WEBVTT

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[ Three sounds of the bell ...]

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Dear sangha, today is the 23rd of November, 2008.

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We are in the Loving Kindness Temple, New Hamlet

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in the Rains Retreat.

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Today in the Dharma Sharing time we can share

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about our real experiences in the practice.

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How we practice mindful breathing,

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how we practice mindful walking,

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how we practice working meditation,

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and how we handle the mental formation

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of irritation.

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First we can share about

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our practice of mindful walking, of mindful breathing.

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In the Dharma sharing groups we need seasoned practitioners

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so that others can learn from their experiences.

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First, we can speak about our experiences of walking meditation.

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Each person can share about how you walk in daily life.

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Which gathas do you use?

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And how are you following your breathing while you sit,

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while you drive,

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while you cook or do the dishes?

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Because your steps and your breaths

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are two very effective ways

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to help you have more agency over your body and mind.

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The steps and breaths are very effective ways

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to help us come back to the present moment.

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With your mindful breathing,

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with your mindful steps

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you can bring the mind home to the body.

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When mind and body are one,

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you can truly be there in the present moment.

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And you have sovereignty

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over your body and your mind.

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Otherwise you are carried away by the agitations of daily life.

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You drown.

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And sometimes you sit there, but you are really drowning.

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Sometimes you sit in the sangha, but you're really drowning.

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Drowning in your worries, your grief,

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your memories.

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You are drowning, you are lost.

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You are carried away by your thinking,

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your worries, your sadness,

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your habit energies.

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And while you are drowning or lost like that,

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you have no agency,

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no sovereignty over your body or mind.

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You have no freedom at all.

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But in fact, you do have agency.

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Only, you don't know how to use the agency you have.

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It's like being a king

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but not knowing how to make use of the power of a king.

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You allow everyone else to take over 
and do whatever they want,

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and so your kingdom falls in a state of disarray.

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So we are the same.

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We are a kind of kingdom,

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and the territory of our kingdom is vast.

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It consists of body,

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feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness.

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It consists of body and mind.

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But we are not in control of our territory.

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We allow our body,

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our feelings, our emotions, our perceptions

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to be carried away

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by our inclinations, by our habit energies.

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And we are lost in confusion.

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So we are kings without sovereignty over our lands.

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When we make use of our mindful breath and mindful steps

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to come home to ourselves,

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to bring the mind home to the body,

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to be truly there in the present moment,

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we begin to have some sovereignty.

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Then, we can walk because we want to walk, 
and not because we are being pulled.

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We breath because we want to breath,

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we speak because we want speak,

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and not because we are possessed to talk.

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We listen because we want to listen.

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In this way we restore our sovereignty,

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and even expand our sovereignty.

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In philosophy there's the idea of free will.

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In English, it's "free will."

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In French, it's "le libre arbitre."

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In philosophy people ask,

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"Is there free will?"

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Some say there is no such thing as free will,

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and some say free will is possible.

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In Buddhism, we know that if you are mindful,

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you begin to have sovereignty,

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you have

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freedom.

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You are free to say what you want to say.

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You are free

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to do the things you want to do.

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But that freedom has its limits.

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It has its limits because we have many

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habit energies that pull us away.

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So as a beginner in the practice,

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even if you have freedom,

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that freedom is very limited.

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The more powerful your mindfulness and concentration becomes,

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the greater your freedom becomes.

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We may have some freedom,

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but that freedom is still limited.

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The "marche de manœuvre," 
your range of freedom is still narrow.

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But you do have it.

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And with practice

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the scope of your freedom will become greater,

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and then you can walk as a free person,

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sit as a free person,

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speak as a free person,

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work as a free person,

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eat or drink tea as a free person.

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And you become happier.

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So each one of us

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must know how to practice

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so we have more freedom day by day.

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That freedom is not granted to us by Thay,

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or the Buddha

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or society.

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We have to fight for that freedom.

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We have to practice to have that kind of freedom.

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The freedom not to drown,

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the freedom not to be lost in confusion.

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The composer Trịnh Công Sơn has a song called 
"Vết Lăn Trầm" — Don't let me drown.

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"Trầm" means to drown 
and "lăn" means to be adrift.

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Thay has a lot of happiness thanks to the practice

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of mindful breathing and mindful walking.

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Usually, Thay uses some gathas or practice poems,

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and occasionally, Thay would change them out.

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There was a time Thay used the gatha,

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"Taking refuge in Buddha Amitabha, 
in the wondrous ultimate dimension."

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In a retreat in the UK 6 or 7 years ago,

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Thay made use of that gatha many times.

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Sometimes Thay practices the gatha, 
"Here is the Pure Land, the Pure Land is here."

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But the gatha that Thay used the most is The Island Within.

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Thay has been practicing with this gatha for a few decades.

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So when we walk

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we harmonize our breath with our steps,

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and we can walk in rhythm

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with each line of the gatha.

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So we have to time it in such a way that

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each line of the gatha goes with our steps.

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Sometimes on an in-breath

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we can make three steps,

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or two steps.

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Sometimes on an out-breath,

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we can make four or five steps.

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The out-breath usually lasts longer than the in-breath.

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Sometimes the out-breath and in-breath 
are the same length.

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So for the poem "The Island Within,"

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when Thay walks slowly,

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on the in-breath Thay makes two steps,

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with the words "Go back."

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" [ Breathing in I ] go back. "

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Breathing out,

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Thay says, "take refuge."

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"Go back / take refuge."

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"In the island / within myself."

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Sometimes we make three steps on an in-breath, 
and three steps on an out-breath,

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so Thay changes the words to, 
"I go back / and take refuge."

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So "go back / take refuge" becomes 
"I go back / and take refuge."

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It's the same meaning, only with more words.

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So Thay has one version with two words 
and one with three words.

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The one with three words is,

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[ Con quay về / và nương tựa ]
"I go back / and take refuge"

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[ Nơi hải đảo / của tự thân ]
"In the island / within myself"

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[ Chánh niệm ấy / chính là Bụt ]
"Buddha is my mindfulness"

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[ Đang soi sáng / khắp xa gần ]
"Shining near, shining far"

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[ Hơi thở này / là chánh pháp ]
"Dharma is my breathing"

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[ Đang bảo hộ / thân và tâm ]
"Guarding body and mind"

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[ Năm uẩn nọ / là tăng thân ]
"Sangha is my five skandhas"

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[ Đang phối hợp / rất tinh cần ]
"Working in harmony"

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[ Con thở vào / con thở ra ]
"Breathing in, breathing out"

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[ Là bông hoa / con tươi mát ]
"I am fresh as a flower"

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[ Là đỉnh núi / con vững vàng ]
"I am solid as a mountain"

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[ Là nước tĩnh / con lặng chiếu ]
"I am water reflecting"

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[ Là không gian / con thênh thang ]
"I am space, I feel free."

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So there is a four word version and a six word version

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that Thay came up with so that 
it can go with the steps and breath.

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We can adjust any practice poem in this way,

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including the practice poem, 
"Taking refuge in Buddha Amitabha."

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"In the wondrous ultimate dimension"

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And when we do running meditation,

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on the in-breath we can make four steps and say,

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"I go back and take refuge,"

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and on the out-breath, "in the island within."

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We can always apply

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or harmonize the breath, the steps and the practice poem.

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The practice poem helps us

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to prolong and keep our concentration alive.

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So we stick to the practice poem, 
the breathing, and the steps.

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Running like that, we cultivate concentration.

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So while running or walking

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we do it in such a way that happiness is possible.

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Like when we practice mindful movements or qigong,

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it's wonderful if while doing it we really enjoy it.

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There was one sister who was arrested and put in prison,

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so she had to do walking meditation in a very small cell.

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Right now, none of us are in prison.

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We have plenty of space,

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so doing walking or jogging meditation is a great joy.

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The practice poem, "Let the Buddha breathe, 
let the Buddha walk" is really wonderful.

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And Thay often makes very good use of this poem.

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[ The sound of the bell ...]

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Thay also really likes the practice poem

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"The Buddha is walking,"

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"The Buddha is enjoying,

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the Buddha is happy,

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the Buddha is at peace."

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The Buddha is us.

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So you let the Buddha walk,

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and you see that Buddha is walking,

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the Buddha is enjoying, the Buddha is happy,

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the Buddha is at peace.

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After a while you can change it to, 
"I am walking, I am enjoying"

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I am no less than the Buddha. 
"I am happy, I am at peace."

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And then, you can walk for your mother.

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Your two feet are also your mother's.

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"Mother is walking, 
Mother is enjoying."

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"Mother is happy,
Mother is at peace."

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And walking for your father,
"Father is walking, father is enjoying"

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"Father is happy, father is at peace."

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You see clearly that your father 
is walking and that he's happy.

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You walk for your father, 
and your father is walking for you.

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You can walk for your teacher.

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"My teacher is walking, 
my teacher is enjoying."

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"My teacher is happy, 
my teacher is at peace."

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And you can walk for your students.

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"My student is walking, 
my student is enjoying"

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"My student is happy, 
my student is at peace."

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You can see that they are all you,

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they are all in you, 
and they are practicing with you.

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It's an easy and wonderful practice to do.

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While in India, Thay practiced this a lot.

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"The Buddha is lying in a hammock, 
the Buddha is at peace."

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"The Buddha is happy, 
the Buddha is enjoying."

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"I am lying in a hammock,
I am enjoying."

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"I am happy, I am at peace."

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Practicing like that,

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you bring the mind home to the body

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and completely dwell in the present moment.

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and you can see the wonders of life,

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you can see the Pure Land is here,

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you can see that happiness

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is possible in the present moment.

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You don't need to look for happiness in a distant future.

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So in your Dharma sharing group,

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allow each person to share what they have practiced.

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How they have practiced mindful walking, 
how they have practiced mindful breathing.

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Some may share at length and others just briefly,

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but in listening to everyone,

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you can reflect

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to see how your own practice of 
mindful breathing or sitting is.

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Is it bringing you much happiness?

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So we must know how to make use of

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our mindful breath and mindful steps

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in order to have some agency over our body and mind.

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Don't allow ourselves to be lost.

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So our Winter retreat is a great chance

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for us to do that.

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Because surrounded by a big sangha

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where everyone is practicing like that,

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of course you can do it too.

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Very easily.

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With everyone walking mindfully, 
dwelling peacefully in the present moment,

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could you possibly wander off on your own?

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Be lost on your own?

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You would feel embarrassed.

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It's so unsightly.

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And

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you have to be determined to touch your happiness

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right in the present moment..

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"If during these three months,

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in my daily life,

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if I'm not able to touch happiness,

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to find my happiness,

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then when can I be happy?"

00:24:20.650 --> 00:24:22.658
"With Thay, with the sangha,

00:24:22.658 --> 00:24:25.945
with the collective energy of practice supporting me,

00:24:25.945 --> 00:24:27.979
offering me guidance,

00:24:29.212 --> 00:24:31.553
and if I'm unable to be happy right now,

00:24:31.553 --> 00:24:36.316
then when will I be happy?"

00:24:36.316 --> 00:24:39.003
You have to challenge yourself

00:24:41.842 --> 00:24:45.729
to find happiness right in the present moment.

00:24:47.290 --> 00:24:51.238
So the teachings and practices of Plum Village

00:24:57.059 --> 00:25:01.189
is present-centered.

00:25:03.116 --> 00:25:05.642
If you want to find the Buddha,

00:25:05.642 --> 00:25:07.447
or to find God,

00:25:07.447 --> 00:25:11.616
if you want to find the Kindgom of God

00:25:11.616 --> 00:25:15.000
or Nirvana or the Pure Land,

00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:17.898
you have to find it right in the present moment.

00:25:19.641 --> 00:25:24.015
If you want peace and happiness

00:25:25.941 --> 00:25:28.550
you also have to find it right in the present moment.

00:25:37.354 --> 00:25:41.103
If you are looking for good health,

00:25:41.103 --> 00:25:42.929
you have to find it in the now,

00:25:42.929 --> 00:25:45.000
even if you are not well.

00:25:46.211 --> 00:25:48.498
When you are able to stop in the present moment,

00:25:48.498 --> 00:25:53.319
when you know how to breathe, 
how to walk, you feel some relief,

00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:55.976
and that is already an improvement on your health.

00:25:55.976 --> 00:25:58.359
But if you were to feel anxious,

00:25:58.359 --> 00:26:01.297
your health will get worse.

00:26:05.658 --> 00:26:07.575
And if you know how to come back to the present

00:26:07.575 --> 00:26:11.736
and get in touch with the wonders in the present moment,

00:26:12.323 --> 00:26:18.949
your body and mind can benefit from the refreshing,

00:26:19.840 --> 00:26:24.675
wholesome and nourishing elements 
in the sangha and in the present,

00:26:24.675 --> 00:26:27.818
and your health can improve.

00:26:27.818 --> 00:26:31.700
That's why you have to look for good health 
right in the present moment.

00:26:32.896 --> 00:26:37.148
Don't hang your hopes on something in the future.

00:26:42.118 --> 00:26:44.583
If you want to find happiness,

00:26:44.583 --> 00:26:47.405
you have to look for it right in the present moment.

00:26:48.236 --> 00:26:50.167
If you can't be happy now,

00:26:50.167 --> 00:26:53.518
what are the chances of you being happy in the future?

00:26:53.518 --> 00:26:58.635
That's what I call, "Happiness is now or never."

00:27:06.892 --> 00:27:09.805
If a sister can't be happy now,

00:27:12.888 --> 00:27:15.862
even if she receives the lamp she wouldn't be happy.

00:27:17.971 --> 00:27:20.701
Even if she were a dharma teacher she wouldn't be happy.

00:27:23.602 --> 00:27:27.406
But if you were already happy, 
you wouldn't need the lamp from Thay,

00:27:27.406 --> 00:27:28.828
right?

00:27:32.885 --> 00:27:36.833
Or you say, you'll be happy when 
you're born into the Pure Land.

00:27:38.394 --> 00:27:40.799
So the challenge in this is,

00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:41.986
if you can't be happy now,

00:27:41.986 --> 00:27:45.556
how can you possibly be happy when you get there?

00:27:45.556 --> 00:27:48.063
Once you get there, what if you want to leave?

00:27:48.650 --> 00:27:51.536
Bye-bye Amitabha,

00:27:51.536 --> 00:27:54.241
I'm uncomfortable here.

00:27:56.898 --> 00:28:00.480
So we need to be capable of being happy right now.

00:28:01.616 --> 00:28:04.833
If we are happy now, the Pure Land is there now.

00:28:05.542 --> 00:28:08.090
We wouldn't need to go to the Pure Land.

00:28:09.895 --> 00:28:14.772
So the practice of Plum Village is present-centered.

00:28:14.772 --> 00:28:17.129
Present-centered.

00:28:21.308 --> 00:28:23.165
Dwelling in the present moment.

00:28:23.165 --> 00:28:25.696
"Hiện pháp" is the present moment

00:28:25.696 --> 00:28:28.435
and "trú" means to stay.

00:28:28.435 --> 00:28:31.901
Demeurer dans l'instant présent.

00:28:31.901 --> 00:28:34.872
Dwelling in the present moment.

00:28:35.947 --> 00:28:43.057
And if you cannot dwell in the present moment,

00:28:43.057 --> 00:28:49.498
if you cannot touch happiness in the present moment,

00:28:49.498 --> 00:28:52.250
you continue to be unsettled, lost.

00:28:53.020 --> 00:28:56.030
Being unsettled is not something 
that happens in the future,

00:28:56.030 --> 00:28:58.921
it is happening now.

00:28:58.921 --> 00:29:00.561
You are with the sangha,

00:29:00.561 --> 00:29:03.016
you hear Thay's teachings,

00:29:03.016 --> 00:29:09.567
you are in the Rains retreat,

00:29:11.250 --> 00:29:13.554
but that's only what's happening on the outside.

00:29:13.959 --> 00:29:17.587
So if you don't practice, you can easily drown,

00:29:17.587 --> 00:29:19.499
you can easily get lost.

00:29:19.499 --> 00:29:23.202
This is something that is happening now, 
and not necessarily in the future.

00:29:23.972 --> 00:29:27.737
If you want to put an end to 
the feeling of being unsettled,

00:29:28.994 --> 00:29:32.637
you have to stop, 
and come home to the present moment.

00:29:33.651 --> 00:29:36.456
That's why your mindful breathing and steps

00:29:36.456 --> 00:29:42.529
are the life jacket to keep you afloat so you won't drown.

00:29:44.029 --> 00:29:48.196
It's the anchor

00:29:48.196 --> 00:29:54.182
keeping your boat moored in one place.

00:29:54.182 --> 00:29:56.556
It's a life jacket, an anchor.

00:29:56.556 --> 00:30:00.314
So knowing how to make use of 
mindful breathing and mindful walking

00:30:00.314 --> 00:30:03.163
can allow us to have some agency.

00:30:03.872 --> 00:30:11.289
If we haven't mastered the art of 
mindful breathing and mindful walking

00:30:11.694 --> 00:30:14.052
we cannot go far in the practice.

00:30:14.052 --> 00:30:16.794
So while in Plum Village, you must be able to master

00:30:16.794 --> 00:30:20.355
each breath and each step.

00:30:20.355 --> 00:30:24.954
Those are the essential practices.

00:30:25.724 --> 00:30:28.788
When we walk, we know that we are the one walking,

00:30:28.788 --> 00:30:31.475
and not because we are being carried away.

00:30:31.475 --> 00:30:34.001
When we breath, we know that we are the one breathing,

00:30:34.001 --> 00:30:36.549
and not because we are being carried away.

00:30:39.084 --> 00:30:43.711
When we produce a thought that's upsetting,

00:30:43.711 --> 00:30:47.353
we're aware, "Ah, this is an upsetting thought."

00:30:49.706 --> 00:30:53.600
"This upsetting thought is not good for my health,

00:30:53.600 --> 00:30:56.583
not good for my happiness."

00:30:56.583 --> 00:30:58.888
And like that, we have agency.

00:30:59.719 --> 00:31:02.905
Having agency doesn't mean that 
we don't have any disturbing thoughts.

00:31:02.905 --> 00:31:04.761
The disturbing thought can be there,

00:31:04.761 --> 00:31:07.623
but we know: This is a disturbing thought.

00:31:10.158 --> 00:31:12.462
And at that moment we have agency,

00:31:13.537 --> 00:31:16.085
because we are mindful.

00:31:21.054 --> 00:31:24.424
So Thay would like to suggest

00:31:24.424 --> 00:31:31.442
that in the next dharma sharing session,

00:31:31.442 --> 00:31:35.613
we should share with one another

00:31:35.613 --> 00:31:40.189
how we have really practiced with the breath and the steps.

00:31:42.602 --> 00:31:45.000
And we can listen deeply to everyone's sharing.

00:31:52.128 --> 00:31:55.611
And because Thay has been practicing 
with the breath and the steps,

00:31:55.611 --> 00:32:00.762
he knows that he can be a place of refuge 
for the sangha in the Rains retreat.

00:32:01.715 --> 00:32:03.632
Each one of us,

00:32:03.632 --> 00:32:06.218
if we have been practicing with our breath and steps,

00:32:06.218 --> 00:32:10.410
we can also be a place of refuge for the community.

00:32:12.397 --> 00:32:15.797
And that is

00:32:16.932 --> 00:32:22.783
the most precious gift that we can offer

00:32:22.783 --> 00:32:24.179
to the Three Jewels,

00:32:24.179 --> 00:32:28.975
which includes the Sangha.

00:32:57.427 --> 00:33:01.922
We must be able to be happy when we drink our tea.

00:33:02.814 --> 00:33:05.362
We must be able to be happy while brushing our teeth.

00:33:06.254 --> 00:33:11.176
Brush your teeth in such a way that 
you can be happy during those two or three minutes.

00:33:13.224 --> 00:33:15.954
It's a kind of challenge.

00:33:17.272 --> 00:33:19.676
While urinating or defecating,

00:33:19.676 --> 00:33:23.000
we also do it in a way that we feel at ease, happy,

00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:25.115
and not be carried away by this or that.

00:33:26.189 --> 00:33:29.980
While steaming vegetables,

00:33:29.980 --> 00:33:32.437
while arranging the meditation hall,

00:33:32.437 --> 00:33:36.345
do it in such a way that happiness 
is possible right in that moment.

00:33:37.358 --> 00:33:41.367
Whether you are a true practitioner or not depends on that.

00:33:41.832 --> 00:33:44.283
Because out there in the world, people do those things, too.

00:33:44.283 --> 00:33:47.727
Only, while doing them, they get carried away.

00:33:48.315 --> 00:33:49.874
Whereas in the monastery,

00:33:49.874 --> 00:33:51.488
while doing those very same things,

00:33:51.488 --> 00:33:54.515
we have agency. 
We are free.

00:34:33.984 --> 00:34:37.140
The other day we spoke about ill-being [dukkha],

00:34:51.179 --> 00:34:55.695
and in the past, our ancestors 
described ill-being in terms of

00:34:55.695 --> 00:34:57.663
birth,

00:34:57.663 --> 00:34:58.952
old age,

00:34:58.952 --> 00:35:00.000
sickness,

00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:01.732
death,

00:35:01.732 --> 00:35:05.521
not getting what we want is suffering,

00:35:05.521 --> 00:35:07.848
being separated from our loved ones is suffering,

00:35:08.861 --> 00:35:13.965
being forced to live 24 hours a day 
with those we hate is suffering,

00:35:15.344 --> 00:35:22.457
and the Five Skandhas not being in harmony is suffering.

00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:30.583
So this is how they described ill-being in the old days.

00:35:34.579 --> 00:35:41.204
So it's just a conventional way of seeing ill-being,

00:35:42.310 --> 00:35:44.310
to illustrate ill-being.

00:35:45.384 --> 00:35:50.610
In the past, to explain why Siddhartha 
left his kingdom to become a monk,

00:35:51.441 --> 00:35:54.186
they say it's because he went through 
the four gates of the kingdom

00:35:54.186 --> 00:35:57.050
and encountered scenes of 
birth, old age, sickness and death,

00:35:57.050 --> 00:36:00.000
and he was so disturbed that he became a monk.

00:36:03.036 --> 00:36:07.878
A 25, 27-year-old who doesn't know anything 
about birth, old age, sickness and death?

00:36:07.878 --> 00:36:09.512
That's absurd.

00:36:09.512 --> 00:36:12.307
Meanwhile, we hear that Siddhartha was very intelligent

00:36:12.307 --> 00:36:16.643
and understood different philosophies deeply.

00:36:16.643 --> 00:36:22.642
So to say that he became a monk after having 
encountered birth, old age, sickness and death

00:36:22.642 --> 00:36:25.457
and seen the suffering of the world,

00:36:25.740 --> 00:36:30.601
that may be partially true, but it's too naive.

00:36:31.005 --> 00:36:33.431
Too representational.

00:36:34.323 --> 00:36:36.816
In the book, Old Path White Clouds, Thay said that

00:36:36.816 --> 00:36:39.671
Siddhartha chose the monastic path because

00:36:41.780 --> 00:36:45.423
he saw that not only the people in the kingdom suffered, 
but the ruling class also suffered.

00:36:45.889 --> 00:36:49.388
Not only the king suffered, but his officials also suffered.

00:36:49.388 --> 00:36:51.054
Even though they all held a lot of power

00:36:52.007 --> 00:36:54.677
and prestige, they also suffered.

00:36:55.344 --> 00:37:00.000
And because they themselves suffered, they weren't able

00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:03.187
to help their subjects

00:37:04.658 --> 00:37:07.571
with poverty, hunger, diseases,

00:37:09.071 --> 00:37:11.497
division.

00:37:12.450 --> 00:37:16.284
And

00:37:16.284 --> 00:37:20.780
the struggles for power, the jealousy happening in the courts,

00:37:21.124 --> 00:37:26.399
even the king himself was unable to resolve these issues.

00:37:26.399 --> 00:37:28.967
Even the king was at a loss for what to do.

00:37:29.615 --> 00:37:34.171
So Siddhartha saw clearly that political resolutions

00:37:34.759 --> 00:37:38.828
wouldn't bring about peace and happiness,

00:37:39.416 --> 00:37:41.290
to himself or to the country.

00:37:41.290 --> 00:37:44.925
And so he set out in search for another way out.

00:37:44.925 --> 00:37:49.146
That's what the author said 
in the book, Old Path White Clouds.

00:37:49.733 --> 00:37:51.833
It's closer to the truth than saying

00:37:51.833 --> 00:37:54.835
Siddhartha went out of the palace gates and saw someone

00:37:54.835 --> 00:37:57.333
old, sick, and dying and then made 
the decision to become a monk.

00:37:57.798 --> 00:38:02.262
In our time, the way we describe ill-being

00:38:02.262 --> 00:38:04.789
must be more practical.

00:38:05.924 --> 00:38:09.674
In a retreat on Engaged Buddhism

00:38:09.674 --> 00:38:13.136
in Hanoi during the Vesak celebrations,

00:38:13.136 --> 00:38:16.412
Thay suggested that we must first

00:38:16.412 --> 00:38:20.731
speak about the real ill-being that is there

00:38:20.731 --> 00:38:22.653
in our body and mind.

00:38:23.302 --> 00:38:26.234
For example, in speaking of ill-being

00:38:26.234 --> 00:38:29.171
we can mention

00:38:29.171 --> 00:38:32.119
tension.

00:38:36.297 --> 00:38:38.297
Tension.

00:38:39.919 --> 00:38:42.102
Tensions in the body

00:38:42.932 --> 00:38:46.819
We know that tensions in the body lead to stress,

00:38:48.441 --> 00:38:50.358
which leads to a number of illnesses.

00:38:50.358 --> 00:38:52.875
This is a real suffering.

00:39:01.619 --> 00:39:03.619
Aches and pain.

00:39:07.432 --> 00:39:09.736
They are real.

00:39:24.505 --> 00:39:31.252
Also in Hanoi, Thay mentioned a few other things.

00:39:39.844 --> 00:39:41.844
Anxiety.

00:39:42.249 --> 00:39:45.000
We have a lot of anxiety.

00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:46.988
Anxiety.

00:39:55.123 --> 00:39:57.123
You don't know what you're so worried about,

00:39:58.197 --> 00:40:00.297
but you keep worrying

00:40:00.297 --> 00:40:02.336
about one thing to the next.

00:40:02.336 --> 00:40:05.127
You are Ms. Anxiety.

00:40:06.445 --> 00:40:08.810
Mr. Anxious.

00:40:15.001 --> 00:40:18.854
This kind of ill-being is really there in us

00:40:18.854 --> 00:40:21.627
and in the collective.

00:40:22.032 --> 00:40:26.223
Each one of us is a Ms. Worry, a Mr. Anxious.

00:40:39.075 --> 00:40:41.197
Violence.

00:40:51.645 --> 00:40:56.730
Violence is the energy of anger

00:40:56.730 --> 00:41:00.000
that wants to inflict pain, destroy, and

00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:01.923
punish the other person.

00:41:01.924 --> 00:41:06.237
That wants to inflict pain because 
the other person has dared to hurt you.

00:41:08.999 --> 00:41:10.999
Violence.

00:41:11.282 --> 00:41:13.437
In us there is the energy of violence.

00:41:13.437 --> 00:41:14.533
The irritation,

00:41:14.533 --> 00:41:16.021
the anger,

00:41:16.974 --> 00:41:19.094
the wish to retaliate,

00:41:19.094 --> 00:41:20.828
to destroy,

00:41:20.828 --> 00:41:22.654
to inflict pain,

00:41:22.654 --> 00:41:24.208
to punish.

00:41:25.222 --> 00:41:28.188
That violence in us,

00:41:28.188 --> 00:41:31.117
and it's rampant in our society.

00:41:32.435 --> 00:41:34.678
There's also

00:41:36.848 --> 00:41:38.848
terrorism

00:41:39.375 --> 00:41:42.105
and anti-terrorism.

00:41:43.849 --> 00:41:46.466
Terrorism contains violence,

00:41:46.466 --> 00:41:49.501
but anti-terrorism also contains violence.

00:41:58.122 --> 00:42:02.252
When Thay was

00:42:03.448 --> 00:42:05.448
visiting

00:42:07.314 --> 00:42:10.105
South Korea on a teaching tour,

00:42:11.423 --> 00:42:17.857
Thay participated in a peace gathering

00:42:17.857 --> 00:42:24.318
organized by an inter-faith group.

00:42:25.788 --> 00:42:32.310
At the time, Iraq hadn't been invaded.

00:42:33.337 --> 00:42:40.876
But the US had already begun to send their warships

00:42:42.093 --> 00:42:45.532
to the surrounding area,

00:42:45.532 --> 00:42:49.457
and everyone knew that an invasion could

00:42:49.457 --> 00:42:51.923
happen at any time.

00:42:55.249 --> 00:42:58.626
And Baghdad was under threat of a bombing campaign

00:42:58.626 --> 00:43:01.266
and could be surrounded at any time.

00:43:04.166 --> 00:43:07.383
So in that talk

00:43:08.092 --> 00:43:11.066
at the peace gathering, Thay said,

00:43:15.427 --> 00:43:20.349
"Suppose you were a civilian living Baghdad,

00:43:21.179 --> 00:43:22.670
an adult or a child,

00:43:22.670 --> 00:43:27.708
and you knew that in a matter of hours

00:43:27.708 --> 00:43:30.726
bombs will drop on your city.

00:43:32.105 --> 00:43:35.809
Everyone in the city would be afraid.

00:43:37.857 --> 00:43:40.527
You would be living in constant fear

00:43:41.297 --> 00:43:45.000
not knowing when your city would be attacked,

00:43:45.345 --> 00:43:48.313
or when the bombs would fall on you.

00:43:48.313 --> 00:43:54.892
Because the US was threatening to invade Iraq.

00:43:58.279 --> 00:44:00.000
So deploying your troops

00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:01.660
and threatening a bombing campaign to invade

00:44:01.660 --> 00:44:04.006
is an act of terrorism.

00:44:04.006 --> 00:44:06.548
That is an act of terrorism.

00:44:06.549 --> 00:44:09.927
And if you live just 24 hours in constant fear like that,

00:44:09.927 --> 00:44:13.186
your health deteriorates,

00:44:13.186 --> 00:44:18.146
let alone living night after night, 
month after month like that.

00:44:18.146 --> 00:44:21.816
So even though the bombs haven't fallen,

00:44:21.816 --> 00:44:25.170
the city hasn't been surrounded or seized

00:44:25.170 --> 00:44:30.844
but the people have already began to suffer, out of anxiety, fear.

00:44:30.844 --> 00:44:33.278
That is a kind of terrorism.

00:44:33.278 --> 00:44:35.165
Terrorism is not coming from only one side.

00:44:35.165 --> 00:44:37.450
Both sides have committed acts of terrorism.

00:44:38.951 --> 00:44:43.507
Violence is not coming from one side, 
it's coming from both sides.

00:44:45.312 --> 00:44:49.138
And it's the people who have to pay the very high price.

00:44:49.482 --> 00:44:52.360
And there's a rise in mental illness

00:44:52.360 --> 00:44:56.716
because of the anxiety and fear.

00:44:58.399 --> 00:45:03.381
So violence is one kind of ill-being.

00:45:04.638 --> 00:45:09.194
Then there's broken families.

00:45:11.608 --> 00:45:13.973
The broken family

00:45:17.300 --> 00:45:19.917
is a kind of ill-being.

00:45:19.917 --> 00:45:22.625
Now, there are so many broken families,

00:45:22.625 --> 00:45:25.688
many families where

00:45:25.688 --> 00:45:27.848
the couple,

00:45:27.848 --> 00:45:30.608
the parents are hostile toward one another

00:45:30.608 --> 00:45:34.403
and the children suffer.

00:45:34.403 --> 00:45:39.090
There are so many broken families like that

00:45:39.090 --> 00:45:43.107
all over the world.

00:45:43.107 --> 00:45:45.199
That is a kind of ill-being.

00:45:49.650 --> 00:45:52.475
Divorce.

00:45:52.475 --> 00:45:55.518
Divorce.

00:45:55.518 --> 00:45:57.926
In some countries

00:45:57.926 --> 00:46:00.545
the divorce rate

00:46:00.545 --> 00:46:03.515
is over 50%.

00:46:03.515 --> 00:46:05.527
Like in the Netherlands.

00:46:07.043 --> 00:46:09.895
These are the real ill-being of our time.

00:46:10.787 --> 00:46:16.027
As a result of broken families, the children suffer.

00:46:16.027 --> 00:46:18.943
They may be affected and growing up

00:46:18.943 --> 00:46:22.891
they lose faith in married life.

00:46:27.677 --> 00:46:29.677
Suicide.

00:46:33.125 --> 00:46:35.125
Suicide.

00:46:42.712 --> 00:46:47.405
In Vietnam, every twenty-four hours 
one person commits suicide.

00:46:47.405 --> 00:46:50.189
In France

00:46:50.189 --> 00:46:52.891
many young people commit suicide.

00:46:52.891 --> 00:46:56.336
Every year around 12,000 people commit suicide.

00:46:56.336 --> 00:46:59.502
12,000 young French people.

00:47:03.315 --> 00:47:06.167
Around 33 people per day.

00:47:07.789 --> 00:47:12.065
That is real suffering happening in our society

00:47:12.065 --> 00:47:14.232
and in the people.

00:47:27.968 --> 00:47:29.968
War.

00:47:30.921 --> 00:47:32.921
War.

00:47:38.195 --> 00:47:40.134
Terrorism.

00:47:41.756 --> 00:47:43.756
Terrorism.

00:47:53.656 --> 00:47:56.691
The destruction of ecosystems.

00:48:11.764 --> 00:48:15.000
Global warming.

00:48:21.351 --> 00:48:23.534
These

00:48:25.217 --> 00:48:31.234
are the kinds of ill-being in our time,

00:48:31.903 --> 00:48:35.160
and we have to call them by their true names.

00:48:37.574 --> 00:48:42.385
As practitioners, we must know how to identify

00:48:42.385 --> 00:48:48.034
and name the real suffering that is there.

00:48:57.447 --> 00:49:01.619
So that is the truth about dukkha, ill-being.

00:49:02.045 --> 00:49:05.213
The real ill-being that is present,

00:49:05.213 --> 00:49:08.029
the real ill-being that is there.

00:49:10.990 --> 00:49:14.211
So you misunderstand the Buddha when you say,

00:49:14.211 --> 00:49:18.711
"The Buddha said suffering is a truth, 
so that means everything is suffering."

00:49:21.855 --> 00:49:24.342
The two are very different.

00:49:26.512 --> 00:49:32.544
To say that ill-being is real and that we must 
find ways to deal with it is one thing.

00:49:32.544 --> 00:49:34.339
But to say that everything is suffering,

00:49:34.339 --> 00:49:37.885
that nothing is without suffering, 
is an entirely different thing.

00:49:38.473 --> 00:49:40.473
This table here,

00:49:43.008 --> 00:49:46.956
to say that it's impermanent is true.

00:49:48.273 --> 00:49:52.816
Because just like our body, it is impermanent.

00:49:52.816 --> 00:49:56.346
To say that it doesn't have a separate self is also correct.

00:49:56.346 --> 00:49:58.825
Because without the wood, without the carpenter,

00:49:58.825 --> 00:50:00.244
how can the table be?

00:50:00.244 --> 00:50:01.582
So no-self.

00:50:01.582 --> 00:50:04.646
But to say that the table is suffering? 
That doesn't sound right.

00:50:04.646 --> 00:50:07.255
"The table is suffering." Hmm.

00:50:11.527 --> 00:50:18.002
We suffer because we believe things are 
permanent when in fact they are impermanent.

00:50:18.002 --> 00:50:22.402
We suffer because we believe there's 
a separate self when in fact there's no self.

00:50:22.402 --> 00:50:24.836
Suffering is an attitude,

00:50:24.836 --> 00:50:28.195
our response to things,

00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:32.001
it's the nature of things.

00:50:32.001 --> 00:50:34.601
Suffering is not the nature of things.

00:50:34.601 --> 00:50:37.597
The people who claim that everything is suffering,

00:50:37.597 --> 00:50:40.294
they look for suffering as if it's the nature of things.

00:50:40.294 --> 00:50:42.395
It's not like that.

00:50:42.395 --> 00:50:43.764
To say that form is suffering,

00:50:43.764 --> 00:50:45.955
or that disintegration is suffering,

00:50:45.955 --> 00:50:48.119
is to look for the nature of things.

00:50:48.524 --> 00:50:54.937
So we should not be

00:50:54.937 --> 00:50:58.132
brainwashed by those teachings.

00:50:58.415 --> 00:51:00.831
They are trying to prove that what the Buddha says is true,

00:51:00.831 --> 00:51:02.748
but that's not what the Buddha wanted to say.

00:51:02.748 --> 00:51:05.913
He merely wanted to say that ill-being exists,

00:51:05.913 --> 00:51:08.403
and that we shouldn't run away from it,

00:51:08.403 --> 00:51:11.342
that we should find ways to recognize it

00:51:11.342 --> 00:51:14.635
in order to find ways to handle it.

00:51:14.635 --> 00:51:16.727
That's all.

00:51:17.679 --> 00:51:25.701
That's why after having spoken about 
the first noble truth of ill-being,

00:51:25.701 --> 00:51:28.556
the Buddha spoke about the second noble truth,

00:51:28.556 --> 00:51:31.608
which is the making of ill-being.

00:51:32.074 --> 00:51:35.612
The making of ill-being.

00:51:38.496 --> 00:51:43.306
Looking deeply into ill-being 
in order to find its cause.

00:51:43.306 --> 00:51:46.562
For example, tension.

00:51:46.562 --> 00:51:50.430
Tension in the body.

00:51:50.430 --> 00:51:53.575
Why is there tension?

00:51:53.575 --> 00:51:56.836
Because our lives are too busy.

00:51:56.836 --> 00:51:59.608
We want to do too many things.

00:52:06.391 --> 00:52:08.391
We don't know how to live

00:52:09.648 --> 00:52:11.840
in the present moment.

00:52:11.840 --> 00:52:16.476
We're always being pulled toward the future.

00:52:16.476 --> 00:52:20.717
We're not truly there in the present moment 
in order to take good care of ourselves.

00:52:22.217 --> 00:52:24.217
In order to relax.

00:52:25.413 --> 00:52:28.874
In order to remove the tensions.

00:52:29.644 --> 00:52:32.618
At the end of a working day,

00:52:33.327 --> 00:52:36.989
we may have accumulated a certain amount of tension,

00:52:39.545 --> 00:52:44.402
but we don't know how to relax to remove the tension,

00:52:44.706 --> 00:52:46.465
and we just go to bed.

00:52:47.844 --> 00:52:50.569
We go to bed and the next day we work

00:52:50.569 --> 00:52:53.435
and we accumulate more tension.

00:52:54.387 --> 00:53:01.074
Over time this tension gets accumulated.

00:53:09.330 --> 00:53:11.469
Then we go to the doctor,

00:53:11.469 --> 00:53:15.773
we take medicines in order to relieve the tension.

00:53:21.169 --> 00:53:25.908
That tension ends up giving rise to many diseases.

00:53:26.982 --> 00:53:31.904
Most diseases are born from tension and stress.

00:53:34.378 --> 00:53:38.206
So looking into tension, into ill-being,

00:53:38.206 --> 00:53:40.395
you see the making of ill-being.

00:53:40.739 --> 00:53:45.249
So we have to reorganize our daily lives in such a way

00:53:45.249 --> 00:53:48.404
that when we walk, we can relax;

00:53:48.404 --> 00:53:51.459
when we breath, we can relax;

00:53:51.459 --> 00:53:53.944
when we work, we can relax.

00:53:53.944 --> 00:53:56.922
We have time to do sitting meditation, walking meditation.

00:53:56.922 --> 00:54:00.755
This way we don't accumulate tension.

00:54:04.081 --> 00:54:07.907
So every night if we practice relaxation

00:54:09.103 --> 00:54:11.590
we can sleep better.

00:54:13.942 --> 00:54:19.108
And if there's any tension from the day, we can release it.

00:54:19.108 --> 00:54:22.975
And the next day, should there be a bit of tension,

00:54:22.975 --> 00:54:25.042
we can release it again.

00:54:25.042 --> 00:54:27.903
So

00:54:27.903 --> 00:54:32.971
the tension doesn't get accumulated day after day.

00:54:32.971 --> 00:54:35.845
In our society now

00:54:36.858 --> 00:54:39.406
people are so stressed.

00:54:40.480 --> 00:54:44.031
This is seeing the truth,

00:54:44.031 --> 00:54:48.059
the second noble truth,a

00:54:48.059 --> 00:54:50.932
and that is our way of living.

00:54:50.932 --> 00:54:53.519
How are we organizing our lives

00:54:53.519 --> 00:54:58.974
that we are becoming more and more stressed?

00:54:59.927 --> 00:55:04.971
These are the facts.

00:55:05.275 --> 00:55:07.618
In terms of ethics,

00:55:07.618 --> 00:55:13.750
these are the moral facts.

00:55:13.750 --> 00:55:17.357
They are not hypothetical.

00:55:21.779 --> 00:55:25.117
The moral facts.

00:55:27.552 --> 00:55:32.372
If there's ill-being, there must be the making of ill-being.

00:55:32.798 --> 00:55:36.400
Everything has its cause. It's called

00:55:36.400 --> 00:55:39.604
the law of cause and effect.

00:55:42.079 --> 00:55:45.479
We must identify the causes that have led to tension

00:55:45.479 --> 00:55:49.377
in the body and in the mind.

00:55:49.377 --> 00:55:54.290
Then we'll know how to remove that tension in the body and mind.

00:55:54.290 --> 00:55:59.233
We have to reorganize our lives in an intelligent way.

00:56:01.739 --> 00:56:06.395
And we know clearly that the practices 
of mindful breathing and walking

00:56:06.395 --> 00:56:10.304
helps us to come home to the present, 
to live in the present moment,

00:56:10.304 --> 00:56:12.738
not worrying about the past,

00:56:12.738 --> 00:56:16.356
not always running towards the future,

00:56:16.356 --> 00:56:20.704
and we can release a lot of tension.

00:56:20.704 --> 00:56:23.244
Moreover, we have time for sitting meditation,

00:56:23.244 --> 00:56:24.826
for relaxing,

00:56:24.826 --> 00:56:26.508
for walking meditation,

00:56:26.509 --> 00:56:34.080
so we can handle the tension and stress that's there in us.

00:56:36.494 --> 00:56:40.058
And when we've

00:56:40.058 --> 00:56:45.000
and when we've found a practicing sangha

00:56:45.000 --> 00:56:47.624
we have a chance to do these things.

00:57:10.792 --> 00:57:30.321
[ The sound of the bell ...]

00:58:16.980 --> 00:58:22.632
The ill-being that we recognize, that we've named,

00:58:24.376 --> 00:58:29.211
they don't exist by themselves alone.

00:58:29.211 --> 00:58:32.219
The one is related to the other.

00:58:41.420 --> 00:58:43.968
For example

00:58:45.407 --> 00:58:47.872
the issues of

00:58:47.872 --> 00:58:50.694
violence or broken families,

00:58:52.316 --> 00:58:55.594
they're related to tension and stress.

00:58:56.486 --> 00:58:58.281
If we're not stressed,

00:58:58.281 --> 00:59:01.324
we can solve the problem in a gentle way.

00:59:01.324 --> 00:59:03.294
We can remain calm.

00:59:04.430 --> 00:59:07.158
We're not hot-tempered.

00:59:07.158 --> 00:59:08.375
We can resolve the issue.

00:59:08.375 --> 00:59:10.947
So all of these kinds of ill-being,

00:59:10.947 --> 00:59:13.795
they inter-are.

00:59:18.643 --> 00:59:22.773
And when we've been able to 
identify the cause of one thing,

00:59:23.300 --> 00:59:27.978
we may be able to find the cause of all things.

00:59:33.982 --> 00:59:37.299
And usually, there's not just one cause,

00:59:37.299 --> 00:59:40.182
there are many causes.

01:00:17.090 --> 01:00:23.351
Here's a new proposal that perhaps

01:00:25.399 --> 01:00:30.807
no one has ever mentioned.

01:00:35.290 --> 01:00:39.238
The making of ill-being is our way of living.

01:00:39.886 --> 01:00:41.886
Our way of living.

01:00:45.395 --> 01:00:48.065
The way we live

01:00:48.956 --> 01:00:50.956
has led to ill-being.

01:00:56.717 --> 01:01:01.699
The way of living that leads to ill-being.

01:01:05.391 --> 01:01:09.886
So it's parallel to the fourth noble truth: 
the path leading to the cessation of ill-being.

01:01:10.535 --> 01:01:12.535
"Đạo Đế" means the path.

01:01:13.609 --> 01:01:16.315
The fourth noble truth is the path 
leading to the cessation of ill-being

01:01:16.315 --> 01:01:18.470
so that peace and happiness is possible

01:01:18.996 --> 01:01:24.808
And the second noble truth 
is the path leading to ill-being.

01:01:24.808 --> 01:01:26.989
So the making of ill-being is seen as a path.

01:01:26.989 --> 01:01:28.908
A way of living.

01:01:30.287 --> 01:01:33.139
A way of living that doesn't have right view.

01:01:35.552 --> 01:01:37.552
That's based on wrong view.

01:01:42.339 --> 01:01:44.561
A way of living

01:01:44.561 --> 01:01:46.652
based on wrong view.

01:01:48.122 --> 01:01:50.648
For instance, the view that you and your child

01:01:50.650 --> 01:01:52.893
are entirely two separate entities.

01:01:58.439 --> 01:02:01.391
And you cannot see that you are your child,

01:02:01.391 --> 01:02:04.273
and your child is your continuation.

01:02:05.287 --> 01:02:07.630
That is a wrong view.

01:02:07.630 --> 01:02:08.930
" Tà kiến. "

01:02:22.969 --> 01:02:25.882
You cannot see the truth of interbeing.

01:02:31.156 --> 01:02:33.156
You have a view that

01:02:34.900 --> 01:02:35.812
differentiates,

01:02:35.812 --> 01:02:37.508
that's dualistic,

01:02:38.279 --> 01:02:40.279
that discriminates.

01:02:42.205 --> 01:02:44.205
"Their happiness

01:02:45.001 --> 01:02:47.001
is not my happiness."

01:02:51.301 --> 01:02:54.005
"Their suffering is not my suffering."

01:02:54.005 --> 01:02:55.969
Meanwhile,

01:02:55.969 --> 01:02:58.840
the truth is that when they suffer

01:02:58.840 --> 01:03:00.909
it's impossible for you to be happy.

01:03:05.027 --> 01:03:08.731
Wrong view is the inability to see

01:03:09.806 --> 01:03:12.441
the interdependent co-arising of all that is.

01:03:12.441 --> 01:03:17.771
The inability to see the nature of impermanence, 
non-self and inter-being of all that is.

01:03:19.575 --> 01:03:22.488
Because within the Noble Eightfold Path,

01:03:23.136 --> 01:03:26.475
the path leading to the cessation of ill-being,

01:03:26.475 --> 01:03:28.301
there is right view.

01:03:29.558 --> 01:03:31.558
Right view.

01:03:33.424 --> 01:03:39.430
So if we consider the making of ill-being as a path,

01:03:39.430 --> 01:03:44.390
then [one part of the path], one cause of ill-being is

01:03:44.390 --> 01:03:45.541
wrong view.

01:03:45.541 --> 01:03:47.519
One of the causes of ill-being is wrong view.

01:03:47.519 --> 01:03:49.240
The root cause.

01:03:53.454 --> 01:03:56.223
Palestinians must be able to see

01:03:56.223 --> 01:04:00.301
the pain and suffering of Israelis

01:04:00.301 --> 01:04:03.001
is their own pain and suffering.

01:04:04.928 --> 01:04:07.387
And Israelis must also be able to see that for Palestinians.

01:04:07.387 --> 01:04:08.937
And then,

01:04:10.559 --> 01:04:12.559
with that insight

01:04:13.146 --> 01:04:15.450
both sides will be able to collaborate.

01:04:16.707 --> 01:04:18.707
Both sides would want the other to be happy.

01:04:20.329 --> 01:04:22.329
It's the same with father and son,

01:04:25.899 --> 01:04:29.177
with Americans and Iraqis,

01:04:31.834 --> 01:04:36.086
with Muslims and Hindus.

01:04:37.647 --> 01:04:40.112
To see that both sides inter-are.

01:04:40.112 --> 01:04:42.934
That the suffering of the other person is our own suffering.

01:04:43.886 --> 01:04:45.255
That is right view.

01:04:45.255 --> 01:04:48.260
But here there is no right view, that's why

01:04:49.395 --> 01:04:52.674
there is fear and violence

01:04:52.957 --> 01:04:55.200
war and terrorism.

01:04:56.153 --> 01:05:00.969
And when there is wrong view, there is wrong thinking.

01:05:00.969 --> 01:05:03.692
Wrong thinking 
[ Tà tư duy ]

01:05:11.157 --> 01:05:12.709
Because what is ethics?

01:05:12.709 --> 01:05:15.000
Ethics is

01:05:18.309 --> 01:05:22.196
the ability to discern what is right and what is wrong.

01:05:24.853 --> 01:05:27.036
Right and wrong.

01:05:33.831 --> 01:05:38.753
In Vietnamese, right [ chánh ] means to be upright, like so.

01:05:39.157 --> 01:05:40.307
Right.

01:05:40.307 --> 01:05:43.409
As in upright.

01:05:44.240 --> 01:05:46.849
And when it's wrong,

01:05:48.106 --> 01:05:49.034
it leans.

01:05:49.034 --> 01:05:50.289
[ Tà ] means to lean.

01:05:50.876 --> 01:05:52.876
Like light from the setting sun.

01:05:53.403 --> 01:05:56.194
It bends like this.

01:05:57.634 --> 01:05:58.556
[ Chánh ]

01:05:58.556 --> 01:05:59.380
[ Tà ]

01:05:59.380 --> 01:06:00.579
Right.

01:06:00.579 --> 01:06:01.979
Wrong.

01:06:07.769 --> 01:06:10.284
It could be a little wrong or a lot wrong.

01:06:10.284 --> 01:06:13.388
Or really wrong.

01:06:13.388 --> 01:06:15.977
And in the end it's upside down.

01:06:21.312 --> 01:06:23.107
So ethics.

01:06:23.107 --> 01:06:28.059
In order to have ethics we must be able to discern right from wrong.

01:06:29.012 --> 01:06:33.021
And wrong view is an incorrect understanding.

01:06:35.677 --> 01:06:37.981
It's the main culprit of ill-being.

01:06:39.117 --> 01:06:41.482
So the patriarch,

01:06:45.001 --> 01:06:46.979
Master Lin Chi said,

01:06:46.979 --> 01:06:49.192
as a practitioner we must have right view.

01:06:50.875 --> 01:06:53.788
We need true understanding.

01:06:57.419 --> 01:07:00.953
We'll have a chance to go deeper

01:07:00.953 --> 01:07:03.497
into what it means to have true understanding.

01:07:04.267 --> 01:07:08.828
If our view is wrong,

01:07:08.828 --> 01:07:12.230
our thinking will also be wrong.

01:07:12.230 --> 01:07:13.875
Wrong thinking

01:07:23.745 --> 01:07:27.814
Wrong thinking leads to anxiety,

01:07:31.810 --> 01:07:33.810
worries, fear,

01:07:36.041 --> 01:07:38.041
and violence.

01:07:40.759 --> 01:07:45.825
For instance, you say, "If I don't kill them first they'll kill me.

01:07:45.825 --> 01:07:48.351
That's why I have to kill them first."

01:07:48.351 --> 01:07:50.392
That is called wrong thinking

01:07:50.392 --> 01:07:53.593
Meanwhile, the other person doesn't want to kill you at all.

01:07:55.337 --> 01:08:00.858
So that kind of wrong thinking leads to fear, to anxiety,

01:08:00.858 --> 01:08:04.276
and to actions that are very wrong.

01:08:12.167 --> 01:08:14.167
Wrong speech.

01:08:21.084 --> 01:08:23.084
Wrong

01:08:26.524 --> 01:08:28.989
speech.

01:08:28.990 --> 01:08:32.116
Wrong speech, or speech that is not right.

01:08:34.955 --> 01:08:36.955
Wrong action.

01:08:39.734 --> 01:08:41.734
Wrong action.

01:08:55.163 --> 01:08:58.315
In the old days, wrong action was often described as

01:08:58.316 --> 01:09:00.572
killing, stealing and sexual misconduct.

01:09:02.560 --> 01:09:05.473
Wrong speech was lying.

01:09:11.537 --> 01:09:14.389
What else? Remind Thay again?

01:09:22.526 --> 01:09:24.526
Wrong livelihood.

01:09:29.374 --> 01:09:33.443
Doing something wrong for a living.

01:09:41.761 --> 01:09:45.404
"Moyens d'existence injuste."

01:09:48.670 --> 01:09:53.531
Engaging in businesses that destroy ecosystems,

01:09:54.057 --> 01:09:59.465
that deprive others of a chance to live, that is dishonest,

01:10:01.940 --> 01:10:05.827
that manufacture products

01:10:06.962 --> 01:10:11.336
that are harmful to consumers.

01:10:12.471 --> 01:10:15.993
To make a living from those things is wrong livelihood.

01:10:21.449 --> 01:10:24.599
Wrong livelihood.

01:10:24.599 --> 01:10:27.527
What else? Can you remind Thay?

01:10:42.235 --> 01:10:44.235
Wrong what?

01:10:46.892 --> 01:10:48.892
Wrong diligence?

01:10:53.131 --> 01:10:55.131
So diligent.

01:10:55.779 --> 01:10:58.753
But diligent in chasing after fame and fortune.

01:11:04.270 --> 01:11:06.635
Extremely diligent.

01:11:22.804 --> 01:11:24.804
You watch the news everyday

01:11:26.212 --> 01:11:29.368
to see whether

01:11:30.991 --> 01:11:32.991
your shares,

01:11:36.049 --> 01:11:38.991
your stocks have gone up or down.

01:11:38.991 --> 01:11:42.734
Whether the value has gone up or down.

01:11:42.734 --> 01:11:44.744
You worry.

01:11:48.912 --> 01:11:51.825
You work so hard

01:11:53.386 --> 01:11:58.819
that your body accumulates so much tension and pain,

01:11:58.819 --> 01:12:01.168
and yet you continue to work.

01:12:03.034 --> 01:12:06.512
You forget your body,

01:12:06.512 --> 01:12:08.614
you forget your family,

01:12:08.614 --> 01:12:11.912
you're not capable of being happy in the present moment.

01:12:12.743 --> 01:12:14.743
You're extremely busy.

01:12:15.330 --> 01:12:17.854
You have no time to breathe, to relax.

01:12:17.854 --> 01:12:20.373
That is wrong diligence.

01:12:27.047 --> 01:12:29.595
Next is wrong mindfulness and wrong concentration, correct?

01:12:30.304 --> 01:12:33.886
Wrong mindfulness is constantly thinking about

01:12:37.030 --> 01:12:39.030
"that".

01:12:41.200 --> 01:12:43.200
That thing.

01:12:43.909 --> 01:12:45.704
You're always thinking about "that,"

01:12:45.704 --> 01:12:49.074
thinking about how to succeed

01:12:49.844 --> 01:12:55.557
in the pursuit of wealth,

01:12:56.327 --> 01:12:58.570
power,

01:13:00.923 --> 01:13:02.923
fame,

01:13:03.267 --> 01:13:05.267
prestige,

01:13:07.924 --> 01:13:09.924
and sex.

01:13:09.925 --> 01:13:11.925
Four things.

01:13:12.208 --> 01:13:15.364
How to get those four things.

01:13:15.952 --> 01:13:20.691
And day and night you keep thinking about it.

01:13:23.591 --> 01:13:27.594
Wealth, fame, power and sex.

01:13:27.594 --> 01:13:29.024
Four things.

01:13:29.024 --> 01:13:31.069
That's wrong mindfulness.

01:13:33.482 --> 01:13:37.613
You're not aware of the blue sky,

01:13:37.613 --> 01:13:39.438
the white clouds,

01:13:40.999 --> 01:13:44.460
the wonders of life that are available now.

01:13:47.604 --> 01:13:49.156
The Pure Land is available.

01:13:49.156 --> 01:13:51.856
Happiness is available in the present moment.

01:13:54.269 --> 01:13:55.760
You don't have right mindfulness,

01:13:55.760 --> 01:13:57.121
only wrong mindfulness.

01:13:57.830 --> 01:14:00.599
You're never there in the present moment.

01:14:00.599 --> 01:14:08.959
You only run after and get pulled 
by the objects of your craving.

01:14:09.661 --> 01:14:11.661
That's wrong mindfulness.

01:14:12.188 --> 01:14:14.553
You're always thinking about "that."

01:14:16.297 --> 01:14:18.457
Meanwhile, mindfulness is different.

01:14:18.457 --> 01:14:21.219
Mindfulness is to be present in the here and now

01:14:21.745 --> 01:14:28.066
so that the Pure Land, happiness, love can also be there.

01:14:30.297 --> 01:14:32.601
Wrong concentration.

01:14:44.266 --> 01:14:48.640
You're concentrated on "that."

01:14:54.766 --> 01:14:57.862
The object of your concentration

01:14:59.301 --> 01:15:02.823
is not on impermanence, non-self, and inter being.

01:15:04.384 --> 01:15:10.075
Instead the object of your concentration 
is "that" and not yourself.

01:15:10.075 --> 01:15:12.038
"That" is very dangerous

01:15:12.038 --> 01:15:14.114
and we have to get rid of it.

01:15:25.353 --> 01:15:31.674
You see yourself and others as permanent and unchanging.

01:15:36.644 --> 01:15:39.474
So,

01:15:39.474 --> 01:15:42.521
you are concentrated on what is untrue.

01:15:42.521 --> 01:15:46.130
You are concentrated on what is wrong.

01:15:50.735 --> 01:15:53.405
When mindfulness

01:15:54.661 --> 01:15:56.362
is powerful,

01:15:56.362 --> 01:15:58.122
it leads to concentration.

01:15:59.561 --> 01:16:04.808
And if the object of your mindfulness is

01:16:04.808 --> 01:16:07.769
the four kinds of craving 
[ money, fame, power, sex ]

01:16:11.156 --> 01:16:15.712
the object of your concentration 
will also be the four kinds of craving.

01:16:17.578 --> 01:16:19.578
Meaning

01:16:19.882 --> 01:16:23.391
you're only concentrated on those four things:

01:16:23.391 --> 01:16:26.261
How to get that title,

01:16:26.261 --> 01:16:28.821
that position, that power?

01:16:37.929 --> 01:16:42.546
Like the French socialist party electing a party leader.

01:16:43.621 --> 01:16:54.203
The candidates only think of that,

01:16:54.203 --> 01:16:57.496
getting elected as party leader.

01:16:57.496 --> 01:17:00.000
So you only put your mind on that,

01:17:00.000 --> 01:17:04.642
you only concentrate on that and nothing else.

01:17:06.447 --> 01:17:11.916
So how can you take care of yourself or your loved ones?

01:17:13.599 --> 01:17:21.381
But when the object of your concentration

01:17:25.104 --> 01:17:27.104
is craving,

01:17:30.888 --> 01:17:32.888
for wealth,

01:17:33.536 --> 01:17:35.536
power,

01:17:35.819 --> 01:17:37.249
fame

01:17:37.249 --> 01:17:39.097
and sex,

01:17:39.989 --> 01:17:43.310
your mind is only focused on that,

01:17:43.310 --> 01:17:45.420
and it is a kind of concentration,

01:17:45.420 --> 01:17:47.345
but it's wrong concentration.

01:17:49.028 --> 01:17:52.659
And mindfulness and concentration are wrong,

01:17:52.659 --> 01:17:54.619
it leads to wrong view.

01:17:56.119 --> 01:17:57.776
And because of wrong view,

01:17:57.776 --> 01:17:59.679
you have wrong mindfulness and wrong concentration.

01:17:59.679 --> 01:18:02.806
They feed each other. 
Wrong view feeds wrong mindfulness,

01:18:03.089 --> 01:18:05.175
And wrong mindfulness feeds wrong concentration.

01:18:05.175 --> 01:18:06.788
Wrong concentration, wrong mindfulness feeds wrong view.

01:18:06.788 --> 01:18:08.680
They go in circles.

01:18:09.815 --> 01:18:13.857
So, this is not the Noble Eightfold Path,

01:18:13.857 --> 01:18:16.502
but the Ignoble Eightfold Path.

01:18:24.271 --> 01:18:26.575
The Ignoble Path.

01:18:28.867 --> 01:18:31.393
The reasons we have these kinds of ill-being

01:18:31.393 --> 01:18:34.397
is because we have gone on the Ignoble Path.

01:18:34.680 --> 01:18:36.049
The wrong path,

01:18:36.049 --> 01:18:39.866
the path of wrong view, wrong thinking,

01:18:39.866 --> 01:18:42.036
wrong speech, wrong action, etc.

01:18:43.719 --> 01:18:46.449
So you've gone more on the wrong path than the right.

01:18:47.098 --> 01:18:52.872
And perhaps this is the first time 
the second noble truth is defined

01:18:53.520 --> 01:18:55.741
as being parallel to the fourth noble truth.

01:18:55.741 --> 01:18:59.423
The fourth noble truth is the 
Noble Eightfold Path leading to happiness.

01:18:59.423 --> 01:19:04.337
So the second noble truth is the 
Ignoble Eightfold Path leading to ill-being.

01:19:17.797 --> 01:19:24.323
So when we look for the causes of ill-being

01:19:24.323 --> 01:19:26.248
when they are named,

01:19:26.248 --> 01:19:30.387
we can see that those causes can be found

01:19:32.678 --> 01:19:35.544
in our way of living now

01:19:35.544 --> 01:19:39.956
that's based on wrong view, wrong thinking, 
wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood,

01:19:39.956 --> 01:19:43.182
wrong diligence, wrong mindfulness, wrong concentration.

01:19:43.182 --> 01:19:46.060
The Ignoble Path.

01:19:50.238 --> 01:19:53.151
So we're just talking about principles,

01:19:54.895 --> 01:19:57.890
but we need these principles first and

01:19:57.890 --> 01:20:00.729
then we can apply them.

01:20:04.482 --> 01:20:08.308
The third noble truth is the cessation of ill-being.

01:20:30.001 --> 01:20:33.462
The transformation, the cessation of

01:20:34.293 --> 01:20:38.685
the causes leading to suffering.

01:20:42.329 --> 01:20:44.368
Ill-being is the first noble truth,

01:20:44.368 --> 01:20:46.883
the making of ill-being is the second noble truth,

01:20:46.883 --> 01:20:49.485
the cessation of ill-being is the third noble truth.

01:20:49.485 --> 01:20:51.735
Cessation here means the absence of,

01:20:51.735 --> 01:20:53.763
the transformation of.

01:20:56.116 --> 01:20:57.806
The absence of what?

01:20:57.806 --> 01:21:04.052
The absence of a way of living based on the wrong path.

01:21:04.052 --> 01:21:08.220
The absence of wrong view, wrong thinking, wrong speech, etc.

01:21:09.233 --> 01:21:12.817
Originally, it is the making of ill-being.

01:21:12.817 --> 01:21:15.615
But the absence of the making of ill-being

01:21:15.898 --> 01:21:18.231
is at the same time the absence of ill-being.

01:21:18.231 --> 01:21:21.375
As long as the root is cut off,

01:21:21.375 --> 01:21:24.045
the tree can no longer survive.

01:21:24.633 --> 01:21:27.639
So absence here, cessation here,

01:21:27.639 --> 01:21:31.867
is the cessation of the making,

01:21:32.272 --> 01:21:34.272
the roots of ill-being.

01:21:34.555 --> 01:21:40.633
And when the roots are gone, 
the leaves and branches are also gone.

01:21:41.220 --> 01:21:44.000
The cessation of ill-being means

01:21:44.000 --> 01:21:50.037
the transformation, the cessation of the roots of ill-being.

01:21:53.850 --> 01:21:57.919
Ill-being, the making of ill-being, the cessation of ill-being.

01:22:01.733 --> 01:22:04.342
The third truth is

01:22:07.546 --> 01:22:11.268
the acknowledgement that we can transform

01:22:11.268 --> 01:22:13.928
this way of living.

01:22:15.001 --> 01:22:19.618
This is proof that we do have free will.

01:22:23.675 --> 01:22:36.022
With mindfulness,

01:22:37.037 --> 01:22:39.037
we

01:22:43.885 --> 01:22:45.885
we can remove wrong mindfulness.

01:22:47.507 --> 01:22:49.507
With right mindfulness,

01:22:50.581 --> 01:22:52.885
we come to right concentration.

01:22:53.899 --> 01:22:58.090
And with right mindfulness and 
right concentration, we have right view.

01:22:58.556 --> 01:23:02.078
In this way, the third truth

01:23:03.091 --> 01:23:07.404
is proof that humans do have free will.

01:23:09.635 --> 01:23:13.583
According to Buddha Shakyamuni, our teacher,

01:23:14.048 --> 01:23:17.887
free will is possible,

01:23:17.887 --> 01:23:23.291
and it begins with mindfulness.

01:23:26.739 --> 01:23:28.739
In the beginning,

01:23:29.387 --> 01:23:33.895
the space you have to exercise that freedom 
may be a bit small, a bit narrow,

01:23:33.895 --> 01:23:36.195
nonetheless, it's there.

01:23:36.600 --> 01:23:41.976
Because we are all capable of drinking tea mindfully,

01:23:41.976 --> 01:23:44.626
of walking mindfully, of breathing mindfully.

01:23:48.317 --> 01:23:53.665
And when that mindfulness is strong enough, 
it leads to concentration.

01:23:54.617 --> 01:23:57.086
When right mindfulness and concentration are powerful enough,

01:23:57.086 --> 01:24:01.121
it breaks free from wrong views
and leads to right view.

01:24:01.708 --> 01:24:07.969
So in Buddhism, it's very clear 
that we humans do have free will.

01:24:09.591 --> 01:24:13.417
Free will begins with mindfulness.

01:24:15.343 --> 01:24:18.621
And it's very concrete how to be mindful.

01:24:20.061 --> 01:24:23.120
In principle, all you need is right mindfulness and concentration,

01:24:23.120 --> 01:24:26.869
but in practical terms,

01:24:27.944 --> 01:24:31.283
our mindful breathing and mindful steps

01:24:31.566 --> 01:24:35.940
are very concrete practices that

01:24:40.240 --> 01:24:48.547
can help us establish our freedom and make it greater

01:24:48.547 --> 01:24:51.857
so that we can stop being lost.

01:24:52.140 --> 01:24:58.279
Otherwise, you continue to be 
lost in confusion for a long time.

01:25:01.483 --> 01:25:03.483
And maybe this is the first time

01:25:04.314 --> 01:25:09.358
anyone has said that the third truth in the Four Noble Truths

01:25:09.358 --> 01:25:15.000
is the recognition that humans have free will.

01:25:16.024 --> 01:25:21.493
This is a very positive note.

01:25:24.394 --> 01:25:31.141
You cannot say that Buddhism is cynical, 
that Buddhism renounces or gives up on life.

01:25:31.729 --> 01:25:35.748
Because humans having free will is very positive.

01:25:35.748 --> 01:25:39.156
There's ill-being, that is one truth, but

01:25:39.156 --> 01:25:43.054
that humans can eliminate and 
transform ill-being, that is another truth.

01:25:43.054 --> 01:25:45.000
The third truth.

01:25:50.628 --> 01:25:52.993
The third truth

01:25:58.511 --> 01:26:00.998
is made concrete

01:26:03.290 --> 01:26:05.290
with the fourth truth.

01:26:05.817 --> 01:26:09.399
With the fourth truth, we can see that the third truth

01:26:11.630 --> 01:26:13.813
has some standing.

01:26:15.739 --> 01:26:18.469
The fourth truth is the path leading to the end of ill-being.

01:26:31.534 --> 01:26:35.031
There's no hyphen between these words [ in Vietnamese ].

01:26:35.031 --> 01:26:38.890
It's one term, the path leading to the end of ill-being.

01:26:39.173 --> 01:26:40.880
Ill-being [ khổ ] 
is one term,

01:26:40.880 --> 01:26:42.371
the making of ill-being [ khổ tập ] 
is another term,

01:26:42.371 --> 01:26:45.000
and the cessation of ill-being [ khổ tập diệt ] 
is a third term.

01:26:46.325 --> 01:26:50.568
The path leading to the cessation of ill-being 
[ khổ tập diệt đạo ]

01:27:00.720 --> 01:27:04.911
is a path that leads to the transformation

01:27:05.369 --> 01:27:11.812
of the causes of ill-being.

01:27:14.043 --> 01:27:16.469
The first truth is ill-being.

01:27:16.935 --> 01:27:19.300
The second truth is the making of ill-being.

01:27:22.931 --> 01:27:24.787
The third truth is the cessation of ill-being.

01:27:24.787 --> 01:27:26.826
And the fourth truth is the path 
leading to the end of ill-being.

01:27:26.826 --> 01:27:28.826
This grammar

01:27:30.814 --> 01:27:33.605
is from the Chinese language.

01:27:34.923 --> 01:27:39.236
Sometimes we abbreviate it by saying 
ill-being, the causes, the end, and the path.

01:27:40.006 --> 01:27:43.673
But the full expressions would be: ill-being,

01:27:43.673 --> 01:27:46.727
the causes of ill-being,

01:27:46.727 --> 01:27:50.579
the end of the causes of ill-being,

01:27:50.579 --> 01:27:54.385
the path leading to the end of the causes of ill-being.

01:27:54.385 --> 01:27:56.005
That's how they say it.

01:27:56.653 --> 01:27:59.505
So "khổ, tập, diệt, đạo" is only an abbreviation.

01:28:01.858 --> 01:28:05.988
We see that the Noble Eightfold Path 
is very clear,

01:28:05.988 --> 01:28:08.605
very concrete.

01:28:10.045 --> 01:28:12.715
Practicing the Noble Eightfold Path

01:28:13.424 --> 01:28:16.337
we can have free will,

01:28:16.864 --> 01:28:19.534
and we can also

01:28:20.486 --> 01:28:24.860
remove the roots of ill-being.

01:28:27.273 --> 01:28:30.000
And so

01:28:30.713 --> 01:28:36.061
the fourth truth, the Noble Eightfold Path,

01:28:48.151 --> 01:28:51.622
is the foundation for the third truth.

01:28:51.622 --> 01:28:55.699
It is proof of the third truth

01:28:55.699 --> 01:28:58.854
that humans have free will.

01:29:06.442 --> 01:29:09.294
In the beginning, our freedom may be small,

01:29:10.368 --> 01:29:14.133
but with practice it will grow.

01:29:16.668 --> 01:29:21.468
There's an example Thay often likes to use

01:29:23.577 --> 01:29:26.163
to help us understand this.

01:29:26.163 --> 01:29:29.107
There's a young man who has certain habits,

01:29:30.303 --> 01:29:32.303
familiar patterns,

01:29:33.438 --> 01:29:37.081
ways of behaving

01:29:40.895 --> 01:29:42.895
that's very familiar.

01:29:42.896 --> 01:29:46.308
Every time he hears something upsetting,

01:29:46.308 --> 01:29:49.230
that waters his seeds of irritation,

01:29:49.230 --> 01:29:51.652
he gets angry.

01:29:51.935 --> 01:29:54.848
Like when you strike a match, there's a fire.

01:29:57.200 --> 01:30:00.562
So in a meeting if someone were to 
utter a particular sentence,

01:30:00.562 --> 01:30:02.788
he would react like that.

01:30:02.788 --> 01:30:05.834
He reacts exactly like that a hundred times over.

01:30:06.117 --> 01:30:08.477
And every time he reacts like that,

01:30:08.477 --> 01:30:15.000
everyone can see that he has no control over himself.

01:30:18.779 --> 01:30:24.674
But after, he regrets, he gets angry. at himself. "Why?"

01:30:25.992 --> 01:30:29.027
"I know that it's not good when I react like that."

01:30:29.553 --> 01:30:34.463
He's told himself many times not to react like that,

01:30:34.463 --> 01:30:38.717
but when it comes down to it, when those seeds 
were watered he reacts in the same way.

01:30:38.717 --> 01:30:42.143
That's due to habit energy.

01:30:45.287 --> 01:30:50.251
The horse knows how to find its way home.

01:30:50.251 --> 01:30:51.791
The same with a buffalo.

01:30:52.074 --> 01:30:55.086
You just need to lie on the 
buffalo's back and it'll take you home,

01:30:55.086 --> 01:30:56.699
you don't need to guide it.

01:30:56.699 --> 01:30:59.681
It knows the way, it's familiar.

01:30:59.681 --> 01:31:02.230
So our habit energies are the same.

01:31:02.513 --> 01:31:05.769
Should someone touch off a certain seed in you,

01:31:05.769 --> 01:31:08.781
you automatically react like that,

01:31:08.781 --> 01:31:12.851
so you are a victim of your habit energy.

01:31:13.256 --> 01:31:16.412
Now, mindfulness can interfere.

01:31:18.704 --> 01:31:22.286
A friend tells him, 
"Today, I'll go to the meeting with you."

01:31:25.004 --> 01:31:28.404
"And I'll hold your hand for the whole the meeting,"

01:31:29.661 --> 01:31:34.704
"and should someone say that sentence 
that waters your seeds, I'll squeeze your hand."

01:31:35.170 --> 01:31:40.152
"If I squeeze your hand, 
you'll have to come back to your breathing."

01:31:40.435 --> 01:31:44.306
"You take a deep breath, 
you become aware of your breathing,

01:31:44.306 --> 01:31:50.591
and you're determined not to explode like that."

01:31:50.591 --> 01:31:53.239
"Breathe in and breathe out. I'm here for you."

01:31:53.765 --> 01:31:57.921
"Your mindfulness may still be weak, 
but I can help you with mine."

01:31:57.921 --> 01:32:03.605
"So I'll squeeze your hand tightly, 
meanwhile you just breathe in and out."

01:32:03.605 --> 01:32:06.660
"Just smile. Let them say whatever they want."

01:32:08.038 --> 01:32:11.482
So this is mindfulness intervening.

01:32:11.482 --> 01:32:15.347
And that day, that brother didn't explode like he did in other times.

01:32:15.347 --> 01:32:17.695
It's very strange and wonderful.

01:32:17.695 --> 01:32:21.481
That is thanks to the intervention of mindfulness.

01:32:21.764 --> 01:32:27.043
His energy of mindfulness was still weak 
because he hadn't practiced for long,

01:32:27.043 --> 01:32:30.596
so he needed someone to help him be mindful.

01:32:30.596 --> 01:32:33.259
He borrowed someone else's mindfulness.

01:32:34.212 --> 01:32:36.677
After practicing like that a few times,

01:32:36.677 --> 01:32:40.024
he was mindful enough to be able to do it on his own.

01:32:40.024 --> 01:32:42.913
And then in one meeting, he said, "I got this."

01:32:42.913 --> 01:32:46.072
"You don't need to come with me, 
you don't need to squeeze my hand."

01:32:46.073 --> 01:32:50.044
"I'll use my left hand to squeeze my right hand."

01:32:50.044 --> 01:32:52.751
And in the end he didn't explode.

01:32:52.751 --> 01:32:57.994
Moving forward, 
he had a greater degree of freedom.

01:32:58.642 --> 01:33:02.859
This is proof that there is free will.

01:33:02.859 --> 01:33:05.223
And where does free will come from?

01:33:05.223 --> 01:33:08.007
The answer is mindfulness.

01:33:10.907 --> 01:33:13.881
That is the beginning.

01:33:15.001 --> 01:33:18.404
Sticking to mindfulness, slowly,

01:33:18.404 --> 01:33:22.053
we have free will.

01:33:28.544 --> 01:33:32.066
The Four Noble Truths

01:33:34.357 --> 01:33:40.983
and the Noble Eightfold Path

01:33:45.001 --> 01:33:51.884
is born from lived experience,

01:33:51.884 --> 01:34:02.096
it's not something that's granted by a god.

01:34:04.053 --> 01:34:10.435
It's not something that congress,

01:34:11.570 --> 01:34:16.187
whether it's the house or the senate, has legislated.

01:34:17.079 --> 01:34:21.331
It comes from one person's lived experience.

01:34:27.153 --> 01:34:32.622
One person who made use of 
the energy of mindfulness to get to concentration

01:34:33.657 --> 01:34:35.900
and finally right view.

01:34:37.097 --> 01:34:39.949
And he found a path for himself,

01:34:40.597 --> 01:34:45.000
and he shared his understanding with others.

01:34:45.000 --> 01:34:50.022
That is the case of Gautama Shakya.

01:34:51.706 --> 01:35:01.582
The Four Noble Truths as well as 
the Noble Eightfold Path (the fourth truth)

01:35:02.785 --> 01:35:10.263
are moral facts

01:35:12.859 --> 01:35:16.259
that anyone can agree with.

01:35:17.516 --> 01:35:21.299
Whether you are Buddhist or non-Buddhist,

01:35:21.800 --> 01:35:24.652
these remain the moral facts.

01:35:27.735 --> 01:35:34.239
Whether you believe in God or not, 
these are still the moral facts.

01:35:36.409 --> 01:35:40.680
In his very first Dharma talk,

01:35:40.680 --> 01:35:46.970
the Buddha laid the foundation for an ethics,

01:35:46.970 --> 01:35:49.365
an ethical path.

01:35:53.239 --> 01:36:01.873
And

01:36:07.701 --> 01:36:10.797
it's very pragmatic.

01:36:18.262 --> 01:36:25.618
Pragmatic because it takes us back to reality now.

01:36:27.058 --> 01:36:30.000
And in this reality, there is ill-being

01:36:33.906 --> 01:36:37.184
Looking deeply into ill-being,

01:36:37.467 --> 01:36:40.270
into the nature of ill-being,

01:36:40.270 --> 01:36:42.510
we find a way out.

01:36:43.280 --> 01:36:46.680
Based on our understanding of cause and effect,

01:36:47.815 --> 01:36:49.887
we find a path.

01:36:49.887 --> 01:36:55.615
And that path has the capacity to transform ill-being.

01:36:56.398 --> 01:37:03.954
So these ethics are pragmatic.

01:37:04.677 --> 01:37:06.677
Practical.

01:37:07.873 --> 01:37:12.064
In the US there's a philosophy

01:37:13.138 --> 01:37:16.151
called Pragmatism.

01:37:16.151 --> 01:37:18.190
Pragmatism.

01:37:18.190 --> 01:37:20.981
They advocate that truth is 
something useful, practical for life.

01:37:25.525 --> 01:37:27.525
It's beneficial for us.

01:37:35.903 --> 01:37:40.819
So truth is not something we just think about,

01:37:40.819 --> 01:37:43.466
it must be put into practice.

01:37:43.466 --> 01:37:46.302
And when you put it into practice 
you see the results right away.

01:37:52.063 --> 01:37:54.976
La vérité est quelque chose qui payer.
Truth is something that pays.

01:37:55.320 --> 01:37:58.233
Meaning it pays money. It's useful.

01:37:58.699 --> 01:38:02.664
Truth is something useful and has practical consequences.

01:38:02.664 --> 01:38:08.053
So the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold path is that kind of truth,

01:38:08.053 --> 01:38:10.846
and if you apply it you see it's effective.

01:38:10.846 --> 01:38:12.855
If it's not effective,

01:38:12.855 --> 01:38:15.000
it's not the truth.

01:38:16.624 --> 01:38:25.197
And so Buddhist ethics is not 
metaphysical, it is practical.

01:38:27.428 --> 01:38:34.163
And these are not things to just talk about,
they are to be applied in daily life.

01:38:34.163 --> 01:38:38.654
For instance, when we speak of mindfulness,
what kind of mindfulness are we talking about?

01:38:38.654 --> 01:38:40.167
In concrete terms,

01:38:40.167 --> 01:38:43.425
are you breathing

01:38:43.425 --> 01:38:45.243
mindfully?

01:38:45.628 --> 01:38:47.890
If you know how to breath mindfully,

01:38:47.890 --> 01:38:50.994
you can to calm your body and mind.

01:38:50.994 --> 01:38:54.162
You can touch the wonders of life.

01:38:54.162 --> 01:38:55.798
Have you tried walking mindfully?

01:38:55.798 --> 01:39:00.000
If you do, you can be in touch with the wonders of life.

01:39:00.267 --> 01:39:12.431
So we can say that Buddhism is very close 
to the philosophy of Pragmatism of William James.

01:39:13.201 --> 01:39:33.643
[ The sound of the bell ... ]

01:39:37.222 --> 01:39:50.969
[ The sound of the bell ... ]