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Bell

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Dear community, we are August 
the 10th in the year 2023,

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and we are celebrating, savoring
the last day of our Wake Up retreat,

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"Love in Action", here 
in the Upper Hamlet,

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in the Still Water meditation hall.

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I'm having an interesting 
moment sitting here.

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When we first started creating
youth retreats, about 15 years ago,

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it was a real challenge to try and
find enough young people

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to have a retreat.

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And first there was forty, then
the next year there was like 65,

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and then I remember 
the year we hit 100,

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and we were so excited that
we had 100 registrations!

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And we went to report to Thay.
This must have been around 2010.

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Thay, there's a hundred 
young people in Europe

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that want to learn about mindfulness.

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Can you believe it ?

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And he was like - well done!

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And then, we started to 
create the Wake Up movement.

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And I said (to Thay) it's a little 
bit overwhelming!

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And he said, and his eyes 
lit up with sparkles,

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he's like "excellent, it should 
feel overwhelming!"

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and then I'm sitting here and I
don't know how many hundreds

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of you there are, but it feels little 
overwhelming

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so I guess Thay's smiling 
with a sparkle in his eyes,

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and be careful what you wish for, 
because it may come true.

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I hope that's going to make it easier,
but hey, I think speaking in front of

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spiritual friends

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is both challenging and wonderful,
because on the one hand

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I feel I want to share my heart
with you all,

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and on the other, of course, I have the
same feeling that we all do.

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of whether I can be enough
in this moment.

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But I will share from my, my joy
my experience and my practice

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and that is my best, so,
we will see.

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We had some little flowers here
thank you, thank you.

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Emotional support flowers,
we also have an emotional

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support cello, that we might, that I might
need to call on.

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I was 21 when I first came 
to Plum Village

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and I was one of the people
who as soon as there was

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a chance to receive the five
mindfulness trainings, I

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wanted to do it. And I was
here for three weeks that summer

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and I was also one of the people
who was like I am going to wait

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until the last week.

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So I know some of us have
been here through the summer

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and have received the five
mindfulness trainings

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this morning, and some of us
are here for the first time

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and we also made that commitment

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and I have to say, 
getting on the train in Saint-Foy,

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with the five mindfulness trainings,

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kinda in my pockets, in my back pack

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My life was different. It just was!

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I felt that I had a path. I felt that 
I knew what was important to me.

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I felt that what the experience was that
I can't fall that far anymore.

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It felt like the mindfulness trainings
were a safety net or something.

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Like, I'm held in their embrace
that has been my experience.

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And although I was sharing
with my dharma discussion family

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like the path of the five mindfulness
trainings is not exactly

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like a straight highway,

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its more like this, and thats
definitely been my experience.

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That it has been an adventure,
an experiment, a work in progress

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a challenge and also a training,
like really a training.

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And as many of us know whatever
kind of training we do, we learn

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by making mistakes.

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And by trying things out,

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and by realizing ... oops, 
that was not in alignment or

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I have strayed far off my path
at this point

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But it was wonderful and 
has been wonderful to
feel that they are part of my life

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and I don't know if your facilitators
shared with you

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but the dharma name we get
with our five mindfulness trainings

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is the dharma name for your life.

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So even if you become monastics
your monastic name is not as important

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as your five mindfulness trainings name.

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because we are kind of born into our
spiritual path with this practice

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and with this training.

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And so this morning, definitely
more than a hundred of us,

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maybe more than a hundred and fifty
possibly closer to two hundred of us

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across the different hamlets.

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made a passionate, wholehearted
commitment to take the insight

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and practises of the five mindfulness
trainings

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into our lives

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and so when we get on the train 
tomorrow, car or however we'r getting

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home.

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these mindfulness trainings
will be with us

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and even if we didn't make a formal
commitment to receive them

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please take the piece of paper
with you.

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They can penetrate our life
because in a way they

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encapsulate everything we
have been experiencing

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together in this retreat.

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And,

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these trainings are, I guess, the 
kind of Plum Village blueprint for

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changing the world.

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They are nothing less than 
our full vision for the kind of

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loving action that can transform
society and the future.

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Someone asked me in the
earth retreat earlier in this year

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I find the Plum Village teachings
on the earth and climate so

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fascinating, but do you have
some kind of manifesto?

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or something.

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I said yeh - we have the
five mindfulness trainings.

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And the person was like, no I
didn't mean that.

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And I was like, oh I mean that.

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Because they are applied, they live
they are kind of mult-dimensional.

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Each one of them is about bringing
the energy of awakening and love

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directly into the heart of our daily 
lives, our relationship and our society.

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And so, as we take the practice
home, maybe you go home and

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somebody comes up to you and
says, how was your retreat?

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And you say ... brilliant, great
wonderful.

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I'm going to practice meditation
every day.

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And we may have a tendency to
think that

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the most easily applicable thing
we can take from this retreat

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is ten minutes sitting every day.

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And we may think, that's going to
be my aspiration, my intention

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my volition, I'm going to put 
it all into that.

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and that is good,

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but I feel we can be more ambitious
then that, and I say that because

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if we only do 10 minutes of sitting
meditation a day, and then the

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rest of our life is the same,

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the transformation will 
not be very radical.

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But what we can see in each one of
these amazingly challenging

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and inspiring trainings in the
five mindfulness trainings is

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that they're about far more 
than sitting meditation.

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In fact, as a relatively active person,

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when I left Plum Village I, found
it really hard to do sitting meditation

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I think it was very rare that I made time.

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was able to make time to do sitting
meditation in my daily life.

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But, my life was utterly transformed.

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by the five mindfulness trainings.

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One thing I learned, I used to
sit on public transport and

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be present for the people
around me, and present for

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my feelings.

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And honestly, I think I got
more kind of shift in my

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perspective and way of living
in the way I sat on buses in

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central London then I would
have done by sitting on my cushion.

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because I lived like many of us 
a very

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active and hyperstimulated life.

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I was juggling a job in journalism and
a masters degree.

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Like too much input, so if 
I sat on a cushion all I

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heard or saw was just all
the inputs

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but when I was in relation 
with the world,

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following my breathing and
being in contact with my body

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it's like I opened up a whole
new way of experiencing life

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and that was really transformative
for me.

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So as we think about what we
might want to take away from

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this retreat, i'm gonna sort of
reflect back to some of the

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things that we've been experiencing

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and we can see for ourselves
which of these elements

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do I want to incorporate in 
my daily life.

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One of the things, perhaps
the most important thing

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we've been doing on this
retreat is resting.

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relaxing

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and spending time in silence

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both with people but
also with nature

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and so we may ask ourselves

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in my daily life, am I making
time to rest

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So resting without screens

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resting wihtout maybe headphones

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am I able to rest and listen to 
my body

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and how might we incorporate
a practice of resting in our daily lifes

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So those of us that work from home
we have a great chance to do relaxation

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after lunch.

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Because no one can see you.

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So, you can find the Plum Village App
or your favorite relaxation teachers

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and you can listen to a relaxation

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and make it a part of your working day.

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We can make a commitment to 
ourselves, a promise to ourselves

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to spend more time in our 
nearest park, or to use

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our days off from study or
work to actively go out into

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nature.

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And we can also , like, 
learning from this experience of being

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with people, in nature, is great.

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How can we invite our friends 
and organize to have more time

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in nature together.

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That is actively cultivating
ourselves, our body and mind

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our awakening and also our resistance.

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What I mostly want to talk to you today

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about is, spiritual resistance.

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How the choices we make about
how we live our life

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are a fundamental, deep 
form, or resistance.

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to collective consciousness 
and to society.

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So choosing to rest in our super busy
world is a form of resistance

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we don't need to consume, we don't 
need to do,

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we're gonna be in the way
that is the future we would

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like to see.

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more simple, more connected
and more whole in ourselves,

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not relying on external things.

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like consuming and doing to be happy.

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Another thing we've been doing on
this retreat has been stopping

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and looking deeply. We have 
had a chance to step back

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from our life, to step outside

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the constant

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pressures that we are under

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to kind of take stock to reflect 
a little bit and to listen

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and so the question about how we
could take this kind of

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stopping back with us could be

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is there a practice that you 
can take in your life where

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every day has at least 
one moment of stopping in it.

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So when I went back from
Plum Village, the something

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that I chose was drinking a
glass of water from the water

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cooler at work.

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And my work was in a newsroom

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so it was a very overstimulated
environment, but I wanted to

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keep this connection to Plum
Village into my spiritual life

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and the spiritual dimension of
my being because being in a -

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I was in the politics department
of the newsroom -

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so its probably like the 
least, a very not spiritual place.

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But I was determined, I was
there for ethical reasons because

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that ethical news was possible

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thats another story.

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So I chose that the moment 
that I drank water was the moment

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when I would be deeply into
touch with my spiritual life

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and I recited the poem that
we have here in plum village

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for drinking water, many of us

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know this poem, but if we are
here for the first time

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you might have just seen it
near a water tap somewhere

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and this poem goes like this

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Now, with the collective 
consciousness I don't have

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the first word.

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Water, thank you.

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My brain is a social brain.

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Water comes from high
mountain sources,

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water runs deep in the earth

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miraculously water comes to us
and sustains all life.

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My gratitude is filled
to the brim.

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I was working in the newsroom
in Spring 2003

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I was a peace activist and it
was at the outbreak of the Iraq war

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And every time I went to the
water cooler, I recited this poem.

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There were screens all around me
that had a live screen from the war

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zone. And this was my act of 
resistance. This was my resolve

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my heart alive, to keep my hear
open and to stay in touch with

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the beauty and wonder of life

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so that I could see clearly the 
destruction and injustice of war.

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It is very interesting to practice
mindfulness in the workplace

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so I invite you to try it out.

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You could choose drinking water,
you could choose maybe if you go

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to a place of work or study, you
could choose some part of

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the distance when you are transitioning
from your home life

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to go int work, you can take 
200 meteres, and you can say

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to yourself, I will walk as a
free person, as my whole

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self including my spiritual 
aspect from this lamppost

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to that pedestrian crossing
and you make a resolve,

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I will do this.

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So this was another thing I did.

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Across the center of London

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I had my anti-war umbrella.
In London it always rains

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except recently but that's 
a different story.

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Sorry. No diversion.

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I had my peace umbrella, in London
everywhere. Everyone about 15 years

246
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
ago still wore black in the city
and had black umbrellas,

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so my umbrellas was white and
it had the words peace that I

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had stencilled on to it.

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And I got lots of reactions as
I would walk through the city

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on my way to the newsroom, 
but that was my almost resistance.

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And when I can to a certain place
near a cathedral, I chose a stretch

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that was quite nice, right in the
heart of the city and I said

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I will walk as a free person, free
from my anger about the war

254
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
free from my fear about the days
work ahead,

255
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
free from the fights, I will walk
as a free human being on this

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beautiful planet earth and I 
did this for 200 meters

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and these were delicious 200
meters, and now whenever I

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think of London, my heart goes
right back to this particular stretch

259
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and whenever I have a chance to 
go there, I like to revisit

260
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my corner of these few hundred
yards, that become like a

261
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deep refuge for me
because when we make

262
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a commitment to do that
what's amazing is

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our whole body remembers
the feeling, our whole

264
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
body remembers, I feel
peaceful and free here

265
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so even if my mind is
really stressed, about

266
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what was happening or 
about what I need to do

267
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that step up onto the pavement
those two steps through this

268
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
gate, the step to the right
with the two trees,

269
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
all the signals where, you
are peaceful, you are fee

270
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you are a free person.

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So this is another way that
we can take the practice

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home, that we can,

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
take something as simple
as walking to be an act of

274
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
resistence and an act of
freedom right in the heart

275
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of our daily life.

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I was walking in the rush hour
the people were often

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
overtaking me, because
I had a certain pace.

278
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It wasn't as slow as slow walking
but there was a certain pace

279
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that I found could tasted free
to me. And everyone was like

280
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
overtaking me.

281
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And literally, each step
felt like an act of resistance.

282
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I don't agree with the direction
that my society is going in and

283
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I will express my resistance with
my body, with each step.

284
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And I reclaimed my freedom

285
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
from this rat race, from this
collective consciousness.

286
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Another thing we have learned
to do on this retreat is to be

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
present with discomfort, with
discomfort in the body,

288
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
discomfort in our feelings, 
discomfort in the mind.

289
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And

290
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I think these things are changing
now but at least this was not

291
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
something that I had a chance 
to learn at school, it was only

292
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
something I had a chance to 
learn at age 21 when I came

293
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to Plum Village.

294
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Many of you

295
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
have a lot of emotional maturity.
I feel that I'm the kind of -

296
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I'm a millenial and I
know that many of us here

297
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
are Gen Z - so we're possibly 
slightly different generations.

298
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But it's wonderful to see that the
emotional intelligence is there

299
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in the young generation. That we
are finding ways to understand

300
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the landscape of our emotions.

301
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we hope that over the last
few days, we've learned something

302
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
really tangible, felt ways that 
we can be with a painful feeling

303
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
when it comes up.

304
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We've been learning how to
name it, or even beyond naming

305
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
how to feel it, in the body,

306
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
how it might effect our breathing.

307
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Our breathing becomes more tense,
or shorter or more jagged.

308
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Our jaw becomes tighter, and 
we've been learning how to encounter

309
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and accompany and embrace
unconditionally, challenging and

310
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
uncomfortable feelings that come up.

311
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And,

312
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
just that this is a really 
great skill to have.

313
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I feel that as a human being when
we can be with and master some

314
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of the most painful feelings that
we have, it's honestly, close to a

315
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
superpower, kind of. It allows us
to have agency, to have freedom

316
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to have a way out, of some really
difficult situations that we will

317
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
be encountering in our life.

318
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To be able to feel the feel, feel
the emotions and the painful feelings

319
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but, not be overwhelmed by them.

320
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because we have an energy of 
mindfulness, we hold on to

321
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
our breathing, we hold onto 
our felt sense of our physical body.

322
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Something as simple as feeling our
hands, or feeling our toes.

323
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We find a way to be and breathe
through difficult feelings.

324
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And what we've found on this retreat
I'm thinking, I'm sure in every

325
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
dharma sharing circle group, is
that when we can be with a

326
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
difficult feeling, it allows us
to be authentic. We can be real.

327
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We can share our whole self
because we're not afraid of it

328
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we've been able to speak
our truth in our dharma sharing

329
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
circle, and we've been training how
to listen to other people's uncomfortable

330
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
feelings and to accompany and offer
that spiritual friendship and support.

331
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And this also a kind of superpower.

332
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To be able to show up for our friends

333
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
without fear, but with a real strong,
and loving presence.

334
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And that we are also taking home
with us tomorrow.

335
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we are with our friends and 
when they are having a difficult

336
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
moment, we know how to come
back to our breathing, we know how

337
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to feel the reflection of their suffering
in our own body.

338
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Take care of it there and be with
them, not to change it in any way

339
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but to be not alone.

340
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We've been learning how to
be together, even in suffering.

341
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And this is so important for our
generation, because we know that

342
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the path ahead will be challenging
for us. So learning how to suffer is

343
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a really important skill and training.

344
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And this brings us to something
really important, which is, something

345
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that Br. Phap Huu touched on in the 
first talk, that mindfulness is not

346
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
just to make us feel better.

347
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Many of us may have come to 
mindfulness through some kind

348
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of wellbeing program or because
someone said you can take care

349
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of your mental health with
mindfulness so please practice

350
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
mindfulness to be well.

351
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And there are some offerings of
mindfulness that only go that

352
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
far. But in deep mindfulness,

353
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
authentic mindfulness, original
mindfulness, real mindfulness,

354
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I don't know - whatever this
thing is that we do here, that

355
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
has ancient roots, more than
2,000 years old, in our kind of

356
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
mindfulness, we don't just practice
mindfulness to feel well.

357
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We practice mindfulness to 
understand our suffering and

358
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to find a way out, for ourselves,
for our loved ones, and for our

359
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
society. So deep in the DNA of
our kind of mindfulness, is a kind

360
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of radical transformation.

361
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
A way out, changing things.

362
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[Bell]

363
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We are leaving this retreat with
a spiritual path.

364
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Path.

365
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And it has something to do with
suffering and it has something to

366
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
do with happiness.

367
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Suffering , illbeing,

368
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Happiness, illbeing

369
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We're learning how to handle
painful feelings and suffering

370
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and we have been very actively
musically, joyfully, learning how to

371
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
generate happiness. These are two
really important skills.

372
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Sometimes we may think that
happiness only comes from

373
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
outside. And we may sort of 
outsource our happiness ...

374
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
oh you know because the conditions 
are not enough, I can't be happy.

375
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So we kind of give up our agency,
give up our freedome to be happy

376
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
by making it someone else or something
else's responsibility.

377
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And here we reclaim our power, and we
say that it is possible to learn to train ~

378
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to create a happy moment for ourself
and for the people around us.

379
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In Buddhism we are not afraid
of suffering. We're ready to name it.

380
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To call it out, to look at it
head on.

381
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I think that on this retreat
many of you are also

382
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
deeply aware and awake to
suffering in the world.

383
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
One sister reflected to me

384
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
sometimes it might be that in
the collective consciousness

385
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
right now,

386
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we think that we have the right
to suffering

387
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we have the right to suffering

388
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because the situation is so bad

389
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in every aspect.

390
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But we don't think we have the 
right to be happy.

391
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's quite interesting - think
about that for a moment.

392
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We allow ourselves to suffer
but we don't allow ourselves to

393
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
be happy.

394
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That's a bit of a koan for us.
Maybe its' not true.

395
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But we can investigate that 
a little bit, why we might

396
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
think it is. And perhaps it 
has something to do

397
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with the collective consciousness
that surrounds us and we'll go into

398
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that in a little bit.

399
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Our teacher said that learning how to 
suffer is an art and a training and

400
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
yesterday in the Q&A there was
a really interesting question

401
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I think it was the second question
about on the one hand we know that

402
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we are enough, and we alrady
are what we want to become

403
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and we can feel complete and whole

404
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but sometimes with the energy of mindfulness
or professional settings

405
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we become aware that we are lacking
in some areas.

406
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and we want to train or to cultivate

407
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I really appreciated this 
question

408
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because both are true. There is
a kind of energy in mindfulness.

409
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that when we wake up to
for example our habits

410
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
or the thoughts and feelings
that are coming up in us

411
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we may want right away
to do something, to change

412
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the situation, there's a kind
of dynamism. On the one

413
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
hand we accept it totally
on the other hand we see

414
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the possibility for change.

415
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
things are impermanent - we 
can effect things.

416
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So actually in Buddhism, the
spirit of training, cultivating

417
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is really, really important, and
i think that the one skill

418
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that I've really got better at
in the monastery because

419
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I was the nearer of the four
is how to suffer.

420
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And the immediate result of
learning how to suffer

421
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is that you are also actually
directly learning how to be happy

422
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because for me the obstacle for 
my happiness was my suffering

423
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and the compost in my suffering
has given me more joy.

424
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But it's really interesting, because
it's not that my suffering has

425
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
neccesarily gone away,

426
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But that I've learned to be with it
differently.

427
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And this is something our teacher
said, to be aware of the misconception

428
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that we somehow might need to take
our suffering out of us

429
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
put it down or take it out
that I've learned that the way

430
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I can be with it, because my
suffering is kind of real

431
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in some sense, because it's
felt, how can I be with it.

432
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And ye, for me what I've learned is
that my,

433
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
my suffering is not something
kind of fixed, it's a bit more like

434
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a river. And this is really interesting
to kind of unpack a little bit.

435
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So when we talk about taking care
of our suffering. The mind is an

436
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
embodied mind. So we're taking
care of our mind and we're taking

437
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
care of our body at the same time.

438
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They're not two different things.

439
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is really important.

440
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How we are living in our body,
how we are taking care of body

441
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
how we're eating, acting, consuming

442
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
has a direct link also to our 
suffering.

443
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And, our suffering may kind of
reflect, reflect the collective,

444
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And this is what I have kind of
discovered.

445
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That, my suffering has quite
a bit to do with the suffering

446
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of my family.

447
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
LIke many of us I have a
strong seed of despair

448
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I also have another one of
fear and anxiety.

449
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I have another one that's a
little more like sorrow, or

450
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
melancholy.

451
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And, when I've learned how to suffer
with them, I've learned not to

452
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
see them as mine alone.

453
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But to see them as something
that belongs to a river of

454
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
ancestors. And so when I'm taking
care of it, I'm taking care of it

455
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
on behalf of my father, his father,
and grandfather and grandmother,

456
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and other grandfather, and other
grandmother.

457
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So I would like to give you this
image of our emotions being this

458
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
river, kind of being fed by different
inputs, so that the lineage that

459
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
comes from our ancestors and
somewhat in the body, and

460
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so from our childhood and our
nurturing, and there are also

461
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the inputs from our society.

462
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
From kind of collective consciousness.

463
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And our way of consuming.

464
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So one of the interesting 
things about this week is that

465
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we have consumed a differend
kind of consciousness.

466
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I think the kind of screen 
consumption, has probably

467
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
gone down by like 90%.

468
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We have been with a lot of 
non-violence, a lot of compassion

469
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and good will.

470
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
A lot of presence rather than
distraction.

471
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We've had healthy good - very 
particular kinds of the day

472
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I don't know if this is normal for
you to have three healthy

473
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
regular meals may be very 
new for our body and

474
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
our body may be feeling
good aobut it.

475
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
WE've had a different kind of 
experience about our own

476
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
consciousness, because our 
own good seeds, have been

477
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
triggered, while we've been here
they've been kind of activated.

478
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Each of us, our seed of compassion
our seed of stillness, our seed of joy

479
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in different ways.

480
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So what we have been kind of
immersing ourselves in

481
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is what Thay calls, community

482
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of resistence.

483
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
WE have given ourselves the chance
to experience something difference

484
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
this week, and to see how it feels.

485
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And all the insight that we've
had about our own, suffering

486
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
our other's suffering, our families

487
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
suffering, about different decisions
and choices, we have to make, is

488
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because we have given our 
consciousness, a really deep

489
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
kind of bath, in a different
environment.

490
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So to recap something we were
learning this week, we were learning

491
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
about the different kinds of fuel
that are feeding the river of our body and mind.

492
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And, the fuel has something to do
with how we feel, so

493
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we learned about four kinds 
-food and drink (we used to call

494
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it edible foods) and i can't write
the word edible on the board

495
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so I'll just say food and drink.

496
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Sense impressions -

497
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So the screens and the music
but also like the noise of the city

498
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we give ourselves a break from that.

499
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The fourth one (sic) my volition or 
intention

500
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we've been exposed to a different
kind of volition and intention this

501
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
week an intention to live differently
to build a different future, to

502
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
be with each other in a different way.

503
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And this other one that I am talking
about now is consciousnness.

504
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
exposing ourselves to a different
consciousness.

505
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So the inputs this week have
been different, and that's

506
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
why our feeling now is different.

507
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is your power and this
is your freedom.

508
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we go home from this
retreat, you are the master

509
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you can choose how you will consume

510
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
thse different things, how you will 
guard yourself, how you will

511
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
protect yourself.

512
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How you will resist.

513
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We want society to go in
a different direction, and

514
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
all ours choices around these
things are a chance to resist

515
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and in our own life to embody
the different directions - to claim

516
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
our freedom.

517
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And it takes training, right.
We have had it surrounded.

518
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And going out from this retreat
we will be encountering a really

519
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
good intention, and then the
absolute reality.

520
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of our habit, how we usuallY

521
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
spend our evenings, how we
usually spend our mornings.

522
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How we spend our free time.

523
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So there is some organizing
going onhere.

524
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How could we make commitments
to organize our life so we are

525
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
eating in a different way, so 
we're spending our time

526
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
differently.

527
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we encounter, like for example
in our, many of us this week

528
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we've touched a deep fear, inside
or a deap anger and one piece

529
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of the Buddhist understanding
of consciousness, that we want

530
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to give you, is that consciousness
is both individual and collective.

531
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When you feel angry,

532
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we name our anger, we allow
our anger to be there, embrace

533
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that feeling of anger,

534
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and we then have a chance to
ask ourselves the question

535
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and in what way is this anger
not only mine?

536
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So to not identify with
our anger, to not like

537
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
put ourselves in a box

538
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and say I'm angry, I'm angry
because of this, and that

539
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but to see, wow, my anger
at the fossil fuel companies

540
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is a generational, societal, collective
anger. My anger at inequity and

541
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
racial injustice is a collective anger.

542
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we allow ourselves to recognize

543
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that our consciosness, also belongs

544
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to the collective consciosness.

545
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Our fear and anxiety for our future
also its strong in the collective.

546
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And that is why it is strong in us.

547
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Now what is interesting about this
is that with the energy of mindfulness

548
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because of the deep interbeing,
between our consciousness and

549
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the collective, that is exactly where
your power lies.

550
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That is where we have agency.

551
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We belong to a collective. We are
intrinsic to the collective and when

552
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we transform ourselves we transform
the collective.

553
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is one way we can apply
the insight of interbeing.

554
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The Insight of Interbeing

555
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Our grief with the destruction
of the earth and cultures

556
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is also the grief of the earth
herself. That is why it

557
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
feels so big.

558
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we are a part of that

559
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That we don't need to hold
it in.

560
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
identify with it, and kind
of imprison ourselves

561
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
within it, saying me
I'm someone,I am angry

562
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I am in grief and in
despair.

563
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we've done quite 
some work with climate

564
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
leaders -I'm an activist
and we host retreats

565
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for climate leaders, and

566
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we hosted one recently 
near Vancouver in Canada

567
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And, it was very interesting
because it was the first time

568
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I realized that climate despair
has become a thing

569
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
thata people were identifying
with

570
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I realized that there was
a story that went with it,

571
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and that it was really hard,
people were finding it hard

572
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to see that their despair was
impermanent and ever changing

573
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and interrelational

574
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so I'm a student of despair
in practice, and I've realized

575
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that when I am learning to
suffer with my despair

576
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it's been really important for me
not to identify with it.

577
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but to recognize it as a seed
that has been transmitted to

578
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
me and activated by my environment.

579
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And so I trained to allow my despair

580
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to like, evolve a little bit, to have

581
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
different threads to it. To be 
something fluid, something

582
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
made of non-despair elements.

583
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Something made of multiple parts,

584
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and this can be - even our despair
inter-is, it's not a fixed thing

585
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I've really learned that it has 
not helped me when I have

586
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
identified too much with my despair.

587
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Another thing that might belong
to the collective consciousnes

588
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that might - any of us might
feel, is like an energy of

589
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
restlessness, and kind of craving.

590
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But this is very important to know

591
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
if we come to do sitting meditation
and we sit down and we feel

592
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the restlessness in our body

593
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and like urges and impulses

594
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
craving in our feelings and body

595
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
this is also the result

596
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of our capitalist, consumerist society

597
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you are not enough, because
you need to consume more.

598
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we've kind of been automated
and trained - all of these inputs

599
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
are telling us that we need 
more to be happy.

600
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So when in this retreat, we are
sitting in stillness, not reaching

601
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for the phone, not reaching
to eat or drink something

602
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that is an act of resistance.

603
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we go home, we can
do the same, we can take time

604
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
maybe on the journey home
how can I simplify my life.

605
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We've lived so simply this week.
We did not need much to be

606
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
happy. The presence of people
was a condition of happiness.

607
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Well hopefully for most of us,
most of the time.

608
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And hopefully the present of
the forest and the trees.

609
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for quite moments, was a
condition of happiness.

610
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But when we can be with
our friends in a simple way

611
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we don't need a lot to be happy.

612
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Sister Hero has a good insight
around the question of striving

613
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and optimizing, kind of not-enoughness.

614
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we feel like society is telling us

615
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the collective consciousness is telling us

616
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you need to develop yourself more 
in order to contribute.

617
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you need to have these skills, this
and this diploma, these qualifications

618
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And, you need to be productive.

619
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You need to be efficient.

620
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We've created all of these systems
a kind of this crazy society

621
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
all of these screens, these e-mails
and we have to learn to be

622
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
efficient, productive, 
Siste rHero has this questions.

623
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we feel that pressure,

624
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that society is asking us to optimize
but for whose benefit.

625
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To give up our time, our energy,

626
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Wwe may end up like losing our
life, like literally spending our

627
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
time to create a skill for a specific
economic process, but we may not

628
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
be living our life in the process.

629
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We may lose our freedom, our
contact with nature,

630
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
our time with friends,
our ease with our body,

631
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
With the energy of mindfulness
we have a chance to stop

632
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to look deeply and to
deeply reflect on our questions.

633
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What I'm doing with my time,
and energy - is it meaningful for me.

634
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Who benefits?

635
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Like every hour counts.
Our livelihood is important.

636
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and how we spend our time.

637
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Who we're with.

638
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The collective consciousness, 
we expose ourselves to.

639
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There was one day in the newsroom
when after drinking my glass of water

640
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I came back round towards my desk

641
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and

642
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
my colleagues were cursing and arguing

643
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and [booging] someone else

644
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and

645
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
being very aggressive about
the next program.

646
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I just suddenly realized
I'm in a toxic atmosphere.

647
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And it was literally like that
I'd probably been there like

648
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
18 months by then, drinking
my water,

649
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I just suddenly was - what
am I doing to myself.

650
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
what am I doing to myself.

651
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Practicing mindfulness in the 
workplace is really important.

652
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because you can wake up and
you can see

653
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
honestly, I swear that my path
out of the newsroom

654
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
began in that split second.

655
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
when I woke up to reality

656
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of my environment.

657
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I'm on the sixth floor of this
gigantic building in Westminster

658
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in London and I'm wasting my life.

659
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That was quite a punch line. I didn't 
mean it. Okay.

660
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The one thing I wanted 
to say about the path of

661
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the five mindfulness trainings

662
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and we heard it this morning, we read
it in the text, they all begin with this

663
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
really powerful phrase. Aware of the 
suffering caused by

664
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we wake up to like what is 
actually going on

665
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and what is wrong with what
is going on, then immediately

666
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
there is a release of energy and
intention or volition - I want to

667
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
do something about this. I vow 
to change my choices, my

668
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
situation.

669
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We will now enjoy the sound of a bell.

670
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[Bell]

671
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we wake up we 
realize that something is

672
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
suffering and then we want to
understand the roots of that suffering.

673
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Why has it come to be?

674
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In simple ways and in deep ways.

675
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If I

676
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
am watching something late at
night and I am not able to

677
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
resist this automatic play on 
the next episode and I am

678
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
still watching something at
three in the morning

679
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I have a headache the 
next day, awareness of suffering

680
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the path that led to suffering

681
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is very clear.

682
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's really good to be mindful.

683
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Maybe we should have a pop-up
on certain apps and things so that

684
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we have a certain awakening in the
moment, so we know

685
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
what to change in order to 
do it differently.

686
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And this is the case on the
personal level and also

687
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
on the collective level.

688
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Our way of consuming may water
our seeds of fear and anxiety.

689
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Maybe there can be a different 
way that we read the news.

690
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
or we can put a shorter timer on
social media.

691
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Maybe the choices we make 
about how we spend our time

692
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who we spend our time with.
Are the people we surround ourselves

693
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with - lifting us up? or pulling us
down.

694
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we look deeply into 
suffering and we see it deeply

695
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
right away we see the path 
out of suffering.

696
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So we see that there is 
something we can do to

697
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
make a difference.

698
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We see the cause of suffering
and what we can do.

699
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So Thay, he describes it
as the path that led to suffering

700
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
he called it the path of suffering

701
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and the path of happiness and wellbeing.

702
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Some of you may recognize this 
as the four noble truths.

703
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So what we are doing here
with the five mindfulness trainings

704
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
represent a path that is leading us
through and out of suffering.

705
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And so we may ...

706
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
A very important point about this

707
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so underline it - you may
have realized it already

708
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the function or the purpose, 
the intention of mindfulness

709
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is not to make an unliveable world

710
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
liveable.

711
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Mindfulness is not to help us
survive and unsurvivable situation.

712
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
For me in the newsroom, mindfulness
began by helping me stay true

713
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to myself in really difficult days.
And really painful moments.

714
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But mindfulness carries a seed of
insight in it, until the day when

715
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that mindfulness [says' you;re
in a toxic environment, get

716
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
out of here. It didn't say
stay in this toxic environment

717
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and breathe. And this is really
important because sometimes

718
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
mindfulness is introduced into
different sectors to kind of enable

719
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
toxicity, to enable an 
unsurvivable working environment.

720
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
or an unsurvivable ....well

721
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
even military environment, there
Is now mindfulness in the military.

722
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But that's another story.

723
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we practice the whole teaching.

724
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we practice the full}
scope of mindfulness

725
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as expressed in the five
mindfulness trainings

726
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it carries the seed of
a way out in it

727
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for ourselves and [ ]
We don't perpetuate unjust

728
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and toxic ways of being.

729
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I need to say that - thank you.

730
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So, we may ...how do you say this

731
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When I first came here, I really
had this question

732
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
how can I contribute to a better wordl

733
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and at the begining my answer was
I will transform - [ ]But

734
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I started to understand this 
question much more

735
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
deeply. How can I

736
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
act to contribute to a 
better world.

737
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How can I act to
contribute to a better world.

738
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999


739
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If you like we can call this
a koan. And in koans

740
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we ___ to investigate our terms.

741
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How can I act?

742
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Hopefully this week ___
of who we are.

743
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That we are

744
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
inter connected to all that is

745
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we represent a lineage of
ancestors

746
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
our action now is action 
that will impact our descendents

747
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and we are deeply affected by
our environment.

748
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
collected around us.

749
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Sometimes we can suffer a lot
with the question

750
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
if we make the I too small.
and we limit ourselves

751
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to this body.

752
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Little me. In fact we are 
a big me. We are a vast

753
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
interbeing self.

754
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So if we are suffering in this
question, we may be caught

755
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in who I am.

756
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And this is also an interesting
thing about collective action

757
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
from that which we will get to.

758
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
From that but it's very important
the word next to it.

759
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Act - how are we understanding
action. And the theme of this

760
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
retreat is love in action.

761
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In Buddhism we have a
word for action.

762
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and a very clear understanding of it.

763
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We understand it as being
threefold. Action has three

764
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
aspects.

765
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You can call it triple-action.

766
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's our thinking, our speaking
and our bodily action.

767
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's very interesting that our
thoughts are our actions.

768
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Our teacher used to say that
our thoughts carry our signature.

769
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Our thoughts are hatred, resentment
anger go out into the world

770
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and carry our signature.

771
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Our thoughts of love, tolerance
compassion also go out into

772
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the world and carry out signature.

773
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
He gave the image of like a
kind of candle

774
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and the candle is kind of
radiating our thoughts
our speech and our action

775
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
just like a candle radiates 
light and warmth.

776
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Right now in this hall action
is happening

777
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we are radiating an energy
of peace, of presence, of enquiry

778
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of stillness together.

779
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And outside as well.

780
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We are radiating that energy
and just like the candle

781
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it also receives its own warmth
which is what melts the wax

782
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so the wick can burn.
It receives its own

783
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
warmth and it is lit
by its own light.

784
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So in the same way, we 
receive like the food of our

785
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
thoughts, the food of our
speaking and the food of

786
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
our bodily action is coming

787
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
back into us. And is creating

788
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
an impact.

789
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
__ said a really interesting thing.
He said sometimes we say something

790
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that we didn't mean to say.

791
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Maybe it was only partly true.

792
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And quite quickly it might come
back to us and we get what we call

793
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the retribution of that and we have 
to apologize or explain ourselves.