How can you deal with unemployment and political crisis?

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, Thay, answers questions on 21 June 2014. Question 1.

[Plum Village, France, May 2014]

[Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
answers questions]

(Bell)

[How can your teachings help societies
with unemployment and political crisis?]

Dear Thay, dear sangha,

It is a question that I think reflects

the interest of many Spaniards
at this moment.

As you know, we have
an unemployment rate close to 25%,

and a huge political crisis.

So, I would like to know how the teachings

can help us, not only individually,

but as a society.

There are those of us
who have lost our job,

who have not much money to spend.

They manage to live happily, also.

We know that
there are those who have a job,

there are those who have enough money,

but they still suffer.

So, our happiness does not
depend entirely on having a job,

or having enough money,

or even a political stability
in the country.

Because in any circumstance,

the practice of mindfulness
can help us to suffer less.

And, we are able, also, to create
moments of joy and happiness,

if we know how to.

Because there are
many conditions of happiness.

And job, money,

political stability
are only a few of them.

Practicing mindfulness, we can protect
ourselves from despair, from anger,

from frustration.

First of all, we recognize
that we are still luckier

than many other people in the world.

There are many people in many countries

who spend less than one dollar a day.

They live in extreme poverty.

But, they still have
moments of joy together.

And we have to observe
if the family is still together,

if they can still talk to each other,

and discuss with each other

how to improve the situation,

and then they don't suffer as much as
those who have more money.

So, mindfulness, as you have learned
here in Plum Village,

helps us to recognize that
there are so many conditions of happiness

available in the here and the now.

Having a body, with no serious disease,

is already happiness.

And mindfulness helps us
to be aware of that,

that is a condition of happiness.

Many people are rich,
but do not have a body like that.

So, recognizing
these conditions of happiness

can help us not to suffer too much,

and brings joy and happiness to us.

If you manage to live mindfully

and retain your calm, your peace,

your joy, you help the country
to restart again.

And, if you lose your hope,

if you lose your joy,

if you are caught by your anger,
your fear, your frustration,

you make the situation
worse in your country,

and your country will not have a chance

to recover, to get a new start.

So, we have to sit down and find out

what kind of practice that can help us

keep the hope, keep compassion,

keep the joy of living,

so that we can
improve the situation day by day.

[connect,
be inspired, be nourished]

(Bell)