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III Original Fear, Original Desire | Thich Nhat Hanh

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    I think we have enough copies for everyone.
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    We only have it in English.
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    So we shall try to have it in French,
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    German,
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    and so on later on.
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    And there may be friends
    who would like to help translate.
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    Three kinds of approach to the problem of ethics.
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    And the first one is
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    the standpoint of religion,
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    theistic traditions.
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    The second is the so-called scientific approach.
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    And the third one is the
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    Buddhist approach.
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    First is the theistic traditions,
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    Judaism and Christianity.
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    Judaism and Christianity teach that
    the world was created by a loving,
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    all-powerful God
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    to provide a home for us.
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    We in turn were created in
    his image to be his children.
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    Thus the world is not
    devoid of meaning and purpose.
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    It is instead the arena in which
    God's plans and purposes are realized.
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    What could be more natural than to think that
    morality is a part of a just view of the world?
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    Whereas the artistic world has no place for values.
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    In the major theistic traditions, including Judaism,
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    Christianity, and Islam,
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    God is conceived as a lawgiver who has
    let down rules that we are to obey.
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    He does not compel us to obey them.
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    But we were created as free agents,
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    so we may choose to accept
    or to reject his commandments.
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    But if we are to live as we should,
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    we must follow God's law.
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    This conception has been elaborated by some theologians
    into a theory about the nature of right and wrong,
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    known as the divine command theory.
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    Essentially,
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    this theory says that morally right
    is a matter of being commanded by God.
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    And morally wrong is a matter
    of being forbidden by God.
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    That is the theistic approach.
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    And then we have Bertrand Russell's
    scientific approach.
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    This was written in 1902,
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    more than 100 years ago,
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    in his book A Free Man's Worship.
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    That man is the product of causes which had
    no prevision of the end they were achieving.
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    That his origin,
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    his growth, his hopes and fears,
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    his loves and his beliefs are but the outcome
    of accidental collocations of atoms.
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    That no fire,
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    no heroism,
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    no intensity of thought and feeling
    can preserve an individual life beyond the grave.
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    That all the labors of all the ages,
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    all the devotion,
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    all the inspiration,
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    all the noonday brightness of human genius
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    are destined to extinction in
    the vast depth of the solar system.
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    And that the whole temple of man's
    achievement must inevitably be buried
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    beneath the debris of a universe in ruins.
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    All these things,
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    if not quite beyond dispute,
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    are yet so nearly certain
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    that no philosophy which
    rejects them can hope to stand.
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    Only within the scaffolding of this truth,
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    only on the firm foundation
    of the unyielding despair,
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    can the soul habitation
    henceforth be safely built.
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    Very strong.
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    So,
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    according to him,
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    coincidence
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    and
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    annihilation of man
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    after his appearance
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    is the opposite with the religious view.
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    Because in the religious view the soul is
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    immortal,
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    immortal,
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    permanent.
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    So,
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    one is the view of
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    of permanence,
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    immortality.
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    And the other is the view of annihilation.
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    The opposite views.
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    And one
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    is the view of
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    there's a
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    purpose,
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    a plan,
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    a project.
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    And the other
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    view is that just pure coincidence,
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    the collocation of atoms,
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    we are the product of
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    coincidence.
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    So it's
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    opposite views.
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    And there is another
    scientific view that is more recent.
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    The universe is some
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    15 billion years old.
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    That is the time elapsed since the Big Bang.
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    And the earth itself was formed
    about 4.6 billion years ago.
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    The evolution of life
    on the planet was a slow process,
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    guided largely by natural selection.
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    The evolution of life,
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    the first humans appeared quite recently.
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    The extinction of great
    dinosaurs 65 million years ago
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    left ecological room for
    the evolution of the few little mammals
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    that were about.
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    And after 63 or 64 million more years,
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    one line of that evolution finally produced us.
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    In geological time,
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    we,
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    man,
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    arrived only yesterday.
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    But no sooner did our ancestors arrive,
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    then they began to think of themselves
    as the most important things in all creation.
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    Some of them even imagined that the whole
    universe had been made for their benefit.
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    Thus, when they began to develop
    theories of right and wrong,
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    they held that the protection of their own interests
    had a kind of ultimate and objective value.
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    The rest of creation,
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    the reason was intended for their use.
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    We know now better.
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    We now know better.
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    We now know that we exist by
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    evolutionary accident.
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    As one species among many
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    on a small and insignificant world
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    in one little corner of the cosmos.
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    The details of this picture are revised each year
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    as more is discovered,
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    but the main outline seems well established.
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    So the idea of coincidence still remains
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    in the so-called scientific world.
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    I think there are a few scientists who do not agree.
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    with that
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    coincidence.
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    And finally, we have the
    Buddhist approach in just a few lines.
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    And this is what we
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    these few lines we use during the winter
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    the last winter retreat.
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    Both subject and object of perception
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    manifest from consciousness
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    according to the principle of inter-being.
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    Man is present in all things
    and all things are present in man.
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    On the phenomenal level
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    there seem to be birth,
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    death, being and non-being.
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    But ontologically these notions
    cannot be applied to reality.
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    The dynamic consciousness
    is called karma energy.
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    Everything evolves according
    to the principle of interdependence,
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    but there is free will
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    and the possibility to transform.
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    There is probability.
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    The one affects the all
    and all affects the one.
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    Interbeing also means
    impermanence, non-self, emptiness,
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    karma and countless world systems.
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    Right view allows right action
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    leading to the reduction of suffering
    and the increase of happiness.
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    Happiness and suffering inter-are.
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    The ultimate reality transcends
    notions of good and evil,
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    right and wrong.
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    So it's only
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    seven or eight lines.
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    Good morning,
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    dear Sangha.
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    Today is Sunday,
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    June the 7th, the year 2009.
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    And we are in the Assembly of Stars Meditation Hall,
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    Lower Hamlet during our 21-day retreat.
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    Yesterday we began with
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    right view.
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    We have heard that right view
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    is the absence of all views.
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    As far as you are still caught in one view,
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    you don't have right view.
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    And it is possible for us to
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    reveal all kinds of views
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    and to transcend all of them.
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    And
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    the noble
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    path consists of right view and
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    then right
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    thinking.
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    Right thinking
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    has
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    the connotation of right intention in it.
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    When you think,
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    you express also somehow your intention.
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    And then we have right speech,
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    right action.
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    Right action means right physical action,
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    bodily action.
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    Because thinking is a kind of action already.
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    Speaking is also a kind of action.
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    So right action here means
    right physical bodily action.
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    Right...
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    Please help me.
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    Livelihood.
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    Diligence.
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    Diligence.
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    And then right mindfulness.
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    And then right
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    concentration.
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    And right view.
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    1, 2, 3, 4,
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    5, 6, 7, 8.
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    Complete.
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    We know that the
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    thinking,
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    the speaking,
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    and the acting is
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    what we
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    perform every day,
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    every moment of our daily life.
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    The value of our life depends
    on the value of our thinking,
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    of our
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    speech and our
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    action.
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    And
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    in Buddhism
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    this is called triple action.
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    Triple action.
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    Because thinking
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    is the first kind of action.
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    Because thinking can affect the world.
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    If you think wrongly,
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    the world will be destroyed.
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    The world will suffer and you will suffer.
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    So that is why you have
    to practice right thinking.
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    And when you produce a thought
    in the line of right thinking,
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    a thought that has no discrimination,
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    a thought that goes along with
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    non-discrimination,
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    that goes along with interbeing,
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    understanding, forgiveness,
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    compassion,
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    that thought will have
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    an effect right away on yourself,
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    on your health,
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    and
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    on your mind,
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    and on the world.
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    And this is true.
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    Producing right thinking can heal yourself,
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    your body,
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    and your mind.
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    And if you think in the wrong way,
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    that destroys your body,
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    that destroys your mind.
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    So it's very important to learn
    how to produce a thought of compassion,
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    a thought of
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    forgiveness,
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    a thought of understanding,
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    a thought of (non)discrimination.
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    And that is right thinking.
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    Right thinking can heal you and heal the world.
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    And good practitioners are capable of producing
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    right thoughts
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    at every moment.
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    And because we have right view,
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    that is why it's so easy,
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    it's so natural that our thinking will be right.
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    And right view does not have discrimination.
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    Right view is
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    the
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    insight of non-duality,
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    interbeing,
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    non-discrimination.
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    And that is why
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    thinking
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    can change the world.
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    We have to learn
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    the art of
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    right thinking.
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    Speaking also can change the world.
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    If
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    we are capable of saying something,
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    of writing something,
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    in the line of compassion, understanding,
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    non-discrimination,
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    all-embracing,
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    we feel wonderful in our body, in our mind.
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    And that kind of
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    right speech will have a healing effect.
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    After you have been able to say something kind,
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    forgiving,
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    compassionate,
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    you feel much better.
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    When you write such a letter
    full of compassion and forgiveness,
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    you are feeling very well
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    within yourself,
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    although the other person has not read it.
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    You have not posted the letter,
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    you have not sent the email,
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    but you feel liberated,
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    you feel wonderful already.
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    So right speech also can heal,
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    can liberate.
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    And healing yourself, liberate yourself,
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    and help to heal other people in the world.
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    That is the second form of action.
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    And the third form of action is a bodily
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    action.
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    If you are able to do something in the line of
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    saving,
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    supporting,
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    protecting,
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    comforting,
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    rescuing, saving,
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    you feel wonderful within yourself.
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    And you get the effect right away.
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    And that is a triple action.
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    It comprises
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    the body,
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    involves the body,
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    it involves the mouth,
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    the speech,
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    and it involves
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    your mind consciousness.
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    And this kind of action,
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    we call it karma.
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    Karma means action.
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    When it is action,
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    we call it karma hetu,
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    karma cause.
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    And when it is the fruit,
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    we call it karmaphala,
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    the fruit of the consequence,
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    the fruit of your action.
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    There's a French philosopher called Jean-Paul Sartre.
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    He said that
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    man is the sum of all his actions.
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    L'homme est la somme de ses actes.
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    He's very close to this.
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    And if we understand act,
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    action,
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    as a triple action,
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    the way we think,
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    the way we speak,
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    and the way
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    we do things.
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    When we observe
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    an orange tree,
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    we see that
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    the orange tree wants to propagate
    beautiful leaves, beautiful blossoms,
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    and beautiful oranges.
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    Yes.
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    If the orange tree is healthy,
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    then she can produce these kind of things.
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    Very beautiful leaves,
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    very beautiful orange blossoms,
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    and very delicious oranges.
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    And we humans,
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    what we can offer
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    is our thinking,
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    our speech, and our action.
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    It is possible to offer the best kind of thinking,
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    the best kind of
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    speech,
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    and the best kind of action,
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    because that is our continuation.
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    When we think,
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    when we speak, when we do things, we produce.
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    That is the outcome of our being.
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    That's our product.
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    And they will not be lost,
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    they will continue in the cosmos.
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    The effect of our thinking,
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    the effect of our speech,
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    and the effect of our action will continue.
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    Whether this body is still there,
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    or it has
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    disintegrated,
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    our action continues.
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    Karma continues.
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    Karma as
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    energy,
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    karma cause, karma effect,
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    continues.
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    When you produce a thought,
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    that thought you have produced
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    bears your signature.
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    It's you who have produced that thought.
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    You are responsible for that thought.
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    If it is a thought of compassion,
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    forgiveness,
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    non-discrimination,
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    you will continue beautifully,
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    because it has your signature in it.
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    You are the author
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    of the action.
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    If you say something in the line of
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    forgiveness,
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    compassion,
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    non-discrimination,
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    and what you say has your signature in it.
  • 27:56 - 27:57
    You cannot say that,
  • 27:58 - 27:59
    "No, I have not said that."
  • 27:59 - 28:00
    You have said that.
  • 28:02 - 28:05
    There's a signature, your signature in it.
  • 28:05 - 28:06
    You cannot deny that.
  • 28:07 - 28:08
    And action, the same.
  • 28:09 - 28:12
    Whatever you have done bears your signatures.
  • 28:13 - 28:14
    And they have
  • 28:15 - 28:17
    gone to the cosmos.
  • 28:18 - 28:19
    They are always there.
  • 28:20 - 28:22
    So even if this body is no longer there,
  • 28:23 - 28:24
    you continue.
  • 28:27 - 28:30
    So to say that when this body disintegrates,
  • 28:30 - 28:31
    you are no longer there,
  • 28:31 - 28:32
    is a wrong view.
  • 28:34 - 28:39
    So the so-called scientific view
    that there's nothing left after the
  • 28:40 - 28:41
    disintegration of the body,
  • 28:41 - 28:42
    that's a wrong view.
  • 28:45 - 28:46
    According to
  • 28:47 - 28:48
    Buddhist wisdom,
  • 28:49 - 28:51
    the view of immortality,
  • 28:53 - 28:54
    impermanence,
  • 28:55 - 28:55
    is a wrong view.
  • 28:56 - 28:57
    Because
  • 28:58 - 28:59
    according to our
  • 29:01 - 29:02
    observation,
  • 29:02 - 29:04
    everything is impermanent,
  • 29:04 - 29:06
    everything is changing.
  • 29:07 - 29:09
    Nothing can be the same
  • 29:10 - 29:10
    forever.
  • 29:12 - 29:14
    So permanence,
  • 29:15 - 29:17
    is not the truth.
  • 29:21 - 29:22
    But to say that
  • 29:23 - 29:25
    when we die, there is nothing left,
  • 29:26 - 29:28
    is also a wrong view.
  • 29:30 - 29:34
    And that is also a pair of opposites.
  • 29:54 - 29:54
    Permanence,
  • 29:58 - 29:59
    immortality,
  • 30:01 - 30:02
    and annihilation.
  • 30:19 - 30:21
    Immortality is a wrong view.
  • 30:22 - 30:23
    Because so far,
  • 30:24 - 30:25
    we have not seen anything
  • 30:28 - 30:29
    like that.
  • 30:31 - 30:33
    Everything you observe is impermanent,
  • 30:36 - 30:37
    always changing.
  • 30:41 - 30:43
    But annihilation is also
  • 30:44 - 30:45
    a wrong view.
  • 30:47 - 30:50
    Suppose we speak of the death of a cloud.
  • 30:53 - 30:58
    You look up in the sky and you don't
    see your beloved cloud anymore.
  • 30:59 - 31:02
    And you cry, "Oh my beloved cloud,
  • 31:03 - 31:04
    you are no longer there.
  • 31:05 - 31:06
    How can I survive without you?"
  • 31:07 - 31:08
    And you cry.
  • 31:11 - 31:12
    You are thinking of the cloud as
  • 31:13 - 31:14
    having passed from
  • 31:15 - 31:17
    being into non-being,
  • 31:18 - 31:19
    from existence
  • 31:19 - 31:21
    into non-existence.
  • 31:23 - 31:26
    But in fact, it is impossible for a cloud to die.
  • 31:27 - 31:31
    To die means from something
    you suddenly become nothing at all.
  • 31:32 - 31:34
    To die means from someone
  • 31:34 - 31:37
    you suddenly become no one.
  • 31:40 - 31:42
    But this is not the case of the cloud.
  • 31:43 - 31:44
    A cloud cannot become nothing.
  • 31:45 - 31:49
    It is possible for a cloud to become rain, or snow,
  • 31:49 - 31:50
    or fog,
  • 31:53 - 31:54
    or vapor,
  • 31:54 - 31:55
    water vapor.
  • 31:56 - 31:59
    But it's not possible for
    a cloud to become nothing.
  • 32:03 - 32:06
    And that is why the view of
    annihilation is a wrong view.
  • 32:09 - 32:11
    If you are a scientist,
  • 32:12 - 32:13
    and if you think that
  • 32:15 - 32:16
    after the disintegration
  • 32:17 - 32:20
    of this body, you are no longer there,
    you become nothing,
  • 32:21 - 32:23
    you have passed from being to non-being,
  • 32:23 - 32:24
    you are not a very good scientist.
  • 32:25 - 32:27
    Because that is against evidence.
  • 32:30 - 32:32
    There is a French scientist who said that nothing
  • 32:33 - 32:34
    can die.
  • 32:38 - 32:40
    His name is Lavoisier.
  • 32:41 - 32:42
    Rien ne se crée,
  • 32:42 - 32:43
    rien ne se perd.
  • 32:45 - 32:47
    And you know that he's not a Buddhist.
  • 32:50 - 32:51
    Rien ne se crée,
    [ Nothing is created ]
  • 32:51 - 32:52
    rien ne se perd.
    [ Nothing can die ]
  • 32:52 - 32:53
    Nothing
  • 32:53 - 32:54
    is created,
  • 32:55 - 32:56
    is born.
  • 32:56 - 32:57
    Nothing can die.
  • 32:57 - 32:59
    And that is the nature of everything.
  • 33:00 - 33:01
    No birth, no death.
  • 33:02 - 33:06
    Because birth and death again is a pair of notions.
  • 33:13 - 33:14
    The cloud in the sky
  • 33:17 - 33:19
    is a new manifestation
  • 33:20 - 33:23
    before assuming the form of a cloud.
  • 33:23 - 33:25
    The cloud had been
  • 33:27 - 33:28
    water vapor.
  • 33:29 - 33:31
    The cloud had been water in the ocean
  • 33:32 - 33:33
    and
  • 33:33 - 33:34
    the heat
  • 33:36 - 33:39
    of the sun created by the sunshine,
  • 33:39 - 33:41
    the sunlight.
  • 33:42 - 33:46
    So that is, you can call it her previous life.
  • 33:47 - 33:49
    In her previous life the cloud had been
  • 33:50 - 33:52
    the water in the ocean,
  • 33:54 - 33:55
    the heat and so on.
  • 33:56 - 33:59
    So being a cloud is only a continuation.
  • 33:59 - 34:01
    A cloud has not come from nothing.
  • 34:02 - 34:03
    A cloud always
  • 34:04 - 34:05
    comes from something.
  • 34:07 - 34:08
    So there's no birth,
  • 34:09 - 34:10
    there's only a continuation.
  • 34:15 - 34:16
    And that is why
  • 34:17 - 34:20
    when we celebrate the birthday of someone instead of
  • 34:21 - 34:23
    singing happy birthday to you,
  • 34:23 - 34:27
    it may be better to sing happy continuation day to you.
  • 34:29 - 34:30
    That's not your beginning.
  • 34:31 - 34:32
    Your birth is not your beginning.
  • 34:33 - 34:34
    That's only your continuation.
  • 34:35 - 34:36
    Because you have been before that.
  • 34:37 - 34:39
    You have been there before your birth
  • 34:40 - 34:41
    in other forms.
  • 34:43 - 34:45
    Like this piece of paper.
  • 34:46 - 34:47
    Before
  • 34:48 - 34:50
    this piece of paper appeared in this form, before
  • 34:54 - 34:56
    it had been something else.
  • 34:57 - 34:59
    It has not come from nothing,
  • 35:00 - 35:01
    because from nothing
  • 35:02 - 35:03
    you cannot become something.
  • 35:06 - 35:08
    And looking as a meditator,
  • 35:08 - 35:12
    we can look into the sheet of paper
    and we see the forest, the trees,
  • 35:14 - 35:16
    the earth, the soil,
  • 35:17 - 35:18
    the rain,
  • 35:19 - 35:21
    the cloud that nourish the trees.
  • 35:22 - 35:23
    So the previous life
  • 35:24 - 35:25
    of the sheet of paper you can see.
  • 35:29 - 35:32
    Looking into a sheet of paper you can see
  • 35:32 - 35:33
    the cloud,
  • 35:34 - 35:35
    the earth,
  • 35:35 - 35:36
    the trees,
  • 35:37 - 35:38
    the paper mill.
  • 35:39 - 35:40
    And that is where
  • 35:43 - 35:45
    the sheet of paper comes.
  • 35:47 - 35:49
    So the sheet of paper has not come from nothing.
  • 35:51 - 35:57
    And the manifestation as a sheet of
    paper is only a new manifestation.
  • 35:58 - 35:59
    Not really a birth.
  • 36:00 - 36:02
    Because to be born means
  • 36:02 - 36:05
    from nothing you suddenly become something.
  • 36:05 - 36:09
    From no one you suddenly become someone.
  • 36:10 - 36:14
    So the nature of this sheet of
    paper is the nature of no birth.
  • 36:21 - 36:25
    And it is impossible for
    the sheet of paper to die.
  • 36:28 - 36:29
    When you
  • 36:30 - 36:31
    burn this sheet of paper
  • 36:33 - 36:35
    and you observe,
  • 36:36 - 36:39
    you see that the sheet of paper
    will be transformed into smoke,
  • 36:40 - 36:40
    vapor,
  • 36:42 - 36:42
    and ash,
  • 36:43 - 36:44
    and heat.
  • 36:45 - 36:47
    And that heat is energy.
  • 36:48 - 36:50
    There's smoke coming up, water,
  • 36:53 - 36:54
    and
  • 36:55 - 36:56
    the ash
  • 36:57 - 36:58
    going down.
  • 36:59 - 37:01
    The sheet of paper will continue.
  • 37:03 - 37:04
    So to say that
  • 37:07 - 37:10
    after the disintegration of the body,
  • 37:10 - 37:11
    there is nothing more.
  • 37:12 - 37:13
    There's nothing left.
  • 37:14 - 37:16
    It is a wrong view called
  • 37:16 - 37:18
    the view of annihilation.
  • 37:36 - 37:40
    So right thinking is a kind of
  • 37:40 - 37:42
    thinking that is based on right view.
  • 37:43 - 37:44
    And right thinking
  • 37:45 - 37:45
    is
  • 37:48 - 37:49
    free from fear,
  • 37:50 - 37:51
    from discrimination,
  • 37:52 - 37:52
    and so on.
  • 38:12 - 38:19
    We know that with the
  • 38:23 - 38:26
    insight of interbeing,
  • 38:26 - 38:29
    the insight of no self,
  • 38:30 - 38:31
    the insight of
  • 38:35 - 38:36
    non-duality,
  • 38:38 - 38:39
    the thinking
  • 38:40 - 38:43
    will have a chance to be right thinking.
  • 38:43 - 38:44
    The speaking will have the
  • 38:47 - 38:48
    chance to be right speech.
  • 38:49 - 38:51
    And the action will have the right,
  • 38:52 - 38:55
    the chance to be right action.
  • 39:01 - 39:01
    And
  • 39:03 - 39:05
    every thought, every speech,
  • 39:06 - 39:09
    every act of ours bear our signature.
  • 39:10 - 39:11
    And it will continue.
  • 39:13 - 39:15
    It will continue with our karma.
  • 39:16 - 39:17
    And that is why
  • 39:20 - 39:28
    the notion of immortality
    and the notion of annihilation
  • 39:29 - 39:30
    are just notions.
  • 39:31 - 39:33
    And they have to...
  • 39:33 - 39:36
    The view of permanence and the view of
    annihilation should be transcended
  • 39:37 - 39:38
    in order for
  • 39:40 - 39:41
    us to have the right view.
  • 39:42 - 39:44
    Right view is the absence of views,
  • 39:45 - 39:49
    including the views of permanence
    and the views of annihilation.
  • 39:51 - 39:56
    We have lost someone who is very close to us.
  • 39:59 - 40:01
    We are grieving his or her
  • 40:02 - 40:02
    death.
  • 40:03 - 40:04
    We have to look again.
  • 40:05 - 40:07
    And that person still continues
  • 40:08 - 40:09
    somehow.
  • 40:12 - 40:16
    And we can do something in order to help
    him or her to continue more beautifully.
  • 40:19 - 40:22
    He or she is still alive in us and around us.
  • 40:23 - 40:26
    With the new way of looking,
  • 40:26 - 40:30
    we can still recognize him or her around very well.
  • 40:31 - 40:33
    The way we recognize
  • 40:34 - 40:35
    our beloved
  • 40:36 - 40:39
    cloud in the cup of tea.
  • 40:40 - 40:42
    When you drink your cup of tea
  • 40:42 - 40:44
    with mindfulness and concentration,
  • 40:44 - 40:46
    you can get the insight
  • 40:47 - 40:49
    that the cloud is your tea.
  • 40:49 - 40:50
    Very close.
  • 40:52 - 40:54
    You have never lost him or her.
  • 40:55 - 40:56
    She is still alive.
  • 40:56 - 40:57
    Very close.
  • 40:58 - 41:00
    And maybe in a more beautiful form
  • 41:01 - 41:03
    or different forms than
  • 41:04 - 41:05
    in the past.
  • 41:06 - 41:08
    So that is the kind of vision,
  • 41:08 - 41:09
    that is the kind of
  • 41:10 - 41:14
    insight that we should have
    in order to overcome grief.
  • 41:17 - 41:19
    Because we think that we have lost him,
  • 41:20 - 41:21
    we have lost her.
  • 41:23 - 41:26
    But that person has not died,
    has not disappeared.
  • 41:28 - 41:30
    She continues, he continues
  • 41:30 - 41:32
    in her new forms.
  • 41:33 - 41:37
    And you have to practice looking deeply
    in order to recognize
  • 41:37 - 41:39
    her continuation, his continuation,
  • 41:40 - 41:41
    and support that.
  • 41:41 - 41:44
    And by producing right thought,
  • 41:44 - 41:46
    right speech, and right thinking,
  • 41:46 - 41:48
    we can support him or her.
  • 41:49 - 41:50
    Darling, I know you are there somehow.
  • 41:51 - 41:53
    Very real to me.
  • 41:53 - 41:54
    I'm breathing for you.
  • 41:55 - 41:57
    I'm looking around for you.
  • 42:01 - 42:03
    I enjoy life for you.
  • 42:04 - 42:05
    And I know that
  • 42:06 - 42:08
    you are there, still there.
  • 42:09 - 42:10
    You are very close to me,
  • 42:11 - 42:11
    and you are in me.
  • 42:15 - 42:17
    And we can transform our suffering.
  • 42:18 - 42:19
    We can feel much better.
  • 42:20 - 42:21
    We want to have right view.
  • 42:34 - 42:36
    When we come to right mindfulness,
  • 42:48 - 42:50
    samyak-smṛti,
  • 42:54 - 42:56
    chánh niệm,
  • 43:02 - 43:03
    we know that
  • 43:05 - 43:06
    together with
  • 43:07 - 43:08
    right concentration,
  • 43:09 - 43:12
    mindfulness can help bring right view.
  • 43:16 - 43:18
    When you practice right mindfulness,
  • 43:20 - 43:21
    you bring about
  • 43:22 - 43:23
    good concentration.
  • 43:25 - 43:26
    And with good concentration,
  • 43:26 - 43:27
    you can break through,
  • 43:29 - 43:31
    you can understand reality as it is.
  • 43:32 - 43:34
    You overcome all wrong views,
  • 43:34 - 43:36
    and you get right view,
  • 43:37 - 43:38
    which is insight.
  • 43:39 - 43:42
    And it is that insight
    that liberates you from fear,
  • 43:43 - 43:43
    and despair,
  • 43:45 - 43:46
    and anger.
  • 43:48 - 43:50
    In Buddhism, we speak of liberation,
  • 43:52 - 43:52
    salvation,
  • 43:53 - 43:54
    in terms of understanding.
  • 43:56 - 43:57
    It is understanding,
  • 43:58 - 43:59
    right understanding.
  • 43:59 - 44:01
    It is right view that liberates us.
  • 44:04 - 44:06
    And we know that insight, understanding,
  • 44:07 - 44:09
    is possible only with
  • 44:10 - 44:12
    the energy of mindfulness and concentration.
  • 44:14 - 44:15
    And that is why
  • 44:16 - 44:17
    practitioners
  • 44:18 - 44:21
    of Buddhist meditation are those who
  • 44:22 - 44:24
    generate the energy of mindfulness
    in their daily life,
  • 44:25 - 44:26
    and practice,
  • 44:28 - 44:33
    concentrated on the object of their mind.
  • 44:34 - 44:34
    And then
  • 44:35 - 44:38
    by doing so, they get the right view that will
  • 44:39 - 44:40
    help them to transform,
  • 44:41 - 44:44
    to be liberated from their fear,
  • 44:44 - 44:44
    their anger.
  • 44:47 - 44:48
    Suppose you have the fear of dying,
  • 44:51 - 44:52
    and if
  • 44:53 - 44:57
    you touch the nature of no birth and no death,
  • 44:59 - 45:00
    you can remove that fear.
  • 45:01 - 45:02
    And that is why
  • 45:03 - 45:04
    your savior
  • 45:05 - 45:06
    is right view,
  • 45:06 - 45:07
    is insight.
  • 45:08 - 45:12
    And that is the outcome of your
    practice of mindfulness and concentration.
  • 45:15 - 45:16
    In the beginning of our retreat,
  • 45:18 - 45:18
    we have
  • 45:20 - 45:22
    defined what mindfulness is,
  • 45:25 - 45:27
    and we said that mindfulness is
  • 45:28 - 45:31
    the kind of energy that can help bring
  • 45:32 - 45:33
    our mind back to our body,
  • 45:34 - 45:36
    so that we can be established
  • 45:36 - 45:38
    well in the present moment,
  • 45:38 - 45:39
    so that we can
  • 45:40 - 45:43
    get in touch with life and
    the wonders of life deeply,
  • 45:43 - 45:44
    so that we can live truly
  • 45:45 - 45:46
    our life.
  • 45:48 - 45:49
    Mindfulness
  • 45:50 - 45:52
    allowed us to be aware of what is going on
  • 45:52 - 45:55
    in the present moment, in our body,
  • 45:56 - 45:57
    in our feelings,
  • 45:58 - 45:59
    in our perceptions,
  • 46:02 - 46:03
    in the world.
  • 46:04 - 46:05
    And that is mindfulness.
  • 46:06 - 46:08
    But why there is the word right mindfulness?
  • 46:08 - 46:13
    Right mindfulness is there because
    there is wrong mindfulness.
  • 46:17 - 46:19
    You keep thinking of the things that
  • 46:20 - 46:22
    can bring you sorrow and fear.
  • 46:27 - 46:28
    You have suffered in the past.
  • 46:30 - 46:31
    And the memories of your suffering
  • 46:32 - 46:33
    in the past
  • 46:34 - 46:35
    continue to be there.
  • 46:36 - 46:38
    And you tend to go back to the past.
  • 46:39 - 46:42
    You review, you watch the film of the past.
  • 46:43 - 46:49
    And every time you get in touch with
    pictures and films of the past, you suffer again.
  • 46:50 - 46:56
    Suppose you were abused as a child
    at the age of five or ten.
  • 46:57 - 46:59
    And you suffered so much.
  • 47:00 - 47:01
    You felt that
  • 47:02 - 47:03
    you were helpless.
  • 47:06 - 47:08
    You had no means to defend yourself.
  • 47:10 - 47:11
    They abused you.
  • 47:13 - 47:14
    You are fragile.
  • 47:15 - 47:16
    You are vulnerable.
  • 47:18 - 47:21
    You were so afraid you did not
    know how to protect yourself.
  • 47:25 - 47:27
    And that kind of suffering
  • 47:28 - 47:29
    was created.
  • 47:30 - 47:32
    And then you have a memory of it.
  • 47:32 - 47:33
    There is a film,
  • 47:33 - 47:34
    there is a picture
  • 47:35 - 47:37
    stored in your consciousness.
  • 47:37 - 47:40
    In your store consciousness.
  • 47:42 - 47:44
    And every time you go home to the past
  • 47:45 - 47:48
    and look at that picture or
    watch that film, you suffer again.
  • 47:48 - 47:51
    You continue to be abused again, even when
  • 47:52 - 47:54
    you have grown up.
  • 47:55 - 47:58
    You have grown up to be an adult.
  • 47:59 - 48:01
    You are now capable of defending yourself.
  • 48:02 - 48:04
    You are capable of using telephone.
  • 48:04 - 48:05
    You are capable of calling the police.
  • 48:06 - 48:06
    You know that.
  • 48:09 - 48:12
    You are no longer that child that was fragile.
  • 48:15 - 48:16
    And
  • 48:18 - 48:18
    vulnerable.
  • 48:20 - 48:23
    Without means to defend yourself.
  • 48:24 - 48:26
    You are no longer that little child.
  • 48:27 - 48:31
    And yet you continue to suffer
    the suffering of the child.
  • 48:32 - 48:33
    Because
  • 48:34 - 48:35
    you practice wrong mindfulness.
  • 48:36 - 48:39
    You always go back to the memories of the past.
  • 48:40 - 48:42
    You feel more comfortable going
  • 48:43 - 48:45
    home to the past.
  • 48:47 - 48:51
    While right mindfulness wants you
    to be in the here and the now.
  • 48:51 - 48:52
    Forget the past.
  • 48:53 - 48:56
    Get rid of the past in order to
    live your life in the present moment.
  • 48:58 - 49:01
    And there must be ways for you
    to stick to the present moment.
  • 49:02 - 49:04
    For you not to
  • 49:06 - 49:08
    slide back into the past and suffer.
  • 49:09 - 49:11
    Suppose someone slapped you on the face
  • 49:12 - 49:13
    20 years ago.
  • 49:15 - 49:18
    And that was recorded as a picture.
  • 49:20 - 49:21
    And our subconsciousness,
  • 49:21 - 49:25
    our store consciousness stores a lot of
    films and pictures of the past.
  • 49:27 - 49:27
    And pictures are,
  • 49:28 - 49:30
    films are always projected there.
  • 49:31 - 49:32
    And pictures are stored there.
  • 49:33 - 49:35
    And you have the tendency to go back
  • 49:36 - 49:38
    and watch them.
  • 49:38 - 49:39
    And continue to suffer.
  • 49:40 - 49:45
    Every time you saw that picture you are slapped again,
    and slapped again, slapped again.
  • 49:48 - 49:48
    But that
  • 49:49 - 49:50
    that is only the past.
  • 49:53 - 49:54
    You are no longer
  • 49:54 - 49:55
    in the past.
  • 49:56 - 49:57
    You are in the present moment.
  • 49:58 - 49:59
    That is why right mindfulness
  • 50:00 - 50:01
    is the practice that helps you
  • 50:02 - 50:03
    to be in the present moment.
  • 50:08 - 50:10
    That did happen in the past.
  • 50:10 - 50:12
    But the past is already gone.
  • 50:12 - 50:14
    It's only pictures and memories.
  • 50:16 - 50:19
    And if you keep going to the past
  • 50:19 - 50:22
    and touch that, that is wrong mindfulness.
  • 50:28 - 50:31
    We have to talk about the original fear,
  • 50:32 - 50:34
    original suffering,
  • 50:34 - 50:36
    and the original desire.
  • 50:37 - 50:38
    When we were a little
  • 50:40 - 50:40
    baby,
  • 50:44 - 50:46
    when we were still in
  • 50:47 - 50:49
    the womb of our mother,
  • 50:49 - 50:50
    we felt so comfortable.
  • 50:53 - 50:55
    The weather is perfect.
  • 50:58 - 51:00
    And we did not have to do anything.
  • 51:00 - 51:02
    Our mother breathed for us,
  • 51:03 - 51:04
    eat for us,
  • 51:05 - 51:06
    think for us.
  • 51:07 - 51:08
    We don't have to do anything.
  • 51:09 - 51:12
    And we were in a very soft cushion,
  • 51:13 - 51:14
    water.
  • 51:14 - 51:15
    Water is the best kind of cushion.
  • 51:18 - 51:22
    And that is a period of no worries.
  • 51:22 - 51:23
    It lasts about nine months.
  • 51:25 - 51:25
    That's paradise.
  • 51:27 - 51:30
    But the moment when we have to be born,
  • 51:30 - 51:32
    that's a very difficult moment.
  • 51:33 - 51:35
    The situation changed completely.
  • 51:36 - 51:37
    You touch the hardship.
  • 51:39 - 51:41
    They cut the umbilical cord.
  • 51:42 - 51:43
    Now you have to breathe for yourself.
  • 51:44 - 51:46
    Your mommy cannot breathe for you anymore.
  • 51:49 - 51:51
    And you try your first in-breath.
  • 51:52 - 51:56
    It's so difficult because
    there was liquid in your lungs.
  • 51:57 - 51:59
    You have to
  • 52:01 - 52:02
    spit out.
  • 52:03 - 52:06
    You have to make an effort
  • 52:07 - 52:08
    to expel
  • 52:09 - 52:12
    that liquid from your lung
    in order to be able to
  • 52:12 - 52:14
    breathe in for the first time.
  • 52:15 - 52:16
    It's very difficult.
  • 52:17 - 52:17
    It's very dangerous.
  • 52:18 - 52:18
    You risk to die.
  • 52:22 - 52:24
    And you were able to overcome that.
  • 52:25 - 52:26
    And you breathe your first.
  • 52:28 - 52:30
    And you are full of fear.
  • 52:32 - 52:34
    Your concern is how to survive.
  • 52:36 - 52:38
    You are so alone.
  • 52:38 - 52:40
    You are so fragile.
  • 52:40 - 52:42
    You are so vulnerable.
  • 52:42 - 52:43
    Nobody can help you.
  • 52:45 - 52:48
    And that is what we call the original fear.
  • 53:16 - 53:19
    And you continue to grow up as a baby
  • 53:21 - 53:23
    with that kind of fear.
  • 53:24 - 53:26
    "I cannot survive by myself.
  • 53:27 - 53:28
    There must be someone to help me."
  • 53:30 - 53:33
    So you lie there waiting for someone to come.
  • 53:33 - 53:36
    And that someone may be your mommy,
  • 53:37 - 53:38
    your nurse,
  • 53:39 - 53:40
    or your big sister.
  • 53:43 - 53:47
    And you do everything you can in order
    to attract that person to come to you.
  • 53:49 - 53:51
    And your belief is that without another person
  • 53:52 - 53:53
    around you cannot survive.
  • 53:54 - 53:57
    You need a person in order to survive.
  • 53:57 - 53:57
    That person
  • 53:58 - 53:59
    may be mommy
  • 54:00 - 54:01
    or someone else.
  • 54:04 - 54:05
    So you have a desire.
  • 54:06 - 54:07
    You desire
  • 54:08 - 54:10
    the presence of that person
  • 54:10 - 54:13
    because there is a belief that without him,
  • 54:14 - 54:15
    without her, that person,
  • 54:16 - 54:18
    you cannot survive.
  • 54:19 - 54:21
    The feeling is very clear.
  • 54:21 - 54:22
    I am fragile.
  • 54:23 - 54:24
    I am vulnerable.
  • 54:24 - 54:27
    I have no means to defend myself.
  • 54:27 - 54:29
    Without you, I cannot survive.
  • 54:30 - 54:34
    That is our original fear and our original desire.
  • 54:36 - 54:39
    Our desire is that there must be someone.
  • 54:44 - 54:46
    And as you grow up,
  • 54:46 - 54:47
    you learn to manipulate
  • 54:49 - 54:51
    in order to attract that person to come.
  • 54:56 - 54:58
    Sometimes you are given something to hold.
  • 55:00 - 55:04
    Sometimes they take it from you and
  • 55:08 - 55:10
    one of your weapons is to cry.
  • 55:12 - 55:15
    You try to manipulate yourself.
  • 55:15 - 55:17
    You try to manipulate the situation.
  • 55:19 - 55:22
    And sometimes you smile.
  • 55:23 - 55:27
    But that is to please that person
    in order for her to come.
  • 55:28 - 55:33
    So you learn a diplomatic smile
    even when you are a little infant.
  • 55:35 - 55:36
    That's the problem of survival.
  • 55:37 - 55:40
    You learn without knowing that you are learning.
  • 55:45 - 55:47
    And that feeling that you are
  • 55:48 - 55:48
    fragile,
  • 55:49 - 55:49
    vulnerable, vulnerable,
  • 55:51 - 55:53
    without means to defend yourself,
  • 55:53 - 55:57
    you always need another person
    to be with you, is always there.
  • 55:58 - 55:59
    That kind of fear,
  • 55:59 - 56:00
    that kind of desire
  • 56:01 - 56:02
    called original fear,
  • 56:03 - 56:04
    original desire,
  • 56:04 - 56:05
    is always there.
  • 56:07 - 56:12
    The infant is always alive in us
    with that kind of desire and fear.
  • 56:13 - 56:15
    And in our present days,
  • 56:16 - 56:20
    all our desire and fear are linked
    to that original fear and desire.
  • 56:22 - 56:23
    If we work non-stop,
  • 56:26 - 56:28
    accumulating more money,
  • 56:28 - 56:31
    that's because of fear, original fear,
  • 56:33 - 56:34
    that I cannot survive.
  • 56:36 - 56:38
    We look for someone to love,
  • 56:40 - 56:41
    to support us,
  • 56:44 - 56:46
    look for a lover, a lover,
  • 56:48 - 56:49
    a man or a woman.
  • 56:49 - 56:53
    That is also the continuation of your desire.
  • 56:55 - 56:56
    When you were infant,
  • 56:56 - 56:58
    you looked for mommy.
  • 56:58 - 57:01
    Now you look for another person to be your mommy,
  • 57:01 - 57:04
    whether that is a young man or a young woman.
  • 57:06 - 57:11
    So the new desire is only a
    continuation of the old desire.
  • 57:12 - 57:16
    The new fear is only a
    continuation of the old fear.
  • 57:17 - 57:22
    And there is a tendency for you
    to go back to being that child
  • 57:23 - 57:28
    and suffer the suffering of that desire
    and suffer the suffering of that fear.
  • 57:36 - 57:37
    That those of us who have a depression,
  • 57:38 - 57:40
    those of us who suffer, continue to suffer,
  • 57:41 - 57:44
    even if in the present condition everything looks
  • 57:45 - 57:46
    all right,
  • 57:52 - 57:56
    because there is a tendency
    for us to go home to the past.
  • 57:56 - 57:59
    We feel more comfortable with that home,
  • 57:59 - 58:02
    even if in that home
    there is a lot of suffering.
  • 58:05 - 58:06
    That home is deep down
  • 58:07 - 58:08
    in the store consciousness,
  • 58:08 - 58:11
    where the films of the past
    are always projected.
  • 58:12 - 58:15
    And every night you go home
    and watch the films and suffer.
  • 58:16 - 58:20
    And the future is only a
    projection of the past,
  • 58:21 - 58:23
    but fear and desire.
  • 58:26 - 58:27
    Suppose you come to a cinema,
  • 58:29 - 58:31
    to a movie,
  • 58:34 - 58:37
    and down there you look
    up here on the screen,
  • 58:40 - 58:41
    and there is a story,
  • 58:41 - 58:43
    there are people in the screen,
  • 58:43 - 58:45
    they are interacting with each other,
  • 58:45 - 58:46
    and down there
  • 58:47 - 58:47
    you cry.
  • 58:50 - 58:51
    You believe that
  • 58:53 - 58:55
    what is happening on the screen is real,
  • 58:56 - 58:58
    and that is why you shed a real tear,
  • 58:59 - 59:01
    and you have real emotion.
  • 59:02 - 59:04
    The suffering is real,
  • 59:04 - 59:05
    the tear is real.
  • 59:06 - 59:07
    But when you come up
  • 59:08 - 59:10
    and you touch the screen,
  • 59:11 - 59:12
    you don't see any person.
  • 59:15 - 59:17
    It's only light, flickering light.
  • 59:19 - 59:20
    You cannot talk to people,
  • 59:21 - 59:22
    you cannot invite them to
  • 59:24 - 59:25
    have tea, you cannot stop them,
  • 59:26 - 59:27
    you cannot ask a question,
  • 59:27 - 59:28
    because this is not real,
  • 59:29 - 59:30
    this is only a movie.
  • 59:32 - 59:36
    Something not real and yet
    can create real suffering.
  • 59:38 - 59:42
    The memories of the past are not real,
  • 59:43 - 59:45
    not reality, they are only pictures,
  • 59:46 - 59:48
    and every time you watch the picture,
  • 59:49 - 59:49
    you suffer.
  • 59:51 - 59:56
    And that is why we are advised
    not to go back to the past,
  • 59:56 - 59:58
    and live in the past,
  • 59:58 - 59:59
    get caught in the past.
  • 59:59 - 60:05
    And that is part of the practice of
    living in the present moment.
  • 60:05 - 60:06
    Mindfulness
  • 60:07 - 60:09
    is to learn to live in the present moment,
  • 60:10 - 60:12
    not to allow ourselves to slip back
  • 60:13 - 60:15
    to the past in order to relive
  • 60:15 - 60:17
    the past one time,
  • 60:17 - 60:19
    two times, three times.
  • 60:20 - 60:21
    If you have suffered in the past,
  • 60:21 - 60:26
    and if you continue to to suffer,
  • 60:30 - 60:33
    if we go back to
  • 60:34 - 60:35
    to watch the film,
  • 60:36 - 60:38
    we suffer again and again and again.
  • 60:41 - 60:42
    Suppose you are a boat person,
  • 60:44 - 60:48
    you have crossed the ocean and
    arrived safely and accepted into
  • 60:50 - 60:51
    a third country.
  • 60:53 - 60:54
    And you are now safe,
  • 60:54 - 60:55
    you have a job.
  • 60:56 - 60:57
    But you still have a picture
  • 60:58 - 61:00
    of the ocean where
  • 61:03 - 61:05
    you navigated as a boat person.
  • 61:06 - 61:08
    Every time you see the ocean,
  • 61:09 - 61:09
    you suffer,
  • 61:10 - 61:11
    because
  • 61:12 - 61:14
    at that time you risk
  • 61:15 - 61:18
    to sink at any time and devoured by
  • 61:19 - 61:20
    the fish.
  • 61:24 - 61:25
    Because crossing
  • 61:25 - 61:27
    the ocean is very risky,
  • 61:28 - 61:31
    and hundreds of thousands of
    boat people have died in the sea.
  • 61:32 - 61:33
    So you still have that memory,
  • 61:34 - 61:35
    you still have that picture taken.
  • 61:37 - 61:39
    And that picture, every time you look,
  • 61:40 - 61:42
    you feel the suffering again.
  • 61:42 - 61:43
    But in fact,
  • 61:45 - 61:46
    it is only a picture.
  • 61:47 - 61:49
    You can get drowned,
  • 61:49 - 61:50
    you can die in the ocean,
  • 61:50 - 61:52
    but you cannot die in a picture.
  • 61:55 - 61:58
    So something not real can create real suffering.
  • 62:00 - 62:02
    And that is why we should tell ourselves,
  • 62:03 - 62:05
    we should tell the child, the suffering,
  • 62:05 - 62:06
    the wounded child in us,
  • 62:07 - 62:09
    that she should not suffer anymore.
  • 62:10 - 62:10
    We should
  • 62:11 - 62:13
    take her hand
  • 62:14 - 62:17
    and invite her to come to the present moment,
  • 62:17 - 62:21
    and to witness to all the wonders of life
    that are available in the present moment.
  • 62:22 - 62:23
    Come with me, dear one.
  • 62:24 - 62:25
    We have grown up.
  • 62:25 - 62:27
    We are no longer afraid.
  • 62:28 - 62:30
    We can defend ourselves.
  • 62:30 - 62:32
    We are no longer vulnerable.
  • 62:32 - 62:33
    We are no longer
  • 62:34 - 62:35
    fragile.
  • 62:37 - 62:38
    Don't be afraid anymore.
  • 62:38 - 62:39
    You have to teach
  • 62:39 - 62:41
    the child in you.
  • 62:42 - 62:47
    You have to invite him or her to come with you
    and live your life in the present moment.
  • 62:48 - 62:49
    That is the practice.
  • 62:49 - 62:50
    That is mindfulness.
  • 62:52 - 62:52
    Mindfulness
  • 62:53 - 62:55
    is not to allow ourselves
  • 62:55 - 62:56
    to get lost,
  • 62:57 - 62:58
    to be caught
  • 62:59 - 63:00
    in the memories of the past.
  • 63:01 - 63:03
    Of course, we can study the past,
  • 63:04 - 63:06
    but we are grounded in the present moment.
  • 63:07 - 63:10
    We are grounded, well grounded in the present moment.
  • 63:10 - 63:12
    We can study the past without being
  • 63:13 - 63:14
    sucked
  • 63:15 - 63:16
    and overwhelmed by the past.
  • 63:18 - 63:19
    The same thing is true with the future.
  • 63:20 - 63:26
    We can bring the future back to the present moment
    and study the future and make plans for the future.
  • 63:27 - 63:28
    But we don't have to get lost
  • 63:29 - 63:31
    in the fear,
  • 63:31 - 63:34
    in the uncertainty concerning the future.
  • 63:38 - 63:40
    Because the future has not yet come.
  • 63:41 - 63:42
    It's only a ghost.
  • 63:43 - 63:46
    And the past is already gone.
  • 63:46 - 63:47
    It's also a ghost.
  • 63:47 - 63:48
    Why,
  • 63:48 - 63:49
    to live with ghosts?
  • 63:50 - 63:54
    We have to live with reality.
    And that is right mindfulness.
  • 63:57 - 64:00
    So if you have a friend
  • 64:01 - 64:02
    who suffers,
  • 64:03 - 64:05
    who sheds tears, who has strong emotions,
  • 64:06 - 64:08
    when situations are unsafe,
  • 64:09 - 64:13
    you have to help him, to help her.
  • 64:13 - 64:14
    My dear friend,
  • 64:15 - 64:17
    you are on safe ground.
  • 64:17 - 64:19
    Everything is okay now.
  • 64:20 - 64:22
    Why do you continue to suffer?
  • 64:23 - 64:24
    Don't go back to the past.
  • 64:24 - 64:25
    It's only a phantom.
  • 64:26 - 64:27
    It's unreal.
  • 64:37 - 64:37
    And
  • 64:38 - 64:40
    every time we are aware
  • 64:41 - 64:42
    that these are only
  • 64:43 - 64:45
    movies and pictures,
  • 64:45 - 64:46
    not reality,
  • 64:46 - 64:47
    we are free.
  • 64:48 - 64:50
    And that is the practice of mindfulness.
  • 64:52 - 64:54
    Yesterday we spoke about
  • 64:57 - 64:58
    many
  • 65:00 - 65:03
    pairs of opposites as views,
  • 65:04 - 65:07
    like the views of being
  • 65:08 - 65:10
    and the views of
  • 65:11 - 65:12
    non-being,
  • 65:19 - 65:20
    the view of birth
  • 65:26 - 65:28
    and of death.
  • 65:32 - 65:34
    This morning when we speak about
  • 65:35 - 65:35
    the cloud
  • 65:36 - 65:37
    and the sheet of paper,
  • 65:38 - 65:43
    we learned that the nature of the cloud
    as well as the nature of
  • 65:44 - 65:47
    the sheet of paper is the
    nature of no birth and no death.
  • 65:49 - 65:49
    Overcoming
  • 65:53 - 65:55
    the notion of birth and death
  • 65:55 - 65:57
    and you have non-fear.
  • 66:04 - 66:05
    The notion of being
  • 66:06 - 66:11
    and the notion of non-being also
    can create a lot of fear.
  • 66:15 - 66:17
    Right view consists in overcoming
  • 66:18 - 66:21
    both notions, being and non-being.
  • 66:22 - 66:24
    And it is possible to observe,
  • 66:24 - 66:26
    to meditate in order to overcome.
  • 66:29 - 66:30
    Suppose
  • 66:31 - 66:32
    we speak about
  • 66:38 - 66:39
    a little flame.
  • 67:01 - 67:04
    We speak about the little flame that the
  • 67:05 - 67:07
    match can produce.
  • 67:12 - 67:15
    And we can do a little meditation on the flame
  • 67:19 - 67:21
    about the notion of being and non-being.
  • 67:23 - 67:26
    We know that it's possible to
    help the flame to manifest.
  • 67:27 - 67:28
    There are conditions
  • 67:29 - 67:31
    so that the flame
  • 67:32 - 67:34
    can manifest as a flame.
  • 67:35 - 67:37
    Before the sheet of paper appeared,
  • 67:38 - 67:41
    we know that the sheet of paper
    has been there in its condition.
  • 67:44 - 67:48
    So we know that the flame is
    hidden somewhere in the matchbox.
  • 67:50 - 67:54
    And we know that the flame is
    hidden also outside of the matchbox.
  • 67:56 - 67:58
    Because out here there is
  • 67:59 - 68:00
    oxygen.
  • 68:01 - 68:05
    And oxygen is a very important
    condition for the flame to
  • 68:06 - 68:06
    manifest.
  • 68:06 - 68:07
    Without oxygen
  • 68:12 - 68:14
    the flame cannot manifest.
  • 68:15 - 68:19
    And my finger may serve
    as one of the causes,
  • 68:20 - 68:23
    one of the conditions to
    help the flame manifest.
  • 68:24 - 68:26
    So we can already talk to the flame.
  • 68:27 - 68:28
    My dear little flame,
  • 68:29 - 68:30
    I know you are there somewhere.
  • 68:31 - 68:33
    Manifest yourself so that I can see.
  • 68:37 - 68:39
    We know that you are already there,
  • 68:40 - 68:43
    even if you don't perceive
    you in the form of a flame.
  • 68:45 - 68:48
    So before the manifestation of the flame,
  • 68:48 - 68:49
    should we
  • 68:50 - 68:51
    qualify it as
  • 68:51 - 68:52
    non-existing,
  • 68:53 - 68:53
    non-being?
  • 69:05 - 69:05
    With our
  • 69:06 - 69:08
    practice of looking deeply,
  • 69:09 - 69:11
    we see that everything
  • 69:12 - 69:12
    manifests
  • 69:13 - 69:14
    based on conditions.
  • 69:14 - 69:15
    Conditions.
  • 69:16 - 69:17
    This flower,
  • 69:22 - 69:23
    she comes from a seed,
  • 69:25 - 69:26
    from a cutting,
  • 69:27 - 69:28
    from the soil, from the sunshine,
  • 69:30 - 69:31
    from
  • 69:33 - 69:34
    from the cloud,
  • 69:35 - 69:37
    from the gardener,
  • 69:37 - 69:38
    etc.
  • 69:40 - 69:44
    And she is made of non-flower elements.
  • 69:45 - 69:46
    If we send back
  • 69:46 - 69:49
    the cloud to the sky,
  • 69:50 - 69:50
    if we send back
  • 69:51 - 69:53
    the soil to the earth,
  • 69:53 - 69:54
    if we send back
  • 69:55 - 69:56
    the seed,
  • 69:57 - 69:58
    there is no flower left.
  • 69:59 - 70:02
    So a flower is made only
    of non-flower elements.
  • 70:03 - 70:05
    And looking into the flower you can see
  • 70:05 - 70:12
    all the conditions that have
    come together and help the flower
  • 70:12 - 70:13
    to manifest.
  • 70:14 - 70:16
    A flower cannot exist
  • 70:16 - 70:19
    outside of her conditions.
  • 70:20 - 70:22
    So the flame is the same.
  • 70:24 - 70:26
    When conditions are sufficient,
  • 70:27 - 70:28
    the flame manifests.
  • 70:34 - 70:38
    So it is possible for a meditator
    to already see the flame
  • 70:38 - 70:40
    before its manifestation.
  • 70:41 - 70:41
    That is why I say,
  • 70:42 - 70:45
    my dear flame, I know you are
    somewhere there already.
  • 70:46 - 70:48
    So please manifest.
  • 70:49 - 70:51
    And the flame tells us
  • 70:51 - 70:52
    it's okay.
  • 70:54 - 70:54
    Thay,
  • 70:56 - 71:01
    the sangha, if you help me with the last
  • 71:02 - 71:04
    condition, I will manifest.
  • 71:08 - 71:11
    And then we are providing the last condition,
  • 71:12 - 71:14
    which is a movement of my fingers.
  • 71:15 - 71:15
    And
  • 71:16 - 71:18
    the flame is manifested.
  • 71:22 - 71:26
    So you have the tendency to
    call the flame existing now.
  • 71:26 - 71:26
    No,
  • 71:27 - 71:29
    the flame is in the realm of being.
  • 71:32 - 71:36
    But we tend to think also that before manifesting,
  • 71:36 - 71:40
    the flame belongs to the realm of non-being.
  • 71:44 - 71:46
    But reality transcends both
  • 71:46 - 71:48
    notion of being and non-being.
  • 71:49 - 71:54
    Because we already know that
    before manifesting in its form,
  • 71:54 - 71:57
    the flame already is there in its condition.
  • 72:02 - 72:04
    So it is very important
  • 72:11 - 72:12
    to see,
  • 72:15 - 72:17
    to recognize the wrong view.
  • 72:17 - 72:20
    Suppose this is representing time.
  • 72:21 - 72:25
    And this point represents birth.
  • 72:26 - 72:28
    And this point represents death.
  • 72:32 - 72:34
    When someone is born
  • 72:35 - 72:35
    from B,
  • 72:37 - 72:40
    we believe that the segment before B
  • 72:42 - 72:44
    belongs to non-being
  • 72:45 - 72:46
    of that person.
  • 72:47 - 72:49
    That person did not exist
  • 72:50 - 72:50
    before B.
  • 72:52 - 72:54
    And when that person is born,
  • 72:55 - 72:57
    we make a birth certificate.
  • 72:57 - 72:59
    We certify that this person existed.
  • 73:00 - 73:01
    So this person
  • 73:02 - 73:03
    entered the realm of being.
  • 73:05 - 73:07
    And 100 years later,
  • 73:09 - 73:09
    hopefully, hopefully,
  • 73:14 - 73:16
    when that person comes to D,
  • 73:18 - 73:21
    then she passes from being to non-being
  • 73:22 - 73:23
    once again.
  • 73:24 - 73:26
    So that's our idea of
  • 73:29 - 73:30
    lifespan.
  • 73:31 - 73:34
    We only exist from B and D.
  • 73:35 - 73:37
    Before that, it was non-being.
  • 73:38 - 73:41
    So our idea is that from non-being,
  • 73:41 - 73:42
    we can pass into being.
  • 73:43 - 73:47
    And from being, we can pass
    into non-being again.
  • 73:48 - 73:50
    But when we meditate on the cloud,
  • 73:51 - 73:52
    we see that it's wrong.
  • 73:53 - 73:56
    A cloud has never passed
    from non-being to being.
  • 73:57 - 74:00
    And when the cloud disappears in the sky,
  • 74:00 - 74:02
    it does not pass from being to non-being.
  • 74:03 - 74:04
    It continues always.
  • 74:04 - 74:08
    So the nature of the cloud is
    the nature of no birth and no death.
  • 74:09 - 74:12
    So the nature of your beloved one is like that.
  • 74:12 - 74:14
    And you are like that also.
  • 74:15 - 74:20
    And when you transcend the notion,
  • 74:21 - 74:24
    the view of being and non-being,
  • 74:24 - 74:25
    you get the right view.
  • 74:26 - 74:28
    You get the right view.
  • 74:29 - 74:32
    And that is why we have said
  • 74:32 - 74:35
    that right view is the absence of all views,
  • 74:36 - 74:38
    including the view of birth and death,
  • 74:38 - 74:39
    being and non-being,
  • 74:40 - 74:42
    permanence and annihilation.
  • 74:56 - 74:59
    Suppose I want
  • 75:01 - 75:03
    to light this candle
  • 75:05 - 75:09
    using another candle,
    and I produce another flame.
  • 75:13 - 75:15
    And I would like to ask you, my dear friends,
  • 75:16 - 75:17
    this question.
  • 75:18 - 75:19
    As
  • 75:21 - 75:22
    whether this flame,
  • 75:23 - 75:23
    second flame,
  • 75:25 - 75:30
    is the same flame with the other
    or a totally different flame.
  • 75:35 - 75:36
    That is meditation.
  • 75:50 - 75:54
    When you take the family album and
  • 75:56 - 75:59
    look for your picture when
    you were five years old,
  • 76:00 - 76:01
    you see that
  • 76:02 - 76:02
    the young,
  • 76:04 - 76:07
    the little boy or the little girl
  • 76:09 - 76:11
    is so different from you now.
  • 76:14 - 76:16
    Are you the same with that little girl?
  • 76:18 - 76:20
    Or are you a different person?
  • 76:20 - 76:22
    You look so different.
  • 76:23 - 76:26
    As far as form is concerned,
  • 76:26 - 76:28
    feelings, you have very different feelings,
  • 76:28 - 76:30
    perception, mental formation and consciousness.
  • 76:30 - 76:34
    You are quite different from
    that little girl, that little boy.
  • 76:36 - 76:38
    So are you the same with that little girl,
  • 76:38 - 76:41
    or you are a totally different person?
  • 76:46 - 76:49
    So that is another set of notions
  • 76:53 - 76:54
    called
  • 76:57 - 76:58
    sameness, otherness.
  • 77:23 - 77:24
    In Chinese, Chinese
  • 77:37 - 77:38
    Not one,
  • 77:39 - 77:40
    not a different one.
  • 77:41 - 77:42
    Not the same,
  • 77:42 - 77:43
    not a different,
  • 77:44 - 77:45
    totally different one.
  • 77:53 - 77:56
    The other day we spoke about the seed of corn
  • 77:57 - 77:59
    and the young plant of corn.
  • 78:02 - 78:04
    And we can ask the young plant of corn,
  • 78:04 - 78:05
    are you the same
  • 78:06 - 78:07
    with the seed of corn
  • 78:08 - 78:09
    that I planted before?
  • 78:09 - 78:15
    Or are you a totally different entity?
  • 78:21 - 78:22
    The answer must be
  • 78:25 - 78:26
    you are neither the same
  • 78:28 - 78:29
    nor a different one.
  • 78:32 - 78:33
    You are
  • 78:33 - 78:36
    neither the same with that
    little girl in the picture,
  • 78:37 - 78:41
    but you are not entirely a different person.
  • 78:43 - 78:45
    So the notion of
  • 78:46 - 78:48
    sameness and otherness
  • 78:49 - 78:54
    is also a couple of notions that you have to
    transcend in order to get the right view.
  • 79:23 - 79:26
    The other day we spoke about
    the father and the son.
  • 79:29 - 79:32
    The son might believe that he
    is a totally different person.
  • 79:35 - 79:40
    It's like the plant of corn does not believe
    that he has come from a seed of corn.
  • 79:41 - 79:45
    But the hard fact is the son is
    the continuation of the father.
  • 79:46 - 79:48
    And he is his father.
  • 79:50 - 79:54
    It's like the plant of corn is the
    continuation of the seed of corn.
  • 79:54 - 79:55
    He is the seed of corn.
  • 79:59 - 80:00
    And the fact is that
  • 80:02 - 80:03
    the notion of
  • 80:04 - 80:07
    sameness and otherness should be
    transcended for you to see the truth.
  • 80:09 - 80:11
    Now we come to a
  • 80:13 - 80:16
    pair of notions that is so
  • 80:19 - 80:20
    so crucial
  • 80:20 - 80:22
    in our studies of
  • 80:27 - 80:28
    right view,
  • 80:34 - 80:35
    subject and object.
  • 80:44 - 80:46
    When we speak of a perception,
  • 80:49 - 80:49
    in fact,
  • 80:51 - 80:54
    in the Sutra of Mindful Breathing,
  • 80:55 - 80:59
    there are four exercises of mindful
    breathing to help with our perception.
  • 81:00 - 81:02
    To correct a perception,
  • 81:02 - 81:06
    to transcend all wrong perceptions
    so that you can get the right view.
  • 81:07 - 81:10
    That's the last four
    exercises of mindful breathing.
  • 81:11 - 81:15
    Hopefully we have the time
    to treat these four last exercises.
  • 81:19 - 81:22
    We usually believe that
    there is a consciousness,
  • 81:24 - 81:27
    which is the subject of perception.
  • 81:29 - 81:31
    And the world out there
  • 81:31 - 81:33
    as the object of our perception.
  • 81:33 - 81:35
    And these two things are different.
  • 81:39 - 81:40
    There is consciousness in here,
  • 81:42 - 81:42
    and there is
  • 81:43 - 81:44
    the world out there
  • 81:45 - 81:47
    as object of our consciousness.
  • 81:48 - 81:49
    And science,
  • 81:50 - 81:53
    philosophy and science begin by that.
  • 82:00 - 82:02
    And in the Buddha's teaching,
  • 82:03 - 82:04
    that is
  • 82:05 - 82:06
    the basic error.
  • 82:10 - 82:11
    That is the basic error.
  • 82:12 - 82:13
    This is very important
  • 82:14 - 82:16
    in the teaching of the Buddha.
  • 82:21 - 82:22
    When you practice mindful breathing,
  • 82:24 - 82:25
    breathing in,
  • 82:26 - 82:27
    I'm aware
  • 82:27 - 82:28
    of my in-breath.
  • 82:31 - 82:34
    You practice in such a way
    that you are no longer
  • 82:35 - 82:35
    an observer.
  • 82:38 - 82:40
    You practice in such a way
    that you calm your in-breath.
  • 82:42 - 82:43
    You become a participant,
  • 82:45 - 82:45
    no longer
  • 82:47 - 82:47
    an
  • 82:49 - 82:50
    outside observer.
  • 82:54 - 82:56
    In the teaching of the Buddha,
  • 82:56 - 82:58
    you see that there are six
  • 83:01 - 83:04
    sense organs, which are eyes,
  • 83:11 - 83:12
    ears,
  • 83:13 - 83:13
    nose,
  • 83:15 - 83:15
    tongue,
  • 83:17 - 83:18
    body,
  • 83:21 - 83:21
    and mind.
  • 83:22 - 83:25
    Mind is also
  • 83:27 - 83:27
    an organ,
  • 83:28 - 83:29
    mental,
  • 83:30 - 83:31
    our mental consciousness.
  • 83:33 - 83:36
    These five are rather physiological,
  • 83:37 - 83:38
    and this is mental.
  • 83:38 - 83:39
    Mental.
  • 83:40 - 83:42
    And the object of eyes is form,
  • 83:45 - 83:46
    sound,
  • 83:48 - 83:49
    smell,
  • 83:52 - 83:52
    taste,
  • 83:56 - 83:56
    touch.
  • 83:58 - 83:58
    And,
  • 84:00 - 84:00
    please help,
  • 84:06 - 84:06
    dharma.
  • 84:11 - 84:13
    In Buddhism, Dharma with
  • 84:14 - 84:17
    capital D means the teaching of the Buddha.
  • 84:19 - 84:26
    And dharma with the little d means object of
  • 84:27 - 84:28
    the mind.
  • 84:30 - 84:31
    Object of the mind.
  • 84:32 - 84:34
    Not an objective reality.
  • 84:37 - 84:39
    The world is just an object of mind.
  • 84:44 - 84:45
    So the twelve
  • 84:54 - 84:56
    include everything.
  • 85:04 - 85:04
    In fact,
  • 85:05 - 85:06
    we are taught that
  • 85:06 - 85:10
    eyes and form bring about eyes consciousness,
  • 85:13 - 85:14
    ears consciousness,
  • 85:16 - 85:17
    nose consciousness,
  • 85:20 - 85:20
    tongue
  • 85:24 - 85:26
    consciousness,
  • 85:28 - 85:29
    body consciousness,
  • 85:32 - 85:33
    and mind consciousness.
  • 85:42 - 85:44
    Mind consciousness includes
  • 85:45 - 85:47
    object and
  • 85:48 - 85:48
    subject.
  • 85:51 - 85:53
    When we perceive something,
  • 85:58 - 86:02
    that something is the object
    of our consciousness.
  • 86:02 - 86:03
    This is a subject,
  • 86:03 - 86:04
    this is object,
  • 86:04 - 86:06
    and subject and object,
  • 86:06 - 86:10
    they manifest at the
    same time and together.
  • 86:13 - 86:13
    So,
  • 86:14 - 86:15
    in the Buddhist literature,
  • 86:16 - 86:17
    when you hear the word dharma,
  • 86:17 - 86:20
    you have to understand right away
    that it is the object of mind,
  • 86:21 - 86:22
    and not
  • 86:24 - 86:27
    an objective reality outside.
  • 86:28 - 86:30
    When you see a mountain,
  • 86:31 - 86:34
    that mountain is the object
    of your perception,
  • 86:34 - 86:35
    of your mind.
  • 86:36 - 86:37
    Not something
  • 86:38 - 86:41
    separate from your consciousness.
  • 86:41 - 86:42
    This is very important.
  • 86:45 - 86:47
    Because to see always,
  • 86:48 - 86:49
    to see something,
  • 86:50 - 86:52
    always means to see something.
  • 86:52 - 86:53
    To hear
  • 86:53 - 86:56
    means always to hear something.
  • 86:57 - 86:58
    You cannot hear nothing.
  • 86:59 - 87:01
    You have to hear something,
  • 87:01 - 87:02
    you have to see something,
  • 87:02 - 87:03
    you have to think of something.
  • 87:05 - 87:05
    And the mind,
  • 87:06 - 87:07
    the object of mind,
  • 87:07 - 87:10
    can be form, sound, smell, taste, touch,
  • 87:12 - 87:12
    whatever,
  • 87:15 - 87:16
    an idea,
  • 87:17 - 87:18
    an image,
  • 87:19 - 87:20
    and so on.
  • 87:21 - 87:23
    So if you believe
  • 87:23 - 87:30
    that there is a subjective consciousness
    that exists separately from
  • 87:30 - 87:33
    the object of your consciousness,
  • 87:36 - 87:41
    if you believe that there is
    an external world that exists
  • 87:41 - 87:44
    separately from your consciousness,
  • 87:45 - 87:46
    you are caught
  • 87:47 - 87:50
    in a kind of error called double
  • 87:51 - 87:53
    grasping,
  • 87:55 - 87:56
    double
  • 87:57 - 87:58
    grasping.
  • 88:01 - 88:02
    [ Nhị thủ, 二取 ]
  • 88:07 - 88:10
    Because you are caught by this and by this
    as two different things.
  • 88:12 - 88:15
    So right view is the possibility,
  • 88:16 - 88:18
    is possible only when you overcome
  • 88:19 - 88:23
    the view of subject and object as two separate
  • 88:24 - 88:25
    entities.
  • 88:32 - 88:36
    I think modern science is on
    the verge of touching this truth.
  • 88:40 - 88:42
    Many scientists began to speak about
  • 88:45 - 88:46
    you can no longer
  • 88:47 - 88:49
    remain an observer standing outside.
  • 88:50 - 88:51
    You have to go in,
  • 88:52 - 88:53
    you have to become
  • 88:54 - 88:56
    a participant in order to hope,
  • 88:58 - 88:59
    to understand something.
  • 89:06 - 89:09
    And the world you think that
    is something that is not you,
  • 89:10 - 89:13
    the world that you observe is yourself.
  • 89:17 - 89:21
    The mountain, the river, the sky, the stars,
  • 89:22 - 89:25
    everything is the object of your consciousness,
  • 89:29 - 89:30
    is your consciousness.
  • 89:35 - 89:36
    They say that sometimes
  • 89:37 - 89:39
    appear like a wave,
  • 89:40 - 89:43
    and sometimes else appear
  • 89:44 - 89:45
    like a particle.
  • 89:46 - 89:49
    According to our way of inquiry, inquiry,
  • 89:51 - 89:53
    if we inquire in such a way
  • 89:54 - 89:55
    and then
  • 89:56 - 89:57
    in terms of particle,
  • 89:58 - 89:59
    it appears to us as a particle.
  • 90:00 - 90:05
    But we inquire in terms of wave
    and then the particle,
  • 90:06 - 90:09
    that particle will appear to us as a wave.
  • 90:11 - 90:13
    So it is possible
  • 90:14 - 90:18
    to call it whether a wave or a particle.
  • 90:20 - 90:21
    And that particle
  • 90:22 - 90:24
    can be everywhere at the same time.
  • 90:27 - 90:28
    It's like your mind.
  • 90:36 - 90:37
    There is a well-known British
  • 90:40 - 90:40
    astronomer,
  • 90:46 - 90:46
    physicist,
  • 90:49 - 90:51
    Arthur Stanley Eddington.
  • 90:52 - 90:54
    He said something like this.
  • 90:55 - 90:57
    We are on a trip to discover
  • 91:00 - 91:02
    and we come to a shore.
  • 91:03 - 91:06
    We are able to reach a shore of the unknown.
  • 91:08 - 91:10
    A place where nobody has been there.
  • 91:13 - 91:18
    And we are very surprised to see
    the footprints of someone left there.
  • 91:20 - 91:21
    Before that,
  • 91:22 - 91:24
    we didn't believe that anyone has come here,
  • 91:25 - 91:25
    because
  • 91:27 - 91:29
    this is the territory of the unknown.
  • 91:30 - 91:34
    And yet someone has left his footprints there.
  • 91:34 - 91:35
    So surprising.
  • 91:37 - 91:40
    So we come to have a deep look.
  • 91:43 - 91:45
    And we discover
  • 91:46 - 91:51
    how strange, it is our own footprints.
  • 91:55 - 91:56
    It's our own footprints.
  • 91:58 - 92:01
    As in the way a modern physicist said,
  • 92:06 - 92:07
    the world,
  • 92:07 - 92:09
    the so-called objective world,
  • 92:10 - 92:11
    it is our mind.
  • 92:12 - 92:13
    It's the object of our mind.
  • 92:14 - 92:16
    And the Buddha said it in the very beginning.
  • 92:17 - 92:19
    Dharma is the object of mind.
  • 92:20 - 92:23
    In the Sutra on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness,
  • 92:24 - 92:26
    you study four realms.
  • 92:28 - 92:28
    Body,
  • 92:29 - 92:30
    feelings,
  • 92:31 - 92:31
    mind,
  • 92:31 - 92:32
    and object of mind.
  • 92:33 - 92:34
    Not reality.
  • 92:35 - 92:35
    Not
  • 92:37 - 92:39
    objective reality.
  • 92:42 - 92:44
    And scientists
  • 92:46 - 92:49
    of our time are making
  • 92:49 - 92:54
    an effort in order to overcome what we call
  • 92:56 - 92:58
    double grasping.
  • 92:59 - 93:02
    And if scientists can overcome the double grasping,
  • 93:05 - 93:06
    no longer,
  • 93:07 - 93:11
    if they no longer discriminate between the
  • 93:13 - 93:14
    consciousness in here
  • 93:15 - 93:18
    and the reality of the world
  • 93:18 - 93:20
    out there,
  • 93:20 - 93:21
    and then they have a chance.
  • 93:26 - 93:27
    There's a very beautiful
  • 93:29 - 93:30
    chapter
  • 93:31 - 93:35
    in this book I would like to read to you.
  • 93:35 - 93:36
    We need a Pooh
  • 93:38 - 93:39
    on this subject.
  • 93:40 - 93:43
    I'd like to invite a volunteer to come and read.
  • 93:44 - 93:46
    One of you has a good British accent.
  • 93:59 - 94:00
    Please.
  • 94:03 - 94:06
    Because Pooh bear discovered also some footprints.
  • 94:18 - 94:24
    In which Pooh and Piglet go hunting
    and nearly catch a woozle.
  • 94:25 - 94:30
    The piglet lived in a very grand house
    in the middle of a beech tree.
  • 94:31 - 94:33
    And the beech tree was
    in the middle of the forest.
  • 94:34 - 94:37
    And the piglet lived in the middle of the house.
  • 94:38 - 94:42
    Next to his house was a
    piece of broken board which had
  • 94:43 - 94:45
    Trespasses W on it.
  • 94:46 - 94:49
    When Christopher Robin asked
    the piglet what it meant,
  • 94:50 - 94:55
    he said it was his grandfather's name and
    had been in the family for a long time.
  • 94:56 - 94:57
    Christopher Robin said,
  • 94:58 - 95:01
    you couldn't be called Trespasses W.
  • 95:02 - 95:03
    And piglet said,
  • 95:03 - 95:04
    yes,
  • 95:04 - 95:05
    you could.
  • 95:05 - 95:10
    Because his grandfather was and
    it was short for Trespasses Will.
  • 95:10 - 95:13
    Which was short for Trespasses William.
  • 95:14 - 95:19
    And his grandfather had two names
    in a case in case he lost one.
  • 95:19 - 95:24
    Trespasses after an uncle,
    and William after Trespasses.
  • 95:26 - 95:28
    I've got two names,
  • 95:28 - 95:30
    said Christopher Robin carelessly.
  • 95:31 - 95:31
    Well,
  • 95:32 - 95:33
    there you are.
  • 95:33 - 95:33
    That proves it,
  • 95:34 - 95:34
    said Piglet.
  • 95:35 - 95:41
    One fine winter's day when Piglet was
    brushing away the snow in front of his house.
  • 95:42 - 95:43
    He happened to look up.
  • 95:44 - 95:45
    And there was Winnie the Pooh.
  • 95:45 - 95:50
    Pooh was walking round and round in a circle.
  • 95:51 - 95:52
    Thinking of something else.
  • 95:53 - 95:55
    And when Piglet called to him,
  • 95:55 - 95:57
    he just went on walking.
  • 95:58 - 95:58
    Hello,
  • 95:58 - 95:59
    said Piglet.
  • 95:59 - 96:01
    What are you doing?
  • 96:02 - 96:02
    Hunting,
  • 96:03 - 96:03
    said Pooh.
  • 96:04 - 96:05
    Hunting what?
  • 96:06 - 96:10
    Tracking something, said Winnie the Pooh,
    very mysteriously.
  • 96:12 - 96:12
    Tracking what?
  • 96:13 - 96:14
    Said Piglet coming closer.
  • 96:15 - 96:18
    That's just, that's just what I ask myself.
  • 96:19 - 96:21
    I ask myself what?
  • 96:23 - 96:25
    What do you think you will answer?
  • 96:27 - 96:30
    I shall have to wait until I catch up with it,
  • 96:30 - 96:31
    said Winnie the Pooh.
  • 96:32 - 96:34
    Now, look there.
  • 96:35 - 96:38
    He pointed to the ground in front of him.
  • 96:39 - 96:40
    What do you see?
  • 96:42 - 96:42
    Tracks,
  • 96:43 - 96:43
    said Piglet.
  • 96:45 - 96:46
    Paw marks.
  • 96:47 - 96:49
    He gave a little squeak of excitement.
  • 96:49 - 96:49
    Oh,
  • 96:50 - 96:50
    Pooh,
  • 96:50 - 96:52
    do you think it's a woozle?
  • 96:53 - 96:55
    It may be,
  • 96:55 - 96:56
    said Pooh.
  • 96:57 - 96:58
    Sometimes it is.
  • 96:58 - 97:00
    And sometimes it isn't.
  • 97:01 - 97:03
    You can never tell with paw marks.
  • 97:05 - 97:07
    With these few words,
  • 97:07 - 97:08
    he went on tracking.
  • 97:09 - 97:12
    And Piglet, after watching him for
    a minute or two, ran after him.
  • 97:13 - 97:15
    Winnie the Pooh had come to a sudden stop
  • 97:15 - 97:19
    and was bending over the tracks
    in a puzzled sort of way.
  • 97:20 - 97:22
    What's the matter?
  • 97:22 - 97:23
    asked Piglet.
  • 97:23 - 97:27
    It's a very funny thing, said Bear.
  • 97:27 - 97:31
    But there seem to be two animals now.
  • 97:35 - 97:37
    This is whatever it was,
  • 97:37 - 97:41
    has been joined by whatever it is.
  • 97:41 - 97:45
    And the two of them are now proceeding in company.
  • 97:46 - 97:48
    Would you mind coming with me,
  • 97:48 - 97:53
    Piglet, in case they turn out to be hostile animals?
  • 97:57 - 98:00
    Piglet scratched his ear in a nice sort of way
  • 98:00 - 98:03
    and said that he had nothing to do until Friday
  • 98:03 - 98:07
    and would be delighted to come
    in case it really was a woozle.
  • 98:08 - 98:09
    You mean,
  • 98:10 - 98:12
    in case it really is two woozles,
  • 98:13 - 98:13
    said Winnie the Pooh.
  • 98:14 - 98:16
    And Piglet said that,
  • 98:17 - 98:18
    anyhow, he had nothing to do until Friday.
  • 98:19 - 98:20
    And so off they went together.
  • 98:21 - 98:25
    There was a small spinny of
    larch trees just here
  • 98:25 - 98:27
    and it seemed as if the two woozles,
  • 98:27 - 98:29
    if that is what they were,
  • 98:29 - 98:31
    had been going round this spinny.
  • 98:31 - 98:34
    So round this spinny went
    Pooh and Piglet after them.
  • 98:35 - 98:37
    Piglet, passing the time by telling Pooh
  • 98:37 - 98:40
    what his grandfather Trespasses W had done
  • 98:40 - 98:43
    to remove stiffness after tracking,
  • 98:44 - 98:46
    and how his grandfather Trespasses W
  • 98:46 - 98:49
    had suffered in his later years
    from shortness of breath
  • 98:49 - 98:51
    and other matters of interest.
  • 98:52 - 98:55
    And Pooh wondering what a grandfather was like
  • 98:55 - 99:01
    and if perhaps this was two grandfathers
    they were after now and if so,
  • 99:01 - 99:04
    whether he would be allowed
    to take one home and keep it
  • 99:04 - 99:06
    and what Christopher Robin would say.
  • 99:07 - 99:10
    And still the tracks went on in front of them.
  • 99:11 - 99:11
    Suddenly,
  • 99:12 - 99:15
    Winnie the Pooh stopped and
    pointed excitedly in front of him.
  • 99:15 - 99:16
    Look!
  • 99:17 - 99:18
    What?
  • 99:18 - 99:19
    said Piglet with a jump.
  • 99:20 - 99:22
    And then, to show he hadn't been frightened,
  • 99:22 - 99:23
    he jumped up and down once more,
  • 99:24 - 99:25
    once or twice more
  • 99:25 - 99:27
    in an exercising sort of way.
  • 99:28 - 99:30
    The tracks, said Pooh.
  • 99:30 - 99:34
    A third animal has joined the other two.
  • 99:35 - 99:36
    Pooh! cried Piglet.
  • 99:37 - 99:38
    Do you think it's another woozle?
  • 99:39 - 99:40
    No,
  • 99:40 - 99:41
    said Pooh,
  • 99:41 - 99:43
    because it makes different marks.
  • 99:44 - 99:46
    It's either two woozles,
  • 99:46 - 99:48
    one as it might be whizzle
  • 99:48 - 99:53
    or two as it might be whizzles
    and one if it is woozle.
  • 99:54 - 99:55
    Let's continue to follow them.
  • 99:57 - 100:00
    So they went on feeling just a little anxious now
  • 100:00 - 100:04
    in case the three animals in
    front of them were of hostile intent.
  • 100:06 - 100:10
    And Piglet wished very much
    that his grandfather T.W.
  • 100:10 - 100:11
    were there instead of elsewhere.
  • 100:12 - 100:14
    And Pooh thought how nice it would be
  • 100:14 - 100:18
    if they met Christopher Robin
    suddenly but quite accidentally
  • 100:18 - 100:21
    and only because he liked
    Christopher Robin so much.
  • 100:21 - 100:23
    And then all of a sudden,
  • 100:23 - 100:25
    Winnie the Pooh stopped again
  • 100:25 - 100:28
    and licked the tip of his nose in a cooling manner
  • 100:28 - 100:32
    for he was feeling more hot and anxious
    than ever in his life before.
  • 100:34 - 100:37
    There were four animals in front of them.
  • 100:38 - 100:39
    Do you see, Piglet?
  • 100:40 - 100:41
    Look at their tracks,
  • 100:41 - 100:43
    three as it were woozles
  • 100:43 - 100:44
    and one as it were whizzle,
  • 100:45 - 100:47
    another woozle has joined them.
  • 100:48 - 100:49
    And so it seemed to be.
  • 100:49 - 100:52
    There were the tracks crossing over each other.
  • 100:53 - 100:56
    Here, getting quite muddled up with each other there
  • 100:56 - 100:58
    but quite plainly every now and then
  • 100:58 - 101:01
    the tracks of four sets of paw marks.
  • 101:02 - 101:06
    I think, said Piglet when he
    licked the tip of his nose too
  • 101:06 - 101:08
    and found it brought very little comfort.
  • 101:09 - 101:11
    I think that I've just remembered something.
  • 101:11 - 101:14
    I have just remembered something
    that I forgot to do yesterday
  • 101:14 - 101:16
    and shan't be able to do tomorrow.
  • 101:16 - 101:19
    So I suppose I really ought to
    go back and do it now.
  • 101:21 - 101:25
    Well, do it this afternoon and
    I'll come with you, said Pooh.
  • 101:26 - 101:29
    It is the sort of thing you can't do
    in the afternoon, said Piglet quickly.
  • 101:30 - 101:33
    It's a very particular morning thing
    that has to be done in the morning.
  • 101:33 - 101:35
    And if possible between the hours of...
  • 101:36 - 101:37
    What would you say the time was?
  • 101:39 - 101:41
    About 12, said Winnie the Pooh,
  • 101:41 - 101:41
    looking at the sun.
  • 101:42 - 101:43
    Between, as I was saying,
  • 101:43 - 101:45
    the hours of 12 and 12.05.
  • 101:46 - 101:49
    So really, dear old Pooh, if you'll excuse me.
  • 101:50 - 101:51
    What's that?
  • 101:52 - 101:55
    Pooh looked up at the sky and then
    as he heard the whistle again
  • 101:55 - 101:58
    he looked up into the branches
    of a big oak tree
  • 101:58 - 102:00
    and then he saw a friend of his.
  • 102:01 - 102:03
    It's Christopher Robin, he said.
  • 102:04 - 102:07
    Ah, then you'll be all right, said Piglet.
  • 102:07 - 102:09
    You'll be quite safe with him.
  • 102:09 - 102:10
    Goodbye.
  • 102:10 - 102:13
    And he trotted off home as quickly as he could,
  • 102:14 - 102:16
    very glad to be out of all danger again.
  • 102:18 - 102:21
    Christopher Robin came slowly down his tree.
  • 102:23 - 102:24
    Silly old bear, he said.
  • 102:25 - 102:26
    What were you doing?
  • 102:27 - 102:29
    First you went round the spinny twice by yourself
  • 102:29 - 102:31
    and then Piglet ran after you
  • 102:31 - 102:34
    and you went round again together
  • 102:34 - 102:36
    and then you were just going round a fourth time.
  • 102:39 - 102:41
    Wait a moment, said Winnie the Pooh,
  • 102:41 - 102:42
    holding up his paw.
  • 102:43 - 102:48
    He sat down and thought in the most
    thoughtful way he could think.
  • 102:50 - 102:53
    Then he fitted his paw into one of the tracks
  • 102:53 - 102:56
    and then he scratched his nose twice and stood up.
  • 102:59 - 102:59
    Yes,
  • 103:00 - 103:01
    said Winnie the Pooh.
  • 103:02 - 103:04
    I see now,
  • 103:04 - 103:05
    said Winnie the Pooh.
  • 103:06 - 103:09
    I have been foolish and deluded, he said,
  • 103:09 - 103:12
    and I'm a bear of no brain at all.
  • 103:14 - 103:16
    You're the best bear in all the world,
  • 103:16 - 103:18
    said Christopher Robin soothingly.
  • 103:19 - 103:20
    Am I, said Pooh, hopefully.
  • 103:22 - 103:23
    And then he brightened up suddenly.
  • 103:24 - 103:25
    Anyhow, he said,
  • 103:26 - 103:27
    it's nearly luncheon time.
  • 103:28 - 103:29
    So he went home for it.
  • 103:37 - 103:42
    When we meet the terrorist,
  • 103:47 - 103:50
    we see that he has the intention to punish,
  • 103:50 - 103:52
    to kill.
  • 103:57 - 104:00
    And we tell him that it's not good,
  • 104:00 - 104:01
    killing.
  • 104:10 - 104:12
    But he doesn't listen to us.
  • 104:19 - 104:22
    There must be a way of helping him
  • 104:22 - 104:26
    to see that killing is not right.
  • 104:29 - 104:33
    So the first mindfulness training is to protect life.
  • 104:34 - 104:35
    And not to kill.
  • 104:38 - 104:42
    But if we just advise people not to kill,
  • 104:42 - 104:44
    that may not be enough.
  • 104:47 - 104:48
    We have to inspire them.
  • 104:50 - 104:51
    We have to help them to understand
  • 104:53 - 104:57
    that killing someone is killing yourself.
  • 105:01 - 105:05
    If you are inhabited by the insight of interbeing,
  • 105:06 - 105:11
    you know that killing someone is killing yourself.
  • 105:16 - 105:22
    And that is why the first mindfulness training,
    not to kill,
  • 105:23 - 105:25
    to always protect life,
  • 105:25 - 105:28
    should not be just a commandment.
  • 105:29 - 105:31
    Someone tells you that it's a good thing to do.
  • 105:32 - 105:36
    But you have to understand why you shouldn't do it.
  • 105:38 - 105:43
    Because if you touch the insight of interbeing,
  • 105:46 - 105:50
    if you are free of the double grasping,
  • 105:51 - 105:54
    and you see very clearly that
    killing him is to kill yourself,
  • 105:58 - 106:01
    and the intention to kill is no longer there.
  • 106:03 - 106:05
    Until you help the terrorist to see that,
  • 106:08 - 106:10
    you cannot transform his anger,
  • 106:11 - 106:12
    his suffering.
  • 106:15 - 106:17
    Because he thinks that killing and destroying
  • 106:17 - 106:18
    is the only way to get a relief.
  • 106:19 - 106:20
    You have to punish,
  • 106:21 - 106:22
    because that is your enemy.
  • 106:23 - 106:25
    That is the enemy of mankind.
  • 106:26 - 106:29
    That is the enemy of your civilization,
  • 106:30 - 106:31
    and so on.
  • 106:33 - 106:35
    So that is why we have to present
  • 106:35 - 106:38
    the first mindfulness training in such a way
  • 106:38 - 106:41
    that helps people to see that fanaticism,
  • 106:42 - 106:44
    to be caught in a view,
  • 106:45 - 106:48
    to be caught in an ideology or an idea.
  • 106:49 - 106:50
    You can be a killer,
  • 106:53 - 106:55
    because you believe that killing is good.
  • 106:56 - 106:58
    Killing is something you need.
  • 107:01 - 107:03
    And a person who is free from all views,
  • 107:04 - 107:07
    a person who is capable of seeing that
  • 107:07 - 107:09
    everything is everything else,
  • 107:13 - 107:16
    will never have the desire to kill anymore.
  • 107:19 - 107:21
    So you don't have to enforce.
  • 107:23 - 107:26
    And that is why the mindfulness trainings
  • 107:26 - 107:28
    have to be presented in such a way
  • 107:29 - 107:32
    that can help the people to
    get the insight of interbeing.
  • 107:33 - 107:36
    They can help the people to see that,
  • 107:37 - 107:38
    to be caught in a view,
  • 107:38 - 107:40
    whether that is a doctrine,
  • 107:40 - 107:41
    an ideology,
  • 107:42 - 107:43
    or a dogma.
  • 107:45 - 107:48
    You are still caught in the double grasping.
  • 107:49 - 107:50
    You are not free,
  • 107:51 - 107:53
    and your action cannot be right.
  • 107:56 - 107:59
    Otherwise, the person will continue to think,
  • 107:59 - 108:01
    to believe that his action is right,
  • 108:01 - 108:03
    in the name of God,
  • 108:03 - 108:06
    in the name of the best of ideologies,
  • 108:07 - 108:08
    in the name of best view.
  • 108:10 - 108:11
    And in the Buddhist tradition,
  • 108:12 - 108:13
    as we have seen it,
  • 108:13 - 108:16
    right view is the absence,
  • 108:16 - 108:19
    is the removal of all views.
  • 108:21 - 108:22
    So our work,
  • 108:23 - 108:26
    our working together for a global ethic,
  • 108:28 - 108:31
    should be in the line of thinking that
  • 108:31 - 108:36
    our ethic should be an ethic
    without dogmas, without views.
  • 108:38 - 108:42
    And the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra is the beacon.
  • 108:43 - 108:45
    It's the light that shines on it.
  • 108:45 - 108:47
    We have to transcend all kinds of views
  • 108:48 - 108:51
    in order to have the real insight.
  • 108:52 - 108:53
    And with that insight,
  • 108:53 - 108:55
    there will be non-discrimination,
  • 108:56 - 108:56
    tolerance,
  • 108:57 - 108:58
    brotherhood, sisterhood.
  • 108:59 - 109:02
    And then the practice of
    the five mindfulness trainings
  • 109:02 - 109:03
    will be true practice.
  • 109:03 - 109:09
    Because there is no one
    imposing the trainings on us,
  • 109:09 - 109:10
    asking us to practice.
  • 109:11 - 109:13
    Because we see that that is our path,
  • 109:13 - 109:14
    that is our joy,
  • 109:15 - 109:16
    that is our compassion,
  • 109:16 - 109:17
    that is our love.
  • 109:18 - 109:22
    So please help with this.
  • 109:24 - 109:28
    Sister Pine has been joined with her brother,
  • 109:30 - 109:31
    Michelle,
  • 109:31 - 109:32
    brother,
  • 109:32 - 109:34
    sister Anh Huong.
  • 109:40 - 109:44
    And we need those of you who
  • 109:48 - 109:51
    have the talent of editing
  • 109:51 - 109:57
    in order to work on a revised version
    of the five mindfulness trainings.
  • 110:01 - 110:02
    Where is she?
  • 110:16 - 110:17
    In Upper Hamlet.
  • 110:20 - 110:22
    Here is Sister Pine.
  • 110:26 - 110:27
    Michelle, please come.
  • 110:30 - 110:31
    Anh Huong, come.
  • 110:32 - 110:39
    And Sister Kinh Nghiem proposed
    a sister in the Lower Hamlet.
  • 110:39 - 110:40
    Her name is
  • 110:44 - 110:45
    Tri
  • 110:47 - 110:48
    Nghiem.
  • 110:48 - 110:49
    Tri Nghiem, come.
  • 110:52 - 110:53
    Anh Huong, come.
  • 110:55 - 110:57
    We need some more volunteers.
  • 111:02 - 111:07
    You know that during the winter retreat we have
    already worked during three months on this.
  • 111:08 - 111:10
    And during the French retreat we have continued.
  • 111:12 - 111:16
    And we continue with this retreat,
  • 111:17 - 111:18
    collective meditation,
  • 111:19 - 111:20
    collective insight,
  • 111:20 - 111:27
    in order to offer a new version of the five
    trainings that can be used by non-Buddhists.
  • 111:34 - 111:35
    Is sister Anh Huong here? Please come.
  • 111:47 - 111:50
    And we have actually a working version
  • 111:52 - 111:58
    of the five trainings,
  • 112:05 - 112:12
    so that we can have the input from everyone.
  • 112:17 - 112:24
    So the first training and all the other trainings
    also should include the practice of
  • 112:24 - 112:27
    we should not be caught in views,
  • 112:32 - 112:36
    in the dualistic way of seeing things,
  • 112:40 - 112:44
    so that we can remove all discrimination and fear.
  • 112:45 - 112:50
    And that is the foundation of
    the practice of the training.
  • 112:54 - 112:56
    So the training becomes a joy.
  • 112:59 - 113:02
    The training becomes our love, our life,
  • 113:03 - 113:04
    our happiness.
  • 113:05 - 113:07
    And not something we have to do.
  • 113:08 - 113:18
    It's like when we refrain from polluting
  • 113:20 - 113:21
    the planet,
  • 113:22 - 113:26
    when we refrain from eating much
  • 113:28 - 113:31
    of the flesh of animals,
  • 113:32 - 113:34
    we don't feel that we have to suffer.
  • 113:35 - 113:42
    In fact we feel that we are very happy to
    be able to consume and to live in such a way
  • 113:43 - 113:48
    that makes the future for the planet to be possible.
  • 113:49 - 113:51
    So that is our love, our joy.
  • 113:52 - 113:56
    And the five mindfulness trainings
    should be presented in such a way.
  • 113:56 - 113:58
    Sister Tung Nghiem, you may say something.
  • 114:27 - 114:28
    Dear respected teacher,
  • 114:29 - 114:30
    dear noble community,
  • 114:34 - 114:37
    we enjoyed very much during
    this past winter retreat,
  • 114:38 - 114:44
    listening to Dharma talks of
    Thay about the global ethic
  • 114:44 - 114:47
    and the cream of the Buddhist teaching
  • 114:47 - 114:52
    and what we can contribute to a
  • 114:54 - 114:57
    to a direction that everyone can say,
  • 114:57 - 114:59
    yes, this is the way I want to go.
  • 115:02 - 115:07
    And we also had the chance to do
    the same during the French retreat.
  • 115:09 - 115:13
    After the winter retreat we made one draft,
  • 115:13 - 115:16
    a new revision in February,
  • 115:16 - 115:26
    and then after the French retreat we had
    a group of monastic and lay practitioners
  • 115:26 - 115:29
    who sat together and made a revision in French.
  • 115:32 - 115:35
    And very recently, just before this retreat started,
  • 115:36 - 115:38
    we made another draft in English.
  • 115:39 - 115:43
    So I think this is the working draft
    that Thay is speaking of now.
  • 115:43 - 115:49
    But we are very happy to have
    so many deep looking friends
  • 115:49 - 115:53
    and brothers and sisters here right now
    who can sit together again
  • 115:54 - 116:05
    and find the most inspiring possible words
  • 116:05 - 116:08
    for a world that is suffering
    and looking for a way out.
  • 116:10 - 116:11
    Thank you.
  • 116:11 - 116:11
    Is
  • 116:17 - 116:21
    it possible for your group to report to us
    from time to time during the retreat?
  • 116:22 - 116:22
    Yes, of course, dear Thay.
  • 116:23 - 116:24
    And ask for inputs.
  • 116:25 - 116:25
    Yes.
  • 116:25 - 116:27
    And we also have...
  • 116:27 - 116:30
    I heard that there were some other
    friends in Lower Hamlet, Miriam,
  • 116:31 - 116:32
    and I heard Peggy also.
  • 116:34 - 116:38
    And I think there were at least one or two
    other people that I've heard about
  • 116:38 - 116:39
    and there may be others.
  • 116:39 - 116:41
    Yes. Feel free to invite them.
  • 116:44 - 116:49
    So of course, yes, we will be very
    happy to share our progress with Thay.
  • 117:04 - 117:06
    And you are planning to meet when?
  • 117:08 - 117:10
    Yes, that's the question.
  • 117:11 - 117:17
    When we can meet from the three hamlets.
  • 117:19 - 117:21
    I don't know if Thay has an idea for us.
  • 117:22 - 117:25
    Thay has also already many ideas.
  • 117:32 - 117:36
    I will try to come up with an approach,
  • 117:36 - 117:43
    a proposal, and I will send to the other Hamlets
    for their announcements this evening.
  • 117:45 - 117:46
    Okay.
Title:
III Original Fear, Original Desire | Thich Nhat Hanh
Description:

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Duration:
01:59:22

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