WEBVTT

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(The Plum Village Online Monastery)

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(The Plum Village Online Monastery)

NOTE Paragraph

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(Thay) Please come closer.

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(Thay) Today, we have a session 
of questions and answers.

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Those who have a question
are invited to come and sit here.

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We will take turns to sit on this chair,

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so that everyone can see us 
before we ask the question.

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We know that a question, a good one,
can benefit many people.

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Therefore, it would be more helpful
to ask a question

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that has to do with the practice,


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to do with transformation and healing.

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You may like to write down your question 
on a piece of paper also,

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if you don't want to come up here.

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But looking from here is so beautiful!

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(Laughter)

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So those of us 
who already have a question,

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please come up and sit around here,

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and we will take turns 
to sit on the chair.

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The practice, according to the tradition:

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Before we ask a question,

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we breathe in and out three times 
with the sound of the bell,

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and everyone is breathing with us.

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Then, we take the microphone

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and we ask the question.

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And we know that a good question
does not have to be very long.

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(Laughter)

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A question is not a statement.

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So please, 
those of us who have a question already,

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come and sit close to Thay
and we will take turns.

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And if you have written a question,


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ask someone to bring it here 
to Brother Mountain,

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who is sitting to the left of Thay.

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From time to time, 
he will read from one of these questions.

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This is your opportunity, please come.

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(Thay laughing)

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Let us listen to the bell and breathe 
before you ask the first question.

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(Half Bell)

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(Bell)

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(Bell again)

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(Bell again)

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Hi,

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My question is:

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How do we do 
when we go back to our real home?

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This retreat has been really nice

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But when we go to our real home? 


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What recommendations can you give us

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to bring at home and be 
every second of our lives?

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(Br. Mountain) Thay, the...

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(Thay) Please speak in the microphone.

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(Br. Mountain) If I understand correctly, 
the question is:

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"How to bring this practice 
into your daily life?"

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Yes?

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(Repeats question in Spanish)

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We just do it!

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(Laughter)

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Suppose when you turn on the water tap

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and you see the water flowing,

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you pay attention to the water.

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You tell yourself that it's wonderful,

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that the water has come to you,

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to your kitchen, to your bathroom,

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from high up in the mountains,

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from deep in the earth,

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and you feel grateful, you feel happy,

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because the water is there for you.

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That is how to apply 
the teaching of mindfulness

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in our daily life.

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When you brush your teeth,

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you may like to focus your attention 
on brushing your teeth,

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not thinking! 


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Because you have the water, 
the toothpaste, the brush,

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and you still have teeth to brush!

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(Laughter)

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I am over 80 and every time
I brush my teeth,

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I always say:

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"It's wonderful at this age 
to still have some teeth to brush!"

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(Laughter)

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And happiness can come right away.

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And when you cook your breakfast, 
do it mindfully.

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Pouring the water into the kettle,
boiling the water,

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every moment can be a moment of joy.

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Laying the table, preparing your tea,

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everything you do
can be the practice of mindfulness

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and can bring you joy, happiness.

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You are fully present
in the here and the now!

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When you drive your car, 
you can drive it mindfully,

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and enjoy every minute of driving.

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When you walk 
from the parking lot to your school,


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you do the same.

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So just do it!

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And you have verses to memorize

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in order to brush your teeth, to sit down,

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to open your window.

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Every daily act can be accompanied 
by our breathing,

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our recitation of the verse.

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It's very convenient,

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because people who have come before us,

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they have prepared the practice for us.

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And walking in a railway station,
walking at the airport,

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you can always enjoy walking meditation.

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You do not have to set up a separate time
to do meditation.

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But one thing can be said:

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If you have a home to yourself,
in your home town,

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you can create a group of practitioners,
practicing together.

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Every weekend you come together, 
to enjoy walking together,

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sitting together, having tea together,

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sharing the practice together.

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That would be wonderful,

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because that community will help you 
to continue the practice for a long time.

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Otherwise you will be carried away

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and you'll abandon the practice 
after few weeks.

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Good luck!

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(Laughter)

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(Inaudible)

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(Half Bell)

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(Bell)

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( Spanish) My question

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is about the subconscious,
the store, the seeds,

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how mindfulness can help

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to stop the wrong consumption,
the toxins,

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because our being is
from the subconscious

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to consciousness.

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True consciousness.

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(Br. Mountain) There is too much echo, 
so I can't really understand.

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(Br. Mountain) Can you repeat 
the question?

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(Translating what Br. Mountain just said
into Spanish for the lady)

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(Spanish )Yes, my question is...

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(Br. Mountain) How can mindfulness help...

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(Thay) You have to translate
into English later.

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(Brother) Yes.

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(Spanish)... how mindfulness helps
to bring out the subconscious, the mind,

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to stop the toxic seeds
that are in the store consciousness.

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To know how to identify them.

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How mindfulness can
not only plant the seeds,

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but stop the seeds
that have already been planted.

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To be more aware

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of what is already inside.

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(Brother) The essence 
of the question is:

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How can mindfulness help transform
the toxic seeds

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or the seeds of suffering
that are in the store consciousness?

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Mindfulness can recognize...

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the manifestation of a seed.

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In fact, to be mindful is to
be aware of what is going on.

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So from the depth of our consciousness, 
called the store consciousness,

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there are many seeds, 
good ones and negatives ones.

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And every time a good seed comes up 
to the level of the mind

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and you recognize it 
as a good mental formation, 


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like joy, brotherhood, sisterhood, 
forgiveness, and so on.


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So mindfulness recognizes 
the good mental formation

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that has manifested.

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Mindfulness can help to keep it longer
for your nourishment and healing.

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You continue to breathe or walk

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and maintain the energy of love,

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or happiness, or joy,
or brotherhood, alive

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as long as you want.

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That is what you do when a good seed
like love, forgiveness or joy, manifests.

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But when negative seed in you 
begins to manifest:

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fear, anger, sorrow, hate, violence.

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Then mindfulness helps you 
to recognize it:

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"Hello! Good morning my fear, 
I know you are there,"

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"I will take good care of you!"

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So, the first thing mindfulness does 
is to recognize what is there.

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"Good morning my anger, 
I know you are there,"

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"I will take good care of you!"

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And you breathe in and out mindfully,

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and continue to generate 
the energy of mindfulness,

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with which you embrace 
your fear, your anger.

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You are protected 
by the energy of mindfulness,

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because your fear, your anger, 
will not push you

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to do or say things 
that will cause damage

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to you and to the other person.

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So mindfulness protects you,

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if you know how to use 
the energy of mindfulness,

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to recognize and embrace 
your fear, your anger, tenderly,

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like a mother holding a baby.

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Then mindfulness can do more.

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Mindfulness can help you 
to look into that fear, that anger

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and see what kind of roots they have.

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It has come from somewhere,
some wrong perceptions,

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something like that.

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With the practice of looking deeply 
into the fear, the anger,

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you can recognize the roots 
of your anger, of your fear,

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and you get an understanding of it.

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Your understanding 
of the roots of something

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will liberate you from it.

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So mindfulness can do many things.

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And the practice of mindful breathing, 
mindful walking

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can help generate 
the energy of mindfulness,

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with which you can nourish yourself, 
and you can heal yourself!

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(Half Bell)

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(Bell)

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My question is personal

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but it can help a lot of people.

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At this moment
I am feeling a lot of pain

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because I am unable to follow
what makes me happy,

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my style of life.

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What would be your message

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for the people who, as me,

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do want to follow a good path,
a safe path

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who want to follow
what makes us happy

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but we fight against
a lot of negativity,

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messages of...
insanity,

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but we feel that
that is a wrong path.

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Thank you.

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(Br. Mountain) The question is:

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How can we find a new path for society?

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How can we find a new path

NOTE Paragraph

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and nourish our aspiration
in this society?

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And what would be Thay's message 
for young people?

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What would be Thay's encouragement
for young people...

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considering the society is not 
a very healthy place?

NOTE Paragraph

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What can we do?

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When we look at an adult

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and see that that person is not happy,

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we cannot believe what that person 
tells us about happiness,

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or the path leading to happiness.

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Because if the path is correct,

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then the person would not be 
the way he or she is!

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So what that person recommends us to do
may not work.

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Sometimes they recommend us 
to do something,

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but they don't do it themselves!

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So we have to be careful.

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So we can...

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we can make a decision 
based on our own experience.

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Whatever you do 
that brings you true happiness,

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you believe that.

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That is the right thing to do.

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What you say can bring you happiness
and can bring the other person happiness.

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We can believe in that kind of thing,

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and you can continue 
to say things like that.

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So it's much safer to base it 
on our own experience of life.

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I think the first thing is to have 
a correct idea about happiness,

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because everyone has an idea of happiness.

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Our idea of happiness may be the obstacle
for our true happiness.

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So you have to look, look deeply,

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and have your own idea of happiness.

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Many people believe 
that power, fame, diplomas,

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money, sensual pleasures,

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can make you happy.

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But when you observe,

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you can see that many people...

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who have plenty of these things 
still suffer a lot.

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So you don't believe it.

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You feel that when you have 
understanding and love in you,

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you are happy.

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You look around, 
you see people who are not so rich,

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who are not powerful,

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but who have plenty 
of understanding and compassion.

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You see them happy.

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So you tell yourself:
that's what I want!

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I want to be happy like him, like her,

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and in order to do that,

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I have to cultivate 
more understanding and compassion...

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and love.

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Because it's very difficult to live 
with a person

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who cannot understand you.

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You see? Very frustrating!

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So you don't want to be 
like him, like her.

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You want to be a person
who has a lot of understanding.

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It's very pleasant to be with someone
who can understand you.

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And to understand is a power.

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Not money - understanding is a power.

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When you love someone,
if you understand him or her,

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you are a true lover.

00:29:15.768 --> 00:29:18.797
So cultivating understanding 
is a practice.

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If you do not have the time 
to look deeply,

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you cannot understand.

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You have to understand first of all
the suffering in you and the other person.

00:29:33.765 --> 00:29:37.284
So cultivating understanding 
is very important.

00:29:38.044 --> 00:29:43.924
When you have understood,
love and compassion are born.

00:29:45.649 --> 00:29:48.709
And love is another kind of power.

00:29:49.139 --> 00:29:51.903
Love has the power to heal.

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When you have true love in you,
you can heal yourself

00:29:56.922 --> 00:30:00.145
and you can help to heal the other person.

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So understanding and love are two powers

00:30:07.871 --> 00:30:12.161
and with them you can create happiness,

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restore communication, reconcile.

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You are determined 
to go in that direction,

00:30:29.694 --> 00:30:35.914
not running after fame, power, 
money, sensual pleasures,

00:30:36.334 --> 00:30:41.460
but taking your time to cultivate
more understanding

00:30:42.310 --> 00:30:44.596
and love and compassion.

00:30:45.106 --> 00:30:49.496
Even if you live a very simple life,

00:30:50.336 --> 00:30:54.211
you can be a very happy person.

00:30:55.791 --> 00:31:01.477
I think the young people have 
the power to do it.

00:31:02.317 --> 00:31:07.569
They don't have to follow any tradition.

00:31:08.789 --> 00:31:11.176
They can find their own way.

00:31:15.140 --> 00:31:18.970
They can practice true love, 
true understanding,

00:31:18.970 --> 00:31:20.806
brotherhood, sisterhood,

00:31:20.806 --> 00:31:26.156
in order to make themselves happy
and to stop suffering.

00:31:27.354 --> 00:31:34.464
If they can succeed, they can inspire 
many people to do the same.

00:31:57.766 --> 00:32:01.276
(Half Bell)

00:32:02.925 --> 00:32:10.202
(Bell)

00:32:27.989 --> 00:32:31.339
(Man) First
I would like to thank you, Thay,

00:32:31.479 --> 00:32:34.479
on behalf of everyone

00:32:34.601 --> 00:32:37.601
(inaudible)

00:32:44.194 --> 00:32:45.823
English or Spanish?

00:32:46.013 --> 00:32:47.133
(Br. Mountain) Both.

00:32:47.713 --> 00:32:50.713
(Man replying but inaudible)

00:32:55.518 --> 00:32:59.048
(Man asking question, 
inaudible due to echo)

00:32:59.338 --> 00:33:04.248
...Mindfulness speaking, 
mindfulness walking...

00:33:06.238 --> 00:33:08.878
mindfulness eating...

00:33:10.078 --> 00:33:13.788
But the last few days you spoke about...

00:33:14.558 --> 00:33:16.948
(Laughing)

00:33:18.668 --> 00:33:21.938
Mindfulness (Spanish) "of suffering"

00:33:23.928 --> 00:33:26.908
....the minfulness of suffering.

00:33:27.128 --> 00:33:31.601
(Spanish) For me, that is
a little more difficult.

00:33:32.357 --> 00:33:37.289
(Spanish) To be mindful of the suffering

00:33:38.379 --> 00:33:41.379
to avoid (inaudible).

00:33:41.710 --> 00:33:44.450
So Thay, I would like to ask you.

00:33:44.650 --> 00:33:48.426
Could you explain a little bit more
about mindfulness of suffering?

00:33:48.616 --> 00:33:51.834
Because I find this very difficult,

00:33:51.984 --> 00:33:56.884
because it sometimes generates
a negative state of mind.

00:34:00.828 --> 00:34:03.784
(Brother) The essence
of the question is

00:34:03.904 --> 00:34:07.241
that Thay has spoken about 
different types of mindfulness practices,

00:34:07.421 --> 00:34:11.233
and Thay has also spoken about
mindfulness of suffering.

00:34:11.443 --> 00:34:14.413
When our friend practices 
mindfulness of suffering,

00:34:14.533 --> 00:34:19.035
it brings up negative feelings
or thoughts or emotions.

00:34:19.333 --> 00:34:20.831
(Man) Towards myself.

00:34:20.891 --> 00:34:23.091
(Brother) For yourself?
(Man) Yes.

00:34:23.311 --> 00:34:26.783
(Brother) So how to work
with the mindfulness of suffering,

00:34:26.893 --> 00:34:28.211
how to practice?

00:34:28.361 --> 00:34:30.021
(Man) Clarify the practice.

00:34:30.171 --> 00:34:33.219
(Brother) If Thay can clarify
what it means

00:34:33.830 --> 00:34:36.187
by working with
mindfulness of suffering.

00:34:38.070 --> 00:34:42.980
(Thay) Mindfulness of suffering
is a very important practice.

00:34:48.241 --> 00:34:54.001
Mindfulness, first of all, 
is the kind of energy that helps you

00:34:54.461 --> 00:34:57.374
to know what is going on.

00:34:59.184 --> 00:35:02.037
When suffering is coming up,

00:35:02.505 --> 00:35:05.825
you should know that suffering is there.

00:35:06.727 --> 00:35:10.454
That is mindfulness of suffering.

00:35:10.948 --> 00:35:14.664
Most of us do not want to do it,

00:35:15.517 --> 00:35:21.997
because we feel that when we get in touch 
with the suffering inside,

00:35:22.367 --> 00:35:26.644
we will be overwhelmed by it.

00:35:28.016 --> 00:35:32.862
So everyone is trying to run away
from their own suffering.

00:35:35.718 --> 00:35:39.605
They try to cover up the suffering inside.

00:35:40.287 --> 00:35:43.906
When you pick up a newspaper to read,

00:35:44.593 --> 00:35:47.167
when you turn on your television,

00:35:47.491 --> 00:35:50.398
maybe it's not 
because you need to do that,

00:35:50.788 --> 00:35:53.770
but you do that in order 
not to have to get in touch

00:35:53.930 --> 00:35:56.214
with the suffering inside.

00:35:57.102 --> 00:36:01.910
So pick up the phone and talk to someone,

00:36:02.210 --> 00:36:04.601
take the car and go out,

00:36:05.414 --> 00:36:10.794
we do many things in order 
not be in touch with the suffering inside.

00:36:13.672 --> 00:36:18.463
The suffering inside remains the same
and continues to grow,

00:36:19.942 --> 00:36:24.928
because you do not know 
how to take care of suffering inside

00:36:25.108 --> 00:36:27.090
and how to transform it.

00:36:27.544 --> 00:36:32.540
So mindfulness of suffering is 
first of all to have the courage...

00:36:32.780 --> 00:36:37.130
to go home to yourself
and recognize that suffering is there.

00:36:40.266 --> 00:36:43.921
And then, as I have said several times,

00:36:45.141 --> 00:36:49.409
you can use the energy of mindfulness 
to embrace your suffering,

00:36:49.409 --> 00:36:51.420
your fear, your anger.

00:36:51.960 --> 00:36:55.250
If you know how to do it,
then you will suffer less.

00:36:56.739 --> 00:36:59.403
It's like a mother holding her baby,

00:36:59.573 --> 00:37:03.396
the baby suffers less after a few minutes.

00:37:06.041 --> 00:37:09.361
I have also said 
that if you are a beginner,

00:37:09.731 --> 00:37:15.611
you may like to borrow 
the energy of mindfulness of someone else

00:37:15.741 --> 00:37:19.439
in order to help you 
to embrace your suffering.

00:37:21.461 --> 00:37:24.143
Three or four people sitting with you,

00:37:24.333 --> 00:37:26.151
breathing with you,

00:37:26.391 --> 00:37:29.209
and offering their energy of mindfulness,

00:37:29.799 --> 00:37:33.575
to help you to recognize 
and embrace the pain in yourself.

00:37:33.955 --> 00:37:36.723
That is brotherhood, sisterhood.

00:37:37.653 --> 00:37:42.523
If you live
in the heart of a practice community,

00:37:43.173 --> 00:37:46.615
you profit from the 
collective energy of mindfulness,

00:37:46.615 --> 00:37:49.272
of the community.

00:37:53.930 --> 00:37:56.318
We have learnt a very important thing:

00:37:56.318 --> 00:37:59.300
if you know how to suffer,

00:38:00.324 --> 00:38:03.228
you suffer much less.

00:38:05.202 --> 00:38:09.180
That is an art,
to suffer is an art.

00:38:10.080 --> 00:38:12.216
Everyone has to suffer,

00:38:12.716 --> 00:38:14.892
including the Buddha,

00:38:15.182 --> 00:38:17.280
including Jesus Christ.

00:38:17.788 --> 00:38:20.626
But those of us who know how to suffer,

00:38:20.726 --> 00:38:23.326
we suffer much, much less.

00:38:29.314 --> 00:38:31.460
We have to learn.

00:38:32.722 --> 00:38:37.450
If you have the energy of mindfulness,
you can go back to yourself.

00:38:38.512 --> 00:38:43.684
You are not afraid of being overwhelmed 
by the suffering inside.

00:38:48.610 --> 00:38:52.460
With that energy of mindfulness,
you can embrace your suffering.

00:38:53.100 --> 00:38:55.967
Even smile to your suffering,

00:38:56.954 --> 00:38:58.952
as a mother holding her child.

00:38:59.052 --> 00:39:01.228
If you know how to do that,

00:39:01.318 --> 00:39:04.237
in three, five or eight minutes,
you suffer less.

00:39:06.086 --> 00:39:10.260
The energy of mindfulness is holding 
the energy of anger,

00:39:10.260 --> 00:39:12.570
of fear, of despair.

00:39:13.468 --> 00:39:15.296
Two kinds of energy.

00:39:15.296 --> 00:39:18.462
They are not fighting each other,

00:39:18.920 --> 00:39:22.518
but one is holding the other.

00:39:22.628 --> 00:39:26.717
Very non-violently, very tenderly.

00:39:28.318 --> 00:39:32.065
That is what everyone should learn,

00:39:32.065 --> 00:39:38.375
it is possible 
to embrace our pain tenderly,

00:39:38.535 --> 00:39:40.327
with compassion.

00:39:41.075 --> 00:39:46.722
That helps you to get a relief
after a few minutes of practice.

00:39:47.105 --> 00:39:54.101
So we should remember
that someone who knows how to suffer,

00:39:54.377 --> 00:39:56.884
will suffer much less.

00:39:58.098 --> 00:40:00.736
And then he can go further,

00:40:00.976 --> 00:40:03.484
he can make good use of suffering

00:40:03.484 --> 00:40:08.772
in order to create understanding,
compassion and happiness.

00:40:10.924 --> 00:40:17.610
Suffering has a role to play
in creating happiness.

00:40:20.252 --> 00:40:24.431
It's like when you grow lotus flowers,
you need the mud.

00:40:26.112 --> 00:40:29.489
Without the mud, 
lotus flowers cannot grow.

00:40:30.289 --> 00:40:32.597
It's the same with happiness.

00:40:32.597 --> 00:40:35.071
Happiness is a kind of lotus

00:40:35.651 --> 00:40:40.374
and it needs some kind of mud,
in order to grow.

00:40:42.311 --> 00:40:45.043
The process is like this:

00:40:45.043 --> 00:40:47.167
there is suffering,

00:40:48.227 --> 00:40:55.077
and there is mindfulness
that can look deeply...

00:40:55.077 --> 00:40:58.057
into the nature of suffering.

00:40:59.013 --> 00:41:02.899
We listen, we look deeply,

00:41:02.899 --> 00:41:08.229
and from that kind of practice,
called mindfulness of suffering,

00:41:08.237 --> 00:41:13.007
understanding and compassion are born.

00:41:13.767 --> 00:41:17.493
Understanding of suffering,

00:41:18.233 --> 00:41:23.372
compassion coming out of 
that kind of understanding.

00:41:25.911 --> 00:41:31.943
Understanding and compassion
are the very foundation of happiness.

00:41:33.743 --> 00:41:37.583
We know that understanding and compassion
come from the mud,

00:41:39.359 --> 00:41:41.709
come from suffering.

00:41:42.489 --> 00:41:47.059
So there is a very deep connection
between suffering and happiness,

00:41:48.519 --> 00:41:52.775
like the connection
between the mud and the lotus.

00:41:53.977 --> 00:41:58.414
If you try always 
to run away from suffering,

00:41:58.544 --> 00:42:01.073
you have no chance.

00:42:01.516 --> 00:42:06.847
You have to see the goodness of suffering.

00:42:09.514 --> 00:42:14.594
The goodness of suffering - 
(French) la bienfaisance de la suffrance.

00:42:15.470 --> 00:42:21.163
It's like the mud,
the mud is essential for the lotus.

00:42:22.470 --> 00:42:29.128
So suffering is essential
for the making of understanding and love,

00:42:29.858 --> 00:42:33.278
which are
the very foundation of happiness.

00:42:34.031 --> 00:42:37.579
When you have seen that 
you have Right View.

00:42:38.749 --> 00:42:45.025
Right View is the first element 
of the Noble Path leading to happiness.

00:42:46.009 --> 00:42:51.021
You don't have any discrimination 
any more.

00:42:51.971 --> 00:42:57.011
You know that there is a deep connection
between suffering and happiness.

00:42:58.611 --> 00:43:03.569
If you know how to make
good use of suffering,

00:43:04.109 --> 00:43:08.462
you can create a lot of understanding
and compassion

00:43:08.887 --> 00:43:12.757
that can create happiness in you
and in the other person.

00:43:13.859 --> 00:43:17.579
So there are two things
we have to remember concerning suffering:

00:43:18.559 --> 00:43:21.684
if you know how to suffer,
you suffer less;

00:43:22.887 --> 00:43:25.991
if you know how to make good use
of suffering,

00:43:26.101 --> 00:43:28.411
you can create happiness.

00:43:29.101 --> 00:43:33.470
That is why mindfulness of suffering
is very, very important.

00:43:33.640 --> 00:43:37.458
We should not try 
to run away from suffering,

00:43:37.738 --> 00:43:40.916
pretending that it's not there.

00:43:42.406 --> 00:43:46.986
In our civilization,
most people do that.

00:43:48.240 --> 00:43:52.666
They pretend that there is no suffering

00:43:53.266 --> 00:43:58.826
and they buy, they consume,
in order to cover up the suffering inside.

00:44:01.716 --> 00:44:05.014
We consume not because we need to consume.

00:44:06.454 --> 00:44:11.768
There are people who go 
to look for something to eat,

00:44:13.146 --> 00:44:16.469
but they are not hungry at all.

00:44:19.042 --> 00:44:23.052
They eat because they want to forget
the suffering inside.

00:44:23.532 --> 00:44:25.304
Eating is one way,

00:44:27.392 --> 00:44:31.808
one of the ways to help us to run away

00:44:32.380 --> 00:44:37.387
and not to have to confront,
to get in touch with the suffering.

00:44:40.543 --> 00:44:43.553
We can practice by ourselves,

00:44:44.173 --> 00:44:49.813
but if we have a community of practice
supporting us,

00:44:51.233 --> 00:45:01.435
the practice of mindfulness of suffering
can be easier,

00:45:03.475 --> 00:45:09.179
because we have brothers and sisters
in the practice supporting us.

00:45:10.451 --> 00:45:13.597
They provide understanding and compassion,

00:45:13.887 --> 00:45:16.475
and with that kind of collective energy,

00:45:16.665 --> 00:45:22.097
we can easily recognize and embrace
our suffering.

00:45:24.639 --> 00:45:26.045
Clear?

00:45:26.165 --> 00:45:27.654
(Laughter)

00:45:27.694 --> 00:45:29.564
Thank you.

00:45:32.972 --> 00:45:37.262
We'll read from one written question.

00:45:42.473 --> 00:45:44.163
Bell, the bell.

00:45:44.784 --> 00:45:46.078
(Laughter)

00:45:46.258 --> 00:45:48.464
(Half Bell)

00:45:51.541 --> 00:45:59.329
(Bell)

00:46:14.858 --> 00:46:19.447
(Br. Mountain) "The errors of the past
have caused a lot of suffering"

00:46:19.557 --> 00:46:21.905
"and are very difficult to liberate."

00:46:21.955 --> 00:46:26.584
"My errors have created in the past
quite a heavy burden."

00:46:26.884 --> 00:46:30.843
"How can I forgive myself
for this pain I've caused"

00:46:31.333 --> 00:46:35.303
"and how to be sure
that I've forgiven others?"

00:46:36.181 --> 00:46:39.950
"What can I do if I offer 
forgiveness and reconciliation"

00:46:40.040 --> 00:46:41.696
"again and again to others,"

00:46:41.786 --> 00:46:45.402
"but the others don't respond positively"

00:46:45.482 --> 00:46:49.135
"and they keep the door closed?"

00:47:00.468 --> 00:47:02.511
This is a very good question.

00:47:03.391 --> 00:47:05.478
(Laughter)

00:47:15.007 --> 00:47:26.743
First of all, everyone can learn 
from their own mistakes, unskillfulness.

00:47:27.803 --> 00:47:31.373
All of us are unskillful at times.

00:47:35.915 --> 00:47:38.009
Even the Buddha as a teacher,

00:47:38.179 --> 00:47:40.616
he was unskillful at times,

00:47:40.806 --> 00:47:43.734
and he learnt from his unskillfulness.

00:47:55.754 --> 00:47:58.062
(Laughter)

00:48:01.373 --> 00:48:07.567
So first of all, we should remember
that we are a human being,

00:48:08.427 --> 00:48:11.757
and we can be unskillful at times.

00:48:17.857 --> 00:48:22.439
The practice of mindfulness 
can always transform,

00:48:24.451 --> 00:48:27.355
even transform the past.

00:48:29.541 --> 00:48:32.127
You think that the past is already gone

00:48:32.237 --> 00:48:35.425
and you can't do anything 
concerning the past,

00:48:36.258 --> 00:48:38.489
but that is not true.

00:48:38.869 --> 00:48:40.963
You can change the past,

00:48:41.633 --> 00:48:45.454
because the past is still there 
in the present.

00:48:46.334 --> 00:48:49.845
The wound of the past is still there
in the present moment

00:48:50.275 --> 00:48:52.605
and you can touch it.

00:48:54.695 --> 00:49:01.145
Suppose in the past you have said 
something unkind to your grandma,

00:49:06.078 --> 00:49:08.590
and now you regret it.

00:49:09.230 --> 00:49:13.880
Your grandma is no longer there
for you to say sorry.

00:49:18.721 --> 00:49:22.741
You have that complex of guilt 
following you all the time,

00:49:24.602 --> 00:49:28.094
but according to this practice,
you can do something.

00:49:31.424 --> 00:49:34.239
You breathe in and out mindfully,

00:49:34.359 --> 00:49:39.679
and you recognize that your grandma
is still alive in every cell of your body.

00:49:40.981 --> 00:49:43.446
You continue your grandma.

00:49:44.296 --> 00:49:46.586
That is the truth.

00:49:46.867 --> 00:49:50.307
The genes of your grandma are in you.

00:49:52.565 --> 00:49:56.543
Your grandma has not really died.

00:49:57.163 --> 00:49:59.551
She continues in you.

00:50:00.311 --> 00:50:05.041
So having seen your grandma in you,
you say:

00:50:05.241 --> 00:50:06.893
"Grandma, I am sorry."

00:50:09.987 --> 00:50:12.175
"I was not skillful."

00:50:13.065 --> 00:50:15.753
"I promise you that from now on,"

00:50:15.943 --> 00:50:19.683
"I will never say 
something like that again."

00:50:22.199 --> 00:50:27.629
And if you are sincere, mindful, 
determined,

00:50:29.345 --> 00:50:32.571
then you can see your grandma in you,
smiling,

00:50:33.431 --> 00:50:36.289
and you are healed,
you are healed.

00:50:37.769 --> 00:50:40.559
So you can transform the past.

00:50:41.945 --> 00:50:46.493
You make an aspiration,
a strong aspiration,

00:50:47.523 --> 00:50:51.301
that from now on, you will not say 
things like that any more.

00:50:51.461 --> 00:50:54.223
You will not do things like that any more.

00:50:54.553 --> 00:50:56.939
That is a powerful energy,

00:50:57.439 --> 00:51:01.709
that can transform even the past
and you feel lighter. Lighter!

00:51:12.723 --> 00:51:16.581
During the Vietnam war,
there was an American soldier

00:51:18.141 --> 00:51:21.301
who killed five children in Vietnam.

00:51:26.567 --> 00:51:34.193
His unit was destroyed by the guerillas,

00:51:35.133 --> 00:51:37.781
so he was very angry.

00:51:38.161 --> 00:51:40.271
He came back to that village,

00:51:40.941 --> 00:51:43.115
looking for a way to retaliate.

00:51:44.534 --> 00:51:47.769
He brought with him a bag of sandwiches,

00:51:51.924 --> 00:51:55.059
and he put explosives in the sandwich.

00:51:56.507 --> 00:51:59.870
He left them by the gate of the village.

00:52:00.760 --> 00:52:04.860
He hid himself
and he saw five children coming out,

00:52:06.020 --> 00:52:08.681
and enjoying eating the sandwiches.

00:52:09.061 --> 00:52:13.922
After that, the children 
showed the signs of sickness

00:52:14.042 --> 00:52:16.653
and they cried, they yelled,

00:52:16.923 --> 00:52:20.575
and their mothers came out
and tried to help.

00:52:21.655 --> 00:52:24.586
But the soldier knew 
that nothing could be done,

00:52:25.826 --> 00:52:29.356
because the village was so far
from a city.

00:52:31.748 --> 00:52:37.298
He saw the five children dying
in the arms of their mothers.

00:52:40.564 --> 00:52:44.794
The soldier survived the war
and went back to America.

00:52:46.610 --> 00:52:49.020
He could no longer sleep.

00:52:51.598 --> 00:52:56.742
Every time he found himself
with a few children in the same room,

00:52:57.512 --> 00:53:00.342
he could not stand it,
he had to run out of the room.

00:53:02.083 --> 00:53:05.535
He could not share the story with anyone,

00:53:05.975 --> 00:53:07.525
until one day,

00:53:12.797 --> 00:53:17.434
we offered a retreat for war veterans
in California,

00:53:19.200 --> 00:53:21.512
and he came.

00:53:23.000 --> 00:53:29.410
After four days of practice, 
he got enough trust.

00:53:31.667 --> 00:53:38.447
During the sharing, he told us the story,
crying a lot.

00:53:44.693 --> 00:53:46.823
I was in the group.

00:53:48.707 --> 00:53:52.127
I promised to give him a consultation.

00:53:55.699 --> 00:54:00.420
I told him: "Daniel, 
you have killed five children."

00:54:01.750 --> 00:54:03.530
"That is the truth."

00:54:04.496 --> 00:54:06.543
"And you suffer."

00:54:07.076 --> 00:54:09.943
"But now there are other children
who are dying"

00:54:11.428 --> 00:54:15.028
"in Africa, in Asia, in many countries,"

00:54:15.938 --> 00:54:18.939
"and even in America,
children are dying."

00:54:19.559 --> 00:54:21.580
"There are poor people."

00:54:22.040 --> 00:54:26.154
"There are children who only need
one tablet of medicine"

00:54:27.024 --> 00:54:29.834
"in order for their life to be saved."

00:54:30.287 --> 00:54:34.058
"Thousands and thousands of children
like that are dying all over the world."

00:54:34.848 --> 00:54:41.438
"If you make the aspiration to go to them,
every day you can save five children."

00:54:42.766 --> 00:54:47.816
"You don't have to lie down 
in the corner of the past"

00:54:48.346 --> 00:54:50.266
"and suffer like that."

00:54:50.356 --> 00:54:52.709
"If in the past you have 
killed five children,"

00:54:52.889 --> 00:54:55.641
"then today, you can save five."

00:54:55.721 --> 00:54:59.065
"If you can save five today,
five tomorrow,"

00:54:59.235 --> 00:55:03.763
"then you can see the five you killed
begin to smile in you"

00:55:03.903 --> 00:55:06.533
"and you are healed."

00:55:07.669 --> 00:55:11.459
So he followed those instructions.

00:55:13.487 --> 00:55:17.875
I could see the transformation 
and healing taking place

00:55:18.725 --> 00:55:22.655
right during the time he listened
to the advice,

00:55:23.515 --> 00:55:26.199
because during the time he listened to me,

00:55:26.369 --> 00:55:28.253
he made that vow:

00:55:28.613 --> 00:55:31.623
"I will go out and try to save children."

00:55:32.023 --> 00:55:34.687
"I am young enough to do the work."

00:55:36.237 --> 00:55:41.241
The tremendous amount of energy
given to him by that aspiration...

00:55:42.081 --> 00:55:44.811
began to heal him right away.

00:55:45.727 --> 00:55:50.877
After that he practiced helping
children in the world to survive.

00:55:56.073 --> 00:55:58.203
He was healed.

00:55:58.653 --> 00:56:02.393
He married a dentist in England

00:56:03.303 --> 00:56:05.382
and lead a normal life.

00:56:06.102 --> 00:56:08.462
This is a real story.

00:56:09.836 --> 00:56:16.927
So the fact is that you can 
liberate yourself from the past,

00:56:17.167 --> 00:56:19.437
from the prison of the past.

00:56:20.820 --> 00:56:27.030
You can make a strong determination,
a strong aspiration, to go and help:

00:56:27.850 --> 00:56:30.716
to help the people who are abused,

00:56:30.788 --> 00:56:34.278
to help the people who are victims
of sexual abuse, and so on.

00:56:35.778 --> 00:56:38.148
And then you can heal yourself.

00:56:40.306 --> 00:56:45.646
That is the power of aspiration -
the [third] nutriment we call "volition."

00:56:50.162 --> 00:56:53.722
If you have transformation 
and healing in you,

00:56:56.408 --> 00:56:59.546
you become a pleasant person,

00:57:00.444 --> 00:57:03.404
you are full of compassion, understanding,

00:57:04.354 --> 00:57:10.179
and your presence is very fresh,

00:57:11.179 --> 00:57:13.890
very pleasant for other people.

00:57:14.580 --> 00:57:20.210
If you propose to him or to her
the practice of reconciliation

00:57:21.510 --> 00:57:24.406
and if the other person refuses to do it,

00:57:25.226 --> 00:57:27.544
it's because you are not fresh enough,

00:57:27.632 --> 00:57:30.510
you have not healed yourself enough.

00:57:32.802 --> 00:57:37.572
You have to show yourself
as someone who has transformed,

00:57:38.252 --> 00:57:42.170
who has healed himself, or herself.

00:57:45.598 --> 00:57:51.228
The healing in you will help start
the healing in the other person.

00:57:52.284 --> 00:57:54.460
There are many ways.

00:57:56.830 --> 00:58:00.838
You can write him or her a letter of love.

00:58:02.048 --> 00:58:07.138
You can ask a friend to talk to him or her
on your behalf.

00:58:11.172 --> 00:58:13.662
There are many ways to do it.

00:58:16.180 --> 00:58:20.680
If you have already 
reconciled with yourself,

00:58:21.878 --> 00:58:25.566
renewed yourself to become a new person,

00:58:25.796 --> 00:58:29.538
then transforming him,
reconciling with him,

00:58:29.788 --> 00:58:31.729
becomes much easier.

00:58:32.259 --> 00:58:38.327
If you still find it difficult 
to invite the other person to reconcile,

00:58:38.546 --> 00:58:43.057
it's because you have not started
the process of reconciliation from within.

00:58:45.007 --> 00:58:48.624
If you have, 
then you have healed yourself.

00:58:49.844 --> 00:58:55.914
Then it will be much easier to help him
to reconcile,

00:58:56.914 --> 00:58:59.362
with himself and with you.

00:59:01.605 --> 00:59:03.000
OK?

00:59:03.690 --> 00:59:05.530
(Br. Mountain) Thank you, Thay.

00:59:22.778 --> 00:59:25.064
(Half Bell)

00:59:28.938 --> 00:59:36.129
(Bell)

01:00:00.207 --> 01:00:01.403
Well...

01:00:01.865 --> 01:00:03.836
(Spanish) Sorry, in Spanish.

01:00:06.503 --> 01:00:11.057
First, I would like to thank you,

01:00:11.565 --> 01:00:14.207
because until yesterday,

01:00:14.972 --> 01:00:21.966
I thought I was practising
mindful listening properly,

01:00:23.351 --> 01:00:26.526
just because I tried
to listen to every word


01:00:26.758 --> 01:00:29.259
that the other person was saying.

01:00:29.566 --> 01:00:31.825
Yesterday I understood

01:00:32.065 --> 01:00:34.660
that my practice was not right,

01:00:34.906 --> 01:00:38.069
because no matter
how hard I tried to listen,

01:00:38.292 --> 01:00:41.166
if I did not add compassion,

01:00:41.627 --> 01:00:46.785
the practice was not going to improve.

01:00:48.503 --> 01:00:50.735
I thank you for that.

01:00:51.028 --> 01:00:53.433
My question has nothing to do with myself,

01:00:53.926 --> 01:00:55.807
it has to do with my daughter.

01:00:56.128 --> 01:00:58.006
She is 3 years old.

01:00:58.965 --> 01:01:06.832
I wish she will not need to be 35
to begin to practice mindfulness,

01:01:07.294 --> 01:01:09.898
as it happened to her mother.

01:01:10.057 --> 01:01:12.926
I want to begin to practice with her,

01:01:13.165 --> 01:01:16.970
but everyone tells me
that she is still too young.

01:01:17.367 --> 01:01:23.011
I see that children live more
in the present moment than us, adults.

01:01:23.470 --> 01:01:26.365
But they do it for short periods.

01:01:27.027 --> 01:01:31.268
I don't want to begin with
formal practices too early,

01:01:35.059 --> 01:01:39.825
because it would not be
appropriate for her age.

01:01:40.380 --> 01:01:44.929
Is there a good age

01:01:45.114 --> 01:01:49.565
to begin the practice of mindfulness
with children?

01:01:53.658 --> 01:01:58.667
(Br. Mountain) So I will try to touch
the essence of the question.

01:01:58.857 --> 01:02:01.388
She has a daughter 
who is 3 years old

01:02:01.588 --> 01:02:04.414
and she would like 
to teach her mindfulness

01:02:04.564 --> 01:02:08.292
and start already with the seed
of mindfulness at that age,

01:02:08.392 --> 01:02:13.902
and not wait until her daughter is 35
to start the practice of mindfulness.

01:02:14.052 --> 01:02:19.862
So is there any good age
to start teaching mindfulness to children?

01:02:20.022 --> 01:02:25.412
Some people say she's too young
for me to teach her mindfulness.

01:02:25.692 --> 01:02:27.548
She's only 3 years old.

01:02:27.778 --> 01:02:31.428
Is there a good age to start teaching
mindfulness to children?

01:02:35.594 --> 01:02:40.458
(Thay) You can teach 
your child mindfulness,

01:02:40.846 --> 01:02:46.339
even when your child 
is still inside of you!

01:02:46.339 --> 01:02:47.958
(Laughter)

01:02:58.401 --> 01:03:01.168
You practice mindful breathing

01:03:01.358 --> 01:03:03.344
and you talk to your child:

01:03:03.484 --> 01:03:06.205
"Breathing in, I know you are there"

01:03:06.325 --> 01:03:08.285
"and I am so happy."

01:03:09.350 --> 01:03:14.870
You are mindful of the presence 
of the baby in yourself.

01:03:16.818 --> 01:03:22.478
If you are mindful, the child in you 
is mindful at the same time,

01:03:22.618 --> 01:03:29.779
because you and him or her 
are not two entities.

01:03:36.058 --> 01:03:38.876
Everything you eat is for your child.

01:03:39.156 --> 01:03:42.484
Everything you drink is for your child.

01:03:45.664 --> 01:03:49.889
Your happiness is your child's happiness.

01:03:50.549 --> 01:03:53.499
Your anger is your child's anger.

01:03:54.929 --> 01:03:58.608
If you conceive a baby,
you have to be very careful.

01:03:59.037 --> 01:04:01.308
You have to be very mindful.

01:04:03.611 --> 01:04:06.234
Anything you consume 
of the Four Nutriments,

01:04:06.484 --> 01:04:09.294
the child consumes also.

01:04:09.970 --> 01:04:15.488
So be gentle, 
consume only the healthy things,

01:04:16.998 --> 01:04:19.329
in terms of the Four Nutriments:

01:04:19.499 --> 01:04:23.439
what you read, what you listen to,

01:04:24.549 --> 01:04:30.128
what you eat, 
what you hear as conversation.

01:04:30.348 --> 01:04:32.686
They will go directly to the baby.

01:04:33.066 --> 01:04:40.216
So your practice of mindfulness is
the practice of mindfulness of your child.

01:04:41.730 --> 01:04:48.700
So you can begin at a very early age
with your child.

01:04:59.575 --> 01:05:07.065
The baby may not understand yet
the talking of adults,

01:05:11.813 --> 01:05:19.713
but the baby can be aware of the energy
that you radiate.

01:05:21.861 --> 01:05:28.850
If father and mother are in harmony,
loving each other,

01:05:29.160 --> 01:05:31.580
the baby feels that.

01:05:33.142 --> 01:05:39.355
Don't say that he does not understand
what we are saying to each other yet.

01:05:39.485 --> 01:05:41.545
Don't do that.

01:05:42.592 --> 01:05:45.513
The baby may not understand 
what you are saying,

01:05:45.943 --> 01:05:51.123
but the baby can feel
the harmony or disharmony between you.

01:05:53.908 --> 01:06:03.247
So your practice of mindfulness,
of reconciliation, of harmony...

01:06:03.707 --> 01:06:08.287
has a direct impact on your child.

01:06:11.411 --> 01:06:13.878
When you hold your baby,

01:06:14.118 --> 01:06:18.123
if you hold your baby in mindfulness,

01:06:18.773 --> 01:06:20.883
the baby feels that.

01:06:21.674 --> 01:06:24.284
That is a way to teach mindfulness.

01:06:27.184 --> 01:06:30.336
When you feed your baby 
with your own milk,

01:06:31.476 --> 01:06:33.838
you are aware of that,

01:06:34.248 --> 01:06:36.489
you feel the happiness,

01:06:37.029 --> 01:06:41.546
so the baby not only is feeding himself
from the milk,

01:06:41.866 --> 01:06:44.343
but from your love too.

01:06:44.923 --> 01:06:49.773
So you can teach the baby mindfulness
right away in the beginning.

01:06:54.141 --> 01:06:59.911
I remember at a Dharma talk in Germany,

01:07:00.857 --> 01:07:06.267
there were 1000 people in the talk.

01:07:07.403 --> 01:07:09.245
I remember in the front row,

01:07:09.545 --> 01:07:15.215
there were 3 or 4 mothers,
breast-feeding their babies.

01:07:17.608 --> 01:07:21.968
The atmosphere in the talk
was very, very peaceful,

01:07:23.921 --> 01:07:29.081
because we practiced mindful breathing,
mindful smiling.

01:07:30.539 --> 01:07:32.513
It was very nice.

01:07:33.343 --> 01:07:39.746
Before I started the talk,
I looked at the babies.

01:07:40.376 --> 01:07:42.966
They were so happy, so calm.

01:07:43.242 --> 01:07:48.192
They were getting the nutriments
not only from the breast of their mother,

01:07:48.702 --> 01:07:51.843
but they were getting nutriments

01:07:52.083 --> 01:07:56.993
from the collective energy
of mindfulness and compassion

01:07:57.763 --> 01:08:00.080
generated by the practice.

01:08:00.822 --> 01:08:07.452
So children, they know the value
of the practice of mindfulness.

01:08:12.958 --> 01:08:17.748
When you are about to have breakfast
with your child,

01:08:19.666 --> 01:08:26.792
if the child is 3, or 4, or 5 years old,
you can say:

01:08:28.586 --> 01:08:33.703
"Darling, it's wonderful 
that we have breakfast together."

01:08:34.273 --> 01:08:36.914
You show your appreciation...


01:08:37.244 --> 01:08:43.431
that mother and son, mother and daughter,
are there having breakfast together.

01:08:43.801 --> 01:08:46.421
You cherish every moment.

01:08:50.746 --> 01:08:55.836
There is a mantra that we practice
in Plum Village.

01:08:58.791 --> 01:09:04.111
From time to time, we remind 
the other person or people...

01:09:06.259 --> 01:09:13.269
that the moment we spend together
is a wonderful moment.

01:09:16.826 --> 01:09:20.396
That can be practiced with children too.

01:09:21.794 --> 01:09:27.194
The mantra is: "This is a happy moment."

01:09:28.515 --> 01:09:31.574
"This is a wonderful moment."

01:09:31.834 --> 01:09:34.544
"Don't you agree?"

01:09:35.122 --> 01:09:39.402
"This is a legendary moment
that we share with each other."

01:09:40.180 --> 01:09:47.210
That mantra, we can practice,
we can pronounce, several times a day.

01:09:49.546 --> 01:09:52.996
I myself practice that mantra a lot
with my students.

01:09:54.642 --> 01:09:58.842
Walking together, sitting together,
eating together,

01:10:01.041 --> 01:10:04.095
we remind each other
that this is a wonderful moment.

01:10:05.345 --> 01:10:10.195
We are still alive, 
we are sharing a cup of tea.

01:10:11.860 --> 01:10:14.040
This is always possible.

01:10:17.611 --> 01:10:21.607
So children are receptive 
to that kind of practice.

01:10:23.027 --> 01:10:25.417
They know that 
we appreciate their presence.

01:10:26.772 --> 01:10:31.512
We offer attention to them,
and they are happy.

01:10:32.400 --> 01:10:35.700
They learn in a way
that we cannot conceive.

01:10:37.784 --> 01:10:42.504
They learn without knowing
that they are learning.

01:10:43.710 --> 01:10:47.990
We transmit the practice of mindfulness
by our way of life.

01:10:51.619 --> 01:10:55.196
If the parents smoke and drink alcohol,

01:10:55.596 --> 01:10:58.526
the children will smoke and drink alcohol.

01:10:59.181 --> 01:11:03.869
If the parents practice mindfulness,
loving speech, and deep listening,

01:11:04.209 --> 01:11:06.094
then the children will do it.

01:11:06.394 --> 01:11:09.424
They do not have to know
that they are learning.

01:11:10.592 --> 01:11:14.902
So the learning, the practice,
can be non-formal.

01:11:16.848 --> 01:11:20.446
You don't have to say that,
"I am practicing mindfulness."

01:11:21.016 --> 01:11:25.554
You just enjoy the practice
of mindfulness, of breathing,

01:11:25.754 --> 01:11:28.126
walking, eating and so on.

01:11:28.406 --> 01:11:31.956
That will have an effect on the children,

01:11:32.366 --> 01:11:34.352
even the very young ones.

01:11:36.679 --> 01:11:40.139
Three years old may be too late!

01:11:41.127 --> 01:11:43.537
(Laughter)

01:12:06.034 --> 01:12:07.658
(Half Bell)

01:12:12.026 --> 01:12:19.451
(Bell)

01:12:32.875 --> 01:12:36.315
Dear Thay, dear brothers and sisters,

01:12:37.995 --> 01:12:42.735
I want to deeply thank you
for sharing your time with us.

01:12:44.955 --> 01:12:48.925
My question is regarding hurt kids.

01:12:51.467 --> 01:13:00.357
How can we guide them, 
help them to look deeply,

01:13:01.178 --> 01:13:07.566
and try to understand the root cause
of their suffering,

01:13:08.626 --> 01:13:12.475
such as anger, anguish, or fear,

01:13:14.184 --> 01:13:16.994
when they are small?

01:13:23.393 --> 01:13:28.803
(Br. Mountain) So the question is
about children:

01:13:29.063 --> 01:13:31.388
How to guide them to look deeply,

01:13:31.708 --> 01:13:35.210
and try to understand the cause
of these children's suffering

01:13:36.140 --> 01:13:39.175
- anger, anguish, fear -

01:13:39.526 --> 01:13:41.311
so how to help them?

01:13:41.311 --> 01:13:42.977
Any particular age?

01:13:43.137 --> 01:13:46.318
(Lady) Maybe six, seven or eight.


01:13:46.628 --> 01:13:49.309
(Br. Mountain) Six, seven or eight.

01:13:49.819 --> 01:13:54.739
So how to help little children 
understand the cause of their suffering?

01:14:04.817 --> 01:14:09.129
We should not try 
to give the teaching...

01:14:10.779 --> 01:14:14.219
orally only,

01:14:15.718 --> 01:14:19.268
because often it does not work.

01:14:23.166 --> 01:14:28.096
As teachers, we have 
the tendency to explain.

01:14:31.546 --> 01:14:35.001
In order to explain, we have to use words.

01:14:37.109 --> 01:14:39.940
That may turn them off.

01:14:41.032 --> 01:14:45.281
They are not interested 
in words and concepts.

01:14:55.495 --> 01:15:01.897
I think we should use 
very simple expressions,

01:15:02.497 --> 01:15:04.727
simple, simple words.

01:15:15.897 --> 01:15:18.429
Suppose when...

01:15:21.327 --> 01:15:25.337
when we have anger in us,

01:15:28.116 --> 01:15:33.666
when mother has anger in herself,

01:15:42.114 --> 01:15:47.189
if the child wants her 
to do something,

01:15:48.209 --> 01:15:51.359
to say something, for him.

01:15:53.668 --> 01:16:00.606
If the mother realises that it's not good
to do it, to say it,

01:16:00.876 --> 01:16:03.256
when she's angry,

01:16:03.681 --> 01:16:06.950
she may tell her child

01:16:07.320 --> 01:16:10.998
that Mummy does not feel good in herself.

01:16:11.458 --> 01:16:13.691
Mummy is a little bit angry.

01:16:14.261 --> 01:16:19.646
You should allow Mummy 
to breathe, to walk,

01:16:19.906 --> 01:16:22.949
in order to calm herself first.

01:16:23.884 --> 01:16:26.344
You can do it like that.

01:16:26.834 --> 01:16:28.832
That is teaching.

01:16:31.722 --> 01:16:34.902
You teach by your own life.

01:16:37.950 --> 01:16:42.430
If they see you practicing 
when you are angry,

01:16:44.055 --> 01:16:45.915
they will believe you.

01:16:47.428 --> 01:16:49.714
Next time when they get angry,

01:16:50.844 --> 01:16:52.964
you may say something:

01:16:53.194 --> 01:16:56.154
"Darling, why don't you do it like Mummy?"

01:16:57.553 --> 01:17:01.159
"Don't say anything, don't do anything,"

01:17:01.339 --> 01:17:05.707
"it may do harm to yourself
and to others."

01:17:06.487 --> 01:17:09.048
"Do like Mummy, just breathe"

01:17:09.508 --> 01:17:11.458
"and know that we are angry."

01:17:12.296 --> 01:17:17.316
"If we know how to breathe like that,
walk like that,"

01:17:17.466 --> 01:17:19.383
"then we will feel better."

01:17:19.503 --> 01:17:22.261
"Why don't you hold Mummy's hand"

01:17:22.451 --> 01:17:26.549
"and we will breathe together,
make a few steps together."

01:17:27.755 --> 01:17:30.027
That is teaching.

01:17:31.276 --> 01:17:35.434
The same thing is true 
with other mental formations,

01:17:36.594 --> 01:17:40.294
like fear, jealousy and so on.

01:17:42.843 --> 01:17:52.115
So there is a kind of teaching
called teaching by your own life,

01:17:53.555 --> 01:17:55.104
by your own body.

01:17:55.524 --> 01:17:57.874
This is very good.

01:17:58.229 --> 01:18:04.609
So as a teacher, I know the value
of that kind of teaching.

01:18:08.269 --> 01:18:10.937
You teach by the way you walk,

01:18:11.997 --> 01:18:14.251
by the way you sit down,

01:18:14.571 --> 01:18:17.011
by the way you eat,

01:18:17.617 --> 01:18:19.629
by the way you look,

01:18:19.909 --> 01:18:23.139
by the way you react to a provocation.

01:18:25.395 --> 01:18:30.675
That teaching is well received
by the young people.

01:18:31.323 --> 01:18:34.303
You don't have to use a lot of words.

01:18:38.771 --> 01:18:41.561
Another question from the floor.

01:18:44.232 --> 01:18:46.627
(Br. Mountain) Dear Thay, dear Sangha,

01:18:46.827 --> 01:18:50.463
this is a question from a man, I guess,

01:18:50.653 --> 01:18:52.504
because it says:

01:18:52.594 --> 01:18:56.634
"How can men today 
avoid becoming soft men?"

01:18:58.682 --> 01:19:03.859
"How can men become more confident,"

01:19:04.219 --> 01:19:06.609
"without becoming aggressive?"

01:19:07.436 --> 01:19:13.316
"How can a man avoid becoming a soft man?"

01:19:14.284 --> 01:19:20.928
Sometimes men, maybe in Spain,
have been aggressive in the past

01:19:21.068 --> 01:19:23.235
and now when we practice,

01:19:23.435 --> 01:19:26.606
we become soft, 
very receptive and attentive,

01:19:26.736 --> 01:19:29.476
and maybe we become too soft.

01:19:30.082 --> 01:19:31.930
Too soft!

01:19:32.880 --> 01:19:35.156
(Laughter)

01:19:48.059 --> 01:19:52.309
Yesterday, we spoke about Noble Silence,

01:19:55.037 --> 01:19:58.317
a kind of silence that is very powerful.

01:20:00.087 --> 01:20:02.607
It's not oppressive at all.

01:20:03.986 --> 01:20:05.736
It's very alive.

01:20:06.681 --> 01:20:10.307
When we stop our talking,

01:20:11.577 --> 01:20:13.615
when we stop our thinking,

01:20:13.896 --> 01:20:16.655
we breathe, we become alive,

01:20:17.236 --> 01:20:23.087
we are aware of being with each other

01:20:23.577 --> 01:20:27.577
and that kind of silence is very powerful.

01:20:28.339 --> 01:20:30.320
In the Buddhist tradition,

01:20:30.690 --> 01:20:36.830
they describe the silence 
as "thundering silence."

01:20:38.001 --> 01:20:40.201
Powerful like thunder.

01:20:42.152 --> 01:20:44.064
(French) The thunder.

01:20:44.495 --> 01:20:46.764
Thundering silence.

01:20:47.587 --> 01:20:53.037
There are those who believe that 
when they have too much compassion,

01:20:53.537 --> 01:20:55.553
they become very soft,

01:20:56.204 --> 01:20:58.164
and that is not true.

01:20:58.846 --> 01:21:00.806
Compassion is not soft.

01:21:01.763 --> 01:21:05.188
Compassion is very, very powerful.

01:21:10.678 --> 01:21:13.802
When you have great compassion,

01:21:14.272 --> 01:21:20.417
you can die, you are ready to die
for the sake of helping people.

01:21:21.367 --> 01:21:23.497
You are very powerful.

01:21:26.490 --> 01:21:34.700
It is violence that makes you weak,

01:21:36.302 --> 01:21:37.987
because you are weak,

01:21:38.147 --> 01:21:40.686
that is why you need a gun,

01:21:41.016 --> 01:21:42.869
you need an army.

01:21:45.774 --> 01:21:48.310
If you are really powerful,

01:21:48.625 --> 01:21:51.338
you can help many people around,

01:21:51.808 --> 01:21:53.993
many countries around,

01:21:54.233 --> 01:21:55.843
and you are safer.

01:21:56.601 --> 01:21:59.151
If you are too afraid,

01:21:59.761 --> 01:22:02.671
you need a gun, you need an army.

01:22:04.569 --> 01:22:07.795
That is why cultivating compassion,

01:22:08.868 --> 01:22:11.234
you protect yourself much better

01:22:12.017 --> 01:22:16.984
than with an army, with a gun.

01:22:19.222 --> 01:22:22.762
If you carry a gun, 
that means you are afraid,

01:22:24.220 --> 01:22:26.140
you are fearful.

01:22:36.228 --> 01:22:39.117
Compassion makes us...

01:22:42.871 --> 01:22:46.221
Compassion gives us a lot of energy.

01:22:51.659 --> 01:22:59.829
With compassion, you can do everything
in order to help people.

01:23:01.502 --> 01:23:03.034
You are not afraid.

01:23:04.847 --> 01:23:06.565
In the Lotus Sutra,

01:23:06.795 --> 01:23:11.125
compassion is described as "thunder."

01:23:14.303 --> 01:23:18.379
It's like a cloud, a big cloud in the sky.

01:23:19.062 --> 01:23:22.122
It looks very soft,

01:23:23.807 --> 01:23:27.941
but a cloud can generate thunder,

01:23:28.721 --> 01:23:30.741
lightning and thunder.

01:23:32.119 --> 01:23:34.499
So in the Lotus Sutra,

01:23:34.659 --> 01:23:38.268
compassion is described 
as lightning and thunder.

01:23:38.528 --> 01:23:40.928
Very, very powerful.

01:23:43.360 --> 01:23:46.499
If you have violence in you,

01:23:46.819 --> 01:23:51.569
your nature is weak, and not powerful.

01:23:53.045 --> 01:23:55.061
But if you have compassion in you,

01:23:55.191 --> 01:23:57.011
you are really powerful.

01:23:59.103 --> 01:24:02.983
With violence in you, you suffer.

01:24:09.580 --> 01:24:14.138
Children, adults, teenagers,

01:24:15.298 --> 01:24:19.284
if they have a lot of violence in them,

01:24:19.584 --> 01:24:21.075
then they suffer,

01:24:21.195 --> 01:24:23.365
and we can see the suffering.

01:24:23.966 --> 01:24:25.986
And they are weak.

01:24:27.834 --> 01:24:31.338
If we cultivate compassion, 
we are healthy,

01:24:32.695 --> 01:24:34.970
and we are powerful.

01:24:37.039 --> 01:24:39.309
Violence makes you sick.

01:24:41.354 --> 01:24:47.344
It is destroying our health,
physical and mental.

01:24:48.358 --> 01:24:49.858
Violence.

01:24:52.462 --> 01:24:57.612
When you produce a thought 
full of hate and violence,

01:25:00.342 --> 01:25:04.872
that thought begins to destroy you
and destroy the world.

01:25:07.149 --> 01:25:10.078
But if you have Right Understanding,

01:25:10.348 --> 01:25:14.994
you generate a thought 
of compassion, of understanding.

01:25:15.984 --> 01:25:18.904
That thought begins to heal you

01:25:19.194 --> 01:25:21.564
and begins to heal the world.

01:25:23.842 --> 01:25:26.588
That is the practice of Right Thinking:

01:25:26.828 --> 01:25:28.608
thinking in such a way

01:25:28.868 --> 01:25:33.028
that you can generate 
understanding and compassion.

01:25:35.381 --> 01:25:37.991
That is real power.

01:25:42.699 --> 01:25:47.219
Compassion can be expressed 
in the way you think,

01:25:48.157 --> 01:25:51.187
in the way you speak,

01:25:52.365 --> 01:25:55.435
and in the way you act.

01:26:02.241 --> 01:26:09.181
If you are motivated by the desire 
to help a person to suffer less,

01:26:10.087 --> 01:26:16.037
you can use loving speech,
compassionate speech.

01:26:16.915 --> 01:26:19.935
What you write down in a letter,

01:26:20.255 --> 01:26:22.464
what you say,

01:26:22.524 --> 01:26:25.966
what you tell him or her 
on the telephone...

01:26:26.386 --> 01:26:29.616
has so much compassion.

01:26:31.980 --> 01:26:35.620
When you are able 
to say something compassionate,

01:26:36.326 --> 01:26:39.024
you feel wonderful within yourself,

01:26:39.324 --> 01:26:41.224
you can heal yourself.

01:26:47.069 --> 01:26:50.919
You can begin to help 
heal the other person.

01:26:52.696 --> 01:26:56.026
So compassion has the power to heal.

01:27:02.090 --> 01:27:04.430
That is why all of us have to learn

01:27:04.798 --> 01:27:09.068
how to generate 
the energy of compassion in us.

01:27:09.986 --> 01:27:12.320
If we want to heal ourselves,

01:27:12.431 --> 01:27:16.011
we have to generate
the energy of compassion.

01:27:16.191 --> 01:27:18.498
If we want to heal our family,

01:27:19.248 --> 01:27:22.420
make our family happy, harmonious again,

01:27:22.608 --> 01:27:28.218
we have to generate, 
to cultivate compassion.

01:27:28.428 --> 01:27:31.438
If we want to heal our community,

01:27:32.791 --> 01:27:36.157
our city, our nation,

01:27:36.607 --> 01:27:40.837
we have to cultivate more compassion.

01:27:41.709 --> 01:27:47.120
Compassion comes from understanding,
understanding suffering:

01:27:47.350 --> 01:27:51.097
our own suffering
and the suffering of the other person,

01:27:51.277 --> 01:27:55.487
even the suffering of the people
who we believe to be our enemies.

01:27:56.454 --> 01:28:00.134
They have a lot of suffering 
in themselves also.

01:28:04.458 --> 01:28:08.878
So the answer to our situation 
is compassion.

01:28:10.575 --> 01:28:18.042
And medically speaking, 
doctors are beginning to understand

01:28:18.302 --> 01:28:21.262
that compassion has a healing power.

01:28:22.420 --> 01:28:25.206
If you have so much hate,
and despair, and anger,

01:28:25.376 --> 01:28:27.207
then it's difficult to heal.

01:28:27.447 --> 01:28:29.676
But if you have compassion,

01:28:29.966 --> 01:28:32.066
it's easier to heal yourself.

01:28:33.234 --> 01:28:35.056
At Stanford University,

01:28:35.228 --> 01:28:40.016
they have begun to study
the healing power of compassion.

01:28:40.845 --> 01:28:46.130
Thay was invited to speak at Stanford

01:28:46.290 --> 01:28:50.228
about the practice of compassion,

01:28:50.448 --> 01:28:53.568
and someone asked 
exactly the same question.

01:28:55.769 --> 01:28:59.009
Is it not true that 
compassion makes you weak?

01:29:00.170 --> 01:29:02.186
No, the opposite.

01:29:02.446 --> 01:29:04.926
Compassion makes you very strong.

01:29:20.546 --> 01:29:22.216
Bell first.

01:29:23.442 --> 01:29:25.016
(Bell)

01:29:28.952 --> 01:29:37.619
(Bell)

01:29:57.723 --> 01:29:59.332
I would like to ask:

01:29:59.482 --> 01:30:04.112
If someone, at one moment,
comes to me for help,

01:30:04.922 --> 01:30:09.246
and I cannot (inaudible) for that person,

01:30:09.586 --> 01:30:12.724
and I have that moment,

01:30:12.934 --> 01:30:17.062
when I tell that person 
to embrace the pain,

01:30:17.442 --> 01:30:19.422
to embrace the suffering.

01:30:19.689 --> 01:30:22.267
What if the person doesn't accept

01:30:22.477 --> 01:30:25.367
and maybe gets mad?

01:30:25.678 --> 01:30:28.538
How can I keep helping the person?

01:30:28.958 --> 01:30:31.429
I only have maybe a few minutes,

01:30:31.519 --> 01:30:34.709
and then this person will go away.

01:30:36.907 --> 01:30:40.727
(Br. Mountain) (Spanish) Could you ask
the question in Spanish?

01:30:41.128 --> 01:30:45.692
(Spanish) If someone
comes to me for help

01:30:46.223 --> 01:30:48.976
and I have a limited time,

01:30:49.600 --> 01:30:55.929
and I try to help him
and tell him to embrace his suffering,

01:30:56.151 --> 01:30:58.484
his sorrow, his hate,

01:30:58.675 --> 01:31:02.514
and that person at that moment
refuses to do it

01:31:02.828 --> 01:31:05.459
and gets even more angry,

01:31:05.800 --> 01:31:10.396
How can I help that person
in that limited time I have?

01:31:12.308 --> 01:31:16.206
(Br. Mountain) So somebody comes to her,
asking for help,

01:31:16.346 --> 01:31:19.934
but she doesn't have 
much time to offer to this person,

01:31:20.294 --> 01:31:25.525
and she tells this person that
she just needs to embrace her suffering,

01:31:25.685 --> 01:31:27.876
or anger, or whatever emotion,

01:31:28.106 --> 01:31:32.197
but that person reacts,
they don't want to hear that.

01:31:32.407 --> 01:31:35.369
With this limited time that I have,

01:31:35.759 --> 01:31:39.349
how can I help this person transform?

01:31:40.374 --> 01:31:45.875
So basically, she says to this person
that she needs to embrace her suffering,

01:31:46.505 --> 01:31:50.334
but the person reacts
and doesn't want to embrace the suffering.

01:31:50.884 --> 01:31:55.474
And she doesn't have much time available
to help the person.

01:31:58.492 --> 01:32:01.532
What work do you do? 
What is your profession?

01:32:01.652 --> 01:32:04.873
Is this something professional?

01:32:07.377 --> 01:32:13.247
(Lady) I am a teacher, 
but I also help people with problems.

01:32:17.188 --> 01:32:21.858
(Br. Mountain) So... a teacher,
and you help people professionally?

01:32:22.129 --> 01:32:25.502
(Lady) Teaching, yes, it's my profession.

01:32:25.852 --> 01:32:30.412
And I help people... (inaudible)

01:32:33.813 --> 01:32:36.943
(Thay) 
(Speaking in Vietnamese)

01:32:37.963 --> 01:32:42.644
(Br. Inclusiveness) 
(Replying in Vietnamese)

01:33:20.408 --> 01:33:22.818
If we are so busy,

01:33:23.886 --> 01:33:26.686
if we do not have the time,

01:33:27.604 --> 01:33:29.644
we cannot do anything.

01:33:31.380 --> 01:33:35.040
So the problem is to arrange 
that you have plenty of time.

01:33:39.366 --> 01:33:42.308
(Laughter)

01:33:54.384 --> 01:34:01.480
There are those of us
who are doctors,

01:34:03.160 --> 01:34:05.183
lawyers,

01:34:06.650 --> 01:34:13.110
and who are able to help people,

01:34:17.079 --> 01:34:24.046
but our capacity is limited.

01:34:25.849 --> 01:34:31.013
So many of us have become monks and nuns
in order to have more time.

01:34:31.743 --> 01:34:33.293
(Laughter)

01:34:34.013 --> 01:34:36.561
Because as a monk or nun

01:34:37.438 --> 01:34:40.076
you don't have to make a living.

01:34:40.875 --> 01:34:43.194
You don't have to make a living.

01:34:45.424 --> 01:34:49.729
You don't need a private house, 
you don't need a salary.

01:34:50.054 --> 01:34:52.563
You don't need

01:35:01.161 --> 01:35:06.098
a private bank account
and so on.

01:35:06.588 --> 01:35:12.367
So you have plenty of time to practice
helping yourself

01:35:14.123 --> 01:35:16.681
and helping other people.

01:35:20.020 --> 01:35:25.780
So one of the ways to have the time
is to live a simple life.

01:35:29.645 --> 01:35:33.975
Especially and if possible to live
in a community.

01:35:35.641 --> 01:35:40.019
You don't need
a private car, a private house,

01:35:40.829 --> 01:35:45.709
a private bank account and so on.

01:35:46.559 --> 01:35:48.539
You have plenty of time.

01:35:49.491 --> 01:35:52.939
That is what the Buddha and his monks did.

01:35:53.719 --> 01:35:57.889
They had plenty of time walking, sitting, 
helping people.

01:36:05.901 --> 01:36:11.321
Time is not money.

01:36:14.105 --> 01:36:18.935
But in our society,
many people think of time as money.

01:36:19.793 --> 01:36:21.813
Time is to make money.

01:36:24.181 --> 01:36:26.336
Time is much more than money.

01:36:26.540 --> 01:36:31.089
Time is life, and time is love.

01:36:33.106 --> 01:36:37.523
You are given years,
months and days

01:36:38.013 --> 01:36:39.874
and hours and minutes

01:36:40.007 --> 01:36:45.497
in order to live your life and to love,
not to make money.

01:36:46.117 --> 01:36:52.831
If your priority is to make money,

01:36:53.236 --> 01:36:58.442
then you don't have the time
to do the work of loving.

01:36:59.468 --> 01:37:01.638
You have to love yourself.

01:37:02.367 --> 01:37:05.286
Do you have the time to love yourself?

01:37:05.696 --> 01:37:12.106
To take care of your body, 
to take care of your feelings and so on?

01:37:13.626 --> 01:37:15.477
If you don't have the time to do that,

01:37:15.768 --> 01:37:18.705
how can you help another person?

01:37:24.084 --> 01:37:27.724
If you don't have the time,
how can you love?

01:37:31.330 --> 01:37:35.660
Everything you do in your daily life
is an act of love.

01:37:37.728 --> 01:37:41.375
Everything you say, everything you do
in your daily life

01:37:41.815 --> 01:37:46.355
can be an act of love,
that is possible.

01:37:49.456 --> 01:37:54.316
So please, 
reconsider the way you use your time.

01:37:54.967 --> 01:37:58.197
What are you doing with your time?

01:37:58.760 --> 01:38:06.296
Your time is to be,

01:38:07.869 --> 01:38:11.250
to live your life and to love.

01:38:13.329 --> 01:38:19.309
Look at the people in our society,
the way they make use of their time.

01:38:20.075 --> 01:38:25.915
They don't have the time
to breathe, to sit, to walk,

01:38:26.953 --> 01:38:29.037
to enjoy being alive,

01:38:29.989 --> 01:38:32.557
to look at their children.

01:38:37.874 --> 01:38:39.774
We are always in a hurry.

01:38:41.156 --> 01:38:43.806
So there must be a kind a revolution.

01:38:46.490 --> 01:38:50.680
Those of us who have chosen
to be monks and nuns

01:38:51.188 --> 01:38:56.238
or the lay practitioners
who are living in the community,

01:38:57.086 --> 01:38:59.793
we want a lot of time

01:39:01.062 --> 01:39:04.671
so that we can
take care of ourselves fully.

01:39:05.501 --> 01:39:09.811
Heal ourselves and help heal 
and help other people.

01:39:10.823 --> 01:39:17.213
When we organize a retreat, 
we do it as an act of love.

01:39:26.647 --> 01:39:32.497
When we see the people
transformed and healed,

01:39:32.947 --> 01:39:34.919
that is our reward.

01:39:36.261 --> 01:39:38.836
That is the benefit we get.

01:39:39.499 --> 01:39:42.323
When we see people suffering less,


01:39:42.666 --> 01:39:46.163
beginning to smile,
reconciling with each other,

01:39:46.413 --> 01:39:48.002
we are very happy.

01:39:48.452 --> 01:39:51.142
We see that our life has a meaning.

01:39:52.804 --> 01:39:56.224
This is nourishing us a lot.

01:39:57.174 --> 01:39:59.904
So every one of us has to sit down

01:40:00.151 --> 01:40:04.361
and reconsider how do we use our time.

01:40:05.202 --> 01:40:10.202
Do we have the time
to love, to serve?

01:40:11.321 --> 01:40:14.940
Do we have the time
to take care of ourselves?

01:40:15.180 --> 01:40:18.936
Heal ourselves
and help heal our society?

01:40:19.899 --> 01:40:21.529
This is the question.

01:40:22.424 --> 01:40:26.014
And you have to give
the answer by yourself.

01:40:46.373 --> 01:40:47.912
(Bell)

01:40:51.152 --> 01:40:56.948
(Bell)

01:41:16.097 --> 01:41:18.379
(Spanish) Dear Thay,

01:41:19.509 --> 01:41:23.161
(inaudible)

01:41:26.501 --> 01:41:34.375
How can we protect our Sangha,

01:41:35.900 --> 01:41:40.448
especially if it is a very young Sangha,

01:41:41.324 --> 01:41:44.820
composed by young people

01:41:45.369 --> 01:41:50.650
who have few experience
with the practice?

01:41:51.254 --> 01:41:56.392
How can we protect ourselves
when there are frailties?

01:41:57.500 --> 01:41:59.346
(Brother) When there is what?

01:41:59.466 --> 01:42:01.376
(Spanish) Frailties.

01:42:03.789 --> 01:42:05.556
(Brother) Weakness?

01:42:08.295 --> 01:42:11.112
(Br.Mountain) Can you
repeat the question?

01:42:11.522 --> 01:42:16.407
(Spanish) How can we,
my Sangha friends and myself...

01:42:16.557 --> 01:42:21.644
(Br.Mountain) How can my friends 
of the Sangha and myself...

01:42:22.610 --> 01:42:24.922
... protect our Sangha...

01:42:25.002 --> 01:42:27.612
(Brother) ...how can we
protect our Sangha...

01:42:27.752 --> 01:42:30.403
...especially if it is a young Sangha...

01:42:30.832 --> 01:42:34.432
(Brother) ...especially
if it's a young Sangha?

01:42:35.372 --> 01:42:37.432
Yes, it is OK.

01:42:38.508 --> 01:42:40.934
(Brother) You said something more.

01:42:41.080 --> 01:42:44.246
-It is a young Sangha.
-(Brother) It's a young Sangha.

01:42:44.483 --> 01:42:48.118
-We are all young people...
- (Br.) We are all quite young...

01:42:48.233 --> 01:42:51.544
-...with little experience...
-(Br.)...with little experience...

01:42:51.672 --> 01:42:55.540
-...in the practice.
-(Br)...in the practice.

01:42:56.168 --> 01:42:59.364
(Br. Mountain) So how can we
protect our Sangha

01:43:00.110 --> 01:43:04.574
because we are a young Sangha,
we have little experience.

01:43:24.843 --> 01:43:31.633
Building a Sangha
is a very basic practice.

01:43:38.060 --> 01:43:43.460
If you have an aspiration,

01:43:45.593 --> 01:43:47.558
a deep aspiration,

01:43:47.808 --> 01:43:52.128
if you have a dream to realize,

01:43:54.087 --> 01:43:59.337
you cannot do it 
without a community.

01:44:15.655 --> 01:44:22.605
And that is why, building a community 
is very important.

01:44:24.289 --> 01:44:27.149
The Buddha, after enlightenment,


01:44:29.412 --> 01:44:34.542
knew that he needed a Sangha
in order to realize his dream,

01:44:36.090 --> 01:44:39.480
offering the practice
and help change the world.

01:44:41.396 --> 01:44:46.396
So he spent his time looking for friends

01:44:46.796 --> 01:44:50.628
and set up a community of practice.

01:44:54.186 --> 01:45:00.336
And at the end of the first year
after enlightenment,

01:45:00.676 --> 01:45:04.466
he already had a community 
of one thousand people.

01:45:05.794 --> 01:45:12.604
He spent his time training them
how to walk.

01:45:13.598 --> 01:45:18.356
How to walk mindfully and generate peace 
and joy with every step.

01:45:18.586 --> 01:45:22.186
How to hold their bow,
how to sit, how to breathe.

01:45:23.828 --> 01:45:26.008
So you will do the same.

01:45:27.544 --> 01:45:30.130
With young members of the Sangha

01:45:30.220 --> 01:45:35.730
the first thing you do is not to organize.

01:45:37.222 --> 01:45:42.082
For other people, we have to organize
so that we can practice together.

01:45:43.363 --> 01:45:47.189
We should practice sitting together,

01:45:47.437 --> 01:45:51.655
walking together,
eating together, sharing together

01:45:52.405 --> 01:45:55.727
in such a way, that every time we do that

01:45:56.417 --> 01:45:59.146
we create more brotherhood
and sisterhood

01:45:59.617 --> 01:46:01.934
and mutual understanding.

01:46:02.440 --> 01:46:08.980
We learn to make decisions
together by consensus.

01:46:11.512 --> 01:46:14.052
We try to listen to each other.

01:46:14.754 --> 01:46:17.634
We try to understand different views.

01:46:18.410 --> 01:46:21.357
We try to combine all these kind of views


01:46:21.487 --> 01:46:24.927
in order to make a synthesis of all views

01:46:26.525 --> 01:46:32.115
and we make a decision collectively.

01:46:33.996 --> 01:46:41.711
Only when we have enough harmony,
brotherhood, sisterhood, joy

01:46:42.071 --> 01:46:47.321
should we organize a day of mindfulness
or a retreat of mindfulness

01:46:47.711 --> 01:46:49.868
and invite other people to come.

01:46:53.724 --> 01:46:59.874
We operate as a Sangha
and not as individuals.

01:47:01.122 --> 01:47:05.502
An individual, no matter
how talented he is or she is

01:47:07.087 --> 01:47:09.627
cannot realize the big dream.

01:47:10.061 --> 01:47:14.081
So we learn to organize,

01:47:14.421 --> 01:47:21.989
to lead a retreat as a Sangha
and not as a person.

01:47:22.499 --> 01:47:24.336
An individual.

01:47:25.604 --> 01:47:28.329
In Plum Village, we try to do that.

01:47:29.558 --> 01:47:33.138
It's the Sangha who makes the decision

01:47:35.437 --> 01:47:37.337
and not a person.

01:47:38.123 --> 01:47:44.983
For this trip to Spain, organizing the 
retreats and the public talks

01:47:45.373 --> 01:47:47.243
the Sangha did everything,

01:47:48.183 --> 01:47:51.797
including choosing the title
of the talk and the retreat.

01:47:52.109 --> 01:47:54.369
Thay did not have to do anything.

01:47:54.509 --> 01:47:56.429
He just obeyed the Sangha.

01:47:57.187 --> 01:48:01.477
So you have plenty of time to walk,
to sit, to breathe.

01:48:02.207 --> 01:48:03.817
It's very good.

01:48:04.030 --> 01:48:08.782
We should operate as a Sangha, 
not as individuals.

01:48:10.473 --> 01:48:15.014
If you are able to build a Sangha 
with harmony and brotherhood,

01:48:15.181 --> 01:48:19.864
you can do a lot of things
in order to help people to suffer less.

01:48:21.066 --> 01:48:29.356
Building a Sangha is
the most noble thing to do for a person.

01:48:32.385 --> 01:48:37.945
When I met with Dr. Martin Luther King
for the first time in Chicago,

01:48:42.654 --> 01:48:46.301
in 1966, we discussed about that.

01:48:46.704 --> 01:48:50.593
Because he knew that without a Sangha,
without a community

01:48:51.113 --> 01:48:53.733
he could not realize his dream.

01:48:54.951 --> 01:48:59.461
A year before that, he spoke
with the theme "I have a dream".

01:49:02.779 --> 01:49:04.355
I told him that:

01:49:04.501 --> 01:49:08.050
"Your dream cannot become true
if you don't have a community."

01:49:08.180 --> 01:49:09.940
And he agreed.

01:49:10.076 --> 01:49:13.295
I was using the word Sangha,

01:49:14.541 --> 01:49:18.592
but he used the word 'beloved community'.

01:49:20.182 --> 01:49:24.652
The second time we met was in Geneva.

01:49:26.086 --> 01:49:29.116
We attended a Peace conference.

01:49:29.618 --> 01:49:34.358
We had the opportunity to discuss more
about building a Sangha.

01:49:37.717 --> 01:49:42.667
Unfortunately, he was assassinated

01:49:45.650 --> 01:49:48.130
not very long after that.

01:49:49.054 --> 01:49:57.984
So, I made the vow
to continue to build the Sangha,

01:49:58.914 --> 01:50:02.494
not only for us, but for him.

01:50:03.949 --> 01:50:06.661
Building a Sangha is very important.

01:50:07.608 --> 01:50:12.201
With a Sangha, you can maintain 
your practice for a long time.

01:50:13.144 --> 01:50:17.842
With a Sangha, you have an instrument
to help people.

01:50:18.532 --> 01:50:21.367
People can come
and take refuge in the Sangha,

01:50:21.482 --> 01:50:24.562
learn the practice
of healing and transformation.

01:50:25.564 --> 01:50:32.592
So everyone of us who finds
the practice of mindfulness useful

01:50:33.182 --> 01:50:36.488
should go home, to his city

01:50:36.858 --> 01:50:41.918
and look around and identify
elements of a future Sangha.

01:50:42.814 --> 01:50:48.524
We should set up a group of people,
learn to sit together, walk together,

01:50:48.694 --> 01:50:52.702
breathe together,
create brotherhood and sisterhood.

01:50:53.390 --> 01:50:58.230
Then we will be able to help many people.

01:50:59.519 --> 01:51:03.619
Schoolteachers have to set up 
their Sangha of schoolteachers.

01:51:04.362 --> 01:51:08.941
Psychotherapists also have to set up 
Sanghas of psychotherapists.

01:51:09.981 --> 01:51:19.651
Doctors, nurses, even business leaders
have to come together and set up a Sangha

01:51:19.821 --> 01:51:22.481
in order to support each other.

01:51:22.860 --> 01:51:24.913
We all need a Sangha.

01:51:25.383 --> 01:51:29.269
Without a Sangha,
Thay cannot do anything.

01:51:29.539 --> 01:51:33.171
So he is taking refuge in the Sangha.

01:51:33.869 --> 01:51:37.182
We always operate as a Sangha.

01:51:37.354 --> 01:51:44.254
If the Sangha has harmony, brotherhood,
you can do a lot of things.

01:51:48.953 --> 01:51:51.944
(inaudible)

01:51:54.683 --> 01:51:59.290
Today we have walking meditation again,

01:52:00.060 --> 01:52:05.987
but we should go with the same speed,

01:52:08.136 --> 01:52:11.165
we should not walk too slow.

01:52:12.228 --> 01:52:17.757
We should not create a traffic jam.

01:52:18.407 --> 01:52:20.286
(Laughter)

01:52:20.936 --> 01:52:24.745
Breathing in 2 steps, 
breathing out 3 steps,

01:52:25.155 --> 01:52:29.855
and do not allow the line
to be broken as yesterday.

01:52:31.006 --> 01:52:36.896
We can enjoy every step and we are aware
that we are walking with a community.

01:52:37.296 --> 01:52:41.628
We flow like a river
and not drops of water.

01:52:41.961 --> 01:52:43.857
(Laughter)

01:52:51.656 --> 01:52:53.486
(Bell)

01:52:55.082 --> 01:53:02.203
(Bell)

01:53:06.958 --> 01:53:10.145
That's long enough, that's good.

01:53:10.905 --> 01:53:12.881
Thank you.

01:53:13.441 --> 01:53:20.151
We shall gather and begin
our walking meditation in...

01:53:21.848 --> 01:53:23.567
(Br. Inclusiveness) 30 minutes,

01:53:24.347 --> 01:53:26.587
...in half an hour.

01:53:35.528 --> 01:53:41.464
(The Plum Village Online Monastery)

01:53:41.531 --> 01:53:47.609
(Mindful online broadcasts like this)

01:53:47.837 --> 01:53:53.864
(are supported by viewers like you.)

01:53:54.076 --> 01:54:00.512
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01:54:01.312 --> 01:54:09.946
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