WEBVTT 00:00:05.977 --> 00:00:07.506 (Bell) 00:00:12.326 --> 00:00:18.484 (Bell) 00:00:45.623 --> 00:00:51.041 (Bell) 00:01:19.695 --> 00:01:25.889 (Bell) 00:01:49.367 --> 00:01:51.449 Good morning 00:01:52.207 --> 00:01:58.758 dear Thay dear sangha, today is the 9th, Sunday, the 9th of December, 2018. 00:02:00.016 --> 00:02:03.603 We are in the Assembly of Stars meditation hall in Lower Hamlet, 00:02:03.758 --> 00:02:09.023 and this is the last of the Dharma talks 00:02:09.542 --> 00:02:15.892 before the end of our three month retreat together. 00:02:17.299 --> 00:02:20.804 So I feel a special sense of 00:02:25.075 --> 00:02:27.272 speaking to that. 00:02:27.571 --> 00:02:32.030 Most of us have been here for the three month retreat together. 00:02:37.172 --> 00:02:39.182 We've been 00:02:41.572 --> 00:02:44.355 those of you who came 00:02:47.506 --> 00:02:51.656 to Plum Village for three months have experienced 00:02:52.880 --> 00:02:55.689 going through ups and downs. 00:02:57.384 --> 00:02:59.684 And maybe, 00:03:00.703 --> 00:03:06.453 some of the time you wondered, 'Why did I come?' 00:03:07.691 --> 00:03:10.293 I don't know. Excuse me. 00:03:11.954 --> 00:03:14.014 It's a loud blow. 00:03:14.217 --> 00:03:15.971 (Laughter) 00:03:18.222 --> 00:03:21.998 Maybe you felt, 'Yeah, I'd be better off 00:03:23.616 --> 00:03:25.837 in a cave somewhere'. 00:03:27.602 --> 00:03:31.539 Maybe in the Pole, or somewhere, 00:03:32.309 --> 00:03:34.387 in some mountain. 00:03:36.111 --> 00:03:39.306 When we practice together, we really 00:03:40.946 --> 00:03:44.134 have to meet each other, 00:03:44.799 --> 00:03:47.625 and get along together. 00:03:49.367 --> 00:03:51.958 If we don't get along together, 00:03:52.586 --> 00:03:56.299 because we are living together 24/7, 00:03:56.601 --> 00:04:03.922 it really shows up. It is difficult to stay calm and to enjoy. 00:04:08.908 --> 00:04:15.221 So actually, a lot of the practice that you've been learning these three months 00:04:15.738 --> 00:04:19.768 is how to live in harmony, how to get along. 00:04:20.985 --> 00:04:27.554 How to practise loving speech, 00:04:30.622 --> 00:04:35.558 but also you have to communicate when there is a difficulty, 00:04:35.976 --> 00:04:38.755 but with loving speech. 00:04:40.553 --> 00:04:42.607 How to let go 00:04:44.772 --> 00:04:49.312 of your preference and maybe your irritation. 00:04:51.955 --> 00:04:57.442 How to see the other person is also suffering. 00:05:00.577 --> 00:05:03.012 Maybe see that 00:05:03.385 --> 00:05:08.414 try to understand them so you can let go of judgment. 00:05:10.878 --> 00:05:17.103 And we have practices, like Beginning Anew that we do regularly. 00:05:19.252 --> 00:05:22.614 We do that formally, we sit down 00:05:23.031 --> 00:05:28.006 and practise expressing gratitude, noticing the good things in each other, 00:05:28.689 --> 00:05:36.009 and also expressing when we have a regret towards each other. 00:05:36.842 --> 00:05:42.261 It is a very renewing practice. 00:05:47.728 --> 00:05:53.398 We had - It is also, we call it the season of Shining Light. 00:05:54.721 --> 00:05:57.819 So because we see each other, 00:05:58.374 --> 00:06:02.325 we are rooming together, eating together, working together, 00:06:02.700 --> 00:06:07.080 we see each other and we have something called the sangha eye. 00:06:09.059 --> 00:06:15.439 Because, ourselves, if we are just practising alone, 00:06:16.590 --> 00:06:22.304 there is a number of things that we miss from practising in a community. 00:06:23.364 --> 00:06:27.361 One is that because we are not interacting, 00:06:27.798 --> 00:06:31.378 things don't maybe come up in the same way. 00:06:31.819 --> 00:06:36.526 So when we are interacting we get to see ourselves, 00:06:36.805 --> 00:06:39.776 but also we have blind spots. 00:06:40.008 --> 00:06:45.221 And so then it's very helpful for us, for the people we trust, 00:06:46.250 --> 00:06:49.775 we open ourselves up, we allow ourselves to be 00:06:50.403 --> 00:06:56.916 open to receiving their view about us. 00:06:57.914 --> 00:07:02.553 And that view is expressed with all of the love and appreciation also 00:07:02.767 --> 00:07:08.234 for the whole of us not just pointing to the difficulty. 00:07:08.711 --> 00:07:12.548 So we also practise this in the three months retreat, 00:07:13.323 --> 00:07:16.921 shining light on each other's practice, 00:07:19.745 --> 00:07:24.731 in order to help the other person have more freedom, 00:07:28.469 --> 00:07:32.089 more growth in themselves, and more happiness. 00:07:35.454 --> 00:07:38.591 Sometimes it can be a bit scary 00:07:39.418 --> 00:07:41.715 to allow ourselves 00:07:44.084 --> 00:07:47.735 to have people share like that. 00:07:49.705 --> 00:07:52.792 I've known people run away. 00:07:54.168 --> 00:07:59.380 But when they allow themselves to they only experience the love. 00:08:00.408 --> 00:08:03.676 I'm sure there are some exceptions to that. 00:08:03.887 --> 00:08:09.153 Sometimes people can get hurt also, and then we also have compassion 00:08:09.584 --> 00:08:13.149 that we are learning the practice. 00:08:13.765 --> 00:08:19.104 So living together is a practice in itself. 00:08:26.636 --> 00:08:29.752 And in a sense, it is - 00:08:30.871 --> 00:08:34.884 you can say that learning to live together, 00:08:35.808 --> 00:08:41.984 learning to get along is also the fruit of the practice. 00:08:43.384 --> 00:08:48.654 Thay has said, brotherhood, sisterhood, there is no religion 00:08:48.859 --> 00:08:51.259 that is higher than that. 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:56.606 So we are generating brotherhood and sisterhood. 00:08:56.811 --> 00:09:00.810 We are going in that spirit. 00:09:11.008 --> 00:09:13.762 There was a Harvard study 00:09:14.696 --> 00:09:20.996 done, it was one of the longest ever studies, 75 years. 00:09:21.215 --> 00:09:23.816 It is still going on, I think. 00:09:25.391 --> 00:09:30.079 And they interview and get also self-information 00:09:31.865 --> 00:09:36.080 from standardised groups of men in the States. 00:09:39.163 --> 00:09:42.623 Essentially the point is that 00:09:42.830 --> 00:09:46.231 they were looking to see what are the conditions 00:09:46.841 --> 00:09:50.577 for happiness and health 00:09:54.781 --> 00:09:57.942 looking right through the life. 00:09:58.858 --> 00:10:02.559 And what they found was if you want to know 00:10:03.134 --> 00:10:08.170 what makes a happy octogenarian, that means, if you are 80 years or over, 00:10:08.973 --> 00:10:13.351 because these groups they've been following since they were boys, 00:10:13.521 --> 00:10:16.770 and now they are in their 80's. 00:10:18.759 --> 00:10:23.065 You look back to when they are 50 years old, which is roughly my age, 00:10:24.512 --> 00:10:28.800 and you can determine whether 00:10:29.784 --> 00:10:33.080 the conditions that seem to be common, 00:10:33.255 --> 00:10:37.132 like the ones that are happy, the ones that are healthy, 00:10:37.692 --> 00:10:41.483 the result is only one factor. 00:10:44.410 --> 00:10:48.269 It is not how much cholesterol in the blood, 00:10:48.492 --> 00:10:52.097 it is not many things you might think, 00:10:52.273 --> 00:10:56.023 but the one factor that comes out 00:10:58.156 --> 00:11:06.231 is those people report that they have good relationships. 00:11:07.579 --> 00:11:11.167 Relationships they can trust. 00:11:13.723 --> 00:11:15.997 And that seems to be 00:11:16.220 --> 00:11:20.989 an essential requisite for a happy life. 00:11:22.609 --> 00:11:32.278 So in community we are blessed with having many deep connections to each other. 00:11:37.649 --> 00:11:41.939 There is a lot of trust of each other in the community, 00:11:43.099 --> 00:11:47.184 which allows us to be open, and allows us to be 00:11:48.426 --> 00:11:51.010 free to express. 00:12:01.643 --> 00:12:04.825 And, of course, relationships, 00:12:05.822 --> 00:12:08.597 when we talk about relationships, 00:12:09.820 --> 00:12:14.963 what came to my mind when I heard about this study was, 00:12:15.225 --> 00:12:20.423 what about the relationship we have to ourselves? 00:12:22.871 --> 00:12:25.888 Do we trust ourselves? 00:12:26.459 --> 00:12:29.465 This must also be important. 00:12:31.211 --> 00:12:38.168 And the relationship we have to society, to Mother Earth. 00:12:42.871 --> 00:12:47.187 This must also count as a relationship. 00:12:48.063 --> 00:12:52.792 And it is also clear we know from our experience 00:12:58.281 --> 00:13:02.546 that to the extent that we are in a good relationship with ourselves, 00:13:03.210 --> 00:13:06.427 our relationship with others goes well. 00:13:09.457 --> 00:13:14.459 And when our relationship with ourselves is not so good, 00:13:16.276 --> 00:13:22.050 we find things seem to get reflected to us. 00:13:23.918 --> 00:13:29.523 The sangha is like a hall of mirrors. We keep seeing ourselves reflected. 00:13:33.962 --> 00:13:36.980 So when we have a difficult interaction, 00:13:37.192 --> 00:13:40.851 it's always helpful to ask what is going on in me 00:13:41.117 --> 00:13:44.489 that is connected with that difficult interaction, 00:13:45.283 --> 00:13:49.415 as well as, you know, because there is a tendency maybe 00:13:49.626 --> 00:13:52.938 to blame or put it on the other person. 00:13:57.552 --> 00:14:02.180 We may see interesting things when we do that. 00:14:07.376 --> 00:14:09.553 We may see that, 00:14:11.768 --> 00:14:18.488 'Ah! This reaction I had in the meeting, or in this interaction, 00:14:20.834 --> 00:14:25.396 brought about quite a strong emotion in me. 00:14:25.604 --> 00:14:28.698 It seems a bit more than, 00:14:31.950 --> 00:14:35.675 it is disproportionated to what actually happened. 00:14:36.405 --> 00:14:38.842 Why did I get so angry? 00:14:41.116 --> 00:14:45.499 Why did I feel so anxious?' 00:14:57.907 --> 00:15:06.906 I myself found myself in a situation where some anxiety and fear came, 00:15:07.575 --> 00:15:10.607 and it started actually as anger. 00:15:13.349 --> 00:15:14.969 I was, 00:15:21.753 --> 00:15:26.618 I was feeling somehow slightly let down about something, and then 00:15:27.701 --> 00:15:31.860 this anxiety came. And I asked that question to myself, 00:15:33.903 --> 00:15:36.901 what does this remind me of? 00:15:37.071 --> 00:15:43.161 I asked it to my store consciousness. What does this remind me of? 00:15:45.008 --> 00:15:48.808 I just waited for something to come, 00:15:50.055 --> 00:15:55.379 and I suddenly had an image of myself in kindergarten. 00:15:56.065 --> 00:15:59.821 A memory that I didn't have before. 00:16:00.043 --> 00:16:03.385 It is not one I could remember, but it's suddenly a flash 00:16:04.457 --> 00:16:09.794 of waiting to be picked up. 00:16:12.485 --> 00:16:16.146 But my mother was late that day. 00:16:18.508 --> 00:16:25.012 And there was a fear in me, I guess. And it was amazing how that 00:16:28.015 --> 00:16:31.648 I made the connection just by asking that question. 00:16:32.407 --> 00:16:38.516 So it allowed me to, just having that interaction with the other person 00:16:39.285 --> 00:16:43.771 allowed me to touch something that needed healing. 00:16:45.410 --> 00:16:50.352 And the healing is maybe a continuous 00:16:53.266 --> 00:16:56.333 path of healing that we are on. 00:16:56.523 --> 00:16:59.685 We are not going to heal everything overnight, 00:16:59.858 --> 00:17:03.399 or with one insight. 00:17:05.688 --> 00:17:13.232 But we, each time we have a small healing, we get more energy and more confidence. 00:17:13.977 --> 00:17:17.788 And we feel, wow! Okay, this is a good path. 00:17:20.256 --> 00:17:22.447 And actually, 00:17:24.688 --> 00:17:27.238 just understanding ourselves, 00:17:27.674 --> 00:17:31.063 understanding that this is where this is coming from, 00:17:31.341 --> 00:17:34.184 in a sense it can help so much, 00:17:36.014 --> 00:17:42.563 and knowing that we have a practice to also embrace 00:17:45.182 --> 00:17:48.124 ourselves in that moment, 00:17:48.941 --> 00:17:55.073 embrace maybe the little boy, the little girl in us, 00:17:56.585 --> 00:18:00.322 when we see that coming up, 00:18:00.727 --> 00:18:06.356 we recognize that there is some suffering there relating to that age 00:18:06.690 --> 00:18:09.444 when we were very young, 00:18:12.277 --> 00:18:18.331 we have the opportunity to embrace, to smile and with our solidity, 00:18:18.534 --> 00:18:24.399 that we generate through the practice, we can breathe with that emotion. 00:18:24.828 --> 00:18:28.015 So knowing we have a path, 00:18:29.916 --> 00:18:34.894 we have a lot of a kind of - 00:18:37.821 --> 00:18:41.487 We have happiness and we have a sense that the suffering 00:18:41.679 --> 00:18:44.759 doesn't need to be so much now, 00:18:45.911 --> 00:18:50.753 because the biggest suffering is not having a way, having a path. 00:18:53.461 --> 00:18:58.825 So we have a lot of gratitude also for having the practice. 00:19:03.613 --> 00:19:09.369 Even before we've applied it, but when we apply it, and we get the experience, 00:19:10.426 --> 00:19:14.439 every time we are so grateful. 00:19:19.371 --> 00:19:24.437 I also had an opportunity in this winter, this three month retreat, 00:19:24.578 --> 00:19:28.669 we don't call it the winter retreat now because for the very first time 00:19:29.785 --> 00:19:39.037 is more the autumn period. I also had an experience this three month retreat 00:19:39.328 --> 00:19:45.043 of connecting with my 14 year old in me. 00:19:47.841 --> 00:19:52.420 And, yeah. At that time when he felt very isolated 00:19:53.543 --> 00:20:00.259 and not enjoying school, and feeling 00:20:03.616 --> 00:20:10.504 pretty in a bit of a hostile environment he found. 00:20:15.020 --> 00:20:22.356 I knew, I know about this time, and I know it somehow shows up in my interactions 00:20:23.172 --> 00:20:30.728 but I took sometime to try to talk with the boy. And he showed up. 00:20:37.056 --> 00:20:39.276 And he said, 00:20:43.129 --> 00:20:48.314 he asked, I asked, 'Would you like to spend time with me? 00:20:49.342 --> 00:20:53.970 Now I'm an adult'. And he said, 'You are too busy'. 00:20:54.374 --> 00:20:56.184 (Laughter) 00:20:56.298 --> 00:20:59.642 'You got too many things going on. 00:21:00.575 --> 00:21:04.589 And I cause you all sorts of problems anyway, 00:21:04.723 --> 00:21:07.740 so I don't want to cause you any more problems. 00:21:07.868 --> 00:21:10.728 I don't want to take up your time.' 00:21:10.857 --> 00:21:14.497 It was very fascinating to hear this response. 00:21:15.906 --> 00:21:21.512 And actually, it gave me quite some insight into myself. 00:21:22.816 --> 00:21:26.338 Because, of course, that is part of me. 00:21:27.421 --> 00:21:30.270 So I share that because 00:21:30.448 --> 00:21:37.815 it is part of our journey that we are on to 00:21:41.395 --> 00:21:45.300 heal all the parts of ourselves. 00:21:47.201 --> 00:21:52.353 Inside as well as outside. Inside we also have a kind of sangha. 00:21:53.896 --> 00:21:56.122 Different voices. 00:21:56.450 --> 00:22:01.944 And we also need to bring harmony to those different voices inside ourselves. 00:22:03.312 --> 00:22:08.471 But when I was deciding to become a monk, 00:22:11.195 --> 00:22:13.233 I remember 00:22:14.338 --> 00:22:17.606 the Dharma teacher from the UK Martin Pitt, 00:22:18.083 --> 00:22:22.399 he gave me that advice, he said, 'In making the decision, 00:22:23.031 --> 00:22:27.162 check with your internal sangha, and make sure everybody -' 00:22:27.323 --> 00:22:30.771 So it's a real sangha koan, a real decision. 00:22:30.869 --> 00:22:34.667 Because there are these many voices in you. 00:22:34.898 --> 00:22:39.352 Some of the voices of doubt, I had to say, 'Please, I hear you, but 00:22:39.865 --> 00:22:46.613 we've touched something deeper than doubt at this moment', 00:22:47.220 --> 00:22:49.822 and the doubt had to agree. 00:22:52.844 --> 00:22:56.222 The Christians say, the doubting Thomas. 00:23:04.206 --> 00:23:06.075 So, 00:23:08.672 --> 00:23:13.271 isn't a fascinating journey, isn't it? The spiritual path. 00:23:13.385 --> 00:23:16.055 And we do it together. 00:23:16.677 --> 00:23:22.554 And somehow, being together as a community brings so much joy and insight, 00:23:22.738 --> 00:23:25.039 it is so rich. 00:23:25.587 --> 00:23:31.272 Some others are going away, going back to the real world. 00:23:33.871 --> 00:23:38.516 I always find slightly ironic to use that term, 00:23:39.570 --> 00:23:42.345 because it seems like out in the real world 00:23:42.498 --> 00:23:46.504 is where people are busy, very busy, running away from reality. 00:23:47.294 --> 00:23:51.583 Whereas the idea here in Plum Village is we touch reality 00:23:51.857 --> 00:23:55.286 both in us and in nature. 00:23:58.182 --> 00:24:04.006 But we go back out, and we want to maintain our practice. 00:24:08.747 --> 00:24:15.987 One of the things we need to draw on is the connections we made here, 00:24:16.580 --> 00:24:19.915 to keep them in our heart, and know 00:24:20.541 --> 00:24:24.869 when we think we are isolated, and all around out there, 00:24:25.026 --> 00:24:30.199 remember that is not true. Because the connections we make 00:24:33.355 --> 00:24:35.501 that are real, 00:24:36.006 --> 00:24:43.786 they are not subject to dissolving simply because we are in a different place, 00:24:44.516 --> 00:24:47.236 they are non-local. 00:24:51.248 --> 00:24:56.446 So we always remember the sangha has our back. 00:24:56.713 --> 00:24:59.300 They are behind us. 00:24:59.498 --> 00:25:02.411 People visualize it in different ways. 00:25:09.186 --> 00:25:12.917 Connected with the Harvard study I mentioned, 00:25:13.792 --> 00:25:21.681 loneliness is the biggest killer. That is a medical fact, that loneliness kills. 00:25:25.958 --> 00:25:29.885 And we are so blessed that we don't - 00:25:33.182 --> 00:25:36.372 We have so many conditions to not be lonely 00:25:36.662 --> 00:25:41.785 through the practice of being there for ourselves, 00:25:42.218 --> 00:25:47.656 and learning how to be there with other people and the connections we make. 00:25:47.862 --> 00:25:50.579 The relationships we make. 00:25:56.950 --> 00:26:02.030 Because even you can be in a relationship, you can be in a family, 00:26:02.218 --> 00:26:09.597 you can be with many people, but, as the 14 year old boy, 00:26:10.592 --> 00:26:14.553 in a boarding school, lots and lots of people. 00:26:15.998 --> 00:26:20.245 They are not dissimilar to Plum Village's. Living in a dormitory, 00:26:21.232 --> 00:26:28.250 sharing rooms. But I felt isolated and lonely at that particular time. 00:26:32.166 --> 00:26:36.502 So it's not exactly that you are next to people 00:26:36.705 --> 00:26:39.347 that you don't feel lonely. 00:26:39.525 --> 00:26:44.620 It can also be that you can feel lonely even in Plum Village. 00:26:45.514 --> 00:26:47.601 Again, if you 00:26:49.248 --> 00:26:55.452 somehow are not in good relationship with what is going on in you. 00:27:02.832 --> 00:27:07.659 And in those cases, where that is happening in Plum Village, 00:27:08.789 --> 00:27:12.024 the encouragement is to stay. 00:27:13.753 --> 00:27:17.329 And you may feel you don't have 00:27:20.204 --> 00:27:22.944 your smile any more. 00:27:23.703 --> 00:27:26.330 I'll always remember reading 00:27:26.546 --> 00:27:31.446 Thay saying, 'The dandelion keeps your smile.' 00:27:32.912 --> 00:27:38.866 You know, the flower you see on the lawn, it has your smile for you. 00:27:40.278 --> 00:27:45.404 And like so in the sangha we can feel 00:27:46.865 --> 00:27:52.841 not doing well, but we should try to become aware 00:27:53.531 --> 00:27:56.598 that there is a lot of love 00:27:58.904 --> 00:28:03.503 and care. People are giving us space, but they care. 00:28:06.609 --> 00:28:10.515 And sometimes the care comes in a way we don't want, 00:28:10.654 --> 00:28:15.181 maybe somebody comes into our space, and tries to shake us up a bit. 00:28:15.343 --> 00:28:18.111 And we don't want that. 00:28:18.391 --> 00:28:21.847 Maybe it wasn't so skilful of them. 00:28:22.025 --> 00:28:27.248 But nevertheless we can recognize it as a good intention, as care. 00:28:35.617 --> 00:28:42.138 So we may have taken different themes for this three month period, 00:28:42.138 --> 00:28:48.640 as well. I know some of the brothers in Upper Hamlet were studying the Anapanasati 00:28:51.136 --> 00:28:53.153 for instance. 00:28:56.996 --> 00:29:01.240 Some brothers were studying the 40 tenets of Plum Village. 00:29:04.043 --> 00:29:09.466 The Manifestation Only teachings was one subject I was engaged with. 00:29:11.062 --> 00:29:16.194 And I think many other topics. But they all, somehow, 00:29:17.460 --> 00:29:21.016 connect to the same point 00:29:22.758 --> 00:29:31.596 of how to come into relationship with myself, to be there, 00:29:33.516 --> 00:29:40.209 and really understand what is going on in my body, in my mind. 00:29:44.019 --> 00:29:47.976 And see my nature of interbeing. 00:29:49.981 --> 00:29:56.447 And Thay has said that even just practising the first 4 of the Anapanasati, 00:29:57.318 --> 00:30:00.408 awareness of the breath, awareness of the body, 00:30:01.447 --> 00:30:05.279 we touch all of the other aspects, 00:30:05.756 --> 00:30:08.940 because of the nature of interbeing. 00:30:09.210 --> 00:30:13.159 So in connection when we are just aware of our body, 00:30:13.414 --> 00:30:18.948 as we really realize that, oh, here is my body 00:30:19.246 --> 00:30:23.297 and I'm really get to be in my body, 00:30:23.549 --> 00:30:26.989 experiencing it with the breath, 00:30:27.573 --> 00:30:32.605 I also naturally become aware of my feelings. 00:30:33.781 --> 00:30:37.347 They are part of what is going on, 00:30:37.909 --> 00:30:41.170 and there is a correspondence in the body. 00:30:44.112 --> 00:30:46.882 And also mental formations, 00:30:47.182 --> 00:30:50.366 perceptions and consciousness. 00:30:54.967 --> 00:30:57.046 I remember, 00:30:59.933 --> 00:31:03.224 yes, we'll have one sound of the bell. Thank you. 00:31:06.555 --> 00:31:07.869 (Bell) 00:31:11.933 --> 00:31:18.040 (Bell) 00:32:01.447 --> 00:32:04.008 I was just reflecting 00:32:05.370 --> 00:32:10.486 that one of the earliest winter retreat 00:32:11.250 --> 00:32:15.442 I can recall, I can't remember specifically which one it was, 00:32:16.616 --> 00:32:20.700 but Thay said at the very opening talk of the retreat, 00:32:20.886 --> 00:32:24.281 'This retreat is an opportunity 00:32:25.259 --> 00:32:31.394 and we should practice to be there for every mental formation 00:32:32.372 --> 00:32:34.576 as it arises.' 00:32:36.047 --> 00:32:37.860 And this was, 00:32:38.469 --> 00:32:42.416 I just remember being astounded by the possibility of that. 00:32:42.758 --> 00:32:46.808 Every mental formation that will arise, I will be there, 00:32:47.027 --> 00:32:50.306 and embrace, and take care, and recognize. 00:32:55.143 --> 00:33:00.441 And I guess that was a very wonderful thing to set 00:33:00.788 --> 00:33:05.746 as an aim for myself. 00:33:07.585 --> 00:33:12.158 To try to be there for what is going on. 00:33:12.812 --> 00:33:18.349 Always being aware what mental formations come and go 00:33:18.547 --> 00:33:21.345 and watching the impermanence of them, 00:33:21.525 --> 00:33:25.630 and watching them in relation to what is happening in me, 00:33:26.750 --> 00:33:28.799 around me. 00:33:29.037 --> 00:33:32.107 And in my interactions. 00:33:32.375 --> 00:33:42.227 But we sometimes get forgetful and lost, so just like on the cushion, 00:33:43.120 --> 00:33:46.673 we recognize and we have to keep coming back. 00:33:56.880 --> 00:34:00.443 One of the themes of the three month retreat 00:34:00.594 --> 00:34:03.880 has been the 14 mindfulness trainings. 00:34:05.395 --> 00:34:08.844 And the ones that were left to me to share about 00:34:10.851 --> 00:34:13.878 were concerning 00:34:15.241 --> 00:34:23.536 right compassion and action, it has to do with right livelihood, reverence for life 00:34:35.492 --> 00:34:37.688 and generosity. 00:34:37.861 --> 00:34:41.125 So it is 11, 12 and 13. 00:34:43.871 --> 00:34:47.741 The 14 mindfulness trainings, 00:34:50.167 --> 00:34:53.611 Thay wrote them in 1964. 00:34:54.596 --> 00:34:58.479 And it seems to me they are as relevant today 00:35:00.658 --> 00:35:03.846 as they could ever had been. 00:35:04.475 --> 00:35:08.816 They were written in the time of the Vietnam War. 00:35:13.719 --> 00:35:16.512 And they have been revised. 00:35:20.423 --> 00:35:27.541 So that we try to make them more and more relevant and skilful, appropriate 00:35:28.129 --> 00:35:34.149 to our time and with the insight that we have. 00:35:39.419 --> 00:35:41.249 Ethics 00:35:43.603 --> 00:35:48.624 is a big subject, and in a sense, 00:35:48.855 --> 00:35:52.528 the trainings, be they the 5 mindfulness trainings or the 14, 00:35:52.696 --> 00:36:00.040 they are a contribution to what we hope is a good contribution to a global ethic. 00:36:03.243 --> 00:36:07.170 And they do not need to be 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:12.659 religious or include Buddhist - 00:36:15.310 --> 00:36:19.611 Kind of, things specific to Buddhism. 00:36:20.570 --> 00:36:27.003 They can be put into the language that is for anybody can feel comfortable with. 00:36:27.268 --> 00:36:31.274 But hopefully, they are universal. 00:36:31.518 --> 00:36:34.500 They speak to the universal. 00:36:35.849 --> 00:36:38.551 And they are about 00:36:40.300 --> 00:36:42.721 they are about love, 00:36:42.909 --> 00:36:47.849 they are about the actions and interactions 00:36:49.655 --> 00:36:52.419 that come about when we are 00:36:52.553 --> 00:36:55.931 coming from a place of true love. 00:36:57.596 --> 00:37:01.432 True love we know has a number of ingredients. 00:37:03.764 --> 00:37:08.176 True love has brotherhood and sisterhood, 00:37:09.263 --> 00:37:13.828 kindness in it, loving kindness. 00:37:16.417 --> 00:37:20.153 It has that friendship element. 00:37:20.460 --> 00:37:24.964 Spiritual friendship, being there for each other. 00:37:25.864 --> 00:37:29.330 True love also has compassion. 00:37:31.029 --> 00:37:36.872 We really can have empathy for the other person, 00:37:37.149 --> 00:37:42.889 but we don't get overwhelmed by the suffering, 00:37:44.602 --> 00:37:47.052 so we can truly be there. 00:37:47.185 --> 00:37:50.899 Even when somebody is suffering, we can maintain our stability 00:37:51.028 --> 00:37:54.996 and be there for that person and help them. 00:37:56.197 --> 00:37:59.145 True love also has joy. 00:38:00.421 --> 00:38:05.828 Without joy, we can () so lone. 00:38:07.883 --> 00:38:11.703 Joy is something very important. 00:38:13.827 --> 00:38:18.840 And it arises from unusual places sometimes. 00:38:20.002 --> 00:38:25.446 Sometimes it is the joy that comes when we are able to 00:38:27.076 --> 00:38:30.881 be there with our suffering in such a way that we think, oh! 00:38:31.566 --> 00:38:35.592 This is a kind of joy, because I get to be with - 00:38:36.499 --> 00:38:41.727 I'm in the most important place, where I need to be. 00:38:41.893 --> 00:38:45.242 And there is a sort of underlying joy to that, 00:38:45.434 --> 00:38:48.659 even though you are maybe experiencing the suffering. 00:38:48.810 --> 00:38:52.805 So I'm using that example to show joy doesn't always show up, 00:38:54.194 --> 00:38:58.921 it's not always what we think in terms of excitement, joy, 00:38:59.076 --> 00:39:04.006 although expressions of joy and smiles is also 00:39:07.115 --> 00:39:09.198 very good. 00:39:10.908 --> 00:39:15.471 I said to a brother before I came to the talk this morning, 00:39:17.163 --> 00:39:23.708 'I need to have a laugh before I go.' I need to generate that joyful energy. 00:39:25.156 --> 00:39:27.875 Sometimes we need to - 00:39:29.977 --> 00:39:36.156 Sometimes I think of something funny just to generate that joy. 00:39:36.768 --> 00:39:42.777 But the real joy coming from friendship, 00:39:45.888 --> 00:39:51.297 from insight, from our mindfulness practice, 00:39:52.593 --> 00:39:58.772 that is a very deep kind of joy. And we need that. 00:39:59.824 --> 00:40:03.106 And then there is inclusiveness. 00:40:03.950 --> 00:40:10.540 We include all that is in us and we take care of what is going on, 00:40:11.041 --> 00:40:14.638 and we don't set up an internal battle field. 00:40:18.393 --> 00:40:23.248 So even we see a part of ourselves is seemingly 00:40:25.526 --> 00:40:30.766 causing us suffering, maybe doing something which brings us - 00:40:31.828 --> 00:40:36.092 makes us feel ashamed, or it is a bad habit, 00:40:38.225 --> 00:40:41.454 or we've spoken to somebody in a bad way, 00:40:41.610 --> 00:40:45.733 we somehow have to still have compassion for that part of us too, and say, 00:40:45.894 --> 00:40:48.752 Okay, I accept. 00:40:49.631 --> 00:40:55.816 I accept everything that is there, I love and accept myself just as I am. 00:40:55.912 --> 00:40:59.266 I know that there are causes and conditions 00:40:59.408 --> 00:41:05.040 for why it is like this right now. Maybe I'm frustrated with myself. 00:41:06.059 --> 00:41:11.792 I also accept my frustration with myself. Okay, I'm frustrated with myself. 00:41:12.275 --> 00:41:16.391 So whatever is there, you say, Okay, I get it. If you are there, 00:41:16.524 --> 00:41:20.746 you are there for a reason. And I accept you. 00:41:20.999 --> 00:41:25.480 It doesn't mean we have to be again overwhelmed, or pushed, 00:41:25.690 --> 00:41:30.952 but we accept and we smile to that. And we try to generate our stability 00:41:32.400 --> 00:41:39.595 so we can be with that part of ourselves without being carried away. 00:41:41.425 --> 00:41:44.642 And so too with our relationships with other people, 00:41:44.746 --> 00:41:47.950 and when we get frustrated and upset with other people, 00:41:48.130 --> 00:41:55.358 to have this capacity to include and to stay with, to be there for each other. 00:41:56.951 --> 00:41:59.937 And there is 00:42:02.044 --> 00:42:09.605 in the Discourse on Love, we are invited to extend our love to all beings 00:42:10.094 --> 00:42:14.327 across the entire cosmos. It's very grand. 00:42:18.133 --> 00:42:25.042 A new chant that Thay Phap Linh has been doing with a group of us 00:42:25.245 --> 00:42:28.656 is on the CD, a new chanting CD. 00:42:31.259 --> 00:42:35.519 I'm very embarrassed with the video they made to go with that, by the way. 00:42:36.113 --> 00:42:41.960 I don't know if anybody saw it, but I got very self-conscious seeing myself, 00:42:42.554 --> 00:42:46.780 To look like very, very sincere. 00:42:47.403 --> 00:42:52.989 Anyway, on this chant, 00:42:55.846 --> 00:43:01.203 there is the line, 'showing love and concern for 00:43:01.905 --> 00:43:05.438 one and all as for our very own family'. 00:43:07.347 --> 00:43:12.125 So bringing that spirit of being concerned for 00:43:13.385 --> 00:43:16.265 anybody we meet 00:43:16.921 --> 00:43:20.429 as if they were our own family. That is the spirit. 00:43:20.639 --> 00:43:26.088 And it's not totally beyond our capacity. 00:43:26.670 --> 00:43:32.041 We know when we are in a good place we can have that openness of heart. 00:43:37.424 --> 00:43:42.174 There is a quote I heard about 00:43:46.228 --> 00:43:50.857 a husband whose wife came back after being on a Buddhist retreat. 00:43:51.403 --> 00:43:55.315 And the husband was asked, 'Sorry, have you seen any change in your wife 00:43:55.452 --> 00:44:01.699 since she came back? - Yes, she is in love with the whole universe, 00:44:04.034 --> 00:44:06.471 but nobody in particular.' 00:44:06.621 --> 00:44:08.389 (Laughter) 00:44:08.576 --> 00:44:11.201 And I think that meant 00:44:11.532 --> 00:44:15.691 we have to be careful to just be in this place of thinking about 00:44:16.502 --> 00:44:21.967 the grand love for everything, but then we don't actually apply it to 00:44:22.397 --> 00:44:25.378 what is this relationship going on right now. 00:44:25.824 --> 00:44:28.155 Yes, I can't deal with this one, but, 00:44:28.277 --> 00:44:29.739 (Laughter) 00:44:29.894 --> 00:44:33.525 I love - I feel so much for all the suffering in the world, 00:44:33.659 --> 00:44:36.331 but I can't deal with you. 00:44:36.679 --> 00:44:40.501 So that is also why a sangha is important. 00:44:41.415 --> 00:44:46.610 We meet the - It is where the rubber hits the road, hits the real, we rub it. 00:44:46.969 --> 00:44:51.855 The expression is, the chopsticks we use, to clean chopsticks 00:44:52.509 --> 00:44:55.497 you get a bunch and you rub them all together, 00:44:55.634 --> 00:44:58.714 rub and then clean them individually. 00:44:59.513 --> 00:45:01.758 It is a good image. 00:45:11.740 --> 00:45:15.556 Yes, I was going to share something. 00:45:15.891 --> 00:45:20.994 I have emailed Christiana Figueres. 00:45:22.606 --> 00:45:29.804 She is the lady that brought together 195 countries 00:45:30.334 --> 00:45:39.379 for the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Do you remember her? 00:45:40.361 --> 00:45:44.551 She has been to Plum Village quite a few times, 00:45:44.851 --> 00:45:51.423 and she has spoken quite a few times to young Wake Up groups 00:45:52.354 --> 00:45:55.751 that were here when we had a Wake Up retreats. 00:45:56.934 --> 00:46:00.363 She has come with her daughter. 00:46:02.164 --> 00:46:05.372 And she loves Plum Village. 00:46:07.102 --> 00:46:12.530 But when she was doing the work, 00:46:13.702 --> 00:46:17.524 I emailed her to just check if she was Okay that I share this story. 00:46:18.207 --> 00:46:21.980 Because when she was in the middle of her work 00:46:23.707 --> 00:46:26.912 of bringing together these countries 00:46:27.196 --> 00:46:31.232 for the Paris, they call it, 00:46:32.202 --> 00:46:35.385 is it COP 21? Yes. 00:46:35.982 --> 00:46:40.707 COP 24 is going on right now in Poland. 00:46:45.620 --> 00:46:52.787 So it is a momentous thing that she achieved, and it sets, 00:46:53.263 --> 00:46:56.781 gave everybody quite a sense of Okay, 00:46:56.954 --> 00:47:00.818 at least these countries coming together, 00:47:00.983 --> 00:47:07.503 there is a certain sangha harmony in the world to take climate change 00:47:08.642 --> 00:47:16.532 as an issue to really do something. And it was a great start that was - 00:47:16.920 --> 00:47:24.073 In all of the other previous times, we couldn't get to the starting block. 00:47:26.741 --> 00:47:30.395 So it was a wonderful thing she was able to achieve, 00:47:30.542 --> 00:47:35.523 and she did it with Thay's teachings. And she practised listening. 00:47:35.689 --> 00:47:40.174 She said that was the main factor that helped to get to that. 00:47:40.706 --> 00:47:46.319 This listening to really understanding what was the situation, 00:47:46.673 --> 00:47:51.117 what was the obstacles for these countries, 00:47:51.331 --> 00:47:54.986 be they Saudi Arabia, China, etcetera. 00:47:58.122 --> 00:48:03.521 But there was a period in that build up of five years leading up to 00:48:04.376 --> 00:48:06.914 2015 Paris, 00:48:07.128 --> 00:48:13.326 when she had a crisis, a personal crisis. 00:48:16.809 --> 00:48:20.454 And she was in Bonn at that time, in Germany, 00:48:21.255 --> 00:48:25.502 and she somehow, miraculously found out about Plum Village. 00:48:25.685 --> 00:48:28.886 She knew nothing before about Plum Village. 00:48:31.870 --> 00:48:37.614 And she knew she needed to go somewhere. She was very, very - 00:48:38.530 --> 00:48:41.099 Yeah, in a crisis. 00:48:41.705 --> 00:48:48.480 And she found the EIAB, our centre in Germany, it was close enough 00:48:51.159 --> 00:48:54.899 and she made an emergency booking. 00:48:56.293 --> 00:48:58.572 And she just went. 00:48:59.259 --> 00:49:08.629 Nobody knew who she was. She said to us that it saved her. 00:49:10.957 --> 00:49:13.746 It really saved her. 00:49:14.556 --> 00:49:19.334 And that the Vietnamese sisters, with their kindness, that were there, 00:49:19.865 --> 00:49:26.701 she was staying in the sister's place, they don't know what they did for me. 00:49:27.325 --> 00:49:33.829 They didn't know who I was. She is a retreatant. What else do you need to know? 00:49:34.711 --> 00:49:39.132 It's probably good sometimes we don't know who is here. 00:49:40.210 --> 00:49:42.440 I may get scared. 00:49:42.604 --> 00:49:44.316 (Laughter) 00:49:48.325 --> 00:49:50.381 But it- 00:49:53.250 --> 00:49:58.413 So just the simple kindness, and the joy, 00:50:00.445 --> 00:50:05.148 was enough to support and get her back into a good place. 00:50:05.873 --> 00:50:12.074 And then she was able to bring this amazing result. 00:50:15.746 --> 00:50:17.475 Part of - 00:50:17.707 --> 00:50:22.904 So we never know, it is part of the story. 00:50:23.113 --> 00:50:29.710 We never know our simple connection to people, every action 00:50:30.423 --> 00:50:34.186 we don't know what ripple effect there may be. 00:50:39.235 --> 00:50:45.908 On the - On one level, we would just being here 00:50:46.535 --> 00:50:50.279 and welcoming, and doing our thing, doing our practice. 00:50:50.503 --> 00:50:53.671 But that can save somebody. 00:50:54.446 --> 00:50:58.313 And it is just everybody, not just Christiana Figueres of course 00:50:58.744 --> 00:51:03.025 that is important. Everybody, each person that comes 00:51:05.696 --> 00:51:11.188 is precious that they come here and that we can support them. 00:51:12.729 --> 00:51:15.497 And what we do for them, we also do for ourselves. 00:51:20.866 --> 00:51:23.769 Another element of love is 00:51:27.514 --> 00:51:29.431 trust. 00:51:30.693 --> 00:51:34.253 Really knowing that we are there for each other. 00:51:37.429 --> 00:51:42.336 So even we do have times when we bicker and fall out. 00:51:45.371 --> 00:51:48.711 Finally we know that we are there for each other. 00:51:49.032 --> 00:51:51.513 That is the important thing. 00:51:54.477 --> 00:51:59.966 Sometimes we can't help, we get a bit angry, we say the words that we regret. 00:52:00.625 --> 00:52:02.645 We are not perfect. 00:52:02.905 --> 00:52:06.555 And in a sense, we shouldn't try to be too perfect. 00:52:06.927 --> 00:52:08.716 Sometimes 00:52:10.628 --> 00:52:13.395 it's when you lose it a little bit 00:52:13.683 --> 00:52:18.747 that you get a real conversation with the person that you needed to have. 00:52:19.719 --> 00:52:24.634 Sometimes life is messy like that. It is not always going to go perfectly, 00:52:25.389 --> 00:52:30.206 with a loving speech. But we have as the background, 00:52:30.501 --> 00:52:36.786 the basic intention is loving speech as the support for our community. 00:52:37.281 --> 00:52:39.968 Without that we fail. 00:52:40.542 --> 00:52:43.831 And listening, being there for each other. 00:52:46.598 --> 00:52:49.142 And reverence is the other one, 00:52:49.381 --> 00:52:54.469 which is also the name of one of the trainings that I was given. 00:52:54.748 --> 00:53:00.262 Reverence is this quality of wonder, this quality of awe. 00:53:02.904 --> 00:53:09.006 If we are to act for Mother Earth, we should be in love with Mother Earth. 00:53:13.716 --> 00:53:16.882 We should have that sense of connection 00:53:17.099 --> 00:53:21.956 which gives us a feeling of wonder and respect. 00:53:27.773 --> 00:53:29.578 And that is 00:53:35.562 --> 00:53:41.210 something I hope we all have and we all experience, 00:53:41.496 --> 00:53:45.770 but when we are out of connection with Mother Earth, 00:53:46.234 --> 00:53:51.017 we may realize I need to give more time, 00:53:51.368 --> 00:53:55.424 like my 14 year-old boy said to me, 'Ah! But you are too busy!' 00:53:55.982 --> 00:54:01.396 If we say - Just Mother Earth says, 'It seems you are too busy'. 00:54:02.655 --> 00:54:05.508 I walked the other day, I had this sense, 00:54:05.679 --> 00:54:09.448 I was walking around the lake at Son Ha, 00:54:09.601 --> 00:54:12.380 and it was lovely and muddy. 00:54:14.916 --> 00:54:18.745 And it was raining, and it reminded me of when I used to walk in Scotland, 00:54:18.873 --> 00:54:21.375 it is often raining in Scotland. 00:54:21.625 --> 00:54:26.235 But it is a kind of nice memory. And the Earth was there. 00:54:27.431 --> 00:54:30.756 And it's like she said to me, 'I'm still here!'. 00:54:31.038 --> 00:54:34.964 Like if you've gotten - I'm still here, 00:54:36.371 --> 00:54:39.254 patient. I'm here for you. 00:54:39.505 --> 00:54:43.182 The question is whether we make ourselves available. 00:54:45.482 --> 00:54:47.267 So, 00:54:48.876 --> 00:54:53.830 building our connection is so important. With Mother Earth. 00:54:56.186 --> 00:54:57.804 It is - 00:55:05.773 --> 00:55:08.039 For me in Scotland, 00:55:08.319 --> 00:55:13.833 I had such a great feeling sometimes hiking in the hills there, 00:55:14.620 --> 00:55:17.561 and I would sometimes 00:55:18.961 --> 00:55:22.675 really feel like, oh! There is really a relationship, there is really - 00:55:22.813 --> 00:55:26.156 It is a non verbal thing, but it really felt like connection, 00:55:26.378 --> 00:55:28.366 like there was a - 00:55:28.654 --> 00:55:31.898 And I also experienced that in Deer Park. 00:55:36.588 --> 00:55:40.322 I sometimes experience it here but maybe a bit less. I don't know. 00:55:40.801 --> 00:55:42.671 I think it is - 00:55:44.989 --> 00:55:50.123 That is also my responsibility. Because it is also very beautiful here. 00:55:51.438 --> 00:55:54.378 But sometimes I made very profound connections 00:55:54.551 --> 00:55:57.432 and I think it was also because 00:55:58.450 --> 00:56:01.231 there was a sense of wilderness, 00:56:01.551 --> 00:56:05.842 when I would be really in the wilderness. I could touch it. 00:56:14.201 --> 00:56:19.337 That is something we need a bit more of, a bit more wilderness in the world. 00:56:19.852 --> 00:56:22.093 Since I was born, 00:56:23.170 --> 00:56:29.482 half the wild animals have disappeared in terms of biomass. 00:56:29.853 --> 00:56:33.246 This is the World Wildlife Fund's statistic. 00:56:34.377 --> 00:56:38.118 But it is a very sad situation 00:56:40.389 --> 00:56:45.757 that we are losing our wilderness, we are losing our wild animals. 00:56:47.736 --> 00:56:49.419 And 00:56:52.956 --> 00:56:54.559 this is 00:56:56.686 --> 00:57:00.477 while I was very inspired to see this - 00:57:02.277 --> 00:57:10.662 A couple that had a fairly sizeable part of big land in England, 00:57:11.353 --> 00:57:15.630 and for 17 years they tried to do 00:57:15.862 --> 00:57:21.147 the regular intensive agriculture and dairy on this farm. 00:57:21.752 --> 00:57:24.577 But they couldn't make it a profit. 00:57:25.708 --> 00:57:30.077 And then they came across this method, this idea, 00:57:30.376 --> 00:57:35.860 this way to rewild their land 00:57:37.095 --> 00:57:40.878 introducing old animals that used to roam. 00:57:41.093 --> 00:57:45.926 In England there used to be all sorts of animals, and bisons, 00:57:47.163 --> 00:57:52.628 and oryxes, and even lions used to be. 00:57:52.878 --> 00:57:57.238 It was more like the Serengeti in England. 00:57:57.706 --> 00:57:59.560 Or a kind of - 00:58:00.127 --> 00:58:06.730 It's amazing when you study these things. 00:58:07.287 --> 00:58:11.171 You find out that there were lions in Trafalgar Square, real ones. 00:58:17.762 --> 00:58:22.197 So she set about rewilding, basically letting Mother Nature do its thing, 00:58:22.428 --> 00:58:27.821 and introducing these animals that also added dynamism and shaped the landscape. 00:58:28.237 --> 00:58:31.986 And then there would be water features naturally appearing 00:58:32.097 --> 00:58:35.002 and it was a very muddy ground. 00:58:37.205 --> 00:58:39.937 It was beautiful to see 00:58:41.425 --> 00:58:47.540 the change from intensive agriculture to returning to this wilderness area. 00:58:48.106 --> 00:58:51.396 And now I think she runs safaris. 00:58:51.574 --> 00:58:54.152 It's actually right where my mother lives, 00:58:54.324 --> 00:58:58.691 so I think I'm going to take my mother on a safari to see this place. 00:59:00.967 --> 00:59:06.377 But the regeneration of the soil and the land by this, 00:59:06.647 --> 00:59:10.542 contributes so much back to the health of the country. 00:59:11.114 --> 00:59:14.154 I think we need to do more of that. 00:59:14.334 --> 00:59:18.962 And they actually do make a living from the land as well. 00:59:20.962 --> 00:59:25.521 If we continue the way we are going with the land use, 00:59:25.979 --> 00:59:31.340 in the UK they estimate there will only be a hundred harvests left 00:59:31.774 --> 00:59:33.924 because all of the top soil 00:59:34.097 --> 00:59:38.229 and all of the richness of the soil is being depleted by the intensive farming. 00:59:38.647 --> 00:59:46.652 So this rewilding thing is becoming more and more understood to be a good thing. 00:59:51.932 --> 00:59:59.076 So, we look at the 14 mindfulness trainings these three months, 00:59:59.668 --> 01:00:04.494 and we see that they all inter-relate. We have to practise them together. 01:00:04.727 --> 01:00:09.779 They inter-are. They arise from the insight of interbeing, 01:00:10.352 --> 01:00:14.867 and when we practise them we practise them with that spirit. 01:00:15.161 --> 01:00:21.019 When we have the awakened kind of view, 01:00:23.937 --> 01:00:28.159 naturally we want to go in this direction. 01:00:30.075 --> 01:00:34.960 And we practise them from being right in the heart of life, 01:00:36.095 --> 01:00:39.619 and also being in love, as I was describing. 01:00:41.732 --> 01:00:45.892 So they are also an expression of love and insight. 01:00:47.298 --> 01:00:51.589 When we look at the ones that are concerned with 01:00:51.871 --> 01:00:55.269 reverence for life and generosity, and right livelihood, 01:00:55.691 --> 01:01:01.211 we are also touching a lot of suffering. The damage to the environment, 01:01:02.230 --> 01:01:08.203 the suffering caused by war and conflict, by exploitation and social injustice. 01:01:09.073 --> 01:01:14.724 And it can be overwhelming when we touch this kind of suffering, 01:01:14.952 --> 01:01:17.837 because it seems so vast. 01:01:23.149 --> 01:01:32.507 And with the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 01:01:33.657 --> 01:01:38.132 saying the next 12 years is very, very crucial 01:01:38.434 --> 01:01:43.311 if we are to prevent catastrophic effects of climate change. 01:01:43.806 --> 01:01:49.015 We have this - The aim would be 01:01:49.746 --> 01:01:55.090 they propose to try to keep the temperature from rising too much, 01:01:57.747 --> 01:02:02.588 keep to 1,5 C above the pre-industrial levels. 01:02:06.455 --> 01:02:10.473 But the effort we need to do that, the transformation of society 01:02:11.826 --> 01:02:15.898 going, switching all the way to renewables 01:02:16.124 --> 01:02:19.215 it seems like a massive task. 01:02:19.640 --> 01:02:24.993 Actually, technology-wise, we probably can do it. 01:02:25.322 --> 01:02:30.312 I saw Elon Musk the guy that makes the Tesla cars saying that 01:02:31.029 --> 01:02:35.563 quite easily, for instance China, because it has a lot of free land, 01:02:36.383 --> 01:02:40.259 could meet all its energy supplies with solar easily, he said. 01:02:40.433 --> 01:02:43.731 So I don't know, but he seems to know. 01:02:45.884 --> 01:02:50.245 And I think - But when we get this kind of reports, 01:02:51.670 --> 01:02:56.207 there is a sense of urgency that comes up. 01:02:57.124 --> 01:02:59.237 And a sense of 01:03:00.726 --> 01:03:07.120 we have to name it, there is fear that arises. 01:03:08.511 --> 01:03:10.758 Maybe despair. 01:03:11.188 --> 01:03:14.200 Because we feel like it is not possible. 01:03:20.792 --> 01:03:25.787 And certainly the way the politics are, it doesn't feel so possible, 01:03:26.190 --> 01:03:32.529 because the real problem seems to be that the politicians are not able to 01:03:34.578 --> 01:03:37.289 take hold of the situation. 01:03:37.619 --> 01:03:44.493 In Poland they met, the COP24, 01:03:44.779 --> 01:03:49.927 and they couldn't agree to take on this report and act on it. 01:03:52.255 --> 01:03:56.652 So if we can't rely on the politicians, 01:03:59.001 --> 01:04:03.919 we have to come to a more regional level, perhaps. 01:04:04.676 --> 01:04:09.669 And more local level, even in Plum Village we need to go solar. 01:04:11.655 --> 01:04:17.104 We need to also be the change that needs to happen. 01:04:18.357 --> 01:04:23.313 And we already do one of the main things that is recommended, 01:04:23.856 --> 01:04:26.589 that can make a massive difference 01:04:27.114 --> 01:04:30.722 to empower us as individuals and communities. 01:04:30.912 --> 01:04:34.140 But if it is done at societal level all the better, 01:04:34.377 --> 01:04:37.154 that is individuals to go vegan. 01:04:37.428 --> 01:04:40.617 It's being said to be the plant based diet 01:04:40.808 --> 01:04:45.398 is really the biggest contribution we can make as individuals 01:04:46.823 --> 01:04:53.064 to reducing the amount of emissions of CO2. 01:04:54.633 --> 01:04:57.048 It turns out that the - 01:05:00.502 --> 01:05:03.317 The impact of the animal industry, 01:05:04.033 --> 01:05:08.127 the livestock is huge. And it's not really surprising 01:05:08.489 --> 01:05:12.277 when you consider the numbers involved. 01:05:12.837 --> 01:05:17.062 70 billion animals a year. 01:05:18.214 --> 01:05:25.042 Our human population is 7.6 billion, but 70 billion is 10 times that. 01:05:25.275 --> 01:05:28.451 And it is rising. The demand is rising. 01:05:28.757 --> 01:05:32.198 So we really need to bring it in the other direction. 01:05:32.714 --> 01:05:35.928 I don't think that the meat industry will disappear, 01:05:36.164 --> 01:05:42.316 but without a collective awakening and insight 01:05:44.690 --> 01:05:48.177 which needs to be global, 01:05:48.854 --> 01:05:51.558 but we do our part. 01:05:52.108 --> 01:05:57.484 If you are a meat eater, and you come to Plum Village for say, 01:06:00.443 --> 01:06:04.081 10 days, it is a rough calculation, 01:06:04.699 --> 01:06:06.509 you save - 01:06:07.461 --> 01:06:10.319 Suppose you are eating a steak every night, 01:06:11.590 --> 01:06:13.536 I think you would. 01:06:14.449 --> 01:06:18.091 But by coming to Plum Village and being eating a vegan diet, 01:06:18.271 --> 01:06:22.369 for ten days you would save a ton of carbon dioxide. 01:06:22.578 --> 01:06:25.154 That is how significant it is. 01:06:25.301 --> 01:06:30.638 We do more by going to the vegan diet than for instance, 01:06:30.874 --> 01:06:34.370 by changing our travel methods. 01:06:38.794 --> 01:06:44.257 I was talking with a brother, joking about how do we stop Plum Village monks 01:06:44.518 --> 01:06:48.900 the flying thing. Because we do fly to places. 01:06:50.938 --> 01:06:54.060 But we are doing very good things. So we don't want to stop. 01:06:54.266 --> 01:06:58.277 There is a trip going to Uganda in January. 01:07:00.474 --> 01:07:04.112 They are going to be dealing with 01:07:05.395 --> 01:07:09.164 some serious things going on there with violence in schools 01:07:09.327 --> 01:07:12.441 and things like these. So we want to go. 01:07:12.786 --> 01:07:15.747 And I was discussing, maybe we - 01:07:16.235 --> 01:07:21.691 People that invite us should plant trees for every time monks and nuns go out. 01:07:23.137 --> 01:07:26.237 And the brother said, ' Maybe the people invite us out, 01:07:26.400 --> 01:07:29.083 they have to go vegan for 10 days'. 01:07:30.426 --> 01:07:34.668 But we can get creative, we can look how can we become 01:07:35.870 --> 01:07:39.640 zero carbon by 2025, Plum Village. 01:07:41.642 --> 01:07:44.972 We can look. See what we can do. 01:07:49.814 --> 01:07:54.680 But this sense of fear and urgency is very real. 01:07:55.069 --> 01:07:58.324 And it generates a kind of energy, 01:07:58.609 --> 01:08:02.346 even those who are already wanting to do something active, 01:08:02.549 --> 01:08:04.935 which isn't always 01:08:06.854 --> 01:08:10.313 sustainable. There may be anger and fear, 01:08:12.050 --> 01:08:14.622 and () always helpful. 01:08:15.404 --> 01:08:19.722 Because if we want to practice compassionate action, 01:08:19.869 --> 01:08:23.235 we also have to include those who are currently doing harm, 01:08:23.387 --> 01:08:27.025 and not excluding them from our compassion. 01:08:27.187 --> 01:08:31.097 We know that actually this is a tragedy being played out. 01:08:31.564 --> 01:08:36.277 And everybody involved is in the tragedy. 01:08:37.692 --> 01:08:42.857 If you are on a flight, and the plain is going to crush, 01:08:43.751 --> 01:08:47.341 sorry for this example, it just came to my mind. 01:08:49.169 --> 01:08:56.936 But it doesn't matter if you are in a business class or first class, 01:08:58.025 --> 01:09:00.580 you are too going to crush. 01:09:00.745 --> 01:09:05.264 So everybody, even the ones that are creating that problem, 01:09:05.702 --> 01:09:07.654 we would see. 01:09:09.580 --> 01:09:13.094 We have to have compassion and there are always causes and conditions 01:09:13.255 --> 01:09:17.753 why people are in that situation. And maybe with our loving kindness 01:09:18.053 --> 01:09:20.601 as opposed to our anger, 01:09:21.293 --> 01:09:23.778 we can touch their hearts. 01:09:25.850 --> 01:09:29.584 Apparently, a brother told me that 01:09:29.896 --> 01:09:33.679 there was a lawyer from the animal industry, a top lawyer, 01:09:33.896 --> 01:09:36.322 he came to Plum Village, 01:09:37.016 --> 01:09:40.318 and he spent time with him, and by the end of the time, 01:09:40.545 --> 01:09:44.130 he didn't want to be a lawyer for the animal industry any more. 01:09:44.264 --> 01:09:47.939 I don't know, I mean, just saying, you know? 01:09:48.756 --> 01:09:52.369 You come to Plum Village, you touch some seed inside, 01:09:52.585 --> 01:09:56.015 maybe that can be enough to touch the human heart. 01:09:56.808 --> 01:10:00.079 I thought it was maybe good that I didn't get to meet him, 01:10:00.250 --> 01:10:01.949 because I'd be 01:10:02.110 --> 01:10:04.738 quizzing him about all sort of things. 01:10:05.706 --> 01:10:09.147 It is better that he came and he just experienced like 01:10:09.314 --> 01:10:12.324 nobody knew who he was, but he just got to touch 01:10:12.627 --> 01:10:16.173 peace and touch happiness of real connection. 01:10:17.040 --> 01:10:20.102 And he no longer wanted to be 01:10:20.494 --> 01:10:24.088 defending something that he knew was causing harm. 01:10:34.507 --> 01:10:36.349 But yes, 01:10:36.650 --> 01:10:38.259 we know that 01:10:38.914 --> 01:10:42.571 a big change has to happen. And it can be scary. 01:10:43.957 --> 01:10:47.056 And we know that we don't know if we are going to make it, 01:10:47.360 --> 01:10:53.427 in the sense of keeping everything Okay. Maybe it is not Okay. 01:10:54.863 --> 01:10:58.396 And we have to face a lot of difficulties 01:10:59.437 --> 01:11:05.176 in the future and some scary times ahead for ourselves, for our children, 01:11:05.427 --> 01:11:09.006 for our grandchildren, for different generations we know 01:11:09.309 --> 01:11:14.605 will experience unless we can act very strongly right now. 01:11:16.547 --> 01:11:19.613 And this is only on the subject of climate change, 01:11:19.830 --> 01:11:22.325 not to mention other subjects. 01:11:23.992 --> 01:11:32.866 But this urgency feeling could be good, but we should put it into practice also. 01:11:34.501 --> 01:11:40.841 I remember Thay when he was in Singapore, and trying to help the boat people, 01:11:41.710 --> 01:11:44.849 and the story there was that 01:11:45.114 --> 01:11:50.125 the authorities found out about what he was doing, 01:11:50.430 --> 01:11:58.873 trying to help 700, 800 people in boats to go to Australia, I think. 01:12:03.409 --> 01:12:06.906 And they told him he had to leave in 24 hours. 01:12:08.165 --> 01:12:11.877 And at that time, the sense of urgency of what he could do came up. 01:12:12.592 --> 01:12:18.217 And he knew the most important thing he needed at that moment was peace. 01:12:20.309 --> 01:12:24.463 So he practised through the night walking meditation, 01:12:25.587 --> 01:12:29.358 and he said to himself, 'If I cannot have peace in this moment, 01:12:29.520 --> 01:12:32.606 then all the peace that I experienced 01:12:33.449 --> 01:12:38.379 on the cushion, in the meditation hall, what does it mean? 01:12:39.868 --> 01:12:41.997 I need it now.' 01:12:42.889 --> 01:12:45.384 And from that, he wrote the calligraphy 01:12:45.548 --> 01:12:49.011 'If you want peace, peace is with you immediately.' 01:12:49.249 --> 01:12:54.462 Because right in the heart of the urgency, he was able to touch his peace. 01:12:54.629 --> 01:12:58.156 And from that peace, he was able to act. 01:13:01.991 --> 01:13:07.880 Act with compassion, act with lucidity, from a calm place. 01:13:17.794 --> 01:13:22.954 So, because the situation is so urgent, 01:13:23.525 --> 01:13:26.954 because the fear is there, we really need to practise. 01:13:27.234 --> 01:13:30.891 And we need to come from a place of peace. 01:13:32.600 --> 01:13:34.589 And act. 01:13:37.540 --> 01:13:41.373 And, of course, we need to come from a place of love. 01:13:49.777 --> 01:13:54.667 In terms of the mindfulness training on 01:13:56.252 --> 01:14:01.778 suffering caused by war and conflict, somehow we are all touched by that. 01:14:03.811 --> 01:14:07.589 And I also mention by way of example 01:14:10.379 --> 01:14:15.428 Annie Nushann is a woman of Liberia who during the Liberian Civil War - 01:14:18.010 --> 01:14:24.293 She was from a very poor society herself. 01:14:24.638 --> 01:14:28.161 Her family was very poor, she had 10 children. 01:14:28.967 --> 01:14:31.280 She was a refugee, 01:14:31.592 --> 01:14:36.354 she was, I think, in the Ivory Coast during the civil war. 01:14:36.809 --> 01:14:40.002 But she came back into the country by foot 01:14:40.187 --> 01:14:43.841 there having being - Her house was burned down 01:14:43.987 --> 01:14:45.968 and also so terrible things, 01:14:46.066 --> 01:14:51.112 but she came back with this intention to call for peace in Liberia. 01:14:52.206 --> 01:14:56.927 She became a big part of a movement of women 01:14:58.006 --> 01:15:03.480 which included Muslims, and Christians. They got together. 01:15:04.589 --> 01:15:07.195 And though they were poor, 01:15:07.316 --> 01:15:11.936 they didn't have any resources, they had their voices and they chanted for peace. 01:15:13.121 --> 01:15:16.710 And eventually they got international recognition 01:15:16.891 --> 01:15:21.250 and were actually able to catalyse peace 01:15:21.614 --> 01:15:26.362 after 15 years of civil war. 01:15:28.071 --> 01:15:31.056 A seemingly endless situation. 01:15:31.225 --> 01:15:34.955 And of course the peace work has continued after the war. 01:15:35.366 --> 01:15:39.145 And she has done so many amazing actions. 01:15:39.609 --> 01:15:43.445 And one of the recents I mention is because 01:15:43.655 --> 01:15:49.671 she didn't know the practice at that time, but somehow, through her Christian roots, 01:15:50.747 --> 01:15:53.559 going to church she got in touch with, 01:15:54.528 --> 01:15:58.750 asked God for peace in her heart. 01:16:00.258 --> 01:16:02.256 For courage 01:16:04.034 --> 01:16:05.924 and peace. 01:16:06.964 --> 01:16:13.740 And she went to face situations including boys with guns high on drugs, 01:16:13.916 --> 01:16:17.066 and all sorts of situations where she was able to 01:16:18.661 --> 01:16:21.919 meet them as a mother. That is what she would say, 01:16:22.054 --> 01:16:30.313 'I went to them as a mother energy.' As a mother loves her only child 01:16:31.896 --> 01:16:35.652 at the risk of her own life. So we cultivate boundless love 01:16:36.455 --> 01:16:39.740 for each and everyone of us. 01:16:39.920 --> 01:16:42.693 So she went with that spirit. 01:16:43.524 --> 01:16:46.701 And she didn't experience fear. 01:16:47.703 --> 01:16:49.540 In those times. 01:16:50.796 --> 01:16:57.631 So it is another example of how, in a very crazy situation, 01:16:59.793 --> 01:17:06.109 when we can touch non-fear and peace we are somehow also, 01:17:06.315 --> 01:17:09.948 and there is compassion, we are somehow protected. 01:17:15.250 --> 01:17:18.715 Let have one sound of the bell and then I'll wrap up. 01:17:22.429 --> 01:17:23.872 (Bell) 01:17:28.788 --> 01:17:34.638 (Bell) 01:18:07.889 --> 01:18:11.978 So there is also the suffering caused by exploitation. 01:18:12.465 --> 01:18:16.822 We are aware of the great poverty many people experience. 01:18:18.708 --> 01:18:22.428 And just to mention the connection with the vegan diet, 01:18:24.194 --> 01:18:28.113 if all of the land that is used to feed livestock 01:18:28.197 --> 01:18:31.091 was to feeding people, 01:18:31.844 --> 01:18:34.962 it could feed three billion people. 01:18:35.321 --> 01:18:39.185 It is the land that can cover the whole of the European Union. 01:18:42.639 --> 01:18:47.155 So, we think there is a pressure on the land 01:18:47.965 --> 01:18:50.489 and also water resources. 01:18:51.110 --> 01:18:55.579 Many aspects can be helped if we do this. 01:18:59.633 --> 01:19:01.968 So I want to emphasize that. 01:19:02.223 --> 01:19:10.297 When we go out, we maybe carry the light we've found. 01:19:13.521 --> 01:19:17.369 We know that our actions are important. 01:19:18.248 --> 01:19:24.519 Mother Teresa said, it is not that you do a great act of love, 01:19:27.109 --> 01:19:30.856 like that heroic moment where you save the day, 01:19:31.842 --> 01:19:34.079 Superman's suit on, 01:19:34.747 --> 01:19:39.483 but she said, it is the small acts but with great love. 01:19:40.870 --> 01:19:43.995 So the spirit of bringing a lot of love 01:19:45.004 --> 01:19:48.197 into our actions of body, speech and mind. 01:19:48.375 --> 01:19:52.862 And trusting that, and letting that lead us 01:19:53.576 --> 01:19:58.245 so as we go out into the world, I'm not going to say the real world, 01:19:59.008 --> 01:20:02.921 but as we go out from Plum Village, 01:20:04.443 --> 01:20:07.418 remember the importance of 01:20:10.516 --> 01:20:15.937 spiritual friendship, stay in touch in your heart, 01:20:16.227 --> 01:20:19.003 and find a sangha. 01:20:20.616 --> 01:20:22.965 Come back when you need, 01:20:26.247 --> 01:20:29.786 and know that your actions make a difference. 01:20:31.049 --> 01:20:35.442 Even you have one thought that is maybe 01:20:35.695 --> 01:20:40.937 hopeless in some situation, 01:20:41.530 --> 01:20:43.785 but you do it anyway. 01:20:44.700 --> 01:20:47.300 But you do it from love 01:20:47.786 --> 01:20:56.875 and from a sense of this is what I want, this is how I want to be. 01:21:00.136 --> 01:21:02.971 Because ultimately it is 01:21:05.362 --> 01:21:09.353 how we are is 01:21:11.636 --> 01:21:14.882 the real thing. 01:21:15.440 --> 01:21:17.070 If we - 01:21:20.598 --> 01:21:26.180 We don't actually know the ripple effects. 01:21:28.665 --> 01:21:36.960 So we somehow just really need to trust in love, trust in the practice 01:21:37.761 --> 01:21:44.156 of coming from this place of non-fear and peace actions as we go out, 01:21:45.055 --> 01:21:48.350 and know that we also need each other. 01:21:52.996 --> 01:21:57.271 When we have each other actually we can do great things together. 01:21:57.660 --> 01:22:00.251 And we do them with a lot of joy. 01:22:00.428 --> 01:22:02.681 It is not like a chore. 01:22:04.337 --> 01:22:07.248 Being vegetarian in Plum Village is easy, 01:22:07.725 --> 01:22:11.447 and it can be delicious too, for instance. 01:22:12.749 --> 01:22:15.555 So thank you for your practice, 01:22:15.721 --> 01:22:17.672 thank you for your 01:22:18.854 --> 01:22:21.006 taking care of yourself, 01:22:22.267 --> 01:22:30.342 for understanding yourself and being seeing your interbeing nature, 01:22:31.069 --> 01:22:35.190 seeing that the suffering of the other is not separate from your own suffering. 01:22:36.990 --> 01:22:39.727 Thank you for your inclusiveness, 01:22:40.966 --> 01:22:44.560 and your kindness, your non-fear. 01:22:47.524 --> 01:22:48.980 (Bell) 01:22:53.666 --> 01:22:59.687 (Bell) 01:23:20.652 --> 01:23:26.705 (Bell) 01:23:46.904 --> 01:23:52.599 (Bell)