Our Actions are Our True Legacy | Sister Hien Nghiem (True Dedication)
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Not SyncedBell
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Not SyncedDear community, we are August
the 10th in the year 2023, -
Not Syncedand we are celebrating, savoring
the last day of our Wake Up retreat, -
Not Synced"Love in Action", here
in the Upper Hamlet, -
Not Syncedin the Still Water meditation hall.
-
Not SyncedI'm having an interesting
moment sitting here. -
Not SyncedWhen we first started creating
youth retreats, about 15 years ago, -
Not Syncedit was a real challenge to try and
find enough young people -
Not Syncedto have a retreat.
-
Not SyncedAnd first there was forty, then
the next year there was like 65, -
Not Syncedand then I remember
the year we hit 100, -
Not Syncedand we were so excited that
we had 100 registrations! -
Not SyncedAnd we went to report to Thay.
This must have been around 2010. -
Not SyncedThay, there's a hundred
young people in Europe -
Not Syncedthat want to learn about mindfulness.
-
Not SyncedCan you believe it?
-
Not SyncedAnd he was like - well done!
-
Not SyncedAnd then, we started to
create the Wake Up movement. -
Not SyncedAnd I said (to Thay) it's a little
bit overwhelming! -
Not SyncedAnd he said, and he lit up with sparkles,
-
Not Syncedexcellent, it should feel overwhelming!
-
Not Syncedand then I'm sitting here and I
don't know how many hundreds -
Not Syncedof you there are, overwhelming
so I guess Thay's smiling with -
Not Synceda sparkle in his eyes, be careful what
you wish for, because it may come true. -
Not SyncedI hope that's going to make it easier,
but hey I think speaking in front of -
Not Syncedspiritual friends, and
-
Not Syncedis both challenging and wonderful,
because on the one hand -
Not SyncedI feel I want to share my heart
with you all, -
Not Syncedand on the other, I have the
same feeling that we all do. -
Not Syncedof whether I can be enough
in this moment. -
Not SyncedBut I will share from my, my joy
my experience and my practice -
Not Syncedand that is my best.
We will see. -
Not SyncedWe had some little flowers here
thank you, thank you. -
Not SyncedEmotional support flowers,
we also have an emotional -
Not Syncedsupport cello, that we might
need to call on. -
Not SyncedI was 21 when I first came
to Plum Village -
Not Syncedand I was one of the people
who as soon as there was -
Not Synceda chance to receive the five
mindfulness trainings, I -
Not Syncedwanted to do it. And I was
here for three weeks that summer] -
Not Synced]and I was also one of the people
who was like I am going to wait -
Not Synceduntil the last week.
-
Not SyncedSo I know some have
been here through the summer -
Not Syncedand have received the five
mindfulness trainings -
Not Syncedthis morning, and some of us
are here for the first time -
Not Syncedand we also made that commitment
and I have to say, getting on the train -
Not Syncedin some form, with the five mindfulness
trainings in my pocket, in some form -
Not Syncedin my back pack, my life was different.
It just was! -
Not Synced
-
Not SyncedI felt that I had a path.
I felt that I knew what was important to me. -
Not SyncedI felt that what the experience was
I can't fall that far anymore. -
Not SyncedIt felt like the mindfulness trainings
were a safety net or something. -
Not SyncedLike, I'm held in their embrace
that has been my experience. -
Not SyncedAnd although I was sharing
with my dharma sharing famiy -
Not Syncedlike the path of the five mindfulness
trainings is not exactly -
Not Synced`like a straight highway,
-
Not Syncedits more like this, and thats
definitely been my experience. -
Not SyncedThat it has been an adventure,
an experiment, a work in progress -
Not Synceda challenge and also a training,
like really a training. -
Not SyncedAnd as many of us know whatever
kind of training we do, we learn -
Not Syncedby making mistakes.
-
Not SyncedAnd by trying things out,
-
Not Syncedand by realizing ... oops,
that was not in alignment or -
Not SyncedI have strayed far off my path
at this point -
Not SyncedBut it was wonderful and has been wonderful to
feel that they are part of my life -
Not Syncedand I don't know if your facilitators
shared with you -
Not Syncedbut the dharma name we get
with our five mindfulness trainings -
Not Syncedis the dharma name for your life.
-
Not SyncedSo even if you become monastcs
your monastic name is not as important -
Not Syncedas your five mindfulness trainings name.
-
Not Syncedbecause we are kind of born into our
spiritual path with this practice -
Not Syncedand with this training.
-
Not SyncedAnd so this morning, definitely
more than a hundred of us, -
Not Syncedmaybe more than a hundred and fifty
possibly closer to two hundred of us -
Not Syncedacross the different hamlets.
-
Not Syncedmade apassionate, wholehearted
commitment to take the insight -
Not Syncedand practises of the five mindfulness
trainings -
Not Syncedinto our lives
-
Not Syncedand so when we get on the train
tomorrow, car or however we'r getting -
Not Syncedhome.
-
Not Syncedthese mindfulness trainings
will be with -
Not Syncedand even if we didn't make a formal
commitment to receive them -
Not Syncedplease take the piece of paper
with you. -
Not SyncedThey can penetrate our life
because in a way they -
Not Syncedencapsulate everything we
have been experiencing -
Not Syncedtogether in this retreat.
-
Not SyncedAnd,
-
Not Syncedthese trainings are, I guess, the
kind of Plum Village blueprint for -
Not Syncedchanging the world.
-
Not SyncedThey are nothing less than
our full vision for the kind of -
Not Syncedloving action that can transform
society and the future. -
Not SyncedSomeone asked me in the
earth retreat earlier in this year -
Not SyncedI find the Plum Village teachings
on the earth and climate so -
Not Syncedfascinating, but do you have
some kind of manifesto? -
Not Syncedor something.
-
Not SyncedI said yeh - we have the
five mindfulness trainings. -
Not SyncedAnd the person was like, no I
didn't meet that. -
Not SyncedAnd I was like, oh I mean that.
-
Not SyncedBecause they are applied, they live
they are kind of mult-dimensional. -
Not SyncedEach one of them is about bringing
the energy of awakening and love -
Not Synceddirectly into the heart of our daily
lives, our relationship and our society. -
Not SyncedAnd so, as we take the practice
home, maybe you go home and -
Not Syncedsomebody comes up to you and
says, how was your retreat? -
Not SyncedAnd you say ... brilliant, great
wonderful. -
Not SyncedI'm going to practice meditation
every day. -
Not SyncedAnd we may have a tendency to
think that -
Not Syncedthe most easily applicable thing
we can take from this retreat -
Not Syncedis ten minutes sitting every day.
-
Not SyncedAnd we may think, that's going to
be my aspiration, my intention -
Not Syncedmy volition, I'm going to put
it all into that. -
Not Syncedand that is good,
-
Not Syncedbut I feel we can be more ambitious
then that, and I say that because -
Not Syncedif we only do 10 minutes of sitting
meditation a day, and then the -
Not Syncedrest of our life is the same,
-
Not Syncedthe transformation will not be very radical.
-
Not SyncedBut what we can see in each one of
these amazingly challenging -
Not Syncedand inspiring trainings in the
five mindfulness trainings is -
Not Syncedthat they're about far more
than sitting meditation. -
Not SyncedIn fact, as a relatively active person,
-
Not Syncedwhen I left Plum Village I, found
it really hard to do sitting meditation -
Not SyncedI think it was very rare that I made time.
-
Not Syncedwas able to make time to do sitting
meditation in my daily life. -
Not SyncedBut, my life was utterly transformed.
-
Not Syncedby the five mindfulness trainings.
-
Not SyncedOne thing I learned, I used to
sit on public transport and -
Not Syncedbe present for the people
around me, and present for -
Not Syncedmy feelings.
-
Not SyncedAnd honestly, I think I got
more kind of shift in my -
Not Syncedperspective and way of living
in the way I sat on buses in -
Not Syncedcentral london then I would
have done by sitting on my cushion. -
Not Syncedbecause I lived like many of us
a very -
Not Syncedactive and hyperstimulated life.
-
Not SyncedI was juggling a job in journalism and
a masters degree. -
Not SyncedLike too much input, so if
I sat on a cushion all I -
Not Syncedheard or saw was just all
the inputs -
Not Syncedbut when I was in relation
with the world, -
Not Syncedfollowing my breathing and
being in contact with my body -
Not Syncedit's like I opened up a whole
new way of experiencing life -
Not Syncedand that was really transformative
for me. -
Not SyncedSo as we think about what we
might want to take away from -
Not Syncedthis retreat, i'm gonna sort of
reflect back to some of the -
Not Syncedthings that we've been experiencing
-
Not Syncedand we can see for ourselves
which of these elements -
Not Synceddo I want to incorporate in
my daily life. -
Not SyncedOne of the things, perhaps
the most important thing -
Not Syncedwe've been doing on this
retreat is resting. -
Not Syncedrelaxing
-
Not Syncedand spending time in silence
-
Not Syncedboth with people but
also with nature -
Not Syncedand so we may ask ourselves
-
Not Syncedin my daily life, am I making
time to rest -
Not SyncedSo resting without screens
-
Not Syncedresting wihtout maybe headphones
-
Not Syncedam I able to rest and listen to
my body -
Not Syncedand how might we incorporate
a practice of resting in our daily lifes -
Not SyncedSo those of us that work from home
we have a great chance to do relaxation -
Not Syncedafter lunch.
-
Not SyncedBecause no one can see you.
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Not SyncedSo, you can find the Plum Village App
or your favorite relaxation teachers -
Not Syncedand you can listen to a relaxation
-
Not Syncedand make it a part of your working day.
-
Not SyncedWe can make a commitment to
ourselves, a promise to ourselves -
Not Syncedto spend more time in our
nearest park, or to use -
Not Syncedour days off from study or
work to actively go out into -
Not Syncednature.
-
Not SyncedAnd we can also , like, learning from this experience of being
-
Not Syncedwith people, in nature, is great.
-
Not SyncedHow can we invite our friends
and organize to have more time -
Not Syncedin nature together.
-
Not SyncedThat is actively cultivating
ourselves, our body and mind -
Not Syncedour awakening and also our resistance.
-
Not SyncedWhat I mostly want to talk to you today
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Not Syncedabout is, spiritual resistance.
-
Not SyncedHow the choices we make about
how we live our life -
Not Syncedare fundamental, deep form, or resistance.
-
Not Syncedto collective consciousness and to society.
-
Not SyncedSo choosing to rest in our super busy
world is a form of resistance -
Not Syncedwe don't need to consume, we don't
need to do, -
Not Syncedwe're gonna be in the way
that is the future we would -
Not Syncedlike to see.
-
Not Syncedmore simple, more connected
and more whole in ourselves, -
Not Syncednot relying on external things.
-
Not Syncedlike consuming and doing to be happy.
-
Not SyncedAnother thing we've been doing on
this retreat has been stopping -
Not Syncedand looking deeply. We have
had a chance to step back -
Not Syncedfrom our life, to step outside
-
Not Syncedthe constant
-
Not Syncedpressures that we are under
-
Not Syncedto kind of take stock to reflect alittle bit and to listen
-
Not Syncedand so the question about how we
could take this kind of -
Not Syncedstopping back with us could be
-
Not Syncedis there a practice that you
can take in your life where -
Not Syncedevery day has at least
one moment of stopping in it. -
Not SyncedSo when I went back from
Plum Village, the something -
Not Syncedthat I chose was drinking a
glass of water from the water -
Not Syncedcooler at work
-
Not SyncedAnd my work was in a newsroom
-
Not Syncedso it was a very overstimulated
environment, but I wanted to -
Not Syncedkeep this connection to Plum
Village into my spiritual life -
Not Syncedand the spiritual dimension of
my being because being in a -
Not SyncedI was in the politics department
of the newsroom -
Not Syncedso its probably like the
least, a very no spiritual place. -
Not SyncedBut I was determined, I was
there for ethical reasons because -
Not Syncedthat ethical news was possible
-
Not Syncedthats another story.
-
Not SyncedSo I chose that the moment
that I drank water was the moment -
Not Syncedwhen I would be deeply into
touch with my spiritual life -
Not Syncedand I recited the poem that
we have here in plum village -
Not Syncedfor drinking water, many of us
-
Not Syncedknow this poem, but if we are
here for the first time -
Not Syncedyou might have just seen it
near a water tap somewhere -
Not Syncedand this poem goes like this
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Not SyncedNow, with the collective
consciousness I don't have -
Not Syncedthe first word.
-
Not SyncedWater, thank you.
-
Not SyncedMy brain is a social brain.
-
Not SyncedWater comes from high
mountain sources, -
Not Syncedwater runs deep in the earth
-
Not Syncedmiracously water comes to us
and sustains all life. -
Not SyncedMy gratitude is filled
to the brim. -
Not SyncedI was working in the newsroom
in Spring 2003 -
Not SyncedI was a peace activist and it
was at the outbreak of the Iraq war -
Not SyncedAnd every time I went to the
water cooler, I recited this poem. -
Not SyncedThere were screens all around me
that had a live screen from the war -
Not Syncedzone. And this was my act of
resistance. This was my resolve -
Not Syncedmy heart alive, to keep my hear
open and to stay in touch with -
Not Syncedthe beauty and wonder of life
-
Not Syncedso that I could see clearly the destruction
and injustice of war. -
Not SyncedIt is very interesting to practice
mindfulness in the workplac -
Not Syncedso I invite you to try it out.
-
Not SyncedYou could choose drinking water,
you could choose maybe if you go -
Not Syncedto a place of work or study, you
could choose some part of -
Not Syncedthe distance when you are transitioning
from your home life -
Not Syncedto go into work, you can take
200 meteres, and you can say -
Not Syncedto yourself, I will walk as a
free person, as my whole -
Not Syncedself including my spiritual
aspect from this lamppost -
Not Syncedto that pedestrian crossing
and you make a resolve, -
Not SyncedI will do this.
-
Not SyncedSo this was another thing I did.
-
Not SyncedAcross the center of London
-
Not SyncedI had my anti-war umbrella.In
London it always rains -
Not Syncedexcept recently but that's
a different story. -
Not SyncedSorry. No diversion.
-
Not SyncedI had my peace umbrella, in London
everywhere, everyone about 15 years -
Not Syncedago still wore black in the city
and had black umbrellas, -
Not Syncedso my umbrellas was white and
it had the words peace that I -
Not Syncedhad stencilled on to it.
-
Not SyncedAnd I got lots of reactions as
I would walk through the city -
Not Syncedon my way to the newsroom,
but that was my almost resistance. -
Not SyncedAnd when I can to a certain place
near a cathedral, I chose a stretch -
Not Syncedthat was quite nice, right in the
heart of the city and I said -
Not SyncedI will walk as a free person..
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