Thich Nhat Hanh’s Message to the Youth

Read deeply the following Thay's message.
http://www.wkup.org/thich-nhat-hanh-message-youth/
The followings are key phrases excerpted from the above.

Quote:
Revolution
They might seem like the “living dead” to you, but give them space. They need love, like the rest of us. ... We do not want to live in illusion or die in illusion. ... There are ways of rebelling which only create more bondage and suffering. However, there are ways of rebelling that can offer us real freedom. ... Do not expect change to come from the outside. Yet, if inside, you are overwhelmed by loneliness and fear, you won’t be able to do anything either.

Loneliness
We sometimes feel very alone. Even within our own family, we are alone. We withdraw into our shell, hoping to find peace, but without success. Then we lose ourselves in the crowd. But when the party is over, we are more alone than before. We do not have the courage to face our loneliness. We continue to run day after day. Do not continue to drown in the ocean of loneliness you have created. Learn to still your mind, so that the storm within you can calm and the sky can clear. ... You are not alone and life is worth living. Life is wonderful. ... They (your body and mind) are manifestations of life, of truth, of the divine.

Deep needs and superficial needs
I find it tragic that so many people are wasting their lives. They do not know how to live fully. They do not know how to listen to their hearts. They continue to chase after unnecessary things without seeking what is most precious in life. ... The reality is that we’ve never needed alcohol or drugs. They do not help us to grow; on the contrary, they destroy us. Our true needs lift us up and bring us peace, joy and freedom. ... Your success depends on your ability to discern between what you really need and what you don’t. If you take time to listen to your heart, you will hear your deepest needs for growth, understanding, and love and you will give them a chance to blossom. ... I want to see you free, but please be aware that freedom without understanding can be a source of suffering. ... To be truly happy, freedom must go hand in hand with understanding.

Aspiration
To hear what your heart desires is already to touch happiness. You do not need to “create” a dream, an aspiration. Your dream is already in you, as the destination is already in the path. You only have to adjust the direction. Redirect the course of your life while there is still time. Use your energy. ... Do not expect too much from them, do not get discouraged and do not lose hope. This will save you a lot of energy. ... Instead, use your own intelligence, your own talent, and the resources at your disposal. Do what you can with the abilities you have. Revolution is built from the bottom up. Anything positive you offer will influence society for the better. I have no doubt you can help to create a better world, as I have no doubt about the immeasurable potential of youth.

Education
Why do we study? To pass exams? To have a degree? To achieve a position in society? Are these the only reasons? No. Studying is first and foremost for the joy of learning, the joy of opening new horizons. ... There is so much to discover, yet we must not close our eyes to the problems of our society. Studying is therefore also to meet the real needs of society. ... However, be careful with mere intellectual knowledge because it can be too abstract. Stay in touch with reality, examine everything you learn, and keep only what is grounded in real life experience. Don’t think that you can’t go beyond your teachers. Keep learning. Don’t get caught in what you’ve already learned, because this will prevent you from recognizing and embracing new ideas and insights.

Love
Love is a basic need. Only love, in any form, provided that it is healthy and true, can break the walls of loneliness. ... Love is always a response to a need, a lack, a suffering. As you grew more independent, you came to need your mother and father less and less. That is why your love for them might have diminished. However, the stream of love between you and your parents is still alive, deep inside of you. You only have to return to it and allow it to refresh your relationship. ... At your age, romantic love is a strong call that can easily cover up other callings in your heart. I say cover up, but not silence. ... Love has great power. It can help you heal deep wounds and realize great aspirations, provided that you know how to wait for it, how to recognize it, how to welcome it, how to go with it, how to protect it, how to nourish it, and how to direct it. For sure, you will meet difficulties and sorrows. But don’t worry. Learn from your experiences so as to be able to love better and better. ... It is not easy to find the right partner. Do not think that physical beauty, talent, or reputation are enough to guarantee a fulfilling relationship. Try to understand the other person – their character, their preferences, their aspirations and vision of life. Then ask yourself if they suit you. To suit does not mean to be alike, but rather not be in conflict, to complement each other. ... Intelligent lovers know to harmonize their deep aspirations. Finding a suitable partner and being able to love in such a way is a great happiness. Remind yourself often, and let the other person know, how lucky you are to be with them. This awareness will help you to cherish the relationship and to avoid damaging it through carelessness. You won’t be able to avoid moments of frustration and jealousy. Keep calm, do not do anything rash and don’t blow things out of proportion. ... Romantic love responds to natural needs of the human body and spirit. While some might perceive it as nothing more than a comfortable arrangement between two people, romantic love can also be a doorway to a wider and greater love. ... Love, like all things, is born, lasts for a while, and then passes away. Like a beautiful tree in your garden, your love needs your care and protection in order to stay healthy for a long time. ... Finally, love is not just tenderness. Love is also patience, courage, and sacrifice. Love is a basic human need, which is why you cannot afford not to love.

Spirituality
The aim of religion is to connect. True religion never separates. ... Religion, for most people, is little more than a set of customs and rituals handed down from family and society. Out of laziness or lack of interest, many are satisfied with a superficial understanding of their religion. They do not examine the truth of the teachings in the light of their own experience, let alone practice those teachings to better themselves and heal. These kinds of people are more likely to express dogmatism and intolerance. ... Study your religion intelligently, in all its depth and beauty, so that it can nourish your spiritual life. A healthy religion is a living religion. It should be able to evolve and learn to respond to the difficulties of our time.

Conclusion
I want us to make use of our own faculties to look directly at ourselves and people around us.  ... It is love that can help you transcend fear and isolation. It is understanding that can bring you to the heart of humanity, life, and the cosmos. Understanding and love will open you up to the real situation of society and the planet, and will guide you in your choices.  ... Your bags are packed. It’s time to go.
:Unquote

(My commentary)
I totally agree with Thay. Understanding and love are essential for our peaceful, joyful and happy life. For understanding, or insight, mindfulness and concentration are essential. And for love and compassion, understanding, or insight automatically generates them. That's why we need to start from mindfulness which enables us to revive true self, non-separate self, or awareness.

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014NYEP04

Stained glass at Plum Village (Mindfulness, Concentration, Insight)

Modern Slavery

Watch deeply the following Dharma talk of Thay Phap Dung on "The Revolution of the Present Moment".
Thay showed up during 56:00-58:20. Don't miss it!

The followings are important messages from the video:

When you are 70 years old or something, don't say nobody told you. "Nobody told me to enjoy life."

So, you can be your own doctor, your own psychiatrist. And it takes courage. It takes a very revolutionary energy to reorganize and let go of the things you don't need, and focus all your energy toward what is important and what is meaningful. 

The ways the corporations or the governments organize, they have monopolized of bodies and minds. This is the way they look at it. You are fighting for your life, for your freedom. 

You know the internet. You think you have freedom of choice and access? Actually they have you. ... You have to work more to spend more. I hate to declare but this is the modern slavery.

Now they try to convince all the southeast Asian countries and even a little bit of Europe through the duties agreement to make economy run faster. So, I really question that. We have to really gather and really resist a little bit of that because it is not healthy for our mind. It's making a pressure as a human being a bit too much.

If we look deeply at the world, at the people, feelings rule the world. You look at the newspaper. It's all about emotions. Right? So, emotion (anger, jealousy, discrimination, all these things), you know it makes the world a kind of like what it is. So, we need to know how to handle our feelings.

With the practice of mindfulness, we learn to use the energy of mindfulness to take care of our feelings. A feeling is just a feeling. It dominates. Please remember that. Because sometimes some feelings and emotions will last a day or two. But don't let it overtake you. Most people who take their life away are overwhelmed by emotions in that moment.

The practitioner is like a researcher, studying your mind, studying how you react to things. And the more you know how that works, the more chances you have to free yourself. 

And the internet. You think we've been fooled to think that is giving us freedom to be on the computer to access. But you know the company like Google and all these other companies, on the other side of the table, they say, "Let's get their attention, their clicks." They see you not as a human. They see you as clicks. That's what I found out. They want your clicks that means your attention. The longer you stay, the less time you have for your child, the less time for your husband, the less time you have for your life. 

(My commentary)
Most people in this world are manipulated and exploited by the intelligent ego (separate self) for their luxurious life. People must awaken themselves to change the world for the better. For that, everyone needs to be mindful and become intelligent awareness (non-separate self).

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014NYEP04
http://www.slideshare.net/compassion5151/walking-meditation-62204227

Thay Phap Dung

Happy Teachers Will Change the World

Watch the following video on mindfulness training for school teachers.

The followings are excerpts and my commentaries.

(from 00:51)
Mindfulness is a mental formation. Everyone has a seed of mindfulness. And if we practice diligently, and then the grain, and then the seed of mindfulness in us will grow bigger and bigger. And anytime we need that energy of mindfulness, we just touch it and we have plenty of it in order to make use. And we know that mindfulness has the power, has the capacity to allow us to know what is going on, going on in our body, going on in our feelings, going on in our mind, and going on in the world. 

(My commentary)
Mindfulness is one of 51 mental formations and is categorized as 5 Particulars. And we can touch the seed of mindfulness through conscious breathing or walking. The capacity of mindfulness is to recognize, embrace, look deeply, understand and transform the body and mind.

(from 09:00)
So, effortlessness is the nature of the practice. You don't strive, you don't fight, you do not impose the practice on yourself, you do not suffer because of the practice. You just enjoy breathing in, you just enjoy making a step. And when your breathing is peaceful, deep, harmonious, and then your body will profit from it, your body will become lighter, more peaceful, and also your feelings will be more peaceful. In our daily life, very often, our body is there but our mind is elsewhere. And in these moments we are not truly alive. According to this practice, you need only to breathe in mindfully and you ride on your in-breath and go home in just one, two, three seconds. And when your mind is with your body, you are well established in the here and the now, and you can touch the wonders of life inside and around for your nourishment and healing.  

(My commentary)
Effortlessness, or Aimlessness means that we are already what we are looking for, namely awareness (non-separate self). All we need is to revive awareness through conscious breathing or walking. If we just enjoy breathing or walking without thinking, awareness will revive. The first one in-breath is enough to awaken from forgetfulness.

(from 21:45)
Usually people don't like to go home to themselves and get in touch with the suffering inside. They are afraid of being overwhelmed by the suffering inside. So, their usual way is to try to run away from their own suffering. They try to cover up the suffering inside, their loneliness, their fear, their anger and their despair. So, for a teacher, for a school teacher, the first thing to do is to go home to himself or herself. The way out is in. Go back to oneself and take care of oneself. Learning how to generate a feeling of joy, learning how to generate a feeling of happiness, learning how to handle a painful feeling, a painful emotion. Listening to the suffering, allow understanding and compassion to be born and suffer less. This is the first step. And he or she has to do that. That is the first step. 

(My commentary)
To go home to oneself, or to go back to oneself means to revive awareness (non-separate self, true self). If awareness revives, everything will be alright automatically. "The way out is in." means that if we really want to be freed from sufferings, we need to understand the root cause.

(from 26:10)
We can speak about the goodness of the suffering. If we know how to embrace suffering, to hold it tenderly, to look deeply into it, and then we will be able to generate the energy of compassion and understanding which are the foundation of true happiness. It's like when you grow lotus flowers, you need the mud. Lotus flowers can not grow on marble. Without the mud, you can not grow a lotus. The same thing is true with happiness and suffering. A good practitioner knows how to make good use of suffering in order to grow happiness.

(My commentary)
This is called the art of suffering. We should not run away from suffering. Suffering is precious because it can be transformed into happiness. Happiness is made of suffering. Without suffering, happiness is not possible. Happiness and suffering are two sides of the same coin. So, suffering is no other than happiness.

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014NYEP04

Thích Nhất Hạnh

What we can do to save our Mother Earth

Read deeply the following special message from Sister Chân Không. http://plumvillage.org/news/can-you-hear-mother-earth/
The followings are excerpts.

Quote:
Many of us have forgotten that we are one with the Earth. The Earth is not a separate entity from us. We are part of the Earth, and the Earth is part of us. The Earth is not a resource for us to exploit at our will. The Earth is us; we are intimately interconnected with the Earth, just as we inter-are with all other species on Earth, too. Our spiritual ancestors have taught us about the law of interdependent co-arising: this is because that is. We are here because the Earth is here. All species are our brothers and sisters; we are all children of the Earth.

When we see our deep interbeing with the Earth and with all species, we will see what to do—and what to stop doing—to help the situation. We will have the clarity and compassion we need to help change the situation, so that a future can be possible for us all.

Each one of us can take action in concrete ways.
We can:
1. Recognize that what we choose to eat greatly impacts our personal health, the distribution of wealth and resources, and the global environment. We can go closer to a vegan diet as recommended by a recent study by the National Academy of Sciences to reduce our impact on climate change and global pollution, and nourish not only our health but our compassion. We can commit to reducing our meat consumption by 50%, or to not eating meat and dairy products 15 days a month.

2. Recognize that environmental ills are inherently linked to human ills. We should look deeply at our lifestyle and make changes to reduce our consumption and simplify our life. Greed is a byproduct of an individualistic and materialistic way of looking the world. It has become rampant and is a major cause of the imbalances on our planet. Each one of us can support efforts to alleviate inequities wherever we live and between affluent northern hemisphere societies and southern ones.

3. Recognize that there are alternative renewable energy sources. We can encourage governments to find sustainable energy sources and transition away from nuclear and fossil fuels. It is possible to develop society and industry in new ways, and not at the cost of Mother Earth and numerous species on land and in the ocean, nor at the cost of the wellbeing of future generations. Nuclear waste, whether hidden beneath the earth or exposed, is a toxic cancer to our planet. We will be paying for the luxuries of today with sicknesses tomorrow. Each one of us can make efforts to reduce our personal consumption of energy, in terms of electricity, water, transportation, and the products we buy every day.

4. Recognize that the meat and agricultural industries are a major cause of environmental degradation. We must encourage governments to adopt sustainable development practices to minimize waste and pollution caused by cultivating, processing and transporting meat and fish, and to move away from meat and fish production, which are not sustainable food sources for a growing global population.
:Unquote

(My commentary)
David Bohm said, "We are the earth because all our substance comes from the earth and goes back." If we understand that we are the mother earth, we can never harm it. So, every one of us must be aware that we are children of the mother earth. So, the mother earth is in us. In this sense, we are the mother earth. Once we understand this reality, we can automatically change the way of our life through mindful consumption in order to take good care of ourselves, namely the mother earth. 

(Cf.) http://plumvillage.org/letters-from-thay/sitting-in-the-autumn-breeze/
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2014/11/vegan-and-vegetarian.html

 Sister Chân Không

Wake Up Schools Program

Read the following article on the Wake Up Schools Program.
http://www.wkup.org/education-not-information-teach-human-beings/
The followings are excerpts.

Radio Presenter: Should this kind of learning (learning how to be a human being) be an additional course in the university curriculum, or should it be incorporated throughout the curriculum?

Phap Luu: Many professors are surprised to find out that no extra time needs to be added to their course. Our presence, our way of being, is how we teach others to be present. In our retreats, we help many teachers learn how to incorporate mindfulness practice into their daily lives. We always start with the teacher’s own practice, not by just teaching them techniques of how to teach children. The teachers usually come looking for techniques. They want another certificate, but when they come to a Wake Up Schools retreat, they are a little surprised to find that their own transformation is what is most important. They learn how to stop and look deeply into their own body and mind.

In life we are always running towards the future, or regretting things done in the past. We are lost in our thoughts. With mindfulness practice we learn how to stop running to be fully present in the here and now with our breathing. The breath is always there for us. When I breathe in, I’m aware that I’m breathing in. Breathing out, I’m aware that I’m breathing out. We follow our breathing with all our attention. When our attention shifts to something else, like thoughts about the past or the future, we can smile to our thoughts with love, not punishing ourselves because we lost the focus on our breath. With love, you bring your attention back to your breath and your concentration increases, as well as your capacity to keep from being dragged down by the projects and worries of daily life. We can come back to the present moment like this in only two to three seconds. We can do this not only for ourselves, but also to help our students and others to be more present. This is the biggest gift we can give to ourselves and to our loved ones.

(I would answer as follows:
Yes, it should be an additional course which is compulsory for every student. More importantly, it should be practiced 24 hours a day throughout life. Just learning or memorizing is not enough. The practice in our daily life is vital because it is the teaching of way of life.)

Radio Presenter: I have another question for Phap Luu. Maybe there are people who are listening to us who are a little afraid, or are turned off, because they think this is a religious program, or a program to change their children’s faith. For those who think that way, how would you respond?

(I entirely agree to the following answer:)
Phap Luu: The practice of mindfulness doesn’t have much to do with religion, but rather with how to live life. I wouldn’t say that Buddhism is a religion. It’s more a kind of applied psychology. It’s the practice of getting in touch with the present moment and letting go of any ideas or points of view. That is the basis of Buddhism—learning to let go of all ideas, even Buddhist ones. It’s the practice of allowing ourselves to be open to the world in the present moment.

This is the basic practice the Buddha proposed. He didn’t want to create a religion; he wanted to help people suffer less. So we are doing the same with our life and with the people around us. If there’s something that makes us suffer, we have to ask ourselves: what is it that brings about this suffering?

Many young people commit suicide every day because they don’t know how to deal with their strong emotions. The pressure of exams, of social life, of having a job, of living in a world with advertising around us wanting to sell us things—they don’t know how to manage all of this pressure. Now in school we don’t give them a way to understand why they are suffering. It seems to be an error on our part in the education system. It’s interesting that so many scientists are now interested in this practice that comes from the Buddhist tradition. They see it’s a tradition that has a scientific method of direct first-person experimentation, where we can see clearly the fruits of our practice, and they don’t have to just blindly believe what the Buddha says. They can experience it for themselves.

Any person can put this into practice in their life and see how it goes. When we talk about faith in mindfulness practice, this faith comes from our own experience. It’s the same with scientists. They have faith in science, which is based on results and concrete experience. That’s why there’s a loving and very mutual relationship between the scientific world and the Buddhist tradition; we are always learning from each other.

In our community we have, for example, many Christians who are very devoted to their faith, and they find no conflict between Christianity and Buddhism. The former is more properly a religion, and the latter has more to do with their everyday practice of mindful breathing: they complement each other. There are many Christians who say they can go deeper on their spiritual path with mindfulness. So I don’t think there is any conflict, and schools and institutions are learning about this. They are more open-minded now to this vision.

(caution)
Please be careful because most of mindfulness teachers and books are not true and authentic. I am sure that only authentic teaching of mindfulness is that of Thich Nhat Hanh.

(Cf.) http://www.wkup.org/

Thay's calligraphy

Q&A on Climate Change

Watch the following video from 45:45 to 50:55.

My question to Plum Village monks and nuns, and the answer from Sister True Dedication (Sister Hien Nghiem) are followings. I was so impressed by her deep answer.

(My question):
"Do you have any action plans in Plum Village regarding Climate Change?"

(Answer from Sister True Dedication (Sister Hien Nghiem):
So, this is a good question. So, I think our first action plan is the practicing. And I think we don't say that lightly. But we need contact with ourselves and the earth through ourselves. We know it's frustrated but we can begin to take actions. And we can begin to nourish a kind of peace, acceptance and joy that then are able to set up a harmony as community. And then (???), creating harmonious, happy, simple community. We feel it's one of our great contributions and helping grow our community. So, our Wake Up Sangha out in the world, you are extensions of our community.  

And you know when we are happy, and harmony taking from Plum Village, that can help in mysterious ways, not your own happiness and harmony in which you account for sitting where you live. And at the same time, when we have challenges including harmonious and happy, so we get some learning. Some are challenges and we have some experience to share with you. So, in more practical, concrete way, there is a truth stored of the question and so on. So, we do feel that as a community, that is maybe our primary contribution. 

And then naturally, because we love the earth and we feel very harmonious and happy, we want to take some actions. So, as Thay Phap mentioned, you know this year is the very year of divestment from fossil fuel around the world. And our activist friends in different organizations that taking that is there focused the 2015. So, here in Plum Village, we are also looking how we can support that. The divestment movement is of talking about investments and moving away from fossil fuel.

Well, in Plum Village, we are not going to have much money if you all know. So, we don't have a bank account to move around. So, we are looking into changing our energy supply to renewable energy. Our enrolled fund is not so easy. (?), we are trying these simple things and also to explore movies, online banking. So, with a more ethical bank, speaking. So, we are taking these sets. So, that's just to do our... (mindful bells & stopping) That's just to do our small parts. 

As many of you know, we live with our vegan diet. So, that's already a huge contribution and sometimes we have fun. Sister Chan Khong, our elder sister, has calculated in how many animal life be saved every day. I follow in a vegan diet and invite (?) who come to stay with us. Otherwise we can't diet. And we share our resources. So, we don't have our personal cars. We don't have our personal house. We don't even have our personal room. So, we are practicing actively living simply but we are always open to see what more we can do. And I think (?) more things we can do that in terms of our contribution to the world. We are eager to contribute our happiness, our peace and our harmony.  

And since the Paris conference, we've been actively working both with our British group and in the last month with other faith group. And it's very funny. Because the contribution that they value the most from us, is just being together with them in the group. And everything (?) might be to hear how we can bring harmony between faith. So, you will see that Plum Village is participating in outcome statements in climate change that will be released next month. And you can know that we contribute to the mindful bells, mindful breathing and tolerance and inclusiveness that the group has been gladdening their stay over (?). And if you have any ideas, we are all open to your ideas. So, please continue to support us in this kind of occasion.

* Profile of Sister True Dedication (Sister Hien Nghiem): British, 
  Cambridge University, BBC London, Plum Village since 2008

(Cf.) http://www.wkup.org/event/wake-up-smell-the-roses/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OORBOCAzC_8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae4dgJS5BAE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnr-Lq4Ch4M

Sister True Dedication (Sister Hien Nghiem)

Sangha building and the miracles

Watch the following Thay's video.

Quote:
You think of the Buddha, you think of a young man who was born in Kapilavastu (Nepal) who practiced many years in the forests and who went around in India to give a teaching. But that is only a portion of the Buddha because the woman claimed to the Buddha to begin to build a sangha. He begins to transfer himself to the sangha and many disciples are monastic like a lay. They continue the Buddha. 

And you have to see the Buddha in the Sangha. You have to be able to see the Buddha in the Dharma. And if you have not seen the Dharma and Sangha, you have not seen the Buddha. And the Dharma is available in the here and the now. The Sangha is also available in the here and the now. You don't have to go to India in order to see the Buddha. 

If we believe the Buddha is a God, they can bestow us the things we want. Then that is not the Buddha. The Buddha is a human being who has a deep capacity of understanding and of loving. And having Maha Karuna (great compassion), Maha Maitri (great love), Maha Prajna (great understanding), he can perform miracles. Understanding people is a miracle. And it is described that the Buddha is the one who understands the world well. Lokavid, it means the understanding the world. And because he understands the world deeply, that is why he can offer that kind of teaching that can help to heal the world. And the miracle of understanding and the miracle of teaching are the very important miracles that the Buddha can perform.

When you give a teaching, that can transform people who hear you, that is a miracle. The Buddha describes as the greatest miracle of all miracles. And they are disciples of Buddha who are capable of doing that during the time of the Buddha. They could already continue the Buddha in the time of the Buddha. And in our times, those of us who can do the same by their practice, by their teaching, they can heal people, they can help people liberate themselves from their suffering. So, the miracle continues.
:Unquote

(My commentary)
Understanding is the foundation of unconditional love and compassion. So, in order to heal people and help people liberate themselves from their suffering, we need to understand the root cause of their suffering. If we understand the root cause of suffering of violent people such as terrorists, we will see that they were victims in their childhood. Then, we can generate compassion and help their transformation. What they need is healing, not punishment.

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LA87R7A

Thích Nhất Hạnh