WEBVTT

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we've come back to Stourbridge.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And I think many of us have been here
several times already,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And feel very at home here.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So as we said yesterday, there are a couple
of questions that got hidden in the bell.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We didn't have a chance to look at.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So maybe we can begin today by looking at 
those two questions.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So one is about getting lost in our thoughts
during our sitting meditation.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Actually we get lost in our thoughts
at other times, too.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Not just when we're doing sitting meditation.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When we're sitting on the bus or the train,
we may also be lost in our thoughts.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And in Buddhism...Yesterday you looked at 
the Noble Eightfold Path,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and you saw that one of the factors of the 
Path is Right Thinking.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we have Right Thinking, and we have 
Wrong Thinking.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And meditative concentration is fine with 
thinking.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It always says that the first level of
meditation, meditative concentration,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it has thinking in it.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we don't have to throw thinking out
altogether.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And as you can see in our guided mediations,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we've also been using Right Thinking.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And Right Thinking goes along with Right
View.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we know that, as we heard this morning

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in the Precept Transmission, 
the Mindfulness Trainings Transmission,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that the view Interbeing, the understanding
of Interbeing, is Right View.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, the thinking that goes in the direction
of Interbeing, we can call Right Thinking.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we can use that a great deal 
in our sitting meditation.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So if possible, in your sitting meditation,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
make use of the guided meditations

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in order to keep the Right Thinking there

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and not get lost in the non-stop Thinking,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
which we could also call the Wrong Thinking.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we've had a guided meditation on seeing

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that we inter-are with our mother and
our father.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We can also do a guided meditation to see

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that we inter-are with the leaf on the tree

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
or with the tree.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
There are things that we can do like this.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then we go..Right Thinking is like

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in the conventional realm of thought.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But if it's Right Thinking, it can take us

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
from the conventional, from the historical,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
into the ultimate dimension.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
That is the dimension that goes 
beyond words.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So the thinking has a role to play.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Thank you.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's also helpful, before you begin to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
meditate, to decide what you're going to 
meditate on.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When I sit down to meditate, the first thing
I do is like bring my body and mind

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
back together, and calm my body and mind.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
That is "Breathing in, I calm my body."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Breathing out, I smile."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I do exercises like that.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But when I feel peaceful enough,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I ask my Store Consciousness,
the deep level of my consciousness,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"What do you need today?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Which meditation do you need today?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then I allow Store Consciousness to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
tell me what I need.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And it may say that I need to do the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Loving Kindness meditation, which now

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I'm going to talk about.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Or it may tell me that now I need to do

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the meditation on interbeing with my 
parents, or something like that.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So there's a book, it's called

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Blooming of the Lotus,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that I am indebted to for my meditation
practice.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And that book has, I don't know how many,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
more than thirty, guided meditations.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And I translated them into English,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and then, now they're in English.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then I learnt them.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And so they are all in 
my Store Consciousness,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and I can call them up when I want to.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And I think you also, before your meditation,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you can read the book, and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
then you see one that is suitable for

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
your situation at the moment.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then you try to remember it,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and you use it in your sitting meditation.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And there are wonderful meditations on

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
no birth and no death, like the meditation

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
on the wave and the water.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The wave going back, the wave breaking

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
on the shore and then going back to the
water.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Which, when we are dying, can be very helpful.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the meditation on the no birth and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
no death of our in-breath is also

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
very helpful.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the no birth and no death

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of our body.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
These kind of meditations are very deep

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and in the book we are led into them slowly.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And they can be very helpful to us.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So now we come to the loving kindness
meditation.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This morning in our Mindfulness Training

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Transmission, in the Third Mindfulness Training

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we heard about True Love.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
True Love and the four elements of True Love.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Loving kindness, compassion, joy and
equanimity.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And these four elements are also called
limitless minds.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Infinite -- they don't have any limit.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When you meditate on loving kindness,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you feel that you have limitless space

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and that your loving kindness is not limited.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's not something, "Oh, I can have
loving kindness for this person,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but I don't think I can have loving

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
kindness for the other person."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Our loving kindness can embrace everything.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So these four limitless minds belong to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
every tradition of Buddhism.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And they also belong to the Plum Village
tradition of Buddhism.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And some time ago, Thay developed

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
loving kindness meditation -

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that's one of the limitless minds -

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
into nine parts.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the first thing we recognize is what 


99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
was pointed out by Buddhaghosa is that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we must have loving kindness for oneself.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And if you get not yet enough loving 
kindness for me, what you consider me,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
then you can't go on to have loving
kindness for you, or for someone else.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Buddhaghosa in the Visuddhimagga, a
book of commentary on the Abhidhamma,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
say that if you want to start a fire,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you have to have dry wood.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then when the fire is going well,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you can put the wet wood on top.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So the dry wood is you yourself.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The loving kindness for you.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because you yourself is closest to you.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Sometimes we say, "Nobody understands me!"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But you have to ask yourself,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Do I understand me?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Do I understand myself?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And you might say, "No, I don't either."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So why do we expect other people to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
understand us, when we don't understand
ourselves.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The first step is to understand ourself.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then when we understand ourself,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we understand the happiness that we need,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we shall be able to offer ourself happiness.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And that is what loving kindness meditation

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is about -- it's about offering happiness.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But the first person I need to offer

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
happiness is to me.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And some people when they are on 
their death bed, and you ask

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"What do you regret?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
They will say, "I did not allow
myself to be happy.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I could have been happy.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I see now there were many times

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I could have been happy.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But somehow, I thought I didn't deserve it.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I didn't deserve to be happy.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So I didn't allow myself.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the loving kindness meditation

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is meditation when you allow yourself

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to be happy.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I don't know if you want me to read it,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
if I can remember it, and then I can tell

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you what the different elements are.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But you will be able to find it in the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Plum Village Chanting book or

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
on the Plum Village app.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Brother Phap Lai is not sure.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But, anyway, never mind, I'm going
to tell you now.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"May I be happy, peaceful and light
in body and in spirit."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, I want to be happy.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Not just my body, but also my spirit.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I want to be peaceful.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
How can I be happy if I'm not peaceful?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's another thing that Buddhaghosa said.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
He said when the mind is agitated,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
no other positive mental formations
can be present.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we need a mind that is peaceful.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And when the mind is peaceful,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
then other positive things,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
like happiness and understanding, 
will come up.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, "may I be happy, peaceful and light
in my body and my spirit."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And you have to really want it for yourself.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And when you feel strongly that you want,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that's what you really want for yourself,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
then you can offer yourself happiness by

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the second part:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"May I be safe and free from accident."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We know that life is insecure.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We don't know what is going to happen to us.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But deep down, we all have a desire to be safe.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
There is no one who doesn't have that desire.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And sometimes we feel, we feel safe.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Sometimes when we can, when we have that
peacefulness....

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We have that understanding.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We feel completely safe.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But it's not all the time.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And I think Wittgenstein is not a Buddhist
practitioner, but he also mentions

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
somewhere, in the tractatus or somewhere, 
I think

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
There are times when I feel absolutely safe.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So on the one hand,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we spend a lot of our time feeling

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
insecure and unsafe,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but on the other hand,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the seed of feeling safe is in us.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we deeply want that.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We need that.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, we have to wish that for ourselves.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The most important thing maybe is not to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
wish it for yourself but to see how much

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you want it, how much you need it.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then you will see that other people,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that's what they want, too.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
That's what they need, too.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And sometimes they do things trying to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
get that safety and security,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
like controlling or having power,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
where they feel they can be secure

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
if they are in control or they have power,
outside power.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But that isn't the real safety.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The real safety is a seed that is deep 
in our consciousness.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So the third thing is:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"May I be free from anger, anxiety and worry."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, anxiety and fear, sorry.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And I think that anxiety, we could say, is

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
one of the sicknesses of our time, of our era.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Many people suffer from anxiety and fear.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And none of us want to be angry.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Even though we sometimes get angry,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we express our anger,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I don't think there's anybody who has

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a desire to be angry.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We all want to be free from anger.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we have that deep desire that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when we are put in a situation

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
which waters our seed of anger,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we will be able to come back to ourself

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and take care, so that we don't express 
our anger in a harmful way,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
towards others and towards ourselves.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So that the first triad, those three.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then the second triad is:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"May I learn to look at myself with eyes
of understanding."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we already mentioned that often

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we don't understand ourselves.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Ourselves is really a non-self,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
changing at every moment,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
different one moment to the next,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
so it's not particularly easy

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to understand oneself.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But we can get closer.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We can get closer to understanding ourselves.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And often in a retreat,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it's what people manage to do.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
To come back to themselves,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and understand a little bit more

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
about themselves.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Understand about their feelings more,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
about their mental formations,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
about their perceptions.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So understanding oneself

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is something we long for.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And it's not just something Buddhist.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We know that Socrates,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
over the place where Socrates taught,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
he wrote "gnōthi seauton",

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Know yourself"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And when we know ourself,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
then we suffer much less.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We know our own mind,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we can control our own mind.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, know yourself.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And may I recognize --

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
this is a little bit like the Right Effort,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that you probably heard about yesterday,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the Four Diligences.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"May I recognize the wholesome seeds
in myself."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And if you don't recognize

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
any wholesome seeds in yourself,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
what should you do?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Go to your good friends,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
your Sangha friend, your Dharma friend,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and say to them:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"I don't recognize, I haven't recognized,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
any wholesome seeds in me.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Could you please tell me what wholesome

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
seeds you see in me?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Because often we the things that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
are not wholesome in ourselves,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but we forget about what is wholesome.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So that is a real exercise, to be able

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to recognize what is wholesome.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The peacefulness you have,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the loving kindness you have,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the way you care for your children,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
your grandchildren.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
That is a wholesome seed.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And I've heard many stories in the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Dharma sharing about how

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
grandparents and parents,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they take care of their children.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So many of us have that wholesome seed.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we are also developing the wholesome

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
seed of mindfulness, concentration and insight.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the third part of the second triad is:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"May I identify the unwholesome seeds in
myself."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This is a very important practice for me.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I don't know about for you!

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I know certain unwholesome seeds I have.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And one of them is my ego.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And one of them is my pride.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And often before I give a Dharma talk,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I talk to Thay.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I don't really talk to Thay there,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but I talk to Thay in me.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
That is my teacher, Thay.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And I also talk to my mother and father.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Sometimes before I give a Dharma talk,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I feel a bit nervous.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I don't know if I have anything to offer.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So I ask my mother and my father

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to support me, and Thay to support me.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And when I talk to Thay,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I usually say that I want

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to remain humble,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that it's very important that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I remain humble.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And if people after the Dharma talk,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they come up and praise me,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I want to recognize:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"You are partly right."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because those words of praise,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they are not really praising me,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
there's no separate self that is me.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So I say to Thay please - because Thay

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
really helped me to develop humility

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and not so much pride --

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So I ask Thay please -- I know that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when I give this Dharma talk it's not me

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
who gives the talk.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
That everything I can teach,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it's what Thay has handed on to me.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, I ask Thay to keep me humble.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So I recognize that seed of pride,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that seed of ego, in me.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And I identify it.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And that means it's good that I know it's there.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Because if I don't identify the unwholesome

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
things in me, it means that I don't have

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a chance to transform them.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
They will just stay there like they are.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we need to identify the unwholesome things.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then the last triad is

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"May I nourish myself with happiness
every day."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And you may think,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Oh, that's very selfish, wanting to 
nourish yourself."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But actually it's not.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Because the world really needs people

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
who have the capacity to be happy.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And if I can be happy,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I can offer happiness to others.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And of course, the kind of happiness

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that I want is the happiness that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we talk about in True Happiness,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in the second Mindfulness Training today.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The happiness that is not dependent

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
on outer conditions,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but the happiness I can:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Oh, I'm so happy I can still walk!"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"I'm so happy that I have eyes to look at
the trees!"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
That kind of happiness in our daily lives.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, may I nourish happiness in myself
every day.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then the next one is

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"May I live fresh, solid and free."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Though we, sometimes we meditate on

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
being a flower, being a mountain,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
being space,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and during the meditation, we might

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
do it quite well.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But some other time, we may forget it.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And sometimes when you come home from work,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you don't feel very fresh,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and Thay suggests that before you open

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the front door to your house,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you just stop a moment,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and you breathe in:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
breathing in, I am a flower.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
breathing out, I feel fresh.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Because I want to be fresh for my family

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when I walk in the door.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the last one is:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"May I be free from attachment and aversion,
but not be indifferent."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, we know how we suffer when

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we're attached to something

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
or to someone.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And cannot be free when we are attached.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we want that freedom for ourselves.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And after that, we -- the opposite to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
attachment is aversion -- we want to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
be free from that, because

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when we have aversion for someone

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
or for something, we also lose our freedom.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But we don't want to be indifferent.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Because we are going to practice

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
loving kindness and compassion.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Equanimity, inclusiveness, doesn't mean
indifference.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It means the capacity to embrace

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and to hold.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Other people, other species.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So this is the way that we practice

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
loving kindness meditation.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And as I said, we practice it for ourselves.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then, when we feel that we've

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
nourished ourselves and our fire is burning,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
our fire of loving kindness is burning,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we can practice it for someone else.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We can practice it for "you".

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Maybe we can practice it for somebody

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
who makes our life difficult.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And in that way we can look at that person

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
differently.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the way that we look at another person

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is important.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Sometimes we think when we have

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a difficulty with someone else,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that it just comes from the other person.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's nothing to do with us.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
They are a difficult person.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But actually, it also comes from the way

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that we look at that person.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And people that recognize very quickly

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when we look at them,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they recognize the kind of eyes we look
at them.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And if we have some aversion for somebody.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And even though we may smile and say

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
good morning, how are you and so on,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the aversion, it may come through our eyes.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And that person unconsciously,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
maybe not consciously bu subconsciously,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
will pick up that aversion.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then that makes our relationship

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
more difficult.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we need to be able to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
develop our loving kindness for

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the person who is difficult

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
so that when we look at them,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
there is real love in our eyes,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
not just a smile to show that we like them.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
[The bell is awoken.]

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
[The bell is invited to sound.]

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So sometimes, I'm not afraid of death at all.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But other times, I feel fear of death.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So that is a seed in us.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We have those two seeds.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We have the seed of fearlessness,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and we have the seed of fear,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
as far as death is concerned.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we need to be a little bit

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
afraid of death, because if we're not,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we might fall off a cliff very easily.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, we need to know there's the edge

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of the cliff and we better stop.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we feel a bit afraid when

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we get too near.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So that fear is something very, is

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
necessary maybe for our survival.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But also that fear, it kind of stretches

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
out a bit too wide, and then

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
takes over territory that we don't really

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
need it to be there.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, in then those areas,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we need to develop the fearlessness,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
as far as death is concerned.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And so the Buddhist teachers in the past,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they have said that the great work of a

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
meditator is the realization of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
no birth and no death.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So it's a great work.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And it's not just an intellectual realization.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's a deep realization in our unconscious,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in our subconscious mind,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I don't know what you call it,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in the deeper levels of our consciousness,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that are usually subconscious.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
That non-fear.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The intellect is not enough.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So when we give a Dharma talk,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we're usually on the intellectual level.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We use words.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We use concepts.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The first Dharma talk I heard about

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
no birth and no death was the first

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
retreat I went to in Cumbria with Thay.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I organized the retreat for Thay.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And during that retreat, Thay was talking

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
about the Heart Sutra,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and Thay held up a piece of paper,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and Thay asked, when is the birthday

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of this piece of paper?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When was it born?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then Thay asked,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and when is the death day of this piece

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of paper?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And Thay said, maybe when the paper came

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
off the, off the machine in the factory,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and rolled off as a sheet of paper,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
then that was its birthday.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And if we are to take a match,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and burn it,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and it turns into ashes,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that will be its deathday.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So that is our normal way of thinking

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
about birth and death.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But if we look more deeply,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we will see that the paper

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is there in many things that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
are not the paper.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The paper inter is,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
inter is with the cloud, with the sunshine.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Because in the paper there is water.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And in the paper there is some tree

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
or some plant or something that made

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the paper.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we can see that the paper is not

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
something that has a real birthday

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
or a real death day either.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Because when you burn the paper,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
energy is produced, the smoke is produced,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the ash is produced, the heat is produced.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So paper doesn't become nothing.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the paper doesn't come from nothing.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And normally when we think about death,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we think we become nothing.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So yesterday, my friend said my self will

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
become nothing. This is what I heard.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
My self will become nothing.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
My separate self will become nothing

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when I die.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And this can be something that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we are afraid of,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
losing our separate self.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But the fact is that our separate self

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
doesn't exist when we are alive.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's not there now, while we're breathing.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
There is no separate self.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So in a way it can't die, because

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it doesn't really, it's not really alive

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
There is no separate self.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So of course, the ash will go

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
back to the earth.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And maybe it will be fertilizer

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
for the earth, and the earth

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
will give rise to a flower.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The heat and the smoke will go

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
into the universe.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So one person told me that when

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
his wife died, he took her ashes, and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
he put them at the foot of a magnolia

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
tree in their garden.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And every year, the magnolia tree

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
blossoms on her birthday.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So when we say that the ashes

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
go back to the earth,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it's not just the ashes.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
There's also some other energy that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
goes with the ashes that goes back

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to the earth.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we also, in Plum Village, we also

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
had a young meditation student

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of 8 years old, who died,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of meningitis or something.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's very sad.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we put his ashes at the foot of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a plum tree, a plum tree he had saved up

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
his pocket money in order to be able

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to buy that plum tree for Plum Village.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
so that we can sell the plums and send

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the money to hungry children in Vietnam.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So he saved up his pocket money to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
buy a plum tree.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And when he died, we put his ashes at

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the foot of that tree.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And that tree is always the first tree

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to blossom, and the last tree for the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
blossom to fade.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we can see that in the matter,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
what we call matter,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
there is also spirit.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We have these two energies.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Matter is a kind of energy,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
condensed energy, and then

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
there is the energy we send out

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with our loving kindness, or

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with our anger, or whatever.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we usually distinguish between

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
matter and spirit,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but in fact, matter and spirit are,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you can't really take them out of each other.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
You can't really separate

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
one from the other.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we have an idea of ourselves as

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
five skandas, we call the five skandas.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The body, is, the body we think of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
as being matter.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The feelings, and then the perceptions,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and then the mental formations,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and finally the consciousness.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we think that is what my person is

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
made up of, these five things.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And one of them has to do with

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
material -- our body,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and the other four have to do with

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
our mind, our spirit.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But actually, we make that division,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
even the Buddha, when the Buddha was

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
teaching, he made that division,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but in fact, you can't divide things like that.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
They always inter-are.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So in the ashes left from the body,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
there is also some mental formations,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
some feelings, and so on.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When Anathapindika was dying.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Anathapindika was a lay disciple of the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Buddha, who donated the Jeta Grove

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Monastery in Savatthi.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So Anathapindika was a very diligent
practitioner.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
He was sometimes successful, and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
sometimes unsuccessful businessman.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
He went bankrupt at one point.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But because he was such a good friend

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to so many people,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they helped him, and then

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
he became a successful business man again.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And he used to bring his businessman friends

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to listen to the Buddha's teaching.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then he was dying.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
At first the Buddha went to visit him.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And after that, he said Sariputra, one of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the disciples of the Buddha,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
should take care of going to visit

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Anathapindika, because Sariputra was

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the best friend of Anathapindika.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And so Sariputra went with Ananda -

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
- at that time, Anathapindika was on

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
his death bed -

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to give final teachings to Anathapindika.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the first thing they wanted to do

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
was to take care of the feelings,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the perceptions, the mental formations

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and the consciousness.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Of course, when someone is dying,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we can also take care of the body.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We can massage while we are talking

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to the person, we can massage

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
their or their hands, in order to help

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
them feel that we are really there for them

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and they are not alone.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So Thay often tells us how when one of his

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
lay friends was dying, Thay massaged their

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
feet. Alfred Hassler.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Sister Chan Khong said, "Alfred, you know

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it's Thay massaging your feet."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, but anyway, in this case,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Sariputra wanted to concentrate more on

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the feelings, perceptions and consciousness.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So Sariputra said to Anathapindika,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Anathapindika, remember the Buddha."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Remember the happy times that you

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
have had with the Buddha."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then, "Remember the Dharma."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Remember all the happiness that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
listening to the Dharma has brought you."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then, "Remember the Sangha, the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
happiness that you have received

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
from the Sangha."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And so giving these teachings is to take

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
care of the feelings and the perceptions

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of the person who is dying, to send the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
feelings and the perceptions

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in a certain direction.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Because they have to continue.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Those feelings, those perceptions,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they continue

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
even though they become,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
usually at death we say that the body

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
becomes separate from the feelings and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the perceptions, we also saw that that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is not completely correct, but in a sense

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they also have their own way to go,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
have their own energy to go, to give.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we want that energy to continue as a

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
beautiful, peaceful energy.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And that by giving our attention

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to the happiness we receive from being

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in touch with the Buddha, the Dharma and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the Sangha, those feelings can go in

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a good direction, a good energy.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And so when we are taking care of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
someone who is dying, it's important

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to know about the happiness of that person.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
If somebody was not a Buddhist, to talk

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
about the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it might not be helpful.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So you would need to talk about something else.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And sometimes remembering wholesome

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
things that that person had done

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
during their life time.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When I was with my father,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I reminded him of the beautiful things

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that he had done in his lifetime,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and also the happy things that he had done.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
At one and the same time, we remind about

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
things that had a lot of happiness in, but

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
at the same time, those things that were

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
done that were very beneficial, that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
brought happiness to others as well.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we need to know about that person.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then we can nourish that person with

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
happiness, help that person be nourished

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
by feelings of happiness, so that he or she

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is able to look deeply into non-self.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
That is our true nature.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
[Singing:] "Nothing whatsoever to remove

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
from this. Not a single thing thereon to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
add. Properly regarding the true nature.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When truly seeing, complete liberation."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Sorry, I don't have enough qi, eh?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Nothing whatsoever to remove from this.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Not a single thing thereon to add.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Properly regarding the true nature.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When truly seeing, complete liberation.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So this meditation that was offered to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Anathapindika was for Anathapindika to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
be able to see the true nature and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
therefore be liberated from the sense of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
self and to be free at the moment of death.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So this meditation goes something like this.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
You begin by meditating on your eyes.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Now, normally we think these eyse are

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
part of me, they're part of my body.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And Sariputra when guiding the meditation

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
for Anathapindika, he said that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"These eyes are not me. I am not

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
caught in these eyes."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So this is something we can prepare

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
ourselves before we lie on our deathbed.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's better, because Sariputra may not be

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
there for us when we are on our deathbed.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we can prepare. It's good.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we have to look deeply at the nature

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of our eyes. When were our eyes born?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we see that our eyes are just the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
continuation of our mother's eyes,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
our father's eyes.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And they are not really mine.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Our eyes have been nourished by the food

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that we have eaten, that we've been given.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
They inter-are with everything that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we eat every day.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Our eyes, in fact, inter-are with the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
dust of the stars.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
If there weren't the stars, the dust of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the stars, our eyes would not be there.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
If we look into the elements that make

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
our fleshly eyes, we will see the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
different chemical elements that are

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
there, they come from the stars.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And so, we have to learn to meditate on

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
our eyes, to see that they are not me.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The same with our ears.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But not only that, we need to meditate

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
on the object of our eyes,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the object of our vision.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Whatever we see and we consider to be

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
outside of ourselves, we also consider

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that to be me.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When somebody was dying, they were once

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
asked, "Is there anything that you regret?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And that person said, "Yes, I regret that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I will no longer be able to be in touch

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with the beauties of spring, the beauties

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of autumn, when I die, I won't be in touch

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with those things.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But in fact, that is because we think that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
those things are there for me, but when

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I die, the beauty of spring and the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
beauty of autumn, it doesn't die as well.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
There will be other eyes which will be

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in touch with those things.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, and I inter-am with those other eyes

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that will be in touch.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we have to let go of the idea that the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
outside world is something that belongs

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to me.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then of course, in our vision, it's

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
not just eyes and the light waves, and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the so-called objects out there that make

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
possible our vision. We need something else.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And that is, we need our consciousness.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Without consciousness, we wouldn't see

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
anything, even though our eyes are

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
perfectly good, our optic nerve is

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
perfectly good, but without

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
consciousness, we don't see anything.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Because the light waves that our retina

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is able to pick up, the nerves are able

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to pick up and send a message to our

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
primary visual cortex and our secondary

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
visual cortex, those light waves, they have

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to be interpreted.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we have to see that also this 
consciousness, this visual cortex,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is not me, it's not mine,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it's not myself.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So in this way we are liberated.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We don't identify ourselves with any of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the things that we normally in our lifetime

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
identify ourselves with.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
In Plum Village, we often use the meditation

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
on the water and the wave.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We visualize ourself as a wave,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and there is a time when the wave is born,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and then it exists for a while, and then,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it crashes on the shore or

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it goes back into the sea.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And at that time when it crashes on the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
shore, the water, it goes back into the sea.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And also there's the energy from the wave,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that you can hear on the shore,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you can feel on the sand on the shore,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you can feel the energy from the wave.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So it's true, that the wave has lost

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
its separate self.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Its separate self has gone back into

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
energy on the shore and water in the sea.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But nothing is lost.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's something very scientific.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's not metaphysics.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And as our friend said yesterday,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the Buddha didn't like metaphysics.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Not he didn't like it, but he thought it

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
was a bit of a waste of time.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When the Buddha was asked:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"After death, do you continue to exist?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Or after death, do you cease to exist?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The Buddha's reply was that the Buddha

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
only teaches two things,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
suffering and the end of suffering.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I can't answer that question.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So the wave you can see that you can't

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
say that the wave continues to exist,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because it's not that wave that we saw

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that was there before.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But you can't say it ceases to exist,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because the energy is still there,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the water is still there.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And this is something very scientific.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The scientist Lavoisier,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the chemist Lavoisier.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Rien ne se créé, rien ne se perd."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Nothing is created, nothing is lost.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Everything is in transformation.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And that is something that was seen by

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
scientists when they do experiments in

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
their laboratory, chemists and physicists.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we know that the first law of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
thermodynamics is that energy is not lost.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, when we look at this matter of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
no birth and no death, we have to take

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in consideration what scientists say as well.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's not just something metaphysical.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So the occasion when the Buddha said that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
he only taught about suffering and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
not suffering was when one of his

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
young disciples, a young monk, of the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
name of Anuruddha. He went out on the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
alms round in the early morning.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then after the alms round, he thought

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
why don't I go and visit the pavilion where

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
all the monks of all the different

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
traditions are sitting having some kind

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of Dharma discussion.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So there were many kinds of spiritual

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
traditions in India at that time,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
not just Buddhism.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, Anuruddha walked into the pavilion,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and they said, "Oh, look, there's one of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the disciples of Gautama Buddha!"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Why don't we ask him about what

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
happens to us after we die.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
He must have heard from the Buddha

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
what happens.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So they said, "Anuruddha, you're a disciple

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of Guatama Buddha. So please tell us:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
after death, will the Buddha continue to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
exist? After his death, will the Buddha

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
cease to exist? After death, will he both

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
continue and cease to exist? After death,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
will he neither continue nor cease

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to exist?" This is Indian logic, at that time.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And Anuruddha was completely befuddled.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
He didn't know what to say. He felt

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
very bad. "Here I am representing the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Buddha. But I'm a young monk, and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I never heard the Buddha talk about

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
any of these things."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So he couldn't answer. And he said,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Friends, I'm sorry, but I've never heard

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the Buddha talk about any of these things."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then they said, "This monk either

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
just became ordained, or he is stupid."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And he didn't feel very good about that.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But anyway, he went back to the Buddha

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and said "Lord Buddha, this morning I

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
went to the pavilion and I was asked

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
this question, and I couldn't answer.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Please sir, can you teach me, so the next

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they ask me this question, they won't say

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that I am stupid. I will be able to answer."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And so the Buddha taught Anuruddha.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the Buddha said to Anuruddha,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Here is the Buddha sitting here."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"So first of all, is the Buddha the body?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And Anuruddha said "No, the Buddha

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is not the body."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Is the Buddha feelings?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Anuruddha said,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"No, the Buddha is not feelings."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Is the Buddha perceptions, mental 
formations, consciousness?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And Anuruddha said, "No."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then the Buddha asked,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Is the Buddha possible without the body?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And Anuruddha said, "No."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Is the Buddha possible without feelings?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"No."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Without perceptions, mental formations...."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And so in the end, Anuruddha

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
could not find the Buddha.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the Buddha said,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Anuruddha, if you cannot find the Buddha

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
while he is alive, how to you hope to be

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
able to find him after he's died?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And Anuruddha said "You're right."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then the Buddha said,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Yes, the Buddha has only taught

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
two things, suffering and the end of suffering."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
[The bell is awoken.]

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
[The bell is invited to sound.]

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And sometimes after a young couple have

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
been married, Thay will ask them to do

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
this kind of exercise.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So you ask your loved one questions

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
like that: am I this body?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then the other person says no.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Am I my feelings? No.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then you recognize that person you love

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is not somebody you can find.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's not something you can grasp onto.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It escapes all definitions.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then when that person dies,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you won't feel that it's only after

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they've died that you can't find them.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
You also see that when they were alive,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you could not find them.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Because when they are alive,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they aren't. They inter-are.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And when they are dead, they aren't.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
They inter-are.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This morning when we chanted the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Insight the brings us to the Other Shore,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we said "no being, no non-being."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And that is a new addition to that sutra,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but Thay saw that it's very important.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We believe that things really are,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
or that things really are not,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because we are caught in our perception

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of a sign.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We identify someone with a sign.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we say that person is.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And when that sign is not there for us to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
identify, we say that person is not.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This line is infinity, it's not begin and end.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And on this line there's a sign that we

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
call "B", and that sign is the sign "birth".

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And there's another sign that we call "D".

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And that's the sign "death".

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Birth is a sign.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's not an absolute reality.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We say where there is a sign,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
there is a deception.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But we need signs in order to be able to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
recognize things.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Like you need a birth certificate

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in order to be able, I don't know

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
sometimes you need a birth certificate

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I don't know when you need it,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but you do, eh? [laughter]

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And you also need a death certificate

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
sometimes. Well, you don't need it, but...

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
[laughter] somebody else does.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So anyway. Birth and death are signs.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we saw that when we looked at the paper,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it's very difficult to find the birthday

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of a piece of paper, if you look deeply.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But, you can establish a sign, and say

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that was the birthday when it came off the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
tread, or whatever it came off, I don't know.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And also for your own birth.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When they say "Oh, there's that new baby,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
what it looks like, we can see with our eyes."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Then that is a sign, and we call it

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the birthday.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But some people call the birthday

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the conception day, the day when

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
conception took place.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But that is also another sign.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Because before the conception there was

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
also mother's egg, father's seed.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So it's not exactly a birthday.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So death is also a sign.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
If you look outside, there are some poppies.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Yesterday there were two, and today

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
there are three. Or maybe the day before.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Anyway, there are now three.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the two older ones, they're beginning,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the petals are getting a little bit faded

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
on the edges. And then along side of them,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
there are some seed pods,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
two flowers already changed into seedpods.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So you can say that two flowers have died.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But in fact, they've changed their sign.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Before they were red flowers, but now

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they are seedpods. And then the seed

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
will at some time fall back to the earth,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and then they'll be another sign of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
another flower coming up.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So it's not really a matter of death.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Normally we say that death is non-being.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But the flower hasn't become non-being.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The petals have gone back down into

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the earth and the seedpod is continuing

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the flower.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then you say here, after the flower

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
has opened, it became being.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But that is just a sign.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Before that, when it was a bud..

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we say before that, it was non-being.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So the idea of birth and death is connected

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to the idea of being and non-being.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
If you don't have an idea of being and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
non-being, you won't have an idea

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of birth and death.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Because birth coming into being from

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
non-being, and death is going out of being

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
into non-being.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we've all witnessed people who have died.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We've all. They are people in our family who

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
have died, or we know people who have died.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we have to ask ourselves,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"After that person died, did they become

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
non-being?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
While they were alive, were they being?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Or while they were alive, were they non-being?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So now we look at ourself when

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we were a child.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And if somebody took a photograph of us.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And sometimes we will open the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
photograph album, and we will say to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
our friend, "Do you know what, that's me!

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when I was 6 years old or something."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the friend will say, "Oh really,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I would never have guessed it?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So that child in the photograph,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it looks very different from how you look

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when you are 30 or 40, or 80 or 90

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
or whatever.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And not only the body of the child is different.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But also the feelings are different.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
If you ask yourself when I was that age,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
what were my feelings like?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
What were my perceptions like?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
You will see that they are quite different,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
although you can remember what they

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
were like, from what they are now.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we have to say that that child is not

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
really me, no really the same me as the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
me now. But on the other hand, we

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
can't say that that child is different,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because that child hadn't been there,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
there's no way that this thing I call me

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
now would be here.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So this is some time, in this way of looking

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we have to go beyond our normal

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
concepts and categories.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Normally we say it has to be in a box

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
called "same", or we have to put it in a

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
box called "different".

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So either I am the same as that child, or

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I am different from that child.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And Thay, when I first came to Plum Village,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
this was one thing that Thay was always

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
asking his students,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Is Thay the same as Thay was last year?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And I would always say,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Yes, Thay is the same as last year."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And then somebody else in the room would

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
say "No, Thay is different."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And Thay would say, "You cannot put Thay

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in a box "same", you cannot put Thay in a

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
box "different". Thay is outside

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
those two boxes.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's the same when people want to make

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a stupa for Thay.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When Thay dies, they want to have a

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
little bit of Thay's ashes that they can

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
put in that stupa. I think Thay doesn't

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
terribly want to have a stupa, I'm not sure.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Anyway, he said to the people.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Ok, you can make a stupa for me, but

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you have to put a notice on it, that says

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
'Thay is not in here.'" And then you also

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
have to say 'Thay is not outside of here'

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
either, because inside and outside of here

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
are also two boxes.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, it gets deeper and deeper.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So if you have someone you love,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
be careful not to put them in a box.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
If you have someone you don't love,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
be careful , don't put them in a box.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
That box is made out of signs.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
One sister I know practised very well.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Her father and mother died when she was

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
quite young. And she said now I see that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I am much closer to my mother and father

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
than when they were alive.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So this means that mother and father

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
continue in you, and they continue in

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
your siblings, they continue in their

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
children, in their grandchildren.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And when Mother and Father were alive,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
maybe you put them in boxes.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So you weren't able to be in touch with

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
them as a whole, as part of everything,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
as part of interbeing.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So in order to free ourselves from ideas

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of being and non-being, we have to have

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
another concept which, with any luck,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
will take us into the non-conceptual.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, before someone dies, they inter-are.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And after they die, they continue

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to inter-be.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Sometimes, after someone has died,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you see them much more clearly

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in their children and their grandchildren

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
than before, because before they died,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you looked at them as separate from

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
their children. But after they die, you

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
don't have anywhere else to look, so

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you see them in their children.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we've been practising to walk on

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Mother Earth, to place footsteps of love,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and to caress the Earth as we walk, to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
see that the Earth is not just matter,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but also spirit. And we've talked about

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Mother Earth as we are born from the Earth

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and we go back to the Earth.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And I think that this can remove a lot of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
our fear also. Whenever we walk on the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Earth, we see, yes, this is where I will

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
go back to. A large part of me will

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
go back to the Earth.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the Earth is always ready to receive

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and embrace me.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So an important part of developing

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
fearlessness about death is to be able to

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
see the Earth as your loving Mother who

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
will receive you when you die.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we talked a bit about the teaching of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
no same, no different, not in those boxes.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We also have boxes which are

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
no coming, no going.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
No, sorry, we also have boxes which are

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"coming" and "going".

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And often when people die, people ask,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Oh, can you tell me where he has gone?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Where can I find him now?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And Thay used to light a match.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Do you remember Thay's box of matches?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We forgot the matches today.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Nevermind, you can remember.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So you have a box of matches, and then you

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
take out one match and you ask,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Dear little match, will you produce a

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
flame for us?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Thank you.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So first of all, we have to ask,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Where is the flame now?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We don't see a flame;

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we don't have the sign of a flame.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But on the other hand, we know that all

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the elements to make the flame are present

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
inside this box and also outside, because

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you also need the oxygen, so inside and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
outside.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So now we have the match, we have the box,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we have the oxygen. We only need one

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
more condition for the flame to manifest.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And that is we have to do something with

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
our fingers. "So, dear flame, please manifest.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Dear match, please help manifest the flame

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
for the Sangha.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And now the flame is manifesting.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
You allow it to manifest.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And while it's manifesting it's giving

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
off light and heat.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And now it's giving off smoke.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So then we ask the flame,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Oh, dear little flame, where have you gone?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the flame says it hasn't gone anywhere.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Dear Sangha, I haven't gone anywhere.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I haven't gone North, South, East or West.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's just the conditions were not there

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
for me to manifest anymore,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
so I ceased to manifest.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And similarly, I didn't come from anywhere.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I didn't come from the North, the South,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the East or the West, but the conditions

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
were all there for me to manifest

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
so I manifested.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So when somebody dies, and we ask them

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Where have you gone?" then the answer

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
will also be "I haven't gone anywhere."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And if you look, you can be in touch

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with them.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Somebody will say [singing]

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This body is not me;

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I am not caught in this body.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I am life without limit.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I've never been born, and I've never died.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Over there the wide ocean and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
millions of galaxies,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
all arise from the depth of consciousness.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So smile to me and take my hand,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and wave good-bye.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Tomorrow we shall meet again,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
or even before.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We shall always be meeting again

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
on the millions walks of life.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We shall meet in every moment,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
on the million walks of life. [end of singing]

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Did I leave out a line? I think I did:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Birth and death are only a game

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of hide and seek.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Birth and death are only a threshold,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a door through which we go in and out.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Birth and death are only a game

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of hide and seek.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we use our understanding of interbeing

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in order to be able find the person who

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
has died, to find they haven't gone

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
anywhere, they didn't come from anywhere,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they haven't gone anywhere.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When the conditions were right, they manifest.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Conditions not right, they cease to manifest.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the first place to look is in yourself,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to find that person.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
To find the feeling they transmitted to you,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the perception that they left to you.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So dear friends, our retreat is coming

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to an end. And thank you for being here.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we will have a kind of closing, I think,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
by singing together.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And we may have a little time

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to say thank you. A few people

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
will say thank you to each other.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So, we will listen to three

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
sounds of the bell.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And the three sounds of the bell are

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
our good wish for you.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Firstly, to have a good journey home.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And secondly, to be able to continue

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
whatever part of the practice that is

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
most helpful for you.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And thirdly, to come back again,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when we next have a retreat.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
[a lotus for you]

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
[The bell is awoken.]

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
[The bell is invited to sound.]

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
[The bell is invited to sound.]

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
[The bell is invited to sound.]

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
[The small bell is invited to sound.]