WEBVTT 00:00:11.703 --> 00:00:15.703 With respects to Thay, to Sakya Chan Khong, 00:00:15.995 --> 00:00:19.095 and to all our ancestral teachers 00:00:19.135 --> 00:00:22.345 through many generations. 00:00:23.900 --> 00:00:26.830 Dear community 00:00:28.240 --> 00:00:32.150 Today is the 7th of August, 00:00:32.150 --> 00:00:35.006 in the year 2016. 00:00:35.006 --> 00:00:38.916 And we are in our wake-up earth retreat 00:00:38.973 --> 00:00:41.673 in the Still Water Meditation Hall 00:00:41.692 --> 00:00:44.652 of the Upper Hamlet. 00:00:46.481 --> 00:00:50.821 They call me Sister True Dedication, 00:00:50.834 --> 00:00:55.034 and I'm made of non-me elements. 00:00:56.342 --> 00:01:00.252 So it's not really me sitting here today, 00:01:00.291 --> 00:01:04.291 but it is all the elements who have made me 00:01:04.437 --> 00:01:07.643 including our wonderful sangha, 00:01:07.643 --> 00:01:11.913 my sisters and brothers, our teacher, 00:01:15.792 --> 00:01:19.792 and also my parents, my mother, my father. 00:01:20.880 --> 00:01:25.170 I come from England, when the sangha had a 00:01:25.178 --> 00:01:27.728 chance to visit my parents in England, 00:01:27.800 --> 00:01:30.056 there were many brothers and sisters 00:01:30.056 --> 00:01:34.521 who then said: "Ah!............ " 00:01:34.521 --> 00:01:37.461 "Now I get it!" 00:01:38.811 --> 00:01:43.181 "Now I know why you are like how you are." 00:01:47.324 --> 00:01:51.324 We are made of our mother and our father. 00:01:51.425 --> 00:01:54.975 And many of us have a beautiful aspiration 00:01:55.056 --> 00:01:59.636 in our own lifetime to transform and heal 00:02:00.450 --> 00:02:03.461 and repair some of the weaknesses 00:02:03.461 --> 00:02:05.986 of our parents. 00:02:05.986 --> 00:02:07.912 And my own experiences was that 00:02:07.912 --> 00:02:10.692 I didn't spend enough time cherishing 00:02:10.692 --> 00:02:13.238 their qualities well. 00:02:13.274 --> 00:02:15.316 Our father and mother have transmitted 00:02:15.316 --> 00:02:19.066 many wonderful qualities to us. 00:02:19.096 --> 00:02:21.206 I can sit here because my father 00:02:21.206 --> 00:02:23.846 transmitted courage. 00:02:25.462 --> 00:02:30.642 And as I was breathing, my heart was 00:02:30.664 --> 00:02:34.034 beating, and my breath was very short. 00:02:35.028 --> 00:02:37.528 And we have a practise to breathe with 00:02:37.558 --> 00:02:41.558 often our fathers' lungs Thay would invite us 00:02:42.508 --> 00:02:45.356 as we sit in meditation. 00:02:45.356 --> 00:02:48.588 I breathe with my father's lungs, 00:02:48.588 --> 00:02:52.668 I sit with my father's back, 00:02:53.624 --> 00:02:56.464 but my father has short breath. 00:02:56.511 --> 00:02:58.401 So this morning 00:02:58.401 --> 00:03:01.251 I breathe with my mother's lungs. 00:03:01.262 --> 00:03:04.569 My mother has very big lungs, 00:03:04.569 --> 00:03:08.649 and it help me a lot. 00:03:09.571 --> 00:03:13.571 I am also here with the energy of the sunrise 00:03:14.925 --> 00:03:18.925 from this morning.With the wonderful food 00:03:19.010 --> 00:03:21.070 that have been eaten and 00:03:21.117 --> 00:03:25.117 many of us have been preparing. 00:03:27.604 --> 00:03:34.254 So we inter-are,I inter-am with you all. 00:03:34.341 --> 00:03:37.201 And you all inter-are 00:03:37.244 --> 00:03:41.244 with me and with everything in the cosmos. 00:03:42.238 --> 00:03:45.758 Thay has a wonderful line that I really 00:03:45.758 --> 00:03:46.801 like. 00:03:46.801 --> 00:03:51.261 He says you can't be by yourself alone. 00:03:53.771 --> 00:03:56.561 You have to 00:03:56.600 --> 00:03:59.070 inter-be with the whole cosmos. 00:03:59.070 --> 00:04:03.140 You inter-are with the whole cosmos. 00:04:05.409 --> 00:04:07.431 Thay would often point to the flower 00:04:07.431 --> 00:04:10.211 on the podium and say every flower 00:04:10.245 --> 00:04:14.245 is made of non-flower elements. 00:04:17.231 --> 00:04:19.731 And my first reaction I have to confess 00:04:19.762 --> 00:04:23.763 is "but I'm not a flower". 00:04:27.545 --> 00:04:29.191 But it is still true that 00:04:29.191 --> 00:04:31.681 we are made of non-us elements. 00:04:31.706 --> 00:04:34.714 And that is the good news 00:04:34.714 --> 00:04:40.004 that is a delight, it is a joy, it is something 00:04:40.025 --> 00:04:44.025 that we can discover and touch everyday. 00:04:48.857 --> 00:04:52.387 I was very touched when I heard Thay say 00:04:52.396 --> 00:04:57.116 that we all need a spiritual dimension in our life. 00:05:01.226 --> 00:05:03.596 And hearing that I thought 00:05:03.662 --> 00:05:07.582 "Yes,I am thirsty 00:05:07.611 --> 00:05:11.131 for a spiritual dimension to my life". 00:05:11.170 --> 00:05:15.170 My soul is thirsty. 00:05:17.914 --> 00:05:21.554 And in our life here in a practise center 00:05:21.725 --> 00:05:23.135 like Plum village, 00:05:23.176 --> 00:05:26.256 we have so many opportunities to 00:05:26.266 --> 00:05:30.366 keep the spiritual dimension of our life 00:05:30.385 --> 00:05:34.645 alive, nourished and connected. 00:05:37.338 --> 00:05:41.338 We have this meditation poems that we use 00:05:42.297 --> 00:05:44.847 throughout the day. 00:05:44.892 --> 00:05:48.442 When we touch running water, 00:05:48.501 --> 00:05:51.141 perhaps we are taking some water to drink, 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:55.199 or we're opening the tap to wash our face, 00:05:57.036 --> 00:05:59.176 and we comtemplate the water, 00:05:59.190 --> 00:06:02.180 and we have a beautiful poem. 00:06:02.205 --> 00:06:06.205 "Water comes from high mountain sources, 00:06:06.540 --> 00:06:10.540 water runs deep in the earth, 00:06:11.824 --> 00:06:15.574 miraculously water comes to us 00:06:15.688 --> 00:06:19.418 and sustains all life. 00:06:19.552 --> 00:06:23.552 My gratitude is filled to the brim." 00:06:28.692 --> 00:06:30.912 So we have the simple actions 00:06:30.931 --> 00:06:34.931 to serve water, to draw water. 00:06:36.127 --> 00:06:37.757 But somehow we look deeply and 00:06:37.809 --> 00:06:41.209 with our mindfulness, we connect ourselves 00:06:41.245 --> 00:06:43.735 to the true nature of the water. 00:06:43.735 --> 00:06:46.185 It has come from the mountains, 00:06:46.242 --> 00:06:48.632 it has come from the oceans, 00:06:48.687 --> 00:06:52.687 and now it is becoming a part of us. 00:06:53.827 --> 00:06:56.567 When I used to work in an office, 00:06:56.624 --> 00:07:00.624 I recited this poem at the water cooler. 00:07:01.465 --> 00:07:03.485 I was in 6th floor 00:07:03.509 --> 00:07:07.380 in the center of the city of London. 00:07:07.380 --> 00:07:10.580 And I felt connected to the whole cosmos. 00:07:10.622 --> 00:07:14.622 I could have a magical minute. 00:07:14.784 --> 00:07:16.804 No one knew I was doing it. 00:07:16.833 --> 00:07:20.833 A magical minute as I drank my water. 00:07:25.826 --> 00:07:29.606 When we take a shower, we can ask ourselves 00:07:29.662 --> 00:07:33.662 whose body is this? 00:07:36.967 --> 00:07:40.967 where has it come from? 00:07:42.042 --> 00:07:45.042 what was the warmth, 00:07:45.140 --> 00:07:48.410 the original warmth that made this body, 00:07:48.431 --> 00:07:50.761 it has been handed from generation to 00:07:50.783 --> 00:07:54.783 generation, and never got cold. 00:08:04.926 --> 00:08:08.926 I am English, and I like to drink tea. 00:08:09.970 --> 00:08:15.860 I invented the poem for boiling the kettle. 00:08:15.900 --> 00:08:18.390 Often when we have a difficult moment, 00:08:18.422 --> 00:08:21.481 culturally, we put the kettle on 00:08:21.481 --> 00:08:24.554 It's our first response. 00:08:24.554 --> 00:08:28.724 So having a moment to feel spiritual 00:08:28.884 --> 00:08:33.433 about boiling the kettle enriched my life. 00:08:36.995 --> 00:08:38.708 When we write a poem like this, 00:08:38.708 --> 00:08:40.996 we look at all the different elements 00:08:40.996 --> 00:08:44.827 that are coming together in the miracle of life 00:08:44.903 --> 00:08:47.603 to support us. 00:08:47.738 --> 00:08:52.430 So there is the water, there is the energy in the electricity, 00:08:53.401 --> 00:08:55.763 where has it come from? 00:08:55.859 --> 00:09:00.142 And there is me, where have I come from? 00:09:01.361 --> 00:09:03.494 And we have all traveled 00:09:03.494 --> 00:09:05.994 since beginningless time 00:09:06.048 --> 00:09:09.058 to arrive in this moment, 00:09:09.107 --> 00:09:13.107 of making a cup of tea. 00:09:14.699 --> 00:09:16.833 So I invite all of us to 00:09:16.833 --> 00:09:18.993 write our own poems, 00:09:19.014 --> 00:09:20.699 choose one or two things 00:09:20.699 --> 00:09:23.519 in your daily actions 00:09:23.616 --> 00:09:26.656 that you like to become spiritual moments 00:09:26.673 --> 00:09:29.053 for you and your day. 00:09:29.108 --> 00:09:31.758 Where there is mindfulness, 00:09:31.836 --> 00:09:35.836 where there is deep looking. 00:09:36.509 --> 00:09:39.469 And Thay has said that any act we do can 00:09:39.516 --> 00:09:42.056 become sacred when we have that energy 00:09:42.090 --> 00:09:46.090 of mindfulness to enrich it. 00:09:50.721 --> 00:09:52.764 In the early mornings here we have 00:09:52.764 --> 00:09:55.268 the chance to come to practise 00:09:55.268 --> 00:09:57.368 sitting meditation together and 00:09:57.368 --> 00:10:00.642 enjoy the beautiful walking meditation 00:10:00.642 --> 00:10:04.088 together in the silence of the morning. 00:10:04.088 --> 00:10:06.968 And a few years ago in the winter retreat, 00:10:07.040 --> 00:10:09.470 Thay was staying in his hut 00:10:09.470 --> 00:10:12.080 on the side of the hill. 00:10:12.141 --> 00:10:15.361 And that morning he stepped out, 00:10:15.416 --> 00:10:19.416 and he saw the sky filled with stars, 00:10:19.416 --> 00:10:23.416 and he felt such love for the earth, 00:10:23.708 --> 00:10:27.708 for this planet and this beautiful cosmos. 00:10:28.572 --> 00:10:31.037 And that day or the next day, 00:10:31.037 --> 00:10:33.597 when he gave the Dharma talk, 00:10:33.656 --> 00:10:35.096 he said that 00:10:35.157 --> 00:10:36.969 he had fallen in love with the earth. 00:10:36.969 --> 00:10:38.130 He had realized 00:10:38.130 --> 00:10:42.400 he was in love with the earth. 00:10:44.880 --> 00:10:46.520 I often ask myself 00:10:46.558 --> 00:10:50.558 am I in love with the earth yet? 00:10:56.220 --> 00:11:00.220 We speak about the wonders of life, 00:11:02.071 --> 00:11:04.430 and when I look deeply and 00:11:04.430 --> 00:11:08.580 see the wonderful diversity 00:11:08.847 --> 00:11:12.327 of earth manifestations. 00:11:12.343 --> 00:11:15.833 How many millions or billions of years 00:11:15.867 --> 00:11:18.177 they have taken to evolve. 00:11:18.198 --> 00:11:20.208 I have a kind of awe and 00:11:20.254 --> 00:11:23.304 wonder of the fertility 00:11:23.386 --> 00:11:26.726 and beauty of life. 00:11:26.880 --> 00:11:28.970 And I am training myself 00:11:29.014 --> 00:11:31.694 to cherish this as much as I can. 00:11:31.766 --> 00:11:34.616 But sometimes it's not so easy. 00:11:34.655 --> 00:11:40.085 I think I grew up in very cynical environment 00:11:40.116 --> 00:11:44.116 in my society in my generation. 00:11:46.137 --> 00:11:50.137 Somehow a tree just did't seem exciting. 00:11:53.325 --> 00:11:55.575 But I am learning to look 00:11:55.634 --> 00:11:59.634 with the eyes of wonder, and to see 00:11:59.697 --> 00:12:05.587 the miracle that a tree is or a bug or any 00:12:05.613 --> 00:12:08.053 kind of living being, 00:12:08.073 --> 00:12:11.653 or even any human being. 00:12:11.696 --> 00:12:15.316 So I'm training myself to fall in love 00:12:15.369 --> 00:12:17.349 with the earth to learn more about 00:12:17.349 --> 00:12:21.106 the earth. 00:12:21.106 --> 00:12:23.440 And Thay had said that if we love the 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:29.130 earth enough,then we will know what to do 00:12:29.168 --> 00:12:33.168 in order to help protect the earth. 00:12:34.249 --> 00:12:37.119 And we will have the energy we need to 00:12:37.155 --> 00:12:39.415 protect the earth because love is a 00:12:39.465 --> 00:12:43.195 wonderful source of energy. 00:12:43.307 --> 00:12:46.357 It sustains us,it nourishes us, 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:49.119 it keeps up happy, 00:12:49.203 --> 00:12:53.203 it keeps our mind fresh and delighted. 00:13:04.813 --> 00:13:08.813 (Bell sounds) 00:13:36.215 --> 00:13:37.865 I came to Plum Village 00:13:37.894 --> 00:13:41.894 when I was almost 22 years old. 00:13:42.548 --> 00:13:45.408 And I had a lot of questions, 00:13:45.422 --> 00:13:47.102 I just graduated, 00:13:47.189 --> 00:13:48.849 and I had felt that 00:13:48.881 --> 00:13:52.881 my education had cheated me. 00:13:55.839 --> 00:13:59.839 I asked myself who am I, 00:14:05.724 --> 00:14:08.824 and somehow my university degree 00:14:08.873 --> 00:14:12.873 and my school hadn't told me. 00:14:14.029 --> 00:14:18.029 I was asking myself what do I want, 00:14:20.146 --> 00:14:26.366 what do I really want in my life? 00:14:30.350 --> 00:14:32.580 Of course I asked the question 00:14:32.641 --> 00:14:36.281 why am I here. 00:14:36.383 --> 00:14:38.573 It means why I am here on this planet, 00:14:38.622 --> 00:14:41.622 and what am I to do? 00:14:41.683 --> 00:14:43.980 Why am I here? 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:45.700 The fact is I wasn't yet 00:14:45.700 --> 00:14:47.040 practising mindfulness, 00:14:47.094 --> 00:14:49.434 so I wasn't very present at all. 00:14:49.471 --> 00:14:50.991 So I don't think I could say 00:14:51.061 --> 00:14:52.471 I was even present here 00:14:52.580 --> 00:14:56.580 when I ask the question why am I here. 00:14:56.700 --> 00:14:58.300 But slowly I am learning 00:14:58.333 --> 00:15:02.333 to be more present. 00:15:03.044 --> 00:15:07.044 I also wanted to know what can I trust, 00:15:08.594 --> 00:15:12.594 what can I count on,what can I rely on. 00:15:29.077 --> 00:15:31.777 Mother nature is often smiling to us, 00:15:31.800 --> 00:15:33.750 we can usually rely on 00:15:33.801 --> 00:15:37.801 the fact nature is smiling to us. 00:15:39.405 --> 00:15:42.455 In particular in difficult moments, 00:15:42.529 --> 00:15:44.099 in moments of crisis, 00:15:44.111 --> 00:15:46.431 in moments when I felt overwhelmed, 00:15:46.481 --> 00:15:50.481 I wanted to know what can I rely on. 00:15:53.963 --> 00:15:57.403 I also wanted to know where am I going, 00:15:57.462 --> 00:16:00.852 what is the direction. 00:16:00.929 --> 00:16:02.259 I had this feeling like 00:16:02.280 --> 00:16:04.780 I'm being on a conveyor belt, 00:16:04.849 --> 00:16:06.189 and I had to do this set of exam, 00:16:06.253 --> 00:16:08.343 I have to go to this school and do that 00:16:08.423 --> 00:16:12.216 exam and you have to go to a university, 00:16:12.216 --> 00:16:16.816 I felt like I was sped out age 22, 00:16:17.909 --> 00:16:20.659 the conveyor belt still have a lot of 00:16:20.714 --> 00:16:23.794 energy telling me now you need to do this, 00:16:23.830 --> 00:16:26.720 you need to have this kind of career, 00:16:26.794 --> 00:16:30.794 you need to go there, learn this. 00:16:30.928 --> 00:16:34.668 And I felt I hadn't yet stopped, 00:16:34.725 --> 00:16:38.725 to really ask myself, where am I going, 00:16:39.525 --> 00:16:45.235 and where do I want to go, how much 00:16:45.238 --> 00:16:49.238 of these directions until now is me, 00:16:50.686 --> 00:16:53.046 and how much is everything around me 00:16:53.083 --> 00:16:56.323 pushing me. 00:16:56.571 --> 00:17:00.071 We have a story in Buddhist tradition, 00:17:00.149 --> 00:17:02.899 about someone on a horse, 00:17:02.937 --> 00:17:06.057 riding very fast past cross-roads, 00:17:06.141 --> 00:17:08.691 there is a man standing there, he says: 00:17:08.876 --> 00:17:11.236 "Where are you going so fast?" 00:17:11.328 --> 00:17:12.748 And the rider says: 00:17:12.792 --> 00:17:16.792 "I don't know. Ask the horse." 00:17:21.195 --> 00:17:23.406 Are we on a horse? 00:17:23.442 --> 00:17:27.442 Do we know where our horse is going? 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:29.580 What are the elements 00:17:29.623 --> 00:17:31.943 that have given energy to the horse? 00:17:32.088 --> 00:17:34.488 What is pushing us? 00:17:34.624 --> 00:17:38.624 Have we mastered the horse yet? 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:43.050 Since I've come to Plum village 00:17:43.069 --> 00:17:44.449 and been living here, 00:17:44.535 --> 00:17:46.465 I have learnt that it takes a while 00:17:46.553 --> 00:17:49.743 to learn how to ride. 00:17:49.866 --> 00:17:52.546 Take some traning and we can do it. 00:17:52.565 --> 00:17:56.335 We can master the horse. 00:17:56.660 --> 00:18:00.660 Another question I had was how can I help, 00:18:02.040 --> 00:18:04.900 I had a sense that I have some energy 00:18:05.040 --> 00:18:07.710 and I see there are problems in the world, 00:18:07.815 --> 00:18:11.815 and I want to know what can I do to help? 00:18:17.086 --> 00:18:19.716 So slowly here I think there is one peot 00:18:19.915 --> 00:18:21.195 who once said 00:18:21.268 --> 00:18:25.268 we live our way to the answers. 00:18:26.569 --> 00:18:28.369 So I am living my way to 00:18:28.534 --> 00:18:30.834 answer these questions. 00:18:30.951 --> 00:18:32.901 I hope that we can all actively 00:18:32.992 --> 00:18:36.992 live our way to answer these questions. 00:18:37.930 --> 00:18:40.320 Some of you may know we have a five year 00:18:40.321 --> 00:18:44.321 monastic training program in Plum Village. 00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:47.599 It wasn't an option when I ordained 00:18:47.646 --> 00:18:49.646 So as we learned yesterday, 00:18:49.694 --> 00:18:50.884 I didn't have to suffer 00:18:50.934 --> 00:18:54.334 from having too much choice. 00:18:54.397 --> 00:18:58.397 Just made a lifetime commitment. 00:19:05.533 --> 00:19:08.433 But when it came to five years, 00:19:08.472 --> 00:19:10.452 and Thay was convinced that five years is 00:19:10.470 --> 00:19:12.610 more than enough to be able to 00:19:12.661 --> 00:19:14.001 learn a lot of things, 00:19:14.016 --> 00:19:15.976 and then go out into the world, 00:19:16.034 --> 00:19:20.034 and continue to be a teacher in lay society. 00:19:21.217 --> 00:19:23.777 So when I got to five years, 00:19:23.814 --> 00:19:26.744 I had to do a reality check. 00:19:26.825 --> 00:19:30.825 and I ask myself what have I learned? 00:19:31.403 --> 00:19:35.403 This is what I discovered, 00:19:36.206 --> 00:19:40.206 I have learned how to eat. 00:19:41.314 --> 00:19:45.184 It's harder than you think. 00:19:45.273 --> 00:19:47.333 How to listen to my body? 00:19:47.396 --> 00:19:50.246 How to choose the right foods? 00:19:50.317 --> 00:19:54.317 How to feel connected when I eat? 00:19:54.951 --> 00:19:57.161 How to nourish and joy 00:19:57.184 --> 00:20:00.314 myself and others with food. 00:20:00.407 --> 00:20:04.237 How to respect life as I eat? 00:20:04.403 --> 00:20:08.403 How to nourish my compassion as I eat? 00:20:08.997 --> 00:20:12.417 So I maybe have completely mastered it. 00:20:12.569 --> 00:20:16.069 I have made good progress. 00:20:16.219 --> 00:20:19.759 How to sleep? 00:20:19.864 --> 00:20:21.894 I think only by arriving and living in the 00:20:21.955 --> 00:20:23.795 monastry did I discover 00:20:23.848 --> 00:20:25.908 how unstable my life was 00:20:25.930 --> 00:20:29.310 and I imagine it's the case for many of us. 00:20:29.404 --> 00:20:32.564 Are you getting enough sleep? 00:20:32.701 --> 00:20:35.721 Are you getting good quality sleep? 00:20:35.858 --> 00:20:38.158 Do you know how to prepare yourself 00:20:38.198 --> 00:20:42.198 to have a good night's sleep? 00:20:42.402 --> 00:20:46.402 How to wake up without headache? 00:20:48.307 --> 00:20:50.277 How to smile to yourself 00:20:50.323 --> 00:20:53.283 as you wake up in the morning? 00:20:53.333 --> 00:20:55.993 I have made good progress on this one. 00:20:56.077 --> 00:20:57.987 But I am not a master yet. 00:20:58.030 --> 00:20:59.890 As my sisters in the last week 00:20:59.890 --> 00:21:04.160 can tell you. 00:21:04.837 --> 00:21:07.387 I also somehow learned something about 00:21:07.393 --> 00:21:10.243 taking care of my body and mind, 00:21:10.432 --> 00:21:13.382 handling my body and mind, 00:21:13.438 --> 00:21:17.438 listening to my body and mind. 00:21:19.251 --> 00:21:21.011 So it's something about energy, 00:21:21.073 --> 00:21:23.513 life is energy, 00:21:23.592 --> 00:21:26.842 that horse pushing us is a kind of energy. 00:21:27.085 --> 00:21:29.355 And have we learned how to listen to 00:21:29.465 --> 00:21:33.465 our unique combination of energies? 00:21:34.808 --> 00:21:38.118 So that we can master them 00:21:38.219 --> 00:21:40.549 like riding a horse. 00:21:40.623 --> 00:21:42.233 So that we can live beautifully, 00:21:42.268 --> 00:21:46.268 peacefully,happily as much as possible. 00:21:53.113 --> 00:21:54.983 And this is what Thay has said, 00:21:55.073 --> 00:21:56.623 what's more important than to know 00:21:56.691 --> 00:22:00.221 ourselves,how to generate happiness 00:22:00.242 --> 00:22:01.852 in our daily life, 00:22:01.859 --> 00:22:05.889 and how to handle difficulties,suffering. 00:22:07.347 --> 00:22:11.347 Thay has reassured us, this is possible. 00:22:11.827 --> 00:22:14.147 We can learn how to generate 00:22:14.181 --> 00:22:17.571 moments of happiness in our day. 00:22:17.739 --> 00:22:19.599 We can also learn how to 00:22:19.706 --> 00:22:23.706 handle our suffering,our difficulties. 00:22:27.360 --> 00:22:31.080 How to not feel overwhelmed? 00:22:31.118 --> 00:22:32.538 How we can learn 00:22:32.582 --> 00:22:36.582 what to do in difficult moments. 00:22:37.602 --> 00:22:40.482 When I first came here,I didn't know 00:22:40.499 --> 00:22:44.499 any of these things as a 20, almost 22 year old. 00:22:45.196 --> 00:22:48.636 I didn't know how to generate happiness, 00:22:48.754 --> 00:22:52.034 I didn't know how to handle my suffering. 00:22:52.130 --> 00:22:54.370 Sometimes our suffering may have 00:22:54.440 --> 00:22:57.554 come to us from previous generations. 00:22:57.554 --> 00:23:01.354 It's not exactly US. 00:23:01.393 --> 00:23:04.043 Perhaps the seed of sadness or 00:23:04.086 --> 00:23:07.646 despair, this is what I'd discovered. 00:23:07.862 --> 00:23:10.032 My seed of sadness and despair 00:23:10.085 --> 00:23:12.705 had been transmitted to me. 00:23:12.750 --> 00:23:16.460 I'd done a fair bit of helping it grow too. 00:23:16.501 --> 00:23:19.431 But I had received a strong seed already 00:23:19.453 --> 00:23:23.453 from my parents and from my grandparents, 00:23:24.141 --> 00:23:26.961 and probably their parents. 00:23:27.001 --> 00:23:28.785 Because even our parents 00:23:28.785 --> 00:23:30.885 are not just themselves. 00:23:30.885 --> 00:23:32.935 They're also their parents. 00:23:32.935 --> 00:23:41.305 Each of us has a treasure trove of elements that we've received from our ancestors. 00:23:41.312 --> 00:23:44.152 And we need to know what they are. 00:23:44.243 --> 00:23:46.423 We need to know how to handle them. 00:23:46.504 --> 00:23:48.944 at least, I needed to know what they were. 00:23:49.044 --> 00:23:51.824 I needed to know how to handle them. 00:23:51.979 --> 00:23:54.069 So that I can feel free in my life. 00:23:54.179 --> 00:23:55.579 So that I could answer 00:23:55.747 --> 00:23:59.747 some of these questions. 00:24:05.820 --> 00:24:07.480 We learn here that 00:24:07.492 --> 00:24:12.072 we are made of many different elements. 00:24:12.255 --> 00:24:16.255 And I would like to draw something 00:24:16.385 --> 00:24:20.385 on the board to illustrate this. 00:24:24.609 --> 00:24:35.129 We can see ourselves as five different rivers,we have our physical body. 00:24:35.216 --> 00:24:42.784 Thay often like to draw this with segments of clementine, tangerine 00:24:59.994 --> 00:25:03.930 So we have our body 00:25:05.250 --> 00:25:09.132 This has been transmitted to us from many generations 00:25:09.132 --> 00:25:13.982 That we nourish with everything we eat. 00:25:13.988 --> 00:25:17.988 I wish it was a 360 degrees board, but it is not 00:25:17.988 --> 00:25:21.988 Body 00:25:24.238 --> 00:25:28.238 And the next segment is our feelings 00:25:30.422 --> 00:25:34.422 They may come from the body or from our emotions 00:25:39.745 --> 00:25:43.982 Our perceptions 00:25:51.100 --> 00:25:54.362 So our perceptions is how we are perceiving things, 00:25:54.362 --> 00:25:57.362 how we are perceiving the world, 00:25:57.362 --> 00:25:59.130 ourselves, 00:25:59.130 --> 00:26:00.930 other people, 00:26:00.930 --> 00:26:03.314 situations. 00:26:04.201 --> 00:26:07.474 Generally most of them are wrong 00:26:17.004 --> 00:26:19.777 And then we have our mental formations 00:26:19.811 --> 00:26:21.808 so based on our perceptions 00:26:21.808 --> 00:26:23.263 and feelings 00:26:23.263 --> 00:26:25.679 we give rise to a state of mind, 00:26:25.679 --> 00:26:28.038 a mental formation. 00:26:36.378 --> 00:26:38.450 It could be something like frustration 00:26:38.450 --> 00:26:41.450 or anger 00:26:41.450 --> 00:26:45.064 or depression, sadness, 00:26:45.064 --> 00:26:46.436 or joy 00:26:46.436 --> 00:26:48.719 some positive ones 00:26:48.719 --> 00:26:50.762 hope 00:26:55.128 --> 00:26:58.374 And then we have consciousness 00:27:03.950 --> 00:27:06.390 which is the ground of our beeing 00:27:08.056 --> 00:27:11.190 So to share a little more about consciousness 00:27:14.793 --> 00:27:17.175 our teacher likes to draw a circle. 00:27:17.175 --> 00:27:20.061 But I'm not very good at drawing circles 00:27:20.171 --> 00:27:22.272 So I've got some help 00:27:40.603 --> 00:27:42.892 I think that was been my English ancestors 00:27:42.892 --> 00:27:45.100 rather than my Vietnamese ancestors. 00:27:49.319 --> 00:27:52.153 So, our body and our mind 00:27:53.708 --> 00:27:56.280 Thay often speaks about two levels of the mind 00:27:59.409 --> 00:28:02.030 So we have the upper part of our mind 00:28:02.030 --> 00:28:04.235 and the lower part. 00:28:04.235 --> 00:28:07.400 And we call the upper part "mind consciousness" 00:28:10.414 --> 00:28:12.854 and the lower part "store". 00:28:18.500 --> 00:28:20.402 So, here... 00:28:20.611 --> 00:28:23.377 we are talking a lot about store consciousness. 00:28:23.377 --> 00:28:25.765 And this is were we have all the seeds. 00:28:26.289 --> 00:28:28.981 These elements that have been transmitted to us 00:28:30.288 --> 00:28:31.377 that we carry 00:28:32.282 --> 00:28:37.698 and that are potentials in life 00:28:38.388 --> 00:28:40.381 So we have seeds like ... 00:28:42.690 --> 00:28:44.183 Joy 00:28:44.439 --> 00:28:46.086 and Hope, 00:28:47.258 --> 00:28:48.569 Mindfullness, 00:28:50.117 --> 00:28:51.152 Peace, 00:28:52.568 --> 00:28:55.367 and some other ones like .... Anger, 00:28:58.618 --> 00:28:59.893 Fear, 00:29:01.130 --> 00:29:02.638 Anxiety. 00:29:04.688 --> 00:29:06.434 Any others we can think of ? 00:29:09.152 --> 00:29:10.706 Jealousy .... very good, 00:29:13.670 --> 00:29:15.265 Sadness, 00:29:17.468 --> 00:29:19.971 Compassion, 00:29:21.401 --> 00:29:23.390 Desire, Craving. 00:29:26.323 --> 00:29:28.360 Sometimes we crave 00:29:28.484 --> 00:29:31.026 we usually crave sensual pleasures 00:29:31.597 --> 00:29:37.852 but we may also crave money, status, fame, power... craving... 00:29:39.889 --> 00:29:42.231 So it is a little bigger than the other ones 00:29:45.935 --> 00:29:47.184 Any more ? 00:29:48.213 --> 00:29:49.545 Doubt, 00:29:52.325 --> 00:29:54.426 Pride ... oh, wonderful, 00:29:54.832 --> 00:29:56.768 How big is that ? 00:29:58.042 --> 00:29:59.078 And we have Doubt. 00:29:59.078 --> 00:30:00.727 So we have a lot of seeds. 00:30:04.013 --> 00:30:06.450 And somehow our store consciousness 00:30:06.452 --> 00:30:09.715 is both individual and collective. 00:30:11.364 --> 00:30:12.939 We also share it. 00:30:14.230 --> 00:30:18.153 So, when the seed of fear in society is very strong, 00:30:18.658 --> 00:30:21.740 our own seed of fear will be 00:30:24.896 --> 00:30:27.181 will take more place, will be more active. 00:30:27.543 --> 00:30:32.149 And if our parents have transmitted to us a strong seed down here 00:30:32.049 --> 00:30:34.409 then it will be more strong perhaps than in 00:30:34.409 --> 00:30:41.059 other people and our mind is receiving 00:30:41.059 --> 00:30:46.760 information from sense doors from our 00:30:46.760 --> 00:30:55.699 eyes our ears, our ears, our nose, our tongue, 00:30:55.699 --> 00:31:05.250 and from our body 00:31:18.355 --> 00:31:22.936 So information is coming in all the time 00:31:30.930 --> 00:31:33.990 So when we watch a news bulletin, or we 00:31:33.990 --> 00:31:37.340 listen to the radio, that will come in 00:31:37.340 --> 00:31:40.620 and it may water the seeds of fear in us, 00:31:40.620 --> 00:31:44.660 or the seed of anger in us, and that seed 00:31:44.660 --> 00:31:49.990 will then come up and manifest in the 00:31:50.910 --> 00:31:54.260 upper level of our consciousness. So when 00:31:54.260 --> 00:31:56.430 we want to learn how to handle our mind, 00:31:56.430 --> 00:31:59.570 we need to know what to do when this 00:31:59.570 --> 00:32:01.920 happens. First of all we need to know 00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:04.170 anger has come up. 00:32:04.170 --> 00:32:08.000 Fear has come up. Sadness has come up. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:11.120 So we have to recognize, we have to identify 00:32:11.120 --> 00:32:13.700 that it happened. And that's why we need 00:32:13.700 --> 00:32:15.900 the energy of mindfulness. Mindfulness 00:32:15.900 --> 00:32:20.960 helps us to know what is going on. 00:32:20.960 --> 00:32:22.960 So the energy of mindfulness is another seed 00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:25.180 and if we say that it's the seed of 00:32:25.180 --> 00:32:27.100 anger that has come up, we can say that 00:32:27.100 --> 00:32:32.480 mindfulness comes up and embraces 00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:36.290 the anger. So you have one energy which is 00:32:36.290 --> 00:32:41.080 anger, and we have the other energy which 00:32:41.080 --> 00:32:46.310 is our compassion. I said compassion 00:32:46.310 --> 00:32:50.360 because the antidote to anger is 00:32:50.360 --> 00:32:51.530 compassion. 00:32:51.530 --> 00:32:55.320 So we have mindfulness embracing anger 00:32:55.320 --> 00:32:58.790 and if we can generate an energy of 00:32:58.790 --> 00:33:01.580 compassion that will help cool the anger. 00:33:04.514 --> 00:33:06.410 So what I have been learning here is to 00:33:06.410 --> 00:33:08.390 have a strategy for when different 00:33:08.390 --> 00:33:11.380 mental formations come up and to know 00:33:11.380 --> 00:33:15.920 how to invite certain seeds to come up 00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:22.700 in order to embrace the one that has manifested. 00:33:22.770 --> 00:33:26.977 So many different seeds have different antidotes. 00:33:29.884 --> 00:33:31.570 We could say that 00:33:31.570 --> 00:33:36.780 when we have restlessness, the antidote 00:33:36.780 --> 00:33:41.040 might be relaxation. 00:33:41.040 --> 00:33:46.030 If we feel restless maybe we could spend 10 or 20 minutes to relax. 00:33:49.603 --> 00:33:55.190 If we feel sadness, perhaps five or 00:33:55.190 --> 00:33:57.780 ten minute bath in the present moment 00:33:57.780 --> 00:34:02.310 will refresh us. We can nourish ourselves 00:34:02.310 --> 00:34:05.350 with the wonders of life. But if the 00:34:05.350 --> 00:34:08.480 sadness is a bit stronger and it takes 00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:12.719 the form of despair, we have to have a 00:34:12.719 --> 00:34:17.089 even stronger strategy. 00:34:17.089 --> 00:34:21.880 And I've learned that the antidote to despair we have a 00:34:21.880 --> 00:34:26.770 bodhisattva who is fearless and persevering. 00:34:28.311 --> 00:34:29.709 So we have an energy of hope 00:34:29.709 --> 00:34:33.120 and we are fearless and we don't give up 00:34:33.120 --> 00:34:36.620 And that is how we handle our seed of 00:34:36.620 --> 00:34:39.040 despair. That is how i have learned to 00:34:39.040 --> 00:34:44.300 handle my seed of despair. 00:34:44.300 --> 00:34:46.380 And we have many wonderful practices to cultivate 00:34:46.380 --> 00:34:50.100 non fear, like the five remembrances 00:34:52.315 --> 00:34:54.750 aware that we are of the nature to grow 00:34:54.750 --> 00:35:00.000 old, to get sick, and to die and to be 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:02.100 separated from those we love. We have a 00:35:02.100 --> 00:35:04.770 contemplation on that, and that helps us 00:35:04.770 --> 00:35:07.720 strengthen our non-fear. We accept the 00:35:07.720 --> 00:35:12.050 reality and we cultivate courage and non-fear. 00:35:13.810 --> 00:35:16.220 And sometimes the seeds that come up are 00:35:16.220 --> 00:35:20.840 very big and overwhelming and some of us 00:35:20.840 --> 00:35:23.280 may have had that experience there's not 00:35:23.280 --> 00:35:27.140 even space for mindfulness to intervene 00:35:27.140 --> 00:35:30.120 and those are the moments when we need 00:35:30.120 --> 00:35:34.800 to practice a kind of emergency practice 00:35:34.800 --> 00:35:38.550 and for me my emergency practice has 00:35:38.550 --> 00:35:40.580 been something that has taught us to do 00:35:40.580 --> 00:35:46.940 which is deep belly breathing. So when 00:35:46.940 --> 00:35:53.590 our mind has a seed running riot we have 00:35:53.590 --> 00:35:57.810 to come down from here which has become 00:35:57.810 --> 00:36:01.550 a chaos of a thunderstorm and we have to 00:36:01.550 --> 00:36:04.280 bring our energy down to our breathing 00:36:04.280 --> 00:36:09.190 so we take our energy down from the 00:36:09.190 --> 00:36:10.990 upper level of our consciousness and we 00:36:10.990 --> 00:36:15.330 just breathe and we trust in 00:36:15.330 --> 00:36:17.540 the good seeds down here who have some 00:36:17.540 --> 00:36:19.820 space to help respond to the situation 00:36:19.820 --> 00:36:24.840 so if necessary we lie down we take 00:36:24.840 --> 00:36:27.950 ourselves out of this situation that has 00:36:27.950 --> 00:36:32.640 triggered our anger or sadness or our 00:36:32.640 --> 00:36:35.520 despair and we put our hand, I put my 00:36:35.520 --> 00:36:40.250 hands on my belly and I'm bring all my 00:36:40.250 --> 00:36:45.720 attention 100-percent to the rising and 00:36:45.720 --> 00:36:51.760 the falling of my abdomen 00:36:51.760 --> 00:36:55.000 And I often give myself the challenge 00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:59.870 that I have to follow the breath all the 00:36:59.870 --> 00:37:03.370 way through and all the way back again 00:37:03.370 --> 00:37:09.320 strictly no thinking and it's not very 00:37:09.320 --> 00:37:12.340 easy but if we have our hands on our 00:37:12.340 --> 00:37:15.040 belly and we are fascinated by the 00:37:15.040 --> 00:37:17.899 experience of our in-breath and are out 00:37:17.899 --> 00:37:18.810 breath 00:37:18.810 --> 00:37:22.210 I've discovered that with practice 00:37:22.210 --> 00:37:27.030 it's possible to breathe 10 times in and 00:37:27.030 --> 00:37:30.990 out with not a single thought and I do 00:37:30.990 --> 00:37:33.580 it like snakes and ladders so if I have 00:37:33.580 --> 00:37:35.070 a thought I have to start again and 00:37:35.070 --> 00:37:40.280 count from one. And i started doing this 00:37:40.280 --> 00:37:42.550 because i thought if i cannot even 00:37:42.550 --> 00:37:44.520 master my breathing 00:37:44.520 --> 00:37:46.890 Who am I to know what to do in this 00:37:46.890 --> 00:37:48.140 situation 00:37:48.140 --> 00:37:51.860 my mind is not clear. I haven't 00:37:51.860 --> 00:37:55.870 got a grip on my mind. So I shouldn't 00:37:55.870 --> 00:37:59.050 trust my mind in this situation it has 00:37:59.050 --> 00:38:02.510 no right to have a voice until it has 00:38:01.650 --> 00:38:05.840 breathed 10 times 00:38:05.840 --> 00:38:09.420 and the amazing thing is that after ten 00:38:09.420 --> 00:38:13.000 breaths there's clarity there is 00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:16.450 stability it made on a bad day it may 00:38:16.450 --> 00:38:20.670 take 20 minutes or 25 minutes to have 10 00:38:20.670 --> 00:38:22.110 clear breaths 00:38:22.110 --> 00:38:25.970 but after that there is clarity and we 00:38:25.970 --> 00:38:29.980 know what to do and what not to do. So 00:38:29.980 --> 00:38:33.060 somehow i have learned not to trust my 00:38:33.060 --> 00:38:36.560 mind but to trust my breathing 00:38:36.560 --> 00:38:44.750 if in doubt breathe. And it has never 00:38:44.750 --> 00:38:48.320 failed me and that has given me a real 00:38:48.320 --> 00:38:50.600 solid basis something I always know I 00:38:50.600 --> 00:38:52.750 can trust and I don't need to be afraid 00:38:52.750 --> 00:38:55.750 because I always know that the breathing 00:38:55.750 --> 00:39:00.440 when I breathe fully 100-percent will 00:39:00.440 --> 00:39:07.034 help calm clarifying and give me courage 00:39:18.047 --> 00:39:21.314 (bell sound) 00:39:56.740 --> 00:39:59.560 So what we are taking in, through our 00:39:59.560 --> 00:40:01.480 sense organs 00:40:01.480 --> 00:40:05.810 it's a kind of food. And that is going to 00:40:05.810 --> 00:40:08.590 affect how our mind is going to operate. 00:40:08.590 --> 00:40:14.540 so our sense impressions, what we watch 00:40:14.540 --> 00:40:23.790 movies, websites, what we listen to, music, 00:40:23.790 --> 00:40:30.190 or even conversations, what we smell 00:40:30.190 --> 00:40:33.230 you'll notice that some you are very 00:40:33.230 --> 00:40:36.630 sensitive to certain kinds of smell, what 00:40:36.630 --> 00:40:40.750 we eat, so the kinds of foods edible 00:40:40.750 --> 00:40:46.120 foods that we eat, they are nourishing 00:40:46.120 --> 00:40:51.820 something in us, so if we eat food that 00:40:51.820 --> 00:40:57.200 has violence or suffering in it then 00:40:57.200 --> 00:40:59.730 somehow we r that is becoming a part of 00:40:59.730 --> 00:41:04.440 us and that is affecting who we are but 00:41:04.440 --> 00:41:06.880 if we are able to eat with compassion 00:41:06.880 --> 00:41:09.970 then our seed of compassion here will grow 00:41:09.970 --> 00:41:13.790 so every day you can have a day without 00:41:13.790 --> 00:41:17.710 meat you can say to yourself I have 00:41:17.710 --> 00:41:20.089 nourished my seed of compassion today, 00:41:20.089 --> 00:41:23.260 and i have not nourished my seed of 00:41:23.260 --> 00:41:27.040 violence or suffering, and we know that 00:41:27.040 --> 00:41:30.149 the animals suffer deeply when they are 00:41:30.149 --> 00:41:33.310 killed, and that is what we are eating, 00:41:33.310 --> 00:41:37.990 and when we eat meat that it is 00:41:37.990 --> 00:41:40.730 destroying our planet to cultivate that 00:41:40.730 --> 00:41:44.760 meat, then we are also eating something 00:41:44.760 --> 00:41:47.119 that is not wholesome, we are not 00:41:47.119 --> 00:41:50.480 nourishing our compassion and our care, 00:41:50.480 --> 00:41:57.179 so we can learn about four kinds of 00:41:57.179 --> 00:42:03.160 nutriments 00:42:08.399 --> 00:42:13.487 so the first is edible foods 00:42:17.580 --> 00:42:20.684 edible foods and drink, 00:42:25.826 --> 00:42:29.690 so this includes orange juice and alcohol 00:42:29.690 --> 00:42:34.840 okay so we know that it takes a lot of 00:42:34.840 --> 00:42:40.420 grain to make liquor and maybe that 00:42:40.420 --> 00:42:42.460 grain could be better used for something 00:42:42.460 --> 00:42:47.829 else. Our earth is in need for our help. 00:42:51.390 --> 00:42:59.500 Our sense impressions, that's all the movies, 00:42:59.500 --> 00:43:04.680 the movies, the music and so on. 00:43:04.680 --> 00:43:06.940 even now I still remember movies I 00:43:06.940 --> 00:43:10.830 watched 20 years ago. they come up 00:43:10.830 --> 00:43:13.919 sometimes even in my meditation and i 00:43:13.919 --> 00:43:16.640 think god how did I let that come in. 00:43:16.640 --> 00:43:19.990 because once its come in, it's somehow 00:43:19.990 --> 00:43:22.899 they're in our memory and it's very 00:43:22.899 --> 00:43:27.150 trusting of us we go into a cinema we 00:43:27.150 --> 00:43:31.040 even pay for the privilege for someone 00:43:31.040 --> 00:43:35.169 else to then put all this stuff into our 00:43:35.169 --> 00:43:40.080 consciousness that may be violent or 00:43:40.080 --> 00:43:44.710 disturbing unpleasant. so we have to be 00:43:44.710 --> 00:43:47.490 very careful when we choose what to 00:43:47.490 --> 00:43:52.250 watch and feel free to walk out i guess 00:43:52.250 --> 00:43:55.389 i didn't have enough courage to walk out 00:43:55.389 --> 00:43:57.950 of cinemas or to switch off movies but I 00:43:57.950 --> 00:43:59.740 think we need to be able to switch them 00:43:59.740 --> 00:44:04.059 off 00:44:07.347 --> 00:44:13.162 Third Kind is volition. 00:44:17.079 --> 00:44:21.190 This volition comes from the world will, like 00:44:21.190 --> 00:44:24.319 "volonté" (in French). it's a kind of technical word 00:44:24.319 --> 00:44:28.009 but it just means our deepest desire 00:44:33.004 --> 00:44:34.430 do you know what you want to do with 00:44:34.430 --> 00:44:38.849 your life what you really really want to 00:44:38.849 --> 00:44:41.009 do with your life? 00:44:41.009 --> 00:44:48.139 what is your deepest desire, and our 00:44:48.139 --> 00:44:50.359 deepest desire is like a seed that we've 00:44:50.359 --> 00:44:54.089 planted in our consciousness and when we 00:44:54.089 --> 00:44:57.670 can identify it and take care of it it 00:44:57.670 --> 00:44:59.829 will be a great source of energy in our 00:44:59.829 --> 00:45:03.650 life, and we need to know what we want to 00:45:03.650 --> 00:45:04.819 do. 00:45:04.819 --> 00:45:07.759 life is precious we don't know how much 00:45:07.759 --> 00:45:12.739 of it we have. we would like to think 00:45:12.739 --> 00:45:15.159 that we will all live to 80 but maybe 00:45:15.159 --> 00:45:18.199 that won't be the case. so what do you 00:45:18.199 --> 00:45:22.339 want to do, we have this one body, we had 00:45:22.339 --> 00:45:24.799 this life, and what we do with it. 00:45:24.799 --> 00:45:30.259 A terrorist is someone who has the 00:45:30.259 --> 00:45:38.499 intention to revenge vengeance. 00:45:38.499 --> 00:45:42.809 That is a kind of deep desire. A terrorist 00:45:42.809 --> 00:45:45.549 also have seeds of compassion, of 00:45:45.549 --> 00:45:50.439 kindness, of peace, of joy, of love. but 00:45:50.439 --> 00:45:52.369 they have watered another kind of seed 00:45:52.369 --> 00:45:54.289 that drives them to do something very 00:45:54.289 --> 00:45:58.699 violent. so we can see the power of this 00:45:58.699 --> 00:46:01.839 kind of energy and each of us we need to 00:46:01.839 --> 00:46:07.889 know what we want to do with our life. 00:46:07.889 --> 00:46:13.220 how would we like to live. what talents 00:46:13.220 --> 00:46:16.180 that we have been transmitted would we 00:46:16.180 --> 00:46:20.420 like to cultivate. we are a wonder of the 00:46:20.420 --> 00:46:24.500 earth, and how will our particular flower 00:46:24.500 --> 00:46:28.650 in the garden of humanity sing her song. 00:46:28.650 --> 00:46:32.750 what is your song? How will you be a flower 00:46:32.750 --> 00:46:33.940 on this earth? 00:46:33.940 --> 00:46:35.639 what would you like to cultivate and to 00:46:35.639 --> 00:46:40.059 offer? and its deepest desire, our volition 00:46:43.648 --> 00:46:45.299 I came here because I wanted to 00:46:45.299 --> 00:46:50.470 transform and to live 00:46:50.470 --> 00:46:54.010 leanly we have a wonderful word in English. 00:46:59.002 --> 00:47:04.389 It means some simply, just what 00:47:04.389 --> 00:47:07.199 is necessary in order to have more 00:47:07.199 --> 00:47:13.769 energy to act, to help, to not destroy 00:47:13.769 --> 00:47:17.569 with my way of consuming. and the final 00:47:17.569 --> 00:47:22.637 one is consciousness 00:47:27.300 --> 00:47:29.460 so we've been learning the consciousness 00:47:29.460 --> 00:47:32.250 is both individual and collective and 00:47:32.250 --> 00:47:34.530 here it's mostly we're talking about 00:47:34.530 --> 00:47:39.740 collective consciousness. 00:47:39.740 --> 00:47:43.640 The environments we are exposed to, our kind 00:47:43.640 --> 00:47:46.710 of food coming into our being, 00:47:46.710 --> 00:47:51.390 if you've ever been on a protest for 00:47:51.390 --> 00:47:54.330 social justice when everyone is 00:47:54.330 --> 00:47:56.820 collectively having a very strong energy 00:47:56.820 --> 00:47:59.660 sometimes in in a protest there is also 00:47:59.660 --> 00:48:02.750 an energy of anger of demanding and you 00:48:02.750 --> 00:48:04.680 may feel that you are carried by this 00:48:04.680 --> 00:48:08.580 collective consciousness or like now we 00:48:08.580 --> 00:48:12.640 have a lot of fear and anxiety in the 00:48:12.640 --> 00:48:15.320 world at the moment, so that is coming in 00:48:15.320 --> 00:48:18.330 and triggering our own fear and anxiety 00:48:20.630 --> 00:48:22.890 or in our family, if something is 00:48:22.890 --> 00:48:25.950 happening in our family, certain seeds 00:48:25.950 --> 00:48:28.180 may be stronger at one time then another. 00:48:28.180 --> 00:48:35.360 jealousy or anger, or at work, or in our 00:48:35.360 --> 00:48:37.420 friendship group is a kind of collective 00:48:37.420 --> 00:48:40.760 energy and we need to be aware what is 00:48:40.760 --> 00:48:43.150 being triggered in us by our environment 00:48:43.150 --> 00:48:47.430 so we need to learn when to walk away, 00:48:47.430 --> 00:48:51.910 when to step out of the room, when to 00:48:51.910 --> 00:48:54.910 switch off the television. that is our 00:48:54.910 --> 00:48:58.700 freedom, that is empowering us to be the 00:48:58.700 --> 00:49:01.990 kind of person would like to be. that is 00:49:01.990 --> 00:49:04.810 how we protect our mind and our body. 00:49:04.810 --> 00:49:08.730 because when we have things that make us 00:49:08.730 --> 00:49:12.630 tense or afraid or anxious, we live that 00:49:12.630 --> 00:49:16.721 also in our body. 00:49:25.639 --> 00:49:27.859 this evening we will have a presentation 00:49:27.859 --> 00:49:31.220 on the five mindfulness trainings and 00:49:31.220 --> 00:49:35.500 they are a wonderful path of practice 00:49:35.500 --> 00:49:40.690 showing us how in our daily actions we 00:49:40.690 --> 00:49:47.490 can cultivate our mind. so that we can be 00:49:47.490 --> 00:49:49.279 the kind of person we would like to be. 00:49:49.279 --> 00:49:53.620 so that we can have more compassion. so 00:49:53.620 --> 00:49:55.930 that we can have more inner space, 00:49:55.930 --> 00:50:01.069 more freedom, more courage to be able to 00:50:01.069 --> 00:50:05.839 make wonderful use of this precious life 00:50:05.839 --> 00:50:10.249 that we have. and to be able perhaps to 00:50:10.249 --> 00:50:13.379 deserve the earth in ways that we would 00:50:13.379 --> 00:50:16.809 like to serve the earth. she needs our 00:50:16.809 --> 00:50:23.494 help, we need her, and she also needs us. 00:50:29.250 --> 00:50:34.195 Thank you for listening.