13:06,144 --> 01:13:10,374
and we only live between our birthday
and our deathday.
723
01:13:11,089 --> 01:13:13,803
You only need to go into the forest
724
01:13:14,240 --> 01:13:16,951
and look at the leaves under your feet
725
01:13:17,436 --> 01:13:19,924
and you'll know there's no such thing as
726
01:13:20,933 --> 01:13:25,113
'birth separate from death'.
727
01:13:25,611 --> 01:13:30,191
Everything is in a wonderful
cycle of transformation.
728
01:13:31,889 --> 01:13:35,498
The leaf doesn't go anywhere
when it falls from the tree.
729
01:13:35,772 --> 01:13:37,659
It goes back to the earth,
730
01:13:38,039 --> 01:13:42,529
it becomes the nourishment
for the young leaf that's born on the tree.
731
01:13:42,942 --> 01:13:45,828
And actually while the leaf
was on the tree,
732
01:13:46,452 --> 01:13:52,032
it was already nourishing the tree.
733
01:13:52,784 --> 01:13:56,196
So the leaf was going into the tree
while it was alive,
734
01:13:56,704 --> 01:14:00,479
and when that leaf is on the ground,
it also goes into the tree.
735
01:14:01,457 --> 01:14:04,447
So the leaf has no beginning and no end.
736
01:14:04,812 --> 01:14:07,733
If we can see ourselves as leaves,
737
01:14:09,486 --> 01:14:12,860
nourishing the earth
while we are alive on the earth,
738
01:14:13,515 --> 01:14:19,625
and going back to the earth
when we have our death certificate,
739
01:14:20,560 --> 01:14:23,348
in order to nourish new life on the earth,
740
01:14:23,890 --> 01:14:25,972
then we have no more fear.
741
01:14:30,180 --> 01:14:32,717
As someone who has no more fear,
742
01:14:35,232 --> 01:14:39,442
we are really able to be useful
and beneficial to the world.
743
01:14:44,394 --> 01:14:51,806
So, part of the Bodhicitta
is that deep desire that we all have
744
01:14:53,331 --> 01:14:57,325
to realize the truth of no birth
and no death
745
01:14:58,119 --> 01:15:00,412
that can take us beyond fear.
746
01:15:01,400 --> 01:15:04,467
That is not just something
for a monk or a nun to do,
747
01:15:05,316 --> 01:15:08,043
that's something that all of us,
the fourfold sangha,
748
01:15:11,400 --> 01:15:14,527
need to have the time to do.
749
01:15:15,208 --> 01:15:17,893
Because as a monk or a nun we can be busy.
750
01:15:19,521 --> 01:15:21,224
We can have many projects,
751
01:15:22,544 --> 01:15:24,828
things we want to do to help the world,
752
01:15:24,828 --> 01:15:27,182
they may sound very good but we're busy,
753
01:15:27,741 --> 01:15:32,929
we don't have the time to come back
to ourselves and stop, and look deeply.
754
01:15:33,626 --> 01:15:37,439
A lay-person is the same,
you can be very busy going to work,
755
01:15:38,748 --> 01:15:44,564
bringing up your family, you don't have
the time to stop and look deeply
756
01:15:44,871 --> 01:15:48,444
into the matter of no birth and no death.
757
01:15:52,208 --> 01:15:55,840
But a monk or a nun,
a lay-man or a lay-woman,
758
01:15:57,748 --> 01:16:00,649
we can give ourselves,
we can organize our life,
759
01:16:01,257 --> 01:16:04,928
so that we have time
to look deeply into impermanence,
760
01:16:06,629 --> 01:16:12,748
To look deeply into impermanence
doesn't mean to be caught in impermanence,
761
01:16:13,491 --> 01:16:17,570
because impermanence can become
a view that you are caught in.
762
01:16:20,397 --> 01:16:22,939
Then you think that impermanence
is something bad.
763
01:16:24,509 --> 01:16:28,416
But in fact, impermanence doesn't
mean there isn't a continuation.
764
01:16:29,888 --> 01:16:33,091
Things change their form
into a different form,
765
01:16:33,904 --> 01:16:36,060
and there's always continuation.
766
01:16:36,982 --> 01:16:40,712
The rain we listen to now
is the continuation of the cloud.
767
01:16:58,185 --> 01:17:04,565
In Buddhism, in China,
768
01:17:04,565 --> 01:17:07,175
they used to say
there's two kinds of awakening.
769
01:17:08,418 --> 01:17:13,803
There's the sudden enlightenment,
and there's the gradual enlightenment.
770
01:17:17,703 --> 01:17:21,356
I don't understand
the Plum Village teachings in that way.
771
01:17:23,789 --> 01:17:27,696
We can have little enlightenments
every day that come to us
772
01:17:28,375 --> 01:17:33,411
when we practise mindful walking
and mindful breathing.
773
01:17:35,347 --> 01:17:38,234
We can become enlightened
a little bit every day.
774
01:17:39,570 --> 01:17:42,162
We don't have to wait
for a sudden enlightenment,
775
01:17:43,907 --> 01:17:50,106
and we don't have to think that at the end
of a long, gradual enlightenment
776
01:17:50,106 --> 01:17:51,939
we'll become enlightened.
777
01:17:53,114 --> 01:17:57,673
Because the Bodhi, the enlightenment,
is present in each of us,
778
01:17:58,610 --> 01:18:04,489
with our own practise
of dwelling in the present moment
779
01:18:06,299 --> 01:18:09,481
mindfulness of walking,
mindfulness of breathing,
780
01:18:10,116 --> 01:18:15,421
that enlightenment is always inside
and can always come up.
781
01:18:16,531 --> 01:18:20,400
With mindfulness and concentration
that can always be inside.
782
01:18:23,129 --> 01:18:26,575
So we shouldn't miss
the opportunity of guided meditation,
783
01:18:30,173 --> 01:18:31,825
walking meditation,
784
01:18:36,656 --> 01:18:39,909
That is our aspiration,
785
01:18:40,673 --> 01:18:47,257
always to remain fresh,
not to grow tired of the practise,
786
01:18:47,930 --> 01:18:50,019
not to find the practise boring.
787
01:18:52,738 --> 01:18:57,657
That feeling of boredom, of being tired
of the practise, come from our own mind.
788
01:18:59,537 --> 01:19:01,929
We need to open our mind a little bit more
789
01:19:02,959 --> 01:19:06,174
in order to be able
to give ourselves the opportunity
790
01:19:06,174 --> 01:19:10,693
to use the Dharma door
such as being given to us,
791
01:19:11,431 --> 01:19:13,371
in order to help us have insight,
792
01:19:13,922 --> 01:19:17,922
that insight will bring us encouragement,
793
01:19:18,517 --> 01:19:21,807
and help us to continue
a long time on the path.
794
01:19:23,689 --> 01:19:26,780
Of course we can always
renew our practise.
795
01:19:29,062 --> 01:19:32,455
we can always have new ideas
about how to practise
796
01:19:36,415 --> 01:19:39,172
We need to be creative in our practise.
797
01:19:39,898 --> 01:19:41,499
If you use a knife,
798
01:19:42,854 --> 01:19:46,854
cutting carrots every day,
it will get blunt after a while.
799
01:19:47,497 --> 01:19:49,388
Then you need to sharpen it again.
800
01:19:49,979 --> 01:19:52,237
If you just keep using the blunt knife
801
01:19:53,143 --> 01:19:55,877
that's like just keeping the outer form,
802
01:19:56,450 --> 01:19:58,884
but you don't have the content anymore.
803
01:19:59,817 --> 01:20:02,251
As long as the practise has the content
804
01:20:02,946 --> 01:20:04,526
and it's not the outer form,
805
01:20:04,798 --> 01:20:09,005
it will always nourish you
and nourish others as well.
806
01:20:19,663 --> 01:20:21,943
So dear friends, thank you for listening.
807
01:20:22,729 --> 01:20:24,956
We now hear three sounds of the bell.
808
01:20:32,320 --> 01:20:33,864
[the bell is awoken]
809
01:20:36,649 --> 01:20:41,763
[the bell is invited]
810
01:21:07,945 --> 01:21:13,776
[the bell is invited]
811
01:21:37,724 --> 01:21:45,563
[the bell is invited]