Change Your Mind

0:00 Right, so for the people who have seen me last time I was here, I announced that I'm going to be away and we went to Thailand once more. This time it was a group of 15, 16 at the beginning. Someone just only could make it for one week instead of three and a half weeks. Nothing happened, but it was a lovely trip to go and explore our tradition. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:29 So the Thai forest tradition was born in Thailand, as the name says, and it's a tradition that is famous for learning the teachings, yes, but only to the point that is necessary, and then going and practicing it, and hopefully gaining wisdom in that process. And they're also well known for simplicity and for Yeah, probably also a bit of austerity because if you are really simple and you compare it with, you know, the life that we have out here, it is quite austere. Report an error in the passage at 0:29 Highlight the passage at 0:29

1:09 Yes. Okay, we have a few more people. Hello. Good evening. Please come in. Report an error in the passage at 1:09 Highlight the passage at 1:09

1:22 Aha, wow. Hi. Do I have to do the announcements again? It's all people who have been here before, is that right? Any new people? Report an error in the passage at 1:22 Highlight the passage at 1:22

1:34 Ah, three of them. Okay. Anyway, but I think we should be fine. If you need to use the toilet, it's just out there. Very good. Okay, so it was quite a big trip. So we visited about 30 senior monastics, or kind of respected elders in that tradition, and also roughly 30 different monasteries. And it was very interesting to see that they all have quite unique ways how they conduct themselves, how they teach the teachings and how they live. Report an error in the passage at 1:34 Highlight the passage at 1:34

2:22 Now, one of the things that happens sometimes when you see a lot of different teachers and you see a lot of different places, you feel like... They might all be saying something slightly different, even though they're supposed to be striving, or, well, striving is probably not the right word, but inclining into the direction of peace, liberation, and what this Buddhist path is all about. Report an error in the passage at 2:22 Highlight the passage at 2:22

2:51 So, if we're not careful, it can become confusing. And so one of the things that I kind of asked myself, and that I thought I could maybe talk a little bit about today is, How can we resolve this? Because even for the people who come to this group, you have different teachers. They teach different things. Report an error in the passage at 2:51 Highlight the passage at 2:51

3:12 But hopefully, we are all teaching the same core teaching but from different angles. And so one of those teachings that I remembered is the story of Ajahn Sumedho. So Ajahn Sumedho came from the US. and he was the first western disciple of Ajahn Chah the Thai forest master that was a teacher of my teacher and who kind of helped with establishing this branch of this tradition and there is about 300 branch monasteries in Thailand and then all over the world so he's actually very very famous so Ajahn Sumedho came to Thailand in the 1960s so quite a long time ago he's in his 90s now When he came to the monastery that we also visited as a group, which is called Wat Nong Pa Pong. Report an error in the passage at 3:12 Highlight the passage at 3:12

4:09 It's probably as much Thai as I can speak. Unfortunately, when I went there, they all wanted to speak to me, but I couldn't. And especially they wanted to speak to Bhante Chunda because it turns out that his grandmother was actually Thai. So they all thought he was Thai and they talked to him. He was a little bit embarrassed to keep saying, I don't speak any Thai. Anyway, so the conditions were actually extremely austere. Report an error in the passage at 4:09 Highlight the passage at 4:09

4:38 So if you go and look up what that story tells you, there are things like the tropical heat. We were smart. We traveled in the cold season when it's actually quite bearable for two or three months. And there is a lot of mosquitoes. So some of you who've heard Ajahn Brahm give the teachings and talk about the good old days when they're sitting out in the jungle that was donated to them before they had a monastery and the mozzies would come out at dawn and at dusk when it was their time to meditate. Report an error in the passage at 4:38 Highlight the passage at 4:38

5:09 They would have very simple food. So the ones who don't know, we have an alms bowl and we go into the village or the villagers come and bring food. That's kind of our tradition. And then we have In Thailand, one meal a day. So it's not so much. And everything goes into the bowl. So you don't have like dessert bowls and a little bit of popcorn and crackers or whatever it is. Report an error in the passage at 5:09 Highlight the passage at 5:09

5:34 Starters at the beginning. It's all one bowl. And in some monasteries you have to eat really fast and things like that. Anyway, so there is strict rules as well in those monasteries. Strict monastic rules. And in that time, in the 1960s, Northeast Thailand was the backwaters of that country. So it was remote, it was isolated, and it was quite underdeveloped. Report an error in the passage at 5:34 Highlight the passage at 5:34

5:58 So Ajahn Sumedho went there, he ordained, he became a Buddhist monk, and as it is, in the beginning, usually, you are kind of quite inspired. And you see this beautiful forest, and you see the beautiful teacher, and all the other students, and you really want to... you know participate and you have lots of energy and and there might also be quite a bit of joy coming up because you've let go of all the things you know in your home and that's what we call i just talked to someone recently the honeymoon period so you're just like so blown away and you're like oh i love it this is great but then after a while for some people sooner than later The kind of doubts start to creep in. You ask yourself, well, was that really the right decision? Is that really the right teacher? Am I really up for this? Report an error in the passage at 5:58 Highlight the passage at 5:58

6:52 Is this okay? You know, it's a bit strange and I'm exposing myself to all these difficult things. And then, of course, the fault-finding mind can come in as well. And that's what happened with Ajahn Sumedho too, or with, you know, Venerable Sumedho as he was at that time. And his teacher Ajahn Chah picked up on that. So he saw that he was struggling and there was this interaction that they had that he keeps retelling because it was so important for him and for his practice. Report an error in the passage at 6:52 Highlight the passage at 6:52

7:26 So Ajahn Chah came up to him and said, Is Wat Nongpa Pong, the name of the monastery, suffering? Or are you the one who is suffering? And it really hit him. So he started to think about this, and then he said that is what really struck him very deeply. And when he actually looked carefully, then he understood that the monastery itself was not suffering. Report an error in the passage at 7:26 Highlight the passage at 7:26

7:59 He understood that the trees were not suffering, that his simple hut, that one meal a day, the mosquitoes, whatever it is, is not suffering, and that the heat was just heat. Report an error in the passage at 7:59 Highlight the passage at 7:59

8:13 It was uncomfortable for sure. That is true. But the suffering was happening in his own mind. It was triggered by something on the outside, yes. But the biggest problem was the resistance, was the aversion, was the comparison, was the doubt that arose. So he started to work with that. Ajahn Chah was pointing him back. Report an error in the passage at 8:13 Highlight the passage at 8:13

8:43 To the core insight that suffering is not in the conditions out there. It's not in the body. It actually arises in the mind which is craving, which wants things this way or that way or doesn't want things, which attaches, which is deluded and which is confused. Report an error in the passage at 8:43 Highlight the passage at 8:43

9:08 And when I reflected on that, That all those teachers with their different techniques in those different places were actually pointing to that. They called it citta. Citta is the word in Pāli for mind and for heart. So they emphasised that, that we have to understand and have to train that mind. And that the body, the world at large, the things in it, they are not the emphasis of our practice. Report an error in the passage at 9:08 Highlight the passage at 9:08

9:42 So, ultimately, suffering, but also happiness. Otherwise, it would be bad news if only suffering is being found in the mind. But happiness is there too. So, that's one of the helpful questions that you maybe remember and can ask yourself every now and then. When you're struggling, you ask yourself, what or who is suffering? Report an error in the passage at 9:42 Highlight the passage at 9:42

10:06 Or what or who is experiencing this happiness right now? Can... You change your mind about this. And just to give you a couple of examples, I usually like to do that so you can maybe connect not just to the story but also to something that happened to me and hopefully, well, probably, not just probably, it happens to you as well, but not just the situation but also the inside. Report an error in the passage at 10:06 Highlight the passage at 10:06

10:32 So I came back from Thailand. I was fine in Thailand, three and a half weeks. I was happy because I had to engage with the group and, you know, do a few things. Report an error in the passage at 10:32 Highlight the passage at 10:32

10:42 the bus that I was in, but I was fine. I came back tired, rested, and then after two days I got a cold. So I caught the cold probably, unless it has a really long incubation period, on my journey back home when I was just like, whoa, now I have no responsibility. I can let go. It's okay. I'm not responsible for the group. Just rest. And then it kind of crept up on me. So Then I could reflect on the same thing there as well. Now, my body was feeling quite uneasy, quite not so pleasant. Report an error in the passage at 10:42 Highlight the passage at 10:42

11:22 But is it the body who is suffering? Was it my head, the headache? Was it my nose? Was it the difficulty of breathing at night sometimes and all that phlegm? Is that suffering? No, it's just what happened to this body and what the body is doing with it, but the suffering is what I add on top of that. So that's how you can be sick, but you can still be okay with that sickness. Report an error in the passage at 11:22 Highlight the passage at 11:22

11:55 You can still have a calm, composed or even happy mind at times and be grateful that your body, you know, otherwise works so well and you give it the time it needs and then it hopefully recovers. Or at some stage it won't recover. The body is of that nature. And we do whatever we can, but our most important asset is the mind, is the heart. Report an error in the passage at 11:55 Highlight the passage at 11:55

12:21 There's another thing which is happening at our little place at the moment. I don't know if it's happening in other places as well. But we have these tiny little ants that come into the building. and we are blocking off this and we're blocking off that and we're cleaning very thoroughly and trying to make sure you know that these ants don't kind of take over the kitchen sometimes it feels like that for you know half an hour or something before you clean up and and try to get it under control same thing there those ants they have a you know driving force they want to eat They do what an ant does. And if the ant does it out in the forest, we don't really mind, is it? But once they come in the house, when they come in my house and in my kitchen, and they get into my, you know, mixed nuts in the cupboard or whatever it is, then I start to suffer. Report an error in the passage at 12:21 Highlight the passage at 12:21

13:21 Then I start to go like, this is not okay, we have to do something about it. And it's true, we have to do something about it. But am I adding more suffering to the situation than is actually necessary? And now I hope you can kind of apply that to something that is happening in your life now, is happening in your body now, is happening in your mind now. Report an error in the passage at 13:21 Highlight the passage at 13:21

13:46 Are problems such as my mother, my partner, my kids, my boss, my work, the news, the weather, the traffic, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, please fill in the blank. Are they suffering? Or are they just following the way they are conditioned, the way the things come together and then move in a certain direction? Report an error in the passage at 13:46 Highlight the passage at 13:46

14:14 Because we don't like it, yes. But that is the thing which arises in the mind. Now, when we talk about the mind in these kind of lessons, very often people get very confused and go like, yeah, what is the mind? if the mind would be so easy to see and to understand we could solve this problem very very easily but one of the nice similes to understand it's like the mastermind behind a criminal activity the mastermind is so great in covering up everything in making sure there is a huge circle of other people of puppets and he's the Puppet master who are organizing all these things around him so that you don't actually see and understand what the mind is. So that's how he or she or it, whatever it is, escapes. Report an error in the passage at 14:14 Highlight the passage at 14:14

15:11 So now we have to understand that we have to somehow see through that smoke and those mirrors and that deception and We can only do that if we don't start to blame all these things that are happening around on the outside because once we try to do that and try to kind of neutralize those things it will help a little bit but it's like a tree which has branches and leaves and we can't really see the root which is buried deep down but if we start to cut off the leaves and the branches what happens? Report an error in the passage at 15:11 Highlight the passage at 15:11

15:52 They go away for a little while, but they start to regrow back. They start to come up again and trouble us later. So the aim of this path and what all the people were pointing to is understand where the suffering is and then try to alleviate it and solve it at that level. Because otherwise it's like that tree or what I sometimes refer to the shark's teeth. I don't know if you know how the shark's teeth look like. Report an error in the passage at 15:52 Highlight the passage at 15:52

16:22 But I had one of those jaws in my bookshelf as a child growing up or a teen, and there is this rows and rows of teeth. And when the first ones break out or break away, the next row is always there. So that's how these things operate if we are not careful, if we don't understand how this all works. So in the scriptures, very often it says we have to cut things off at the root. Report an error in the passage at 16:22 Highlight the passage at 16:22

16:52 Make it like a palm stump which can't regrow later. And that's the work of uncovering, letting go and cutting off. So we have to teach our minds to see. We have to teach our minds to change and behave in a way that is in line with truth, is in line with reality. Like with the ants, we understand. Ants are just doing what ants do. Mothers are doing what mothers do. Bosses are doing what bosses do. And we have some influence, but not that much control over it. Report an error in the passage at 16:52 Highlight the passage at 16:52

17:31 So, this is our work. And it's sometimes compared like honing or like, what's the word, sharpening a knife. And that's one more quote that I wanted to mention at this point here, which is also from Ajahn Chah, the teacher I mentioned before. So, they say that virtue, which comes at the beginning of the path, is a whetstone. Report an error in the passage at 17:31 Highlight the passage at 17:31

18:00 Something that sharpens and emboldens the mind. It makes the mind strong. Like grinding a knife on a stone. This is called sīla. That's the Pāli word for it. And then once... We have worked on that level and there is a certain sharpness, there is a certain steadiness and things are set in place, then we talk about meditation. Report an error in the passage at 18:00 Highlight the passage at 18:00

18:27 That's the collectedness of the mind which we'll be practicing afterwards. And then once that knife is sharp and it's settled and in place, then we can use it in various ways. Then we can actually gain benefits from it. And that's what wisdom is in this teaching, Panya. That's the three kind of steps on the path. Report an error in the passage at 18:27 Highlight the passage at 18:27

18:52 It starts with virtue, and then it goes into collectedness of mind, and then it goes into wisdoms. And now I would like to switch to the meditation because that's what we're going to be doing together. And I also want to weave in a question a person had recently. So in all those different monasteries they gave me many many different tools and many many different manuals how to use those tools. Report an error in the passage at 18:52 Highlight the passage at 18:52

19:23 Now if we are not careful then we'll get stuck on that manual and on that tool rather than using that. What I was talking about before is the mind, the mind, the mind, the mind. It all goes back to the mind. So the tool is there to sharpen that mind. To erode the things away which are not helpful. To bring the best things out that are helpful. But the mind is what we are working with. So that is very, very important. Report an error in the passage at 19:23 Highlight the passage at 19:23

19:54 So don't get hung up on the tool. Don't get hung up on the teachings. Or get confused by the manuals. So let's see how we can apply this to meditation. So I haven't asked, have everybody of the new people in the back there meditated before as well? Not yet? Okay, so you'll have a bit of practice with us very soon. So in meditation we usually use an object to be aware of and that is usually the body in the beginning and then we gently shift and move to the breath and then to the stillness, to the settledness and to the mind. Report an error in the passage at 19:54 Highlight the passage at 19:54

20:34 That's kind of like the trajectory that we have. But now the simile that I want to bring up is the simile of being an artist and working with wood. So there is different stages. It's a gradual process. So you go into the forest, you cut down a tree. You need a very sharp, you know, what is it called, chainsaw or something, a power tool, which has a lot of force. Report an error in the passage at 20:34 Highlight the passage at 20:34

20:58 You cut the tree down, or they cut the tree down for you. We can't do that as monastics. And they bring you the wood. And then you have a saw. And you saw it into a raw block which is roughly the size of what you want to do. And then you get the next tool. You start to get out your chisels. I had to look up some of those terms because English is not my native language there. So you use those chisels and there is different chisels as well. Report an error in the passage at 20:58 Highlight the passage at 20:58

21:31 There's the chisels that chop away a lot and then there is the one that chop off less. and then there's the really thin ones that are there to carve out the details and you go step by step and you make sure that you don't use the rough tools on the refined things that you're trying to achieve because otherwise you destroy it and you also make sure you don't hold on to those tools for too long you know when to switch and once you've done that work Then you get the sandpapers out. With sandpapers, same process. You use the rough ones first and then the ones which are more fine-grained and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 21:31 Highlight the passage at 21:31

22:15 And then at the end, you take the oil out and the cloth and you shine it up. Now, if you were to take the cloth to the block in the beginning, what happens? You destroy the cloth. You destroy the tool. Report an error in the passage at 22:15 Highlight the passage at 22:15

22:32 The simile that is brought up all the time. But I thought about it for a little bit longer. And it's not just a tool. It's also the mind which is shaped by that tool. And if you use the wrong tool at the wrong time with the wrong intensity, you are destroying the mind. You're destroying the artwork. You're destroying the mind state. And that's another thing we also have to learn. Report an error in the passage at 22:32 Highlight the passage at 22:32

23:02 And that's what the true art is. To know where you're at and how to apply these things. And to check in with the mind and see where it's at. And then to work with that. And at some stage we come to a point where a tool has been used as much as it needed to be used. And sometimes we don't know how to let go of it. Report an error in the passage at 23:02 Highlight the passage at 23:02

23:28 we carry on holding it we carry on using it and then it actually does more harm and that happens when you are doing some work as well at home sometimes your mind is so engrossed into the task and so kind of focused on a goal in the future that it just carries on driving in the same kind of rut and that is very important to recognize and what do you do at that stage you step back you look at what has been cultivated what has happened to the mind and then you actually see the beauty you see the shining of that mind and you are just in awe you are enjoying it and that's the part we sometimes forget to cultivate in meditation so I've written it down here so I want to just maybe read it out because when I wrote it down it just felt so right to me. So you step back, just gently hold the piece of art, your mind, in the palm of your hand and bask in its glow. Report an error in the passage at 23:28 Highlight the passage at 23:28

24:41 Every now and then softly shining it up or simply letting it sparkle in the light of effortless awareness. And that's what we cultivate in meditation. So the question is not, can I force my attention onto the body or onto the breath for a long period of time? Because that tires me out. And that tires the mind out and harms the mind. But what is happening in and with my mind? Report an error in the passage at 24:41 Highlight the passage at 24:41

25:17 With the attention? With the attitude? And with the inclination of the mind. And the last simile before we meditate together. It's like when you are meeting a person. And you are engaging in a conversation with them. You meet them. You say hello. Like when some people come in here. And we're not sitting quietly. Report an error in the passage at 25:17 Highlight the passage at 25:17

25:39 You ask them about the weather. You ask them about their day. It's kind of chit chat. It's a bit small talk. But you get in touch with the person. And then as you are staying in conversation with them, you get a feeling for what's going on. You ask them what their life is all about, or what they're worried about, or what they're happy about, and you start to kind of connect. Report an error in the passage at 25:39 Highlight the passage at 25:39

26:02 You start to merge almost with that other person. You find out what makes them tick, what makes them happy. And then... You might even be able, because you know what's going on, to engage in a satisfying exchange with them. You inspire, you enrich each other, you learn from each other. That's what a conversation is about, and that's what meditation is about as well. But then again, there comes a point where you've talked enough, where you've kind of exhausted that, and that's coming for me soon, and you just want to sit in silence. Report an error in the passage at 26:02 Highlight the passage at 26:02

26:45 Just enjoying each other's company. You simply delight in each other's presence. The heart opens and you just bask again in that presence, in that being together. You soak up the light, you soak up the warmth of what is created while you also let it overflow and you share and you radiate it out at the same time. Report an error in the passage at 26:45 Highlight the passage at 26:45

27:14 And that's what happens in the meditation process as well at some stage. The more refined things become, you're not quite sure what the tool is and what the mind is. They start to merge, they start to dance, they start to get in tune with each other. And that's meditation in a nutshell. but let's See if we can practice this together. So, make sure that you are sitting comfortably on your chair. Report an error in the passage at 27:14 Highlight the passage at 27:14

27:52 If you need to have a sip of water or, I don't know, stretch your legs or scratch or cough, now's a good time to make your body feel at ease, to Report an error in the passage at 27:52 Highlight the passage at 27:52

28:11 start the conversation with your body and your mind. Report an error in the passage at 28:11 Highlight the passage at 28:11

28:19 And what we usually do in meditation is we close our eyes. If you're not so familiar with that, you can just have them half closed or just have them gaze gently in front of you at a point which is just kind of like boring or uninteresting. The idea is to let all the senses, to let all the awareness tune into what is going on internally. What Report an error in the passage at 28:19 Highlight the passage at 28:19

28:54 is flowing in, Report an error in the passage at 28:54 Highlight the passage at 28:54

28:58 and what is arising within in this body of ours in the world of emotions of thoughts of worries of joys and sorrows and Report an error in the passage at 28:58 Highlight the passage at 28:58

29:30 then as I mentioned before the breath is also a thing we can invite into our field of awareness it can be helpful to take a few deep breaths in the beginning of a meditation Where we kind of hold the breathing a little bit firmer. We guide it, we instruct it. But we always understand the purpose. The purpose is to be aware of the mind and to make sure we're connected and we feel what's going on in the mind. Report an error in the passage at 29:30 Highlight the passage at 29:30

30:13 We get feedback from the mind. Get Report an error in the passage at 30:13 Highlight the passage at 30:13

30:20 feedback from the body. Report an error in the passage at 30:20 Highlight the passage at 30:20

30:26 Consciously taking some deep breaths. Letting the air flowing in, the nose is not blocked through the nose in, and then a little bit of a longer exhale through the mouth that tells our whole system, our nervous system and our body, that it's time to rest and to digest, that we are safe, that we are okay. Report an error in the passage at 30:26 Highlight the passage at 30:26

31:03 But this is not what we do for the next 25 minutes. We just do it to the extent necessary to settle, to calm, to slow down, to give attention to, to make peaceful, to Report an error in the passage at 31:03 Highlight the passage at 31:03

31:31 even out those kind of ripples, those knots that we find in our bodies, in our minds, maybe with the process of breathing as well. Report an error in the passage at 31:31 Highlight the passage at 31:31

32:04 It's this kind of hello, how are you conversation. What have you been up to? What has happened in the past? But Report an error in the passage at 32:04 Highlight the passage at 32:04

32:20 not trying to interrogate, to gather information so we can control our breath and our body. We know what it's up to. But to tune in, to get in touch, to understand. Report an error in the passage at 32:20 Highlight the passage at 32:20

32:46 Because when we understand, Then we can care and Report an error in the passage at 32:46 Highlight the passage at 32:46

32:55 we can alleviate some of that suffering that I was talking about that is created in the mind and then it seeps out and it leaks out into speech. But when we're quiet, when we're silent, that's thinking, movement of the mind. I don't like this. Why is it like that? Why me? Report an error in the passage at 32:55 Highlight the passage at 32:55

33:34 Well, this is great. I want more. Report an error in the passage at 33:34 Highlight the passage at 33:34

33:42 See if Report an error in the passage at 33:42 Highlight the passage at 33:42

33:54 you can really be there now with your body, with Report an error in the passage at 33:54 Highlight the passage at 33:54

34:06 your mental world, with the natural processes of being alive, of being a human being. Report an error in the passage at 34:06 Highlight the passage at 34:06

34:37 Allowing your feet to settle, your legs to be at ease, your knees open up, your hips fall into place. Being supported, cradled by the chair, the cushion, and Report an error in the passage at 34:37 Highlight the passage at 34:37

35:11 then allowing your spine, vertebra by vertebra, to unfurl like a plant does when you give it what it needs and you just let it grow. Feeling Report an error in the passage at 35:11 Highlight the passage at 35:11

35:40 the spine, feeling the rib cage, feeling the shoulders, open up, Report an error in the passage at 35:40 Highlight the passage at 35:40

36:01 allowing... all your internal organs to have the space they need to do what they need to do right now settling Report an error in the passage at 36:01 Highlight the passage at 36:01

36:25 but also opening up at the same time and Report an error in the passage at 36:25 Highlight the passage at 36:25

36:47 making sure your stomach is not kind of crunched making Report an error in the passage at 36:47 Highlight the passage at 36:47

36:58 sure that your lungs are like a sponge if you let go if you let it do its thing It actually pulls in the air all by itself and Report an error in the passage at 36:58 Highlight the passage at 36:58

37:20 the diaphragm and the belly they relax and they make space for the air to flow in and Report an error in the passage at 37:20 Highlight the passage at 37:20

37:46 then the body contracts naturally and the air flows out again Report an error in the passage at 37:46 Highlight the passage at 37:46

38:04 and out again. No Report an error in the passage at 38:04 Highlight the passage at 38:04

38:14 point going down to the ocean and telling the waves to go this way or that way. Report an error in the passage at 38:14 Highlight the passage at 38:14

38:23 Your job is to sit quietly and to watch, to see the waves coming in, to see the waves going out, to Report an error in the passage at 38:23 Highlight the passage at 38:23

38:43 see the thoughts coming in, to see the thoughts going out, like the wind, like the weather. Report an error in the passage at 38:43 Highlight the passage at 38:43

38:55 They're natural patterns. Report an error in the passage at 38:55 Highlight the passage at 38:55

39:05 If you're at a safe distance, if you're wearing the right gear, then the water and the weather weather or just passing conditions. You Report an error in the passage at 39:05 Highlight the passage at 39:05

39:24 don't get elated, Report an error in the passage at 39:24 Highlight the passage at 39:24

39:32 excited with them. You're Report an error in the passage at 39:32 Highlight the passage at 39:32

39:40 not born and you don't die with them. You Report an error in the passage at 39:40 Highlight the passage at 39:40

39:50 just know. Report an error in the passage at 39:50 Highlight the passage at 39:50

40:01 Allowing your arms to hang freely, allowing Report an error in the passage at 40:01 Highlight the passage at 40:01

40:12 your hands to be in a comfortable position. You don't get elated. Report an error in the passage at 40:12 Highlight the passage at 40:12

· · · silence, 1 minute

40:17 If they're not, please feel free to change it. But please also watch what happens to your mind. Does Report an error in the passage at 40:17 Highlight the passage at 40:17

40:33 it go towards more peace, stillness and ease? Or does it go towards more activity, resistance, irritation, dullness, Report an error in the passage at 40:33 Highlight the passage at 40:33

40:52 confusion? Report an error in the passage at 40:52 Highlight the passage at 40:52

41:04 Then you can maybe gently stretch your neck a little bit, tuck in your chin, and then relax. Report an error in the passage at 41:04 Highlight the passage at 41:04

41:18 Just in the right way that your neck is balanced on the rest of your body. You Report an error in the passage at 41:18 Highlight the passage at 41:18

41:33 might need to adjust a little bit this way, a little bit that way. But then once it feels right, just let go into it. Report an error in the passage at 41:33 Highlight the passage at 41:33

41:47 Rest. Report an error in the passage at 41:47 Highlight the passage at 41:47

41:58 Allow your skull. To be at ease, your Report an error in the passage at 41:58 Highlight the passage at 41:58

42:06 skin on it to be loose, especially in your face, around your eyes, your nose, your mouth, your throat, your jaw, Report an error in the passage at 42:06 Highlight the passage at 42:06

42:57 allowing your body to go with the breath, with Report an error in the passage at 42:57 Highlight the passage at 42:57

43:08 the natural movement of energizing, wakefulness, presence on the in-breath. Report an error in the passage at 43:08 Highlight the passage at 43:08

43:24 And letting go, relaxation on the out-breath. Breathing Report an error in the passage at 43:24 Highlight the passage at 43:24

43:42 in peace and presence. Report an error in the passage at 43:42 Highlight the passage at 43:42

43:51 Breathing out, let go and ease. Report an error in the passage at 43:51 Highlight the passage at 43:51

44:19 Finding this exquisite balance of being in touch, but without pushing and pulling. Report an error in the passage at 44:19 Highlight the passage at 44:19

44:39 Continuing to be with the mind, with the breath, with the body. Report an error in the passage at 44:39 Highlight the passage at 44:39

44:55 But in an effortless manner. Report an error in the passage at 44:55 Highlight the passage at 44:55

45:06 Just right. Report an error in the passage at 45:06 Highlight the passage at 45:06

45:18 Even. Report an error in the passage at 45:18 Highlight the passage at 45:18

· · · silence, 1 minute

46:01 Even if the body comes and asks for your attention every now and then. Or some thoughts. Or worries. Report an error in the passage at 46:01 Highlight the passage at 46:01

46:16 Make sure there's no conversation, no drama. Just Report an error in the passage at 46:16 Highlight the passage at 46:16

46:27 a gentle hand laid on the back. Reassuring. I'm here. I know. It's okay. Report an error in the passage at 46:27 Highlight the passage at 46:27

· · · silence, 1 minute

47:27 And when the mind is at ease and Report an error in the passage at 47:27 Highlight the passage at 47:27

47:34 peaceful, that automatically flows out into the mental world too, and into the body as well. Soothing and calming, Report an error in the passage at 47:34 Highlight the passage at 47:34

47:55 settling and stilling, Report an error in the passage at 47:55 Highlight the passage at 47:55

· · · silence, 1 minute

48:43 shaping and being shaped at the same time, Report an error in the passage at 48:43 Highlight the passage at 48:43

49:01 caring and being cared for. At Report an error in the passage at 49:01 Highlight the passage at 49:01

· · · silence, 1 minute

49:44 this point, No Report an error in the passage at 49:44 Highlight the passage at 49:44

50:04 in Report an error in the passage at 50:04 Highlight the passage at 50:04

50:42 -breath, Report an error in the passage at 50:42 Highlight the passage at 50:42

· · · silence, 1 minute

51:45 no out-breath, just breath. No Report an error in the passage at 51:45 Highlight the passage at 51:45

51:59 being with the breath. not really watching the waves coming in and coming out anymore. Report an error in the passage at 51:59 Highlight the passage at 51:59

· · · silence, 1 minute

50:23 and because there is no separation Report an error in the passage at 50:23 Highlight the passage at 50:23

· · · silence, 2 minutes

52:05 Just being breath. Just being. Report an error in the passage at 52:05 Highlight the passage at 52:05

· · · silence, 1 minute

53:23 Slowly moving to the other end of the meditation and Report an error in the passage at 53:23 Highlight the passage at 53:23

53:36 separate again. We can allow the ocean to carry us back to the beach. We Report an error in the passage at 53:36 Highlight the passage at 53:36

53:52 can sit on the sand. We Report an error in the passage at 53:52 Highlight the passage at 53:52

53:58 can see, feel, understand. How is the mind? How Report an error in the passage at 53:58 Highlight the passage at 53:58

54:18 is the breath? How Report an error in the passage at 54:18 Highlight the passage at 54:18

54:27 is the body? How Report an error in the passage at 54:27 Highlight the passage at 54:27

54:45 much peace? How much relaxation, how much ease has been kindled, encouraged, Report an error in the passage at 54:45 Highlight the passage at 54:45

55:01 and Report an error in the passage at 55:01 Highlight the passage at 55:01

55:09 then come to a point where it just takes over and does its own thing. How much of that is there compared to when we came here after Report an error in the passage at 55:09 Highlight the passage at 55:09

55:30 having listened to a bit of a talk and instructions and then having gone into meditation? Can Report an error in the passage at 55:30 Highlight the passage at 55:30

55:51 we make friends? With our mind? Can Report an error in the passage at 55:51 Highlight the passage at 55:51

55:59 we work with our mind? Can Report an error in the passage at 55:59 Highlight the passage at 55:59

56:12 we respect and care for our mind? If Report an error in the passage at 56:12 Highlight the passage at 56:12

56:22 we can, then suffering will lessen. Then Report an error in the passage at 56:22 Highlight the passage at 56:22

56:33 collectedness will arise. And then we'll understand. Then we'll have wisdom. I'll Report an error in the passage at 56:33 Highlight the passage at 56:33

56:53 be ringing the bell three times. Just keep your eyes closed. And listen to the three sounds. And Report an error in the passage at 56:53 Highlight the passage at 56:53

· · · silence, 1 minute

57:38 allow this to bring you back into this room. Report an error in the passage at 57:38 Highlight the passage at 57:38

57:47 Back to the senses. Back Report an error in the passage at 57:47 Highlight the passage at 57:47

57:56 to a lovely summer evening. Is Report an error in the passage at 57:56 Highlight the passage at 57:56

58:04 there any questions or comments or complaints? Report an error in the passage at 58:04 Highlight the passage at 58:04

58:17 Yes, please. Report an error in the passage at 58:17 Highlight the passage at 58:17

58:21 Can I? I'm thinking of a joke. So, Report an error in the passage at 58:21 Highlight the passage at 58:21

58:36 in order... Sorry, you were thinking of? I'm thinking of two things. Ah, yes. Two concepts. Alright. It goes and acceptance. Yes. In meditation. Report an error in the passage at 58:36 Highlight the passage at 58:36

58:40 are they conflicting together no it's it's the same thing the same thing yes so in order to To let go you have to accept. If you don't accept it will stay with you. Report an error in the passage at 58:40 Highlight the passage at 58:40

59:01 Acceptance means understanding. Acceptance means knowing what is going on. Like I accept that there is ants in Kusala Hermitage in the kitchen. Report an error in the passage at 59:01 Highlight the passage at 59:01

59:16 That's a fact. And when I accept then I can let go of all the unnecessary suffering that arises from that situation. And then I can make wise decisions. Report an error in the passage at 59:16 Highlight the passage at 59:16

59:35 Then I can ask for help. Then I can make things happen. But if I'm so caught in what I think life and the ants and everyone else should be like, I've already lost course. Report an error in the passage at 59:35 Highlight the passage at 59:35

1:00:01 Does that make any sense at all? Report an error in the passage at 1:00:01 Highlight the passage at 1:00:01

1:00:07 I'm sorry. Maybe it is very abstract to talk about it because it makes different sense in different situations. Yes, correct. And actually at the moment, I'm not thinking of a workplace. I'm sorry. I'm not sure if you have a workplace before or not. Yes, yes, yes. You know, as a... like people we have to work of course we have our workplace yep and sometimes unfortunately you have to work in a kind of No, Report an error in the passage at 1:00:07 Highlight the passage at 1:00:07

1:00:49 no, no, slightly different situation. Yes, yes Report an error in the passage at 1:00:49 Highlight the passage at 1:00:49

1:00:52 So for me, I define that it goes similar to let it be, liver. Yes, yes. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:52 Highlight the passage at 1:00:52

1:01:09 Right. And when first thing I work. environment yeah sometimes not sometimes i always ask myself do i accept it or do i let it go i mean for me let it go i understand leave it right and today you said that let it go To some extent it's similar, but I understand it is a very abstract idea, definition. So I just would like to ask your opinion in a very specific situation. It is a close working place. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:09 Highlight the passage at 1:01:09

1:01:51 So do we, as employees, when we find it, maybe other people do not fire it, it's fine, but like you, if you fire it, it's a toxic environment for you. Do you accept it or do you do something to change it? Yes. Okay. Very good. Yes. That is actually one of my practices. When we talk about what I was talking about tonight we talk about the mind and what's going in the mind and there we accept and then we let go but then we have to ask ourselves What do we want in life? And we ask ourselves, you know, are we treated fairly or are we not treated fairly? What is okay and what is not okay for us? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:51 Highlight the passage at 1:01:51

1:02:35 And then we take action. But we take action from that place. We don't go like, you're doing this to me and you're just trying to make my life hell and these people are just trying to be happy. They go about it in a very unskillful way and they hurt a lot of people in the process, but most of the people are not, you know, 100 % evil. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:35 Highlight the passage at 1:02:35

1:03:02 I don't think I've met a 100 % evil person yet. So, yes, but then once we've accepted and understood what is happening within and what could make the situation worse, then we gradually, gradually, slowly, slowly in a way approach the situation that we don't inflame it but that we make known what is difficult for us and what we would wish to have changed and then it's always the question how do you talk to those people that are in that position so if you tell them you are doing this to me and you're to be blamed and you can't do this of course they will yeah but if you try to explain to them okay This is what's happening for me. I kind of work in this way. If I were in an environment that would be da-da-da-da-da-da-da and the certain needs that I have would be met, I would be much more productive. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:02 Highlight the passage at 1:03:02

1:04:04 I would be much more relaxed. I would be much more outgoing. I would be much more engaged. And if the other party is willing to say, okay, We have some needs as a workplace but we understand that all the people working in that workplace are the workplace and they have needs as well and the best way to go about this is to make sure that most people's needs are met to the utmost degree possible and that will make everyone happy in that environment but some people are are too fixed in their way and then we have to understand okay your world view and your way to go about things doesn't match with mine at this point in time so rather than being hurt rather than you know creating all these problems and being tired If there were another environment or another place, then we do these things Slowly and over a period of time. Sometimes what happens with those situations is they arise and we get into a mind state and then that mind state colors what's going on to such a degree that we're just like, I have to, I hate this person or I have to leave or I'm, we are very stuck in a certain view and then we're not accepting. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:04 Highlight the passage at 1:04:04

1:05:34 So acceptance is always the first step. But that doesn't mean that we don't protect ourselves if that's needed. Or that we don't stand up or that we don't voice. You know, sometimes people say, oh, Buddhism is just so peaceful that you are treated like a doormat or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:34 Highlight the passage at 1:05:34

1:06:00 And that's not what we're trying to do. We are trying to minimize harm. But yeah, if something doesn't make sense, then sometimes it's time to walk away. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:00 Highlight the passage at 1:06:00

1:06:14 And if it's a situation where we have responsibility, where we know why we are in that place, and we, you know, there is a lot of things that are going for it as well, then we invest in it, then we start to negotiate, then we start to... I described that to another person before. It's like two kids. They're playing a game. And as kids, what you do, you very often kind of invent the rules for the game. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:14 Highlight the passage at 1:06:14

1:06:40 But you want to make sure that it's not just one kid playing the game the way they want. So you tell the kid, I'm happy to play with you, but only if we can agree upon some rules that are okay for you and are okay for me. Then I will play. But if it's just your way or my way, you can play with yourself or find someone else. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:40 Highlight the passage at 1:06:40

1:07:06 So, yeah, there is a give and take. There is a harmony, there is an understanding, there is a respect that has to be there. Does it make more sense now? Yeah, thank you very much. Okay. But it is very tricky and these things are long-term things. I think I believe it in the Vedas. Of course. Oh, yeah. And we also, you know, sometimes we have to remind ourselves we are at work and being paid because It's kind of unpleasant. Otherwise we wouldn't be paid, would we? It's kind of like some kind of deal here. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:06 Highlight the passage at 1:07:06

1:07:53 I mean, if you have a workplace, and it's just, I mean, I felt that way sometimes as a layperson when I was a teacher or when I was looking after the people I was caring for. I felt, wow, this is great. I love this. I would do this even if I wouldn't be paid. But that is not the norm. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:53 Highlight the passage at 1:07:53

1:08:14 If you are in that lucky situation, great. The thing is, as a monastic, I'm not paid anyway. And I enjoy what I'm doing. But, yeah. I know. I'm not trying to compare apples with pears or, you know, apples with oranges or whatever you call that. Anyway. Thank you for the question, but if you have... Follow up or whatever. I'm happy to stay. But I see the time has progressed. So thank you everyone for coming in. And have a good week. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:14 Highlight the passage at 1:08:14

1:08:47 Ajahn Santutthi and the abbot of Chrysalis Hermitage will be here next week. So please come along if you wish to do so. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:47 Highlight the passage at 1:08:47