Not Overwhelmed by Fear and Worry

0:01 Oh, okay, so, um... Welcome to tonight's meditation class at Rolling Stone. I'll be your host for tonight. My name is Venerable Cunda. I've been an ordained monastic for about 15 years. I've been going to different places to teach meditation or to conduct retreat. I just came back from For Melbourne, we just got our new retreat center established and it was open this year in January. Report an error in the passage at 0:01 Highlight the passage at 0:01

0:40 So the retreat was conducted by myself and Bhante Bodhidharma. So the retreat actually went well and it's up in Newbury Buddhist Monastery. And yeah, we didn't expect to be that many people attending. so it was about i think 27 and on the waiting list was about um something like 17 or 18 people on the waiting list so yeah so meditation is quite popular and uh yeah so people are quite interested to um to come and learn and to practice together as a as a practitioner so what i mean by practitioner is people that is practicing to improve their their mind So in Buddhism, we call that training the mind and understanding the body. Because the body, the mind, our feelings and thoughts is something that is conditioned by our mind. Report an error in the passage at 0:40 Highlight the passage at 0:40

1:42 Because if we don't train our mind, then things like fear and anxiety do arise. Because when I was younger, I used to suffer from anxiety and depression. So when I started learning meditation, I realized that my thoughts, my feelings is something that can be separated out through meditation and understanding. Report an error in the passage at 1:42 Highlight the passage at 1:42

2:02 And it actually made me more happier. My health improved. My anxiety basically almost reduced a lot. And then I realized that all my happiness and all my suffering is just a way I think and relate to myself in the world. It's one of the strongest. Emotion is fear. So fear is something that is quite normal and very common. And if we don't understand fear, then it can actually overwhelm our mind. Report an error in the passage at 2:02 Highlight the passage at 2:02

2:34 So what I mean by that is, I'll give you an example. I was basically last year was invited to go to Thailand to visit some of the monastery. And I was thinking about Thailand. I said, wow, Thailand would be great. I go to Thailand, then I can basically practice in the forest and meet all the forest monks. But in Thailand, a lot of the great meditation masters normally live in the monastery in the forest. Report an error in the passage at 2:34 Highlight the passage at 2:34

3:01 But one thing I realized, in the forest, there's also a lot of snakes. And because of the snakes, I thought, oh, jeez, I have to be very careful if they don't come into my kuti. Or if I'm walking from place to place, Report an error in the passage at 3:01 Highlight the passage at 3:01

3:18 i might encounter a snake and because of that i was thinking about it like for a couple of hours and night yeah it actually um got a bit disturbing i think of all the things that might happen how i will encounter snake and how they will basically bite me so so fear fear anxiety they arise a bit then i stopped and wondered have i seen snakes before then one thing i realized yes i have seen so many snakes at Bodhiyana monastery and it wasn't a problem when i saw them because sometimes walking and i saw something oh there's a snake that's interesting so i will stop and just look at the snake and move away i'm counting snakes so many times and sometimes maybe just a meter away and sometimes i'll be standing next to a snake going wow that's nice it's a snake yeah one time i think i saw a snake Three times, one day I saw on the road. The next day I was walking and I heard something moving. I looked down and there was a, I think, a Jew guy. Report an error in the passage at 3:18 Highlight the passage at 3:18

4:27 Then the next day I saw, I think, maybe a tiger snake moving around. A mouse came out, then the snake came out looking for the mouse. And I was so close to the snake, I can actually pat it in the head. But snakes are basically my friends at the monastery because I encounter snakes quite often. And snakes are just like any other beings. Report an error in the passage at 4:27 Highlight the passage at 4:27

4:51 They are there and they are part of the ecosystem. And basically they do keep down some of the creatures in the monastery as a balance. So then I stop and I go. How come I got so worried about snake, thinking about snake in Thailand, and I encountered snake so many times at Bodhiyana Monastery. I wasn't scared. I was just curious. I realized, yes, I have basically created fear in my mind by thinking about snakes in Thailand. Report an error in the passage at 4:51 Highlight the passage at 4:51

5:28 But as for the snakes in Western Australia, Australia, they're actually one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. Actually, we have it in Australia. Report an error in the passage at 5:28 Highlight the passage at 5:28

5:38 But snakes are basically, they're not out to bite people or chase after people. There's a part of the ecosystem in the forest, and I think one of the persons in the monastery have stepped on one before. He stepped on one, he looked down and saw a snake, and he just basically moved away. So snakes in the monastery are quite well behaved. Report an error in the passage at 5:38 Highlight the passage at 5:38

6:02 behavior. The time that I heard the snakes to bite people is when people try and kill it. When they try and kill the snake, they will do what it takes to defend themselves. So that's one thing I heard, not to try and kill a snake, because they will attack if their life are in danger. And same for everyone else. If their life is in danger, they will defend themselves. So I realized snakes are basically my friends at the monastery. Report an error in the passage at 6:02 Highlight the passage at 6:02

6:32 So sometimes I see snakes. and sometimes they will just be just outside my kuti door and um i just watch him they come they look around for something to eat then they they move away so sometimes i walk and there's a snake and i just almost like um just go past it within maybe a meter or sometimes even less and i think i think one time i did have a little baby snake that actually went in to my kuti i woke up i saw them moving around so i look after the oh there's a baby snake So I pick it up with a dustpan and put it in a bucket and took it down to the creek so I can release it. Report an error in the passage at 6:32 Highlight the passage at 6:32

7:12 Yeah, so fear is something that we should learn to understand. And if we don't understand fear, once it overwhelms our thoughts, then it could be a problem. It can be do with work, can be do with things that happen in the world because fear is something that is natural. And when there's a danger, we always be very aware and careful. But sometimes fear can be manufactured in the mind through basically social media or watching the news. Report an error in the passage at 7:12 Highlight the passage at 7:12

7:45 Because fear is what sells. But in terms of our life, sometimes fear is not helpful. We worry about things that will not happen in the future. And when they do happen, It might not be that bad. It might be something that is just, we'll say, something that is not that serious. Because when I think about when I'm traveling overseas, what's the worst thing that happened? The plane crash. But we look at the percentage of a plane crash, it's actually very low. Report an error in the passage at 7:45 Highlight the passage at 7:45

8:24 I think in the car, there's a high chance. of having a car accident than in the plane so so air travel is actually very safe so fear is something that we have to understand because um on the retreat i do realize that people tend to fear too much one thing is old age so sometimes when um some of our practitioners the older they get the more they worry about their body the more they worry about their health to the point where sometimes if they worry too much about their health then it does affect our our body we tend to uh build anxiety so on the retreat there was one lady that she says she have a constant back pain all the time by taking care of an elderly mom so usually we practice body scanning just to relax his body so on the retreat um yes we did a lot of body scanning and when she finished a retreat but going back home she realized her back pain disappeared It's not a problem. It's like somehow she has managed to not worry about it and allow the body to heal. So sometimes if we constantly worry about something like our back pain, sometimes it will get worse. Report an error in the passage at 8:24 Highlight the passage at 8:24

9:40 So sometimes the mind does affect the body. And if we're not careful, we can actually create that illness in our body. So that's one thing I noticed with meditation. We can learn to let this body go. And learn not to worry about it. Then we can actually learn to be at peace with the body. I mean, one reason why I started doing meditation is when I was younger, I used to be quite a sickly person. Report an error in the passage at 9:40 Highlight the passage at 9:40

10:07 Because I used to worry too much, stress out about everything. And once I learned that my stress can be understood and not let go of through a silent, when the mind is silent, you don't worry about something excessively, that's not a problem. And this body is something that we are using as a vehicle. We are born with this body. This body is very useful when we're young. Report an error in the passage at 10:07 Highlight the passage at 10:07

10:33 We can do a lot of things with this body. But as we get older and older, this body tends to fall apart. And sometimes if we worry about it too much, it doesn't help. So when I don't worry about this body too much, I find that it can heal itself quite well. But since I ordained as a monastic, I find I really get sicker. Report an error in the passage at 10:33 Highlight the passage at 10:33

10:53 Because I don't excessively worry about this body too much. And if I do get sick or have any injury, I learn to rest. I learn to recover. And I learn to eat well. And I learn to just do body scanning. So when we do body scanning, you just feel your whole body. Any part of your body that feels tense, that's a bit stiff, that is a bit sore, we learn to loosen it and relax it. Report an error in the passage at 10:53 Highlight the passage at 10:53

11:22 So this class used to be a part of the class at Armadale Hospital. And the doctors find that people who come for the class, they tend to heal more rapidly. And if they do have cancer and stuff, then they can live with the cancer for many, many years. Because we know one person that has, I think, four-stay cancer. Report an error in the passage at 11:22 Highlight the passage at 11:22

11:46 And he just passed away from last year with four-stay cancer. When he basically fell out of a boat and drowned. And he basically had four stage cancer for 15 years. So he actually passed away when he fell off and drowned in the water. Not from cancer, I think from some kind of accident. So yeah, so something like sickness and something that is a part of this body, but we don't try not to worry about it. Report an error in the passage at 11:46 Highlight the passage at 11:46

12:13 Because the more we worry about it, sometimes it does get worse. Report an error in the passage at 12:13 Highlight the passage at 12:13

12:19 Okay, I guess we will start the meditation. Okay, so I guess we will just turn off the lights and just leave the lamp on. I guess maybe the lamp is good. Yes, a bit of light is actually good. So if you haven't done meditation before, just follow my instruction and I'll slowly guide you into meditation. Report an error in the passage at 12:19 Highlight the passage at 12:19

12:45 It's quite basic. It's just learning to connect with this body, connect with our feelings. The mind is a bit subtle, and we allow this mind to settle. The more the mind is subtle, then the more this body can relax. Then the more that we can find peace or stillness or silence in the mind. Because when we are so busy, then sometimes it creates too much unnecessary worry and burden in the mind. Report an error in the passage at 12:45 Highlight the passage at 12:45

13:18 So the more we relax, the more we can recover. I gave a simile at Newbury Ritchie Centre. It's like when it was snowing there, it did snow there on Sunday. It was quite cold. I think sometimes it went down to like sometimes almost minus one degrees on Sunday morning. And I gave the simile as an animal when it's really, really cold and it's hard to find food and it's hard to survive. Report an error in the passage at 13:18 Highlight the passage at 13:18

13:51 survive what animal does is you go on hibernation so animal up north like in in Canada or in in up north in Europe sometimes when it's really really cold the animal will basically fatten up and go to hibernation mode so that way they will conserve a lot of energy and basically just settle their mind and just hibernate all through the winter so that way when they come out in spring they have a a better chance to survive and cope with the um with the um the condition in the forest so same thing with us and when life is tough when we are overwhelmed with duties and worries then what we can do is we can learn the hypnosis and so just come back come back to this body feel the body relax this body as much as possible allow the body to settle down because when the body is settled down and the mind is peaceful and we find that inner peace inner happiness and inner freedom there's something that is always in our heart and mind but we have to go back and find it sometimes when we get too caught up with the world but the world is always always changing it goes by condition and it's always we say can be very chaotic and unstable but what is stable is our mind and our talk Our mind and our feelings, our thoughts can be stable and we'll stay clear if we learn to basically just allow things to calm down and become still. Report an error in the passage at 13:51 Highlight the passage at 13:51

15:29 Okay, so we will start with the meditation. So all you need to do is just bring your awareness to this body and just feel your whole body. And you can move it around and see any part that is still a bit uncomfortable. You can just slowly adjust your body. When your body adjusts it, then you can gently close your eye. And with your eye closed, normally I'll just take three deep breaths just to bring your awareness to the breathing. Report an error in the passage at 15:29 Highlight the passage at 15:29

16:05 So just breathe in, and just breathe out. Just Report an error in the passage at 16:05 Highlight the passage at 16:05

16:13 breathe in, and just breathe out, relax. Report an error in the passage at 16:13 Highlight the passage at 16:13

16:20 Breathe in, and just breathe out, relax. And just breathe normally. Report an error in the passage at 16:20 Highlight the passage at 16:20

16:33 so the breathing is just to bring your awareness to this moment and Report an error in the passage at 16:33 Highlight the passage at 16:33

16:41 it's good to further bring your awareness to this moment to now to this pressure moment awareness to just allow your mind to just settle on this body and just to feel your body on your top all the way down to your leg we call this body scanning Report an error in the passage at 16:41 Highlight the passage at 16:41

17:06 or body awareness just to feel how if your body is tight achy painful or stiff just learn to understand and connect with our body so we can relax it so we start off with the top of our head just feel right at the top of our head our crown is there any tightness or stiffness and just relax relax your muscle and relax your forehead and Report an error in the passage at 17:06 Highlight the passage at 17:06

17:45 we gently bring our awareness to our face and just relax your eyes and relax your eye socket relax Report an error in the passage at 17:45 Highlight the passage at 17:45

17:59 our cheek relax our nose and relax our ears relax our tongue and we relax our jaw and Report an error in the passage at 17:59 Highlight the passage at 17:59

18:21 relax our whole face losing any part Any part, any muscle, anywhere your face is stiff, just loosen it and relax our face. Now Report an error in the passage at 18:21 Highlight the passage at 18:21

18:41 we bring awareness down below our chin to our throat. If our throat is still any itchiness, you can always clear your throat. You can always cough. We clear our throat. Report an error in the passage at 18:41 Highlight the passage at 18:41

19:04 Then we gently bring awareness to our neck. Let's notice our neck. Any stiffness? you can just gently move it around loosen our neck and relax our neck our neck should be nice and straight but not too rigid let's relax the neck and next we gently bring awareness to our upper body that's Report an error in the passage at 19:04 Highlight the passage at 19:04

19:37 connected to our arm socket or if our arm socket is raised up or stiff it's allowed to sag allowed to loosen so we loosen our collarbone loosen Report an error in the passage at 19:37 Highlight the passage at 19:37

19:56 our upper soldier and we allow it to sag and we loosen our back shoulder blade make sure it's nice and loose not too stiff especially if we're working hard at work then Report an error in the passage at 19:56 Highlight the passage at 19:56

20:17 we bring our awareness to our right hand or right arm and just feel our right arm from our collarbone all the way to our elbows and all the way to our wrists and all the way to right hands so you can always gently move it around loosen it and relax the whole of our right arm and hands and Report an error in the passage at 20:17 Highlight the passage at 20:17

20:51 we do the same with our left arm from our left arm socket all the way down to our left elbow just loosen it and relaxing it all the way down to our wrists Report an error in the passage at 20:51 Highlight the passage at 20:51

21:11 And all the way to our left hands, palms and fingers, just relaxing it and loosening it. You can always gently move it around so it's loose and comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 21:11 Highlight the passage at 21:11

21:26 Once it's loose, then we bring our awareness back to our upper body. And we've noticed our chest. If there's any tightness, you can just relax our chest just by breathing calmly and naturally. Report an error in the passage at 21:26 Highlight the passage at 21:26

21:52 Then we gently bring our awareness to our spine and just notice our spine. Make sure it's nice and straight, not too rigid. Then we loosen our spine, relaxing it and loosening it all the way down to our middle spine, relaxing it and loosening it. Then we continue bring our awareness all the way down to our lower spine. Report an error in the passage at 21:52 Highlight the passage at 21:52

22:25 Loosing our lower spine. Report an error in the passage at 22:25 Highlight the passage at 22:25

22:30 Now we bring our awareness to our hip. Make sure our hip is not too tight. Loosing our tummy. Relaxing our kidney. And Report an error in the passage at 22:30 Highlight the passage at 22:30

22:45 next, we gently bring our awareness to our lower back or our bottom. And if you need to, you can gently move it around. Relaxing it and loosing our bottom. Loosing our hips. And Report an error in the passage at 22:45 Highlight the passage at 22:45

23:09 now we're continuing. doing a body scan to our lower body start off from our right leg from our hip all the way down to our knees and all the way down to our ankle our right ankle you can just move it around relaxing and loosing our right leg all the way down to our right feet our ankle to our heels and to our toes just relaxing and loosening our feet and Report an error in the passage at 23:09 Highlight the passage at 23:09

23:51 next we bring our awareness to our left leg same thing just notice any tightness steepness just relaxing it and loosening from our hip to our left knees and all the way down to our ankle and all the way down to our left feet our heels and all the way to our toes Just relaxing it and loosening it. Report an error in the passage at 23:51 Highlight the passage at 23:51

24:30 Once that's loosened and relaxed, then we can bring our awareness to our whole body and just notice any part of our body that's still a bit stiff or tight or still not at ease. You can gently just move it around, adjusting it and relaxing this whole body. Report an error in the passage at 24:30 Highlight the passage at 24:30

24:58 Once the body is relaxed, that's good. You can let it be. And let it go. And allow it to gently fade away in the background. Then we bring our awareness all the way up to our face. And just notice if your face, is it still stiff? Is it still tight? If it is, just relax your face more. But sometimes a lot of tension is all out in the face. So if we can feel it, any stiffness, tightness in our face, especially our forehead. Report an error in the passage at 24:58 Highlight the passage at 24:58

25:37 Then we can relax and loosen our face. Once our face is relaxed and loosened, then we can bring our awareness back to our breathing. Report an error in the passage at 25:37 Highlight the passage at 25:37

25:49 And all you need to do is just notice our breathing. Just breathing in and just breathing out. Sometimes I like to use the word, just breathe in peace and breathe out relax. Report an error in the passage at 25:49 Highlight the passage at 25:49

26:05 Peace, relax. Or sometimes, breathing calm. And breathe out letting go. Calm. Letting go. Just breathe normally. And just breathe gently. Report an error in the passage at 26:05 Highlight the passage at 26:05

26:31 So our breathing is just to bring awareness. To know that we're just breathing. So Report an error in the passage at 26:31 Highlight the passage at 26:31

26:51 while we're staying, knowing our breathing in and breathing out, does allow our thoughts to slowly listen. Report an error in the passage at 26:51 Highlight the passage at 26:51

27:04 As the thought becomes calm, we just are feeling our breathing in and breathing out. Report an error in the passage at 27:04 Highlight the passage at 27:04

27:19 same thing as you become more relaxed and you notice your breathing more your Report an error in the passage at 27:19 Highlight the passage at 27:19

27:32 thoughts will wander that's fine just bring your awareness back to the breathing and back to the body just relaxing this body as much as possible when this body is relaxed it will settle and it slowly fade away but Report an error in the passage at 27:32 Highlight the passage at 27:32

27:56 we are silently aware of our breathing in and out if Report an error in the passage at 27:56 Highlight the passage at 27:56

28:16 our mind still wander On the past, we just remind ourselves, the past has happened. There's nothing we can do. We just let it go. And just be with this moment. And Report an error in the passage at 28:16 Highlight the passage at 28:16

28:35 if we have thoughts of the future, we also let it go. The future is uncertain. Now Report an error in the passage at 28:35 Highlight the passage at 28:35

28:47 is more important. We stay with this moment. We stay with this body. And we stay with our breathing. We know that we're breathing in and out, calmly and peacefully. Report an error in the passage at 28:47 Highlight the passage at 28:47

29:06 We allow our breathing to relax this body and to calm the mind down. Allow this mind to settle. I'll allow our feelings and emotion to settle too. Report an error in the passage at 29:06 Highlight the passage at 29:06

29:32 Because peace is important. When we find peace in our mind, in our heart, then we are free from the emotion of worry and anxiety. And when we have peace, then we are free from our thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 29:32 Highlight the passage at 29:32

29:58 We stay with our breath, allowing the mind to slowly calm down and allow our mind, especially our thoughts, just to become an echo in the background. Thoughts will arise, we stay with our body and our breathing, and thoughts will disappear. So our thinking will become just like an echo in the background. Report an error in the passage at 29:58 Highlight the passage at 29:58

30:24 But we stay with this peace, stay with this breath, and allow our mind to settle. And calm, slowly calm down and Report an error in the passage at 30:24 Highlight the passage at 30:24

30:51 enjoy this peaceful moment. Report an error in the passage at 30:51 Highlight the passage at 30:51

30:58 If nothing to do, nothing to worry. Report an error in the passage at 30:58 Highlight the passage at 30:58

31:05 At peace and free. Report an error in the passage at 31:05 Highlight the passage at 31:05

· · · silence, 1 minute

32:11 If you have any energy or pain or anything arise in the body, it's okay. You can just gently move it around, adjust it and just relax. Relax the body and allow this mind to settle. Report an error in the passage at 32:11 Highlight the passage at 32:11

32:33 And just fade away in the background. And Report an error in the passage at 32:33 Highlight the passage at 32:33

32:40 just gently bring your awareness back to the breathing. Just notice our breathing in and out. Relaxing and calming the body. Report an error in the passage at 32:40 Highlight the passage at 32:40

32:54 And align our thoughts and our feelings to settle. Report an error in the passage at 32:54 Highlight the passage at 32:54

33:05 Meditation is not about stopping our thoughts or feelings. It's just aligning the mind to settle and to relax. So any thoughts that arise, it's just like the clouds. Coming and going. Report an error in the passage at 33:05 Highlight the passage at 33:05

33:27 Or sometimes I like to use the simile. Like the echo in the mind. It comes and it just disappears as Report an error in the passage at 33:27 Highlight the passage at 33:27

· · · silence, 2 minutes

35:39 things become more quiet. You can just learn to relax this body as much as possible. And may make peace with this body. If Report an error in the passage at 35:39 Highlight the passage at 35:39

35:54 you can, just let it disappear in the background. As Report an error in the passage at 35:54 Highlight the passage at 35:54

36:04 this body fades away, then we are free. And Report an error in the passage at 36:04 Highlight the passage at 36:04

36:21 if any thoughts arise, It's just thoughts. It comes and it goes. But we don't get involved. We just let it be. Report an error in the passage at 36:21 Highlight the passage at 36:21

36:36 Our thoughts are just like a child seeking for attention. Report an error in the passage at 36:36 Highlight the passage at 36:36

36:46 But if we leave the inner thoughts alone, then that child will settle. And Report an error in the passage at 36:46 Highlight the passage at 36:46

37:00 the child's inner speech will become silent. So Report an error in the passage at 37:00 Highlight the passage at 37:00

37:27 we have five minutes left. So please enjoy the next five minutes of quiet and peaceful. Report an error in the passage at 37:27 Highlight the passage at 37:27

37:38 mind is quiet things things become silent and peaceful and free you'll Report an error in the passage at 37:38 Highlight the passage at 37:38

· · · silence, 3 minutes

40:49 be finishing soon so it's always good just to be aware how more relaxed your body is and how more quiet the mind is as Report an error in the passage at 40:49 Highlight the passage at 40:49

41:07 we know before and after how more peaceful the mind is so that way you maintain that calm and peace inside mind Report an error in the passage at 41:07 Highlight the passage at 41:07

41:24 is relaxed A mind that is peaceful. A mind that is tranquil. A mind that is completely free. It's happy. So Report an error in the passage at 41:24 Highlight the passage at 41:24

41:45 I'll ring the bell. Just come out three times. After three times, come out slowly. Just Report an error in the passage at 41:45 Highlight the passage at 41:45

42:11 relax. A minute or two. So Report an error in the passage at 42:11 Highlight the passage at 42:11

42:23 meditation is just learning to connect with this body. To feel. To understand. Because sometimes a lot of thoughts and emotions can be... Report an error in the passage at 42:23 Highlight the passage at 42:23

42:38 Translate to this body, especially our back, our upper body and our face. As I noticed on the three-day retreat that myself and Venerable Bodhidaja conducted in Melbourne, actually in Victoria, up in Newbury Buddhist Monastery. Report an error in the passage at 42:38 Highlight the passage at 42:38

43:04 When the retreatants came in, I can notice they're a bit stiff. And their mind can be a bit scattered. And the second day, they're more relaxed. And on the third day, they're more relaxed. Then the last day, I noticed they actually start to enjoy the mind is more peaceful and calm. And when the trip was over, I just noticed people are more relaxed, more calm, also more happier. Report an error in the passage at 43:04 Highlight the passage at 43:04

43:41 For us to find peace in this world. it's a bit rare as we find we try and look for external happiness but it brings a lot of business duties and um we'll say um it's almost like a constant hunger to find external happiness so sometimes people can be very busy just doing things in the world and before you notice our body can be quite tense So it's good to connect to this body and relax it as much as possible. But more important is our mind. If we're not careful, then things like anxiety and worry will build up. Report an error in the passage at 43:41 Highlight the passage at 43:41

44:28 On the first day of the retreat, we did have interviews and we noticed people were talking very fast. So many thoughts and so much emotion coming up. The next day, less talking, less emotion. Then the last day, people were talking less and a bit more happier and more relaxed. So it does take the mind slowly, slowly to settle. Report an error in the passage at 44:28 Highlight the passage at 44:28

44:57 But the more they settle, the more people settle, the more they become at ease and the more free people become inside. Because happiness is something that can be only found in our heart and our mind. Not happiness from our desire, but happiness from our freedom. From getting too attached to the world through the five senses, because if we are attached to the five senses, we'll never find peace. Report an error in the passage at 44:57 Highlight the passage at 44:57

45:28 We'll be always looking for that external happiness. But if we want to find happiness, freedom from our never-ending thoughts and desire, then we look inside our heart. When the mind is calm and peaceful, then we find happiness. Not externally, but internally. Internal happiness and peace. Report an error in the passage at 45:28 Highlight the passage at 45:28

45:54 Okay, so if I have any questions, please ask me. If Report an error in the passage at 45:54 Highlight the passage at 45:54

46:03 not, I'll just continue talking. Report an error in the passage at 46:03 Highlight the passage at 46:03

46:08 So meditation, sometimes you need a support group. And when you have a support group, it's just easier to practice together. Because what meditation does is to purify our mind. Purify our thoughts. Purify our emotions. And also relax this body as much as possible. Because if we are so busy in the world, then we get controlled by the world, by other people, and especially our desires. Report an error in the passage at 46:08 Highlight the passage at 46:08

46:43 Because it never ends. The more we look externally, the more we get controlled. Because I noticed when I have a... If I connect to the internet, I can spend a lot of time. I think they call it doom scoring, where you just look at all the stuff constantly. Report an error in the passage at 46:43 Highlight the passage at 46:43

47:07 So on the retreat, we ask most people to turn off their mobile phone and just basically leave it in the car, or pass it to one of the monks, where we put it in a box and lock it away in the office. So that way they don't have to worry about family and friends. So they have more time just to connect to the body and the mind. And after a while, I think the first day was quite difficult for some people. Report an error in the passage at 47:07 Highlight the passage at 47:07

47:35 But after a while, they found a lot of peace and freedom, not worrying about what's happening in the world. Because sometimes we're so caught up, then we become so responsible with things happening with our friends, our family. Report an error in the passage at 47:35 Highlight the passage at 47:35

47:52 We basically consume our mind to the point where we're just so busy all the time. Even if we are at home, we distract ourselves with having the radio on or music on all the time. And sometimes we distract ourselves and there's no peace and there's no freedom. Because silence is something that we have to learn to develop. Report an error in the passage at 47:52 Highlight the passage at 47:52

48:20 Once we develop silence, then it's very peaceful, it's very calm, not to have things that's distracting our five senses all the time. Because when we don't distract ourselves too much, then we can become more relaxed. And when we are more relaxed, then things like anxiety and worry is lessened. Report an error in the passage at 48:20 Highlight the passage at 48:20

48:46 Okay, what else? Yeah, so with the... With the new retreat center in Newbury, it's called SOS or Century of Silence. So it's basically for people to come in and just get away from work, from families, from jobs, and from basically other people. Because in the world, people are rushing a lot of time. So when I arrived in Victoria, I noticed people were just rushing so much. And yeah, people are so busy. Report an error in the passage at 48:46 Highlight the passage at 48:46

49:32 And it's quite noisy. So it can be very crowded. And people are just rushing all the time. And once they rush so much, they tend to lose the simple things in life. Like just being at home, being with friends, and having time just to read a book. Report an error in the passage at 49:32 Highlight the passage at 49:32

49:52 Enjoy walking in the park. Instead of being controlled by the world, the more we get controlled by the world, the more tense we become. And when we are tense, then we tend to worry too much. So it's good to basically have a break. And for the people that go for the retreat, when they go back home, the feedback from the families. Report an error in the passage at 49:52 Highlight the passage at 49:52

50:21 From the husband or the wife or the kids, they say their family member is a lot more happier and more peaceful. So even the family members can feel it. And they say that they're more happier, less grumpy, basically less explosive and less argument. So that's why, that's the benefit of giving the mind a break. Report an error in the passage at 50:21 Highlight the passage at 50:21

50:45 And also it's very healthy. You become very healthy. via and then When sickness arises, when the mind is peaceful and the body is relaxed, you can actually learn to heal more rapidly. That's something I find when I was a layperson. When I learn to not have too much anxiety and worry, my body tends to be a lot more healthier. Report an error in the passage at 50:45 Highlight the passage at 50:45

51:14 So that's also one benefit. But the main thing is happiness, where you can sleep well, You can wake up well. You don't have bad dreams. Your emotions are more calm and more peaceful. So I find being a Buddhist monk now, it's almost like going back to when I was a child. So when I was a child, I was carefree. Report an error in the passage at 51:14 Highlight the passage at 51:14

51:41 Don't have a concern and worry. But as I got older and older, it felt like the responsibility and the burden of being a young person. It was like someone pressing on my head all the time. Press, press, press. And pressing on my chest. So it's really like getting more restricted and more tight. And the body become more stiff. And my mind can't stop thinking. But when I started doing meditation, I become less and less and less. Report an error in the passage at 51:41 Highlight the passage at 51:41

52:15 And when I joined and become a monastic, it's just like almost like went away. When he went away, I felt like, wow, this is really nice. I felt like I was happy and free as a child again. I thought, okay, maybe if I stay as a monastic for five or eight years, I can basically maybe go back to lay life, enjoy lay life, and reap all the benefits of what I learned as a monastic. Report an error in the passage at 52:15 Highlight the passage at 52:15

52:44 I realized these are conditions, cause and condition. If we feed our mind, With a lot of rubbish, then our mind becomes unhealthy. But we fill our mind with a lot of goodness, then it becomes healthy and free. So I realized staying in the monastery is basically learning to say no, no to the anger, no to the problem, no to the busyness. Report an error in the passage at 52:44 Highlight the passage at 52:44

53:14 So when I say no to all this stuff, I become carefree. And when you're carefree, Your mind becomes lighter, happier, purer, bright and radiant. Also pure. Report an error in the passage at 53:14 Highlight the passage at 53:14

53:31 Okay, I guess we'll finish. And if you have any personal questions, I'm happy to ask any questions. Thank you. Thank you, Bhante. Thank you. So please fly back carefully. Report an error in the passage at 53:31 Highlight the passage at 53:31