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Dear respected Thay,

dear brothers and sisters, dear community,

today is Sunday the 7th of October
in the year 2018

and we are in the Assembly of Stars
meditation hall at the Lower Hamlet.

And I think it is our fourth week
of the Rain Retreat.

We are continuing on the theme of
the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings

for this Rain Retreat.

We've learned the moment
we step into Plum Village

that we want to cultivate here

our energies of mindfulness,
concentration and insight.

These are energies that are innate in us.

And the practices that we do here
help us to tap into these energies inside.

Because once the energies of mindfulness,
concentration and insight

are growing in us,

they help us to be truly alive,

to savor every moment of our life,

to experience deeply, to appreciate deeply
the simplicity of life,

the beauties around us
that a lot of times we take for granted.

And they are these energies that help us

to understand deeply who we are,
the way we are,

why we suffer the way we do

and to transform this suffering
that we have.

So these are powerful energies.

The Buddha had taught

these what we call learnings, trainings
but they are learnings,

extensively in his teachings
during his lifetime.

But he also mentioned the three learnings
or the three trainings as

precepts, concentration and insight,

not just mindfulness, concentration
and insight but it is precepts.

Precepts, concentration and insight.

In our first Dharma talk we heard about
that a little bit from Sister Doan Nghiem.

And it was Thay who showed us the link
between mindfulness and precepts.

And that the practice of the precepts
is really the practice of mindfulness,

because the precepts really heighten
our awareness of our actions

of body, speech and mind that could bring
suffering to ourselves and to other people.

The precepts, I call them the Dharma doors,
they are different Dharma doors,

each one of the precepts is a Dharma door

that help us to experience

what is happening in the present moment
in ourselves.

They are like an MRI
that help us to see our mind.

In the lifetime of the Buddha,

he devised the precepts
for us to practice.

And usually he devised these precepts

in response to incidents that happened,

incidents that the monks
and the nuns encountered

that could...

So incidents that happened
that creat suffering

for oneself and for other people
either now or later.

The precepts are really guidelines for us

to see ourselves, to go into ourselves,

to be aware of the working of our mind.

And Thay instead of calling them precepts,

Thay called them
the Mindfulness Trainings.

And that is what they are
to train us to be more mindful.

So we have five trainings
for lay practitioners,

we have 250 for fully ordained monks
and we have 348 for fully ordained nuns.

I remember when I was a novice,
I was a bit resistant to the trainings,

especially to the idea that the nuns
have more trainings than the monks,

and it was one of the venerables
from Vietnam

who was teaching us
the mindfulness trainings who said,

and he was quite serious
when he said this, he said,

"The Buddha loves the nuns so much more,

because he devised
348 mindfulness trainings for the nuns

which means that the nuns have
more protections than the monks."

And that really shifted
my perspective on this,

that we are loved, we are loved
by the Buddha

and that we have
more trainings for us to practice,

more trainings for us to...

More Dharma doors for us

to experience the present moment,
to experience and to see ourselves deeply.

More protection for us.

So it was just a matter of perspective

that changed completely my idea
about the mindfulness trainings.

So during the war we have learned that,
during the war in Vietnam,

in the midst of all the atrocities

and the suffering and the violence
that was happening

Thay devised the 14 mindfulness trainings
for us to practice.

They were also in response to the
situation that was happening in Vietnam

but also in the world.

The war, those of you
who have been in it know

the horrendous suffering, the fear,

that everyone is feeling, experiencing.

For many of us, the Vietnamese siblings,

even though we may be born after the war,

but I know the war
is very much a part of us.

I know that is my case too.

I was born at the end of the war
and I didn't think it had an impact on me.

But one time there was a documentary
of Sister Chan Khong and her work.

And it was shown like a preview for her
and some of the monastics.

So I went in, and right in the middle
of the documentary

there was a scene where there was fighting

and Sister Chan Khong's voice
in the background

but the scene was killing and fighting.

And at that moment I felt a lot of tension
and I couldn't even breathe.

I thought, "What's going on?".

And I had to leave the room
after five minutes.

I couldn't bear it anymore.

So I went out and
I was really perplexed about it,

I thought,

"What is happening in me?"

So I breathed and
I practiced walking meditation

and I realized that even though
I didn't experience the war,

but it had affected me very much.

And just seeing a scene of the killing
and the fighting in the movie

was enough to trigger

this fear and anxiety that I have.

So I know a lot of my siblings
have PTSD, not just veterans in Vietnam

but a lot of us have it.

We just have to sit
and look deeply into ourselves

and we can see the presence
of the war there in us.

So the Fourteen Mindfulness
Trainings came about.

They are guidelines

to practice in the midst
of all the suffering.

In Vietnamese we call the Fourteen
Mindfulness Trainings "Tiếp Hiện".

"Tiếp" as in the word (Vietnamese),

which means to be in touch.

To be in touch with
the reality of the world,

to be in touch with the reality
of our body and mind.

In other words, to be present
to whatever is there,

we are not running away
from whatever is there.

Thay and the monastics during the war

they were not satisfied by sitting in the
temple meditating in the meditation hall.

They found they needed
to really go out there

and really do something
to help alleviate the suffering.

"Tiếp" also means to continue,

as in the word (Vietnamese).

To continue, to extend,

to continue the work of
the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas

and all our ancestral teachers,

to sow seeds of awakening,
to sow seeds of love and peace.

So it's really being in touch
with the suffering

in us and around us.

We have a chance to cultivate compassion,
to cultivate awakening

just like the mud and the lotus.

We've heard about mud and lotus.

That is for us to grow lotuses
we need the mud.

The suffering is the mud.

We really need to face the mud,
to face the suffering

in order for lotuses to grow,

in order for happiness, and peace,
and compassion to be possible.

And "hiện", as in the word "Tiếp Hiện",

it means present,
like (Vietnamese) for example.

It means here and now.

That only the present moment is real,

and that only in the present moment

we can tap into the seed of peace
and awakening inside us.

"Hiện" also means to realize,
as in the word (Vietnamese), to realize.

Realization means to be able
to understand ourselves

and to transform ourselves,
to transform our suffering.

Because when we are transformed,

when we have a lot of space
inside ourselves,

when we have clarity inside ourselves,

we have a lot of energy to do something
to alleviate the suffering

for other people.

We know what to do and what not to do
to alleviate the suffering.

So I'd like to read the first three
of the 14 Mindfulness Trainings,

because today I will talk about
the first, and the second, and the third

of the 14 Mindfulness Trainings.

The First Mindfulness Training, Openness:

"Aware of the suffering created
by fanaticism and intolerance,

we are determined
not to be idolatrous about

or bound to any doctrine, theory
or ideology, even Buddhist ones.

We are committed to seeing the Buddhist
teachings as guiding means

that help us develop
our understanding and compassion.

They are not doctrines to fight,
kill or die for.

We understand that fanaticism in its many
forms is the result of perceiving things

in a dualistic and discriminative manner.
We will train ourselves to look deeply

at everything with openness
and the insight of Interbeing

in order to transform dogmatism and
violence in ourselves and in the world."

And the Second Mindfulness Training:
Non-attachment to Views.

"Aware of the suffering created by
attachment to views and wrong perceptions,

we are determined to avoid being
narrow-minded and bound to present views.

We are committed to learning and
practicing non-attachment to views

and being open to others experiences
and insights in order to benefit

from the collective wisdom. We are aware
that the knowledge we presently posses

is not changeless, absolute truth.

Insight is revealed through the practice
of compassionate listening, deep looking

and letting go of notions,

rather than through accumulation
of intellectual knowledge.

Truth is found in life, and we will observe
life within and around us in every moment,

ready to learn throughout our lives."

The Third Mindfulness Training,
Freedom of Thought:

"Aware of the suffering brought about
when we impose our views on others,

we are determined not to force others,
even our children, by any means whatsoever

such as authority, threat, money,
propaganda or indoctrination,

to adopt our views.

We are committed to respecting the right
of others to be different,

to choose what to believe
and how to decide.

We will, however, learn to help others
let go of and transform fanaticism

and narrowness through loving speech
and compassionate dialogue."

So we can see that the first...

first three of the Fourteen
Mindfulness Trainings...

I have to mention about.

In English, the 14 Mindfulness Trainings
are called the Order of Interbeing.

I thought one said that
it is not a direct translation

of "Tiếp Hiện", "Interbeing", because
"Tiếp Hiện" is not really interbeing.

Why are there two different names?

So I reflected on it,

and what I found is that

when we truly experience
interconnectedness, interbeing,

what it helps us is that our heart
and our mind are completely open.

Are completely open to be
in the skin of other people.

We can see what's happening to me
is happening to other people,

and what is happening to other people
is actually affecting me a lot.

So naturally, the insight of interbeing
when I'm able to experience it deeply,

helps me to protect, it helps me
to do something to help other people.

So it's in the same spirit of "Tiếp Hiện",
coming in touch with the suffering

and seeing the connectedness
between myself and other people.

It is only through this insight
of interconnectedness, of interbeing,

that we can be motivated to do something.

Otherwise, we are just looking
after our own interest

and our own safety.

The first three fo these Mindfulness
Trainings talk about the mind.

Buddha taught us that the mind
is really the king of all the dharmas.

(Vietnamese) in Vietnamese.

Because the mind paints the world,

the mind is like a painter
that paints a reality.

The mind creates our own reality,

whether it's a physical reality,
whether it is social or the environment.

And it's also called
the first three trainings

"The cream of the Buddha's teaching".

Because in Buddhism,

our ultimate goal is to be free.

To free from ideas and views and notions.

So these trainings really 
adjust that issues,

the issues of attachment,
the issue of dogmatism,

the issues of fanaticism,

so that we can free ourselves.

So that we can be free from
ideas and notions and perceptions.

When we are free, we can experience
nirvana right here, right now.

We don't need to die
to experience nirvana.

Nirvana is a place, is a state of mind

when we are free. Brother Phap Dung
mentioned this.

When we are free of ideas and notions,

not holding on to, not clinging.

We can let go.

That is the cream
of the Buddhist teachings.

The other things that
we are doing in Plum Village,

the other practices that we do,

whether it's breathing or walking,

they help us to have peace now.

They help us to calm our body,
to calm our mind, but ultimately,

it is to help us to let go of
our ideas and notions.

To help us to see
where we get stuck and blocked

so that we can let go and be free.

So when we hold on to an idea, when
we are attached to views and notions,

when we are dogmatic about something,

we feel rigid and close-minded.

For me, ideas and notions
is all about my perceptions,

it is all about the constructions
of the mind, right?

It's my own construction

of reality, of other people.

And it feels so real,
it's like our own reality.

The Buddha taught about knowledge
like my own experience of reality,

my knowledge of reality,

the knowledge I have about reality,
about myself and about other people,

maybe an obstacle to my own growth
and to my own transformation,

my own growth.

It's an obstacle to true understanding.

So clinging on to views,

clinging on to notions
can prevent us from arriving

at a deeper and profound
understanding of reality.

There is a sutra that
Thay always talked about

when he talked about
these first three trainings.

It's a story in the sutra called
The Sutra of the One Hundred Parables,

the story of a father and a son.

The father is a merchant,
and he was living with his son.

One time, he went on a business trip.

During that time,
the robbers came to the village

and stole everything and
they burned down the village

and they killed people.

And when he came home,

he found a dead body next to his house.

And he thought that was
his son that was killed.

So he suffered a lot and
he cremated the body of his son

and put the ashes in a bag.

And he took it with him wherever he went.

And he lamented over the death of his son,
he suffered a lot.

One time-

His son,

he was not actually killed,
he was kidnapped by these robbers.

And he managed to escape.

And he went back home,
he found his way back.

In the mid of the night, he knocked at
the house that his dad had rebuild.

He knocked, he knocked,

but his dad, who was inside crying and
suffering from the dead of his son,

refused to open the door.

He thought it was someone
playing a prank on him.

So out of desperation he left his dad,

and his dad lost him forever.

So the Buddha said that sometimes
the truth comes knocking at our door,

but we refuse to let it in

because we have all these ideas,

we have all these beliefs
that we consider the truth, reality,

and nothing else is the truth.

So knowledge is an obstacle to the path.

(Vietnamese)

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My question, every time
I heard this teaching was,

How do I know I'm stuck
in my ideas and perceptions?

How do I know I'm caught in, I'm attached
to notions, and ideas, and perceptions?

Because I realize that if
I know this is a perception,

it's no longer a perception.

And if I know I'm caught in a perception,
or an idea or a notion,

I can let go so easily.

It's just that I don't know that I'm
caught in an idea or notion or perception.

And I see that in people around me.
Sometimes they are so stuck,

and yet they don't see they are stuck.

Sometimes their ideas and views
are so narrow like this

but they don't see that.

And that's the difficult thing
about perception

and belief systems that we have.

So how do I practice,

how do you practice to recognize that
you are attached to views, and notions,

ideas and perceptions?

It's been something that I've...
always have to sort of warn myself,

caution myself about it, about whether
I am stuck in ideas, and views

and perceptions,

because I know the suffering
that I would experience if I'm stuck,

I'm attached to a perception,
to an idea, to a notion.

So I have some practices.

Sister Annabel, Sister Chan Duc
talked about the love meditation,

the metta meditation.
I have my own metta meditation.

I made it really simple
so that I can practice them.

I usually do it

when I go to bed,
I say this loving meditation for myself.

And then, when I wake up in the morning,
I say this loving meditation to everyone,

to other people.

The first one is,
May I be safe and protected.

The second one,
May I be happy and peaceful.

And the third one is,
May I be healthy in my body and my mind.

And the fourth one is,

May I be free from wrong views,
wrong perceptions, and wrong desires.

This is a reminder for me

to be really mindful,
to be able to see

the wrong views, 
the wrong perceptions I have.

It's coming from a deep desire in me

to understand and to see whether
I'm caught in a wrong view,

wrong perception, wrong desire,

because I realize that
I may be stuck in a wrong perception,

in a wrong desire,

a wrong view and I may not even know it.

This love meditation that
I do for myself is to help me

enhance my awareness of notions and ideas
and belief systems that I may have,

that are narrow and limited.

But it also comes from
this deep desire to understand.

And I know where I am right now

can be changed,

that my understanding grows

and that there is a higher reality,
a higher understanding, a higher wisdom

and that my practice
is to be able to stay open

so that I can experience
this deeper understanding,

deeper wisdom.

So that I'm not caught in my own
understanding and knowledge.

May I be free from wrong views,
wrong perceptions and wrong desires.

The fifth one that I practice is,
May I have clarity into my own suffering,

into habit energies, into my shortcomings.

That also from that desire to understand,

that desire to,

to not get caught in my narrow views,
in my belief system.

To be free from my conditioning.

But one of the sutras
that was eye-opening for me

was the Discourse on the Absolute Truth.

It is a sutra in the Sutta Nipata 4.5,

and I really like this discourse.

It's something that
I read often to myself

because they are...

because they are like MRI for me
to look at myself,

a sort of guidelines for me to go in
and to see whether I'm attached to views,

whether I'm being dogmatic or not.

"He who still abides by a dogmatic view,

considering it as
the highest in the world,

thinking, “This is the most excellent,”

and disparaging other views as inferior,

is still considered
not to be free from disputes."

So if I had a think that I am the best,
if I think that my idea is the best,

then this is I'm caught.
This maybe a dogmatic view.

That is a bell of mindfulness for me,

because I know
that is the tendency I have,

to think that the idea I have is right.

This helps me, it is
like a light that brings...

You know, bringing a light
into my mind to see,

Yes, I'm being caught in a dogmatic view.

"When seeing, hearing,
or sensing something

and considering it as the only thing that
can bring comfort and advantage to self,

one is always inclined to get caught in it
and rule out everything else as inferior."

That sounds familiar, isn't it?

What we see, what we hear, what we sense

we consider that they are the only things
that can bring us comfort.

And it is a bell of mindfulness for me,
because I see that sometimes

our thinking, our belief system,
our notions and ideas

could be a comfort zone for us.

We all have a need for
material comfort and emotional comfort.

And sometimes this comfort can be...

They may be causes of our suffering.

And finding comfort in our ideas,
and notions, and knowledge

is another thing

that we sometimes get stuck in
and we dont' even know.

Because these comforts,

these belief systems we have, these ideas
we have, these perceptions we have

give us a sense of self-worth,
give us a sense of identity.

And if we let go of this identity,
if we let go of this sense of self-worth,

then, who are we?

That is the tendency to cling.

"Caught in one’s view and considering
all other views as inferior,

this attitude is considered by the wise as
bondage, as the absence of freedom.

A good practitioner is never too quick to
believe what is seen, heard, and sensed,

including rules and rites."

So,

the question that
we have to ask ourselves,

as Thay always reminded us is:
Are you sure? Am I sure?

Am I sure of my perception?

Am I sure of what I heard?

What I've seen?

What I sensed?

Now that is the season 
or us to do Shining Light.

We are beginning Shining Light sessions 
in the New Hamlet.

I think this is really relevant to us.
Am I sure about my perception?

Am I sure about what I have seen?
What I have heard?

So that we can come to -

So that we can let go of our ideas
and our perceptions,

so that we won't shine
too strongly on our sisters.

Because what we see,
what we hear could be just

our perception.

"A good practitioner abandons the notion
of self and the tendency to cling to views.

He is free and does not depend on
anything, even on knowledge.

He does not take sides in controversies
and does not hold on to any view or dogma."

I think I skipped one.

"A good practitioner has no need to set up
a new theory for the world,

using the knowledge he has picked up
or the rules and rites he is practicing.

He does not consider himself as “superior”
“inferior”, or ‘equal” to anyone."

And what I notice in myself

which means that
we are very much the same,

that it's something we all do,

that there is this tendency to form ideas
and opinions about everything,

about circumstances, about people,

that tendency goes unnoticed,

forming ideas, forming opinions

and they are truly
we are just forming perceptions

about circumstances, about people,
about ourselves.

So,

this discourse is a bell of mindfulness
to help us to see if we can really let go

of forming ideas and perceptions.
If we can just see things as they are,

without the need to
forming an opinion about it.

And this is a challenge.

It's a challenge to see and to hear

and to stay quiet about it in our head.

I think that is when we really need to
practice mindful breathing,

taking refuge in our breathe in a 100%

so that we can watch ourselves
and we can let go of this tendency

to form ideas and perceptions.

Most of the times, we form ideas
and perceptions and then we judge.

We judge others, good, bad.

This is a really good way
to also let go of judgments.

Judgments towards ourselves
and judgments towards other people.

"He does not seek for anything
or cling to anything,

either this extreme or the other extreme,

either in this world
or in the other world.

He has abandoned all views and

no longer has the need to seek for comfort
or refuge in any theory and ideology.

To the wise person,

there are no longer any views concerning
what is seen, heard, and sensed.

How could one judge or have an opinion
concerning such a pure being

who has let go of all views?"

So when we are able to let go
of our views, when we let go of clinging,

and forming these ideas and perceptions,

then we are not caught in this extreme
or the other extreme.

We are practicing the middle way,

which is being truly present
and not-attached to any ideas or notions.

And this is when we can experience nirvana
here and now.

A pure being who has let go of all views.

This is a being who is dwelling in nirvana
right here and right now.

And it could be us

if we are able to let go of these views.

Not forming new views,
and opinions, and perceptions

we can experience nirvana here and now,
we could be that pure being.

" A wise person no longer feels the need
to set up dogmas or choosing an ideology.

All dogmas and ideologies have been
abandoned by such a person.

A real noble one is never caught
in rules or rites.

He or she is advancing steadfastly
to the shore of liberation

and will never return
to the realm of bondage."

It is a very short discourse,

but they are like guidelines for us

to look at ourselves and to see
where we are caught, where we are stuck

and how to let go of it,

how to throw it out,
like brother Phap Dung said.

I loved this image of

throwing out those views and ideas.

Although it is not as simple as that.

But what I also found

for me to see where I am stuck

is the practice of deep listening
and loving speech.

And especially deep listening,

because I notice that sometimes
when I'm listening to other people

I'm not really listening deeply,
I'm not really there,

I'm in my head forming new ideas and ways
to respond to what is said.

I'm pretending I'm listening
but I'm not really listening.

And even though I'm not intentionally
pretending not to listen,

it's just -

I guess that is how our mind works, right?

It's not that we are intent to pretend

that we are listening,

it is just that is
how our minds works automatically.

It is habitual.

Mindfulness helps us to be a Buddha,

to really stay present

and to hear deeply without
forming ideas and opinions in our head,

so that we can really
hear between the lines.

And we can hear so much more,
when we can hear without forming ideas

and not preparing how to respond.

Then we can truly hear what is not said.

Living in a community, living in a sangha
is a really precious opportunity.

When we talk about
taking refuge in the sangha,

it's something that
I have reflected on all my life,

what does really taking
refuge in the sangha mean?

Surely I want to take refuge in her?
Or in her? Or in her?

You know?

Because sometimes I, I -

Sometimes, especially when I was younger,

I sort of doubted these people around me.

I doubted their love and I doubted their -

Their goodness.

It is like, you know, like

how do I really - 
What does it really mean by taking refuge,

I do not want to take refuge in
these people around me like these.

What I realized was that

the sangha, even though
they are not perfect

like these people, like my sisters,
they are not perfect.

They have a lot of flaws,
I do have a lot of flaws.

But they are there, and they have
this deep desire to practice.

And that is what I have to take refuge in.

It's just their presence there,
practicing,

creates an environment
for me to practice.

And that is what I'm taking refuge in.
I'm not taking refuge in her, or in her,

I'm taking refuge
in the collective energy of practice

that everyone here
is creating and generating.

And that this is a really
good environment for me to be in,

to be motivated,

to practice.

And everyone

is really a reminder for me
to come back to my practice.

Each one of them is like
a bell of mindfulness for me

to help me come back to myself,
come back to the practice.

Because I'm not always very disciplined.

I cannot always do it myself

and I need the presence of everyone else

to help me, to remind me
to come back to myself.

But what I also realized

is that the presence of the sangha
helps me to see where I'm stuck,

where I am blocked,

where I tend to cling and attach.

And it happens in sharing,

but it happens a lot in meetings.

That is when I have a lot of opportunities
to see whether I'm stuck or not.

Whether I'm clinging on
to my views or not.

Here is my rule.

I look inside myself,

and if I see in my interaction
with my sister or in meetings or whatever,

if my heart is constricted, and tight,
then I know I'm attached to an idea.

I'm attached. I'm stuck in a perception.
I'm stuck in my belief system.

So if I feel constricted,
if I feel blocked in here,

if I feel discomfort inside,

then I know that is where I need to face,

know what I need to look into.

Because I'm probably stuck and clinging
to my views, and my perceptions

and my ideas.

So the presence of the sangha
helps enormously,

because they are there constantly
and they are challenging my ideas

and my perception all the time.

And every time it happens,

is an opportunity for me
to see where I am right now.

Whether I am rigid,

I am holding, or whether I am just opening

and let it in.

Letting it happen, let it in, accepting

whatever ideas that
are coming from other people.

So for me,

the practice is to come back to myself
and to feel that block inside.

And I, I -

I do it when I am in sitting meditation,

I just follow my breathing, I just go in

and I localize if I'm stuck
and blocked anywhere.

And I just breathe with that blockage.

But also, I can't sleep at night.

I can wake up in the middle of the night

and sometimes for two or three hours
and I couldn't go back to sleep.

And it is usually in the wee hours
of the night.

And I make use of that time
to do see if I'm stuck and blocked.

So instead of forcing myself
to go back to sleep,

or beating myself down
for not being able to sleep,

I just go back to my body,

I go through my body and I feel if
there is anything that feels uncomfortable

stuck and blocked, and I just
breathe with it.

And I found that sometimes
it takes an hour or even two

just to get this opening in that blockage,

because you can see that when your mind
from your present

breathes with that blockage,

then it sort of dissipates, it melts away.

And you hear this gurgling,
softening in the body,

like the circulation in the body.

And then there is openness in the body.

And when that happens,

it's not just melting away
this blockage in my body,

but I realize that it is also melting away
the blockage that I have in my mind,

because whatever I experience in my mind,

is manifesting in the body.

And helping that part in my body to melt
is also helping to melt the way,

the blockage that is in my mind.

So taking care of the body
is really taking care of the mind.

Transformation in the body
is also transformation in the mind.

But it's easier for me to work on my body,
because I can feel it, sense it.

One phenomena that I realized
that is happening inside

and I see happening around me
is what I call spiritual bypassing.

It is the way we think,

it is the way we look at things

that we sort of not going
through our difficulties and suffering,

we sort of go around it.

We think we have transformed

but actually we are just
avoiding the issues.

And I realized one of the practices,
it's a very precious practice,

but we can get stuck in it.

We can make use of it to bypass
the difficulties and suffering we have.

It is called "changing CDs".
You've heard of it?

Changing pegs?

That means that when we have
this enormous suffering

that is manifesting,

we don't have the clarity and
the mindfulness energy, the strength

in order to embrace it because
it would be too overwhelming for us,

it could be devastating to face
that suffering that is unfolding inside,

so the Buddha taught this practice
so that we can go,

instead of looking at this
enormous suffering that is manifesting

or that is threatening to come up,

we can go, we can practice walking, coming
in touch with the beauties around us,

the trees, the good qualities,
the positive things,

so that we can have enough strength,

enough clarity in order to go back
and face this block, this suffering.

But some of us have used it
to bypass his suffering.

We just do this all the time.

And the suffering stays the same

because we never really face it.

We never really go into it.

So,

The practice is-

Maybe at the beginning we need
this practice of changing CD,

but eventually
we need really to go inside,

we need really feel the rawness
of that suffering, the discomfort feeling

and energy, and the pain
of that suffering.

We need to really face it head on.

And the tools that we can use,

truly mindfulness, the breathing,
accepting it,

there is no need to struggle anymore,
there is no need no run away.

Spiritual bypassing is a skillful way

to run away.

For my self.

We need to go in.

(Bell)

(Bell)

So the way in

is the only way in order to transform,

in order to understand,

in order to heal ourselves.

The practice of Interbeing,

the practice of non-self,

interdependent arising, these are really
profound Buddhist insights, teachings.

But they are something we can experience,
we can practice in our daily life.

They are not something beyond our reach.

When we are able to have this insight
of interconnectedness, of interbeing,

then we can be really free.

Free from views and ideas.
We can be in the skin of other people,

we can be truly open.

And that is when we can really transform

the discrimination we have
inside our head.

These teachings can be practiced,

they can be experienced

when we are eating.

It is in something mundane as eating

that we can experience
these really profound teachings.

Or when we are urinating or defecating,

or when we breathe.

When we touch the Earth,

these are practices

that can help us

cultivate the insight of Interbeing,
of no-self.

And this is, when we have this experience,
this insight,

that we can really transform ideas,
and notions of separateness,

we can really transform

clinging and attachment.

And that really can be truly free.

So may you be free,
may you be free from wrong views,

wrong perceptions and wrong desires,

and may you have clarity

into your suffering, into yourself,

into your shortcomings,
and your weaknesses,

so that you can be an instrument,

an instrument to alleviate the suffering
in the world, in yourself,

in your families, and your society.

When we have this insight,

we know that the suffering

that is happening
on the other side of the globe

through war,

through human cruelty,

they are not just of these people over
there but they are ours too.

They are our suffering as well.

Even if this suffering had happened
20 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 years ago,

that we can do something right now

in this breath, in this step,

in order to change, in order
to bring peace to the people

that have died.

This is

we are not just practicing
this for ourselves.

So with the insight of interbeing we know
that our practice today

is not just for ourselves.

That we are doing it for those people
who had suffered

and who are suffering right now.

And that we need more people to wake up,

wake up to the fact that they are,

they are clinging,

so that they can let go.

It's only when they can let go
that they can be happy, can be free.

So when we are able to let go,
we can be happy and free.

And with our own transformation,
we can help other people to see

that they are clinging,
so that they can let go,

they can be happy and they can be free.

So our own awakening is helping
others to wake up as well.

Thank you for listening,
thank you for practicing to wake up

for yourselves and for humanity.

(Bell)

(Bell)

(Bell)