Working With Depression - Using Joy

0:01 Thank Report an error in the passage at 0:01 Highlight the passage at 0:01

0:07 you. I getting hot? Yeah, it's a good You're good. Report an error in the passage at 0:07 Highlight the passage at 0:07

0:22 There you go. Report an error in the passage at 0:22 Highlight the passage at 0:22

0:27 Thank you. you. That's what she said. Report an error in the passage at 0:27 Highlight the passage at 0:27

1:23 Yes. Report an error in the passage at 1:23 Highlight the passage at 1:23

1:35 Sorry. Oh, yeah, that'd be great. I mean, David's been doing it. Not handing it out now. So we're going to start. Report an error in the passage at 1:35 Highlight the passage at 1:35

1:47 As soon as you can grab your teas and come on in, Report an error in the passage at 1:47 Highlight the passage at 1:47

1:54 you can grab your cookie and come on in. She's like no. And just to answer that question, it is totally okay to bring tea and cookie in here. This is a Tibetan center. We do it all the time. So welcome. I know some faces are new and I really want to thank people for coming and welcome you here. Report an error in the passage at 1:54 Highlight the passage at 1:54

2:17 So before we bring down Sangye Khadro, I just wanted to tell you of a couple of things that are coming up that might be of interest. For new students, sorry, I'm always afraid it's going to fall on the person. Report an error in the passage at 2:17 Highlight the passage at 2:17

2:34 For newer people, we're going to start a new Discovering Buddhism class this week called Presenting the Path and I'm going to teach it and it'll be seven weeks and it's going to go through the whole Report an error in the passage at 2:34 Highlight the passage at 2:34

2:48 Lamrim, really, basically in its essential form. So the three principle paths. So we're going to go through renunciation, bodhicitta and the correct view. And also talk about the Buddha's life. So it's actually great for new people as well as advanced beginning students. And that's Thursday nights starting this week for seven weeks. And then also Geshe-la, our resident teacher, is going to lead a Genresic retreat in a couple of weeks. Report an error in the passage at 2:48 Highlight the passage at 2:48

3:14 The weekend of the 20th, 21st and 22nd. And that's fine for people to come for just one session to try it out or if you want to come for the whole thing or maybe one whole day or like that. That ends the morning of the 22nd and then we're going to do a long life puja in some form yet to be determined for Geshe-la. Report an error in the passage at 3:14 Highlight the passage at 3:14

3:34 So it may be incredibly abbreviated. We're not sure. That'll be the afternoon of the 22nd. So if anybody has a connection with Geshe-la and would like to come for that. And then you can step this way. And then on the weekend of the 3rd, 4th and 5th, Venerable Steve Carlier is coming up and he's going to do a weekend on understanding karma. Report an error in the passage at 3:34 Highlight the passage at 3:34

3:57 And that's really made for students who are both beginning and intermediate. So it's really all levels of students for that one. More will be. I'll get a flyer made soon. It's currently in process. But we will have some other flyers in the back by the end. I see some people still coming in. Report an error in the passage at 3:57 Highlight the passage at 3:57

4:16 Anyway, okay, so welcome. And I think I saw her milling about, so I'll bring her in. Thanks. Oh, one last thing. If you're new to us and you're not used to it, when you ask questions, and she will allow questions and so forth, we're going to pass around the mic. Partly it's for amplification for everybody to be able to hear, and partly it's because we record. Report an error in the passage at 4:16 Highlight the passage at 4:16

4:35 I actually record everything that gets taught here, so come on in. Report an error in the passage at 4:35 Highlight the passage at 4:35

· · · silence, 2 minutes

6:35 So welcome everyone. And I was asked to give a talk today about depression, how to deal with depression. So I wonder if those of you who came to this talk, does that mean you're depressed? Report an error in the passage at 6:35 Highlight the passage at 6:35

6:52 Maybe that's not a laughing matter. How many of you feel that you experience depression sometimes? Report an error in the passage at 6:52 Highlight the passage at 6:52

7:02 I sometimes wonder if everybody does sometimes. Report an error in the passage at 7:02 Highlight the passage at 7:02

7:10 So what I'm going to do today is just talk for a while about this topic and explain some methods based on the Buddhist teachings that might help us deal with depression. And we'll do some meditation on one of these methods. And then at the end, If there's time, we can also have questions. So I've made a handout, put together some material that I've collected, and I'm not sure if we have enough for everyone, but I think we can make more in case there's a need. Report an error in the passage at 7:10 Highlight the passage at 7:10

7:56 Try these out and see. Report an error in the passage at 7:56 Highlight the passage at 7:56

· · · silence, 1 minute

8:28 I'm pretty sure we're going to need more because I count 24, 25 people, and there were only 18. Report an error in the passage at 8:28 Highlight the passage at 8:28

8:47 Anyway, I'll go ahead and start talking and you'll get your copy along the way. So I'm kind of wondering if I'm really qualified to talk about depression. Some people might think I'm not because I'm not a psychiatrist. I'm not a psychologist. I haven't even studied Western psychology. Report an error in the passage at 8:47 Highlight the passage at 8:47

9:12 So where I'm coming from in this is A person who I feel has experienced depression, although I never went to a psychologist and got a diagnosis, but I can't help but think that if I did at those times when I felt depressed, they would probably say, yes, you're depressed and here's some pills. Report an error in the passage at 9:12 Highlight the passage at 9:12

9:38 So I've had my own experiences of depression. But. Report an error in the passage at 9:38 Highlight the passage at 9:38

9:44 I've been in Buddhism since 1973, so that's about 37 years or something. So that's the main source of my knowledge of the mind and the different experiences that can occur in the mind. But even though in Buddhism, particularly I think Tibetan Buddhism, there's so much information about the mind, what is the mind, Report an error in the passage at 9:44 Highlight the passage at 9:44

10:14 What are the different types of experiences that can occur in the mind? I haven't come across much about depression. In fact, in the traditional teachings, there really isn't any explanation of depression. That particular word is not used. And there's something that seems similar to that. in the Some of you might be familiar with the teachings on what's called low rake or mind and what's it called, mind and awareness. Report an error in the passage at 10:14 Highlight the passage at 10:14

10:48 And in that there's an explanation of different mental factors. The traditional explanation is 51 different mental factors. These are kind of different facets of the mind or experience. Some of these can be negative, some can be positive, some are neutral and so on. So one of these is... Laziness. And there's different types of laziness. Report an error in the passage at 10:48 Highlight the passage at 10:48

11:20 And one type of laziness is called the laziness of discouragement. And the way it's explained is it's a feeling of kind of hopelessness. For example, when you hear about the possibility of attaining enlightenment or other very high states of mind, you may feel, oh, I can't do that. laziness. Report an error in the passage at 11:20 Highlight the passage at 11:20

· · · silence, 1 minute

11:43 That's not possible for me. So you feel kind of discouraged about being able to achieve something. So that sounds similar to depression or at least some forms of depression. Depression can involve this feeling of kind of looking down on yourself or putting yourself down or feeling, having a very kind of negative self-image and low self-esteem and feeling incapable of achieving anything Does that sound right? I mean, there may be other forms of depression as well. Anyway, that's something I found in the traditional teachings that seem similar to depression. Report an error in the passage at 11:43 Highlight the passage at 11:43

12:29 Has anyone else ever heard any Buddhist teachings, traditional Buddhist teachings on depression? There's one Geshi, one Lama, Geshi Tashi. Who's been living in the West, he teaches in London, in the Jamyang Centre in London. But he's been in the West for a long time and knows English really well. He teaches in English and he's quite familiar with Western people, Western culture. And I once heard him say that he just doesn't understand depression. Report an error in the passage at 12:29 Highlight the passage at 12:29

13:07 He hears people talking about depression and he really tries. To understand what it is, but he just can't. He's a really happy person. And it seems most Tibetans are. They seem to be quite happy and positive and optimistic people. So it makes me wonder if depression even exists in Tibetan culture or maybe even in other Asian cultures. Report an error in the passage at 13:07 Highlight the passage at 13:07

13:39 And I know another... It's like... Report an error in the passage at 13:39 Highlight the passage at 13:39

13:42 Another Western student, a nun, young nun, who has suffered from depression most of her life, and she said when she tried to talk to her teacher, her Lama, about being depressed, just telling him that she was feeling depressed and this and that, and he would say to her, just be happy. Why can't you just be happy? So I think that also shows a lack of understanding of what it's like. Report an error in the passage at 13:42 Highlight the passage at 13:42

14:11 It's not something you can just immediately snap out of when you want to. Of course, you would like to, but you don't know how you can't do that. So what I'm trying to say here is that my main source of knowledge is the Buddhist teachings, but there isn't really a body of information about depression and what to do about depression. Report an error in the passage at 14:11 Highlight the passage at 14:11

14:35 However, having said that, because I have my own experience of depression, And I have been trying to learn about and trying to practice the Buddhist teachings most of my life, actually. And I have found that some aspects of the Buddhist teachings, some types of practices, have been helpful for me. You know, because I can say now that I don't really, I sometimes feel a little bit depressed. A little bit of depression comes up, but it doesn't last long. Report an error in the passage at 14:35 Highlight the passage at 14:35

15:10 So I can say in my own experience that I feel like I've kind of recovered, maybe. Maybe that's too optimistic. But anyway, I don't suffer. I don't suffer from depression like I used to. So I feel that these teachings on the mind and also the methods, the meditations for working on the mind can be helpful. Report an error in the passage at 15:10 Highlight the passage at 15:10

15:35 So I'd just like to share with you. Some of these things that I've learned. Report an error in the passage at 15:35 Highlight the passage at 15:35

15:44 Okay, so I'll just share, like I said, my own thoughts and minor experiences and later on we can have some discussion if you'd like to share, if you have different experiences and would like to share those, we can do that. Report an error in the passage at 15:44 Highlight the passage at 15:44

16:01 So it's now... When it comes to psychiatry and psychology, they probably have very technical definitions of depression, and there's probably many different types of depression. Are anyone here a psychologist? Maybe a psychologist? Yes? Okay. But there are different types of depression, right? Report an error in the passage at 16:01 Highlight the passage at 16:01

16:25 Yeah, so it's kind of a complex. It's not just like all depression is the same. Everyone's symptoms are the same. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 16:25 Highlight the passage at 16:25

16:37 Anyway, she was just saying, she's just agreeing with me. There are different types of depression in different degrees and it's not always the same for everybody. So in general I think we can say that the state of mind of depression is kind of dark and heavy and unhappy. It's not a happy state of mind, it's quite an unhappy state of mind. And it usually involves kind of negative thoughts, negative ways of thinking. Report an error in the passage at 16:37 Highlight the passage at 16:37

17:10 That could be directed towards yourself, negative thoughts about yourself. It could also be negative thoughts about other people and about the world and about everything, the whole universe. I remember sometimes in the past just feeling everything appeared really dark and black and horrible. There was no light anywhere, nothing beautiful or joyful or pleasant anywhere. Report an error in the passage at 17:10 Highlight the passage at 17:10

17:37 So it tends to be a... Negative, negative state of mind, negative way of thinking and lacking in positive thoughts, positive feelings, positive ways of thinking. Report an error in the passage at 17:37 Highlight the passage at 17:37

17:52 And just Report an error in the passage at 17:52 Highlight the passage at 17:52

17:58 in my own experience, coming to understand the mind and also becoming more aware of my mind and what's going on in my mind, I can see that the kind of thoughts you have when you're depressed are usually not very realistic. They tend to be exaggerated. You know, seeing things in a negative way. Like, for example, they have this saying about the glass. Report an error in the passage at 17:58 Highlight the passage at 17:58

18:26 Glass, if it's half full of water, some people see it as half full, some people see it as half empty. So a depressed person, I think, tends to see it as half empty. Like, what's missing? What's not there that should be there that you want to be there? It's difficult to see the positive side of things. Does that sound familiar? Report an error in the passage at 18:26 Highlight the passage at 18:26

18:56 In general, what we do in Buddhism is to check our mind, check our thoughts, our way of thinking, rather than just following them. You know, just like whatever kinds of thoughts, whatever kinds of feelings, whatever state of mind happens to come up, you just follow it, you just go with it, you believe in it, like this is true, this is reality. Report an error in the passage at 18:56 Highlight the passage at 18:56

19:20 So instead of that, we, you know, we like have doubt about our mind, about what our mind is saying. Because in fact, I'll just, are some of you here for the first time? Are you coming to this? So you're not so familiar with Buddhism. Okay, so let me just explain a little bit about the Buddhist view of things. Report an error in the passage at 19:20 Highlight the passage at 19:20

19:47 And the mind. This is a really big topic in Buddhism. What is the mind? So according to Buddhism, every one of us is basically a combination of a body and a mind. A person has a body and a mind. And the body is that part of us that's physical, material. Made of cells, molecules, atoms, blood, bones and so forth. And then the mind, on the other hand, is non-physical. Report an error in the passage at 19:47 Highlight the passage at 19:47

20:19 It's not something made of cells and atoms, molecules. It doesn't have any physical properties at all. So it can't be seen, it can't be touched, it can't be measured or investigated with a microscope or any other instruments. So it's non-physical. Report an error in the passage at 20:19 Highlight the passage at 20:19

20:39 And it's that part of us that is aware, that knows, that experiences. And it can experience in different ways. One way is by emotions. So all the different types of emotions or feelings that we have. Sometimes happiness, sometimes unhappiness, sometimes we feel love, sometimes we feel angry, sometimes we... Report an error in the passage at 20:39 Highlight the passage at 20:39

21:05 We feel kind of calm and peaceful. Sometimes we feel agitated and disturbed. So there's many different types of emotions that we have or feelings. So those are all the mind. It's the mind that is experiencing those. And also our thoughts. All the thoughts that we have. Probably billions, zillions every day of thoughts in our mind. Those are also the mind. It's the mind that has thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 21:05 Highlight the passage at 21:05

21:35 And memories are also part of the mind. And so it's like all day long there's things happening in our mind. All the different kinds of experiences, thinking and feeling. Also just our basic perceptions like seeing. Our five senses. Seeing, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Those are also part of the mind rather than the body or the brain. And even when we're asleep at night our mind is still active. Report an error in the passage at 21:35 Highlight the passage at 21:35

22:06 Experiencing things, dreams, sometimes there's a dream, so those are the mind. And it's said that even in dreamless sleep, you know, we're asleep, we're unconscious and there's not even any dreams going on, but still the mind is there and experiencing something. So it goes all continuously, 24 hours a day, and it's constantly changing, having different types of experiences. Report an error in the passage at 22:06 Highlight the passage at 22:06

22:32 And each experience is transitory, fleeting. It comes and goes, comes and goes, comes and goes. So they use the analogy of a river or a stream for the mind. It's not just one solid static phenomena sitting there inside of us, but it's more like a river of ever-changing experiences. Report an error in the passage at 22:32 Highlight the passage at 22:32

22:58 So within the mind, there are some experiences that are called positive. And those are experiences that bring about good results, like feeling good, being happy and also being healthy. The kind of experiences that happen in our mind do affect our body, our health. So if we have more positive states of mind, then we'll be more healthy physically. Report an error in the passage at 22:58 Highlight the passage at 22:58

23:27 And also our states of mind can affect other people. If we are in a positive state of mind, we're happy. If we're in a good mood and we're kind, we treat others in a kind way, then that will affect them. They'll probably feel more comfortable and happy as well. Report an error in the passage at 23:27 Highlight the passage at 23:27

23:46 On the other hand, there are some states of mind that are said to be negative, and that is because they bring about bad results, both for oneself, who's experiencing them, and for other people. For example, anger or hatred. That makes us tense, makes our mind kind of disturbed. Tense, unhappy, it can also affect our body, our health, and it can also affect other people because when we are angry and we act in an angry way, we speak in an angry way, even if we're just giving off kind of angry vibrations, then the people around us can be affected by that. Report an error in the passage at 23:46 Highlight the passage at 23:46

24:25 You know, they feel kind of uneasy, uncomfortable, maybe even frightened or hurt. You know, if we actually act or speak in an angry way, then... Others can be hurt by that. So positive states of mind bring about positive results. Negative states of mind bring about negative results. So in general, the idea of Buddhism, the purpose of learning and practicing Buddhism is to work on the mind, to reduce the negative states of mind and increase the positive states of mind. Report an error in the passage at 24:25 Highlight the passage at 24:25

25:00 And this is done for our own well-being. Have more happiness and less suffering, but also for the welfare of others because our destructive emotions, our negative emotions can become so destructive to others as we can see in the world. Wars, terrorism, violent crime, abuse, rape. So these kind of actions, this kind of behavior that people engage in sometimes, it starts from their mind. Report an error in the passage at 25:00 Highlight the passage at 25:00

25:32 It comes about because of negative states of mind and then it can create so many problems to others, so many problems in the world. So it's for everybody's benefit that we work on our mind and try to decrease the negative aspects and increase the positive aspects. Report an error in the passage at 25:32 Highlight the passage at 25:32

25:52 And we can do that. This is another thing. Because I think people sometimes think they can't change their mind. They are the way they are and that's it. There's nothing they can do about it. But according to Buddhism, that's not the case. It is possible to change the mind. It takes some time and effort. Report an error in the passage at 25:52 Highlight the passage at 25:52

26:13 It's not sort of easy and quick, but it does work. I can say that from my own experience. The mind can be changed. And then within the Buddha's teachings, there are many methods that can be used to change the mind. Report an error in the passage at 26:13 Highlight the passage at 26:13

26:34 And some of these methods can be used in meditation, like doing formal meditation practice, sitting in a particular way and doing certain things with your mind. But you can also do this in a more informal way. For example, when you're walking around or sitting on a bus or being with people. If you know how to work on your mind, you can be kind of checking your mind. Report an error in the passage at 26:34 Highlight the passage at 26:34

27:01 Changing your mind, fixing your mind, even when you're in those kind of situations. So you don't have to be in a formal meditation situation to work on your mind. But it's good to at least have that experience because you learn how to do this first in a meditation situation and then when you get more familiar with it and more good at it, then you can take that into other situations as well. Report an error in the passage at 27:01 Highlight the passage at 27:01

27:33 So I think we can probably agree that depression is a negative state of mind. Yeah, not a positive state of mind. So that means we want to do something about it. We want to figure out ways to decrease it and become free of it so that we can have more happiness and also give more happiness to other people. Report an error in the passage at 27:33 Highlight the passage at 27:33

27:59 Because I think we, I'm sure we all find that when we're in a depressed state of mind, you don't have much in a way of positive energy, kind of joyful, generous energy to give to others. And you might feel like you're dragging others down, which I think it probably does happen. For example, one friend of mine, I'm living in Italy right now and there's one, another nun there whose mother suffers from depression. Report an error in the passage at 27:59 Highlight the passage at 27:59

28:28 And she recently went through quite a serious depression and my friend went home to stay with her and try to help her. And she said, you know, it just really drains her energy, just trying to be with her mother and help her mother. It's really exhausting. So it does affect the people around us. And I'm sure we don't want that, right? We don't want to drag people down and make them unhappy and drain their energy. Report an error in the passage at 28:28 Highlight the passage at 28:28

28:57 If we have our wish, we want to give energy to people and be beneficial for them and not cause problems to them. Okay, so I'm going to go through some of these methods. Does everyone have a copy of this now? Report an error in the passage at 28:57 Highlight the passage at 28:57

29:16 So these are methods for working on the mind. and now I don't want to say that Only with these methods you can cure your depression because I think there are some cases of depression that could be quite serious, chronic, and just working with your mind in these ways may not be enough. You might need other help. You might need to take medication. You might need to see a therapist. You might need a more Western approach. Report an error in the passage at 29:16 Highlight the passage at 29:16

29:59 Right down at the bottom of the first page, there's a web link. I found this material a few years ago. I just googled depression. I came up with this website called clinicaldepression.co.uk and they offer this program they call the Learning Path. And you can buy it. They offer, you know. A set of audio tapes, recordings and some written material. But you can also download. Report an error in the passage at 29:59 Highlight the passage at 29:59

30:38 They have this document, which is actually quite long, more than 100 pages, I think, which is downloadable for free. And it's very interesting. So you can download that if you're interested. And they mention that the United States government did a... of study Report an error in the passage at 30:38 Highlight the passage at 30:38

31:03 Actually, it's on the back page, second page. There's a set of bullet points. The third bullet point says, a study done by the U.S. government that went over 15 years and examined 100,000 pieces of research, they conclude that the best therapies are cognitive and interpersonal. Report an error in the passage at 31:03 Highlight the passage at 31:03

31:30 What I remember from reading this document was they said that just medication alone isn't enough and it can actually be problematic. There are sometimes side effects from medication and it can be even dependent on addicted to medication and it doesn't really solve the problem because the problem with depression, as I also conclude from my understanding, is negative ways of thinking. Report an error in the passage at 31:30 Highlight the passage at 31:30

32:01 And so what you really need to do is learn to change your way of thinking. Just taking medication might give you some temporary relief, but if you don't learn how to change your way of thinking, then the problem will come back. Report an error in the passage at 32:01 Highlight the passage at 32:01

32:16 So this was the conclusion by this study. So it recommended therapy, but not just any kind of therapy. Some types of therapies aren't helpful and could even make things worse. Report an error in the passage at 32:16 Highlight the passage at 32:16

32:30 The therapies that are helpful are cognitive and interpersonal. Anyway, so that's just, we can go more into that later. But anyway, that kind of affirms my point here that by learning to work on our mind, our way of thinking, we can get relief from depression. Report an error in the passage at 32:30 Highlight the passage at 32:30

33:03 Even if you do need to take medication for a period of time, it's important to not only do that, to not only go that route, but also learn ways of changing your thoughts, your thinking, which is really what Buddhism is all about. How to change our patterns of thought, what's going on in our mind. Okay, so one method here, point number one, is to check What's going on in your mind? To try to take a step back from the thoughts that are running around in your mind and look at them in an objective way rather than just being completely caught up in them. Report an error in the passage at 33:03 Highlight the passage at 33:03

33:50 And see if you can detect ways of thinking that are negative. So for example, I'm worthless. Nobody loves me. Nobody cares about me. I never do anything right. Have you ever noticed those kinds of thoughts in your mind? Kind of very negative, self-critical, self-judgmental, self-hating. Report an error in the passage at 33:50 Highlight the passage at 33:50

34:16 Now maybe, you know, for some people it might be easy to see this happening in their mind, but maybe for some people it takes more time. And that's why meditation can be very helpful. Because when we practice meditation, we... Report an error in the passage at 34:16 Highlight the passage at 34:16

34:34 You know, it's quite a different thing than what we normally do in our life. Normally we're so busy, you know, very, very busy, physically busy, running around doing things. And also our senses tend to be quite busy paying attention to what's going on outside of us, around us, looking, hearing and smelling and tasting and so on. Report an error in the passage at 34:34 Highlight the passage at 34:34

34:54 So we're very much involved with the outside world. And we're not so... Aware of or involved in our internal world, what's going on in our own mind. So when we practice meditation, we reverse that and we try to sit still for a period of time, which can be difficult for some people. We try to sit still on one seat, one place and close our eyes and Report an error in the passage at 34:54 Highlight the passage at 34:54

35:28 So we're not looking at TV, we're not looking at a computer screen, we're not talking on the phone, we're not talking to anybody in person. So we're kind of taking our senses away from the outside world and becoming more aware of our inside world, what's happening in our own mind. So in the process of doing that, the more you do that, the more you become aware of your internal mind, your internal world, your thoughts, your feelings, what's going on inside. Report an error in the passage at 35:28 Highlight the passage at 35:28

35:59 And I think what we discover, those of us who do practice meditation, is that the mind is very complex. I think of it sometimes like an ocean, like the Pacific Ocean, which is very, very deep. And the deeper you go, the more kind of strange things you find. Report an error in the passage at 35:59 Highlight the passage at 35:59

36:21 And there's like new things to discover all the time. So, I mean, that's definitely my experience. 37 years and I'm still discovering things about myself. Things in my mind that I didn't see before. So our mind is quite an interesting thing to explore. Report an error in the passage at 36:21 Highlight the passage at 36:21

36:44 And it's so important to explore our mind because this is the source of all our experiences. Whether we're happy, whether we're unhappy, whether we feel love or hatred, whether we feel good or bad, whatever experiences we have. Whatever feelings, emotions we have and also the way we are with people, the way we talk to people, the way we be with people, it all has its source in our mind. Report an error in the passage at 36:44 Highlight the passage at 36:44

37:10 It's all coming from inside. So if we don't know our mind, if we don't explore our mind and things just pop up and suddenly we find ourselves doing something that afterwards we regret and actually maybe could be something quite destructive, Maybe even take us to jail, to prison. This happens. Yeah, I know this guy who's been in prison for 40 years since he was 19 years old because he killed somebody. Report an error in the passage at 37:10 Highlight the passage at 37:10

37:43 And he said he used to just, he would just act on whatever emotion came up. So whatever came up in his mind, he would go with it and do it. So he ended up killing somebody and he's been in jail 40 years, more than 40 years as a result of that. So, it's... It's a good idea to become more aware of our mind and learn how to work on our mind. Report an error in the passage at 37:43 Highlight the passage at 37:43

38:12 Okay, so anyway, the point here is to learn to do that, to look inside and try to become aware of what our mind is saying, what kind of thoughts are going on, and see if we can detect negative thoughts like these, self-deprecating, self-flagellating. Self-hating. And then don't just believe those thoughts. Don't just follow those thoughts, but check. Report an error in the passage at 38:12 Highlight the passage at 38:12

38:43 Is this true? Just like when you turn on the TV, you know, and there's some person trying to sell you this product and telling you all the wonderful things about this product. And if you just pay so much money, you can have this product and do all these wonderful things. Do you immediately believe? I mean, some people do, of course. Report an error in the passage at 38:43 Highlight the passage at 38:43

39:04 But some of us are kind of skeptical. Maybe we've been burned before, so we know. So it's good to have some skepticism about what our mind is saying. Report an error in the passage at 39:04 Highlight the passage at 39:04

39:16 So if your mind is saying, I'm worthless, I'm hopeless, nobody loves me, I never do anything right, I'm a failure, and things like that, it's good to be skeptical about that and say, is this really true? Report an error in the passage at 39:16 Highlight the passage at 39:16

39:32 And it may be difficult to do this. On your own, like with meditation. You might need help from a therapist or a friend. Or another thing would be to write things down. Like maybe write down the negative thoughts that are going on in your mind. Maybe go to take a paper and make two columns and write down all the negative thoughts, the negative things your mind is saying about yourself. Report an error in the passage at 39:32 Highlight the passage at 39:32

39:55 And then see if you can think of some positive things about yourself. For example, if your mind is saying, nobody loves me, check to see if that's true. Yeah? Are there people who love you? What about your mother? Your father? Yeah? So make a list of people who love you and who care about you. Report an error in the passage at 39:55 Highlight the passage at 39:55

40:18 And then you can see that that thought is not correct. It's not true. It's not realistic. Or if you think, I never do anything right. Is that really true? Or can you write down some things you did that were good, that went well? So do you get the point? It's to kind of challenge these negative thoughts in the mind, check to see if they're true or not, rather than just blindly believing them. Report an error in the passage at 40:18 Highlight the passage at 40:18

40:52 And then Report an error in the passage at 40:52 Highlight the passage at 40:52

41:00 it's good to learn to think more positively, to try to change the habitual negative self-deprecating types of thoughts by deliberately bringing up positive thoughts. There are people who love me, so and so and so and so. Go through the people who love you. Realize that you are loved. Or if your mind is saying, I never do anything right. Report an error in the passage at 41:00 Highlight the passage at 41:00

41:25 Just go through the list of things that you've done that are good, the good qualities that you have. So counteract those negative thoughts by training yourself to think positively. Report an error in the passage at 41:25 Highlight the passage at 41:25

41:41 In the Tibetan Buddhist, well it's not just Tibetan Buddhism, this goes back to the teachings of the Buddha. There's a meditation that we do which is called appreciating our human life, our precious human life. Because the Buddha said that human life is really precious compared with other types of life, for example animals. Report an error in the passage at 41:41 Highlight the passage at 41:41

42:07 I mean animals are precious too, but they're more limited. In their ability to even have a comfortable life and help others, but mainly in terms of spiritual development. According to Buddhism, every person, every being, in fact, has the ability or the potential to transform their mind in the sense of getting rid of all the negative aspects of the mind and developing... Report an error in the passage at 42:07 Highlight the passage at 42:07

42:42 The positive aspects of the mind and getting to the point of being enlightened, attaining the state of enlightenment which is like a totally purified, totally positive, totally blissful state of mind full of only positive qualities like love and compassion and wisdom and joy. Like a perfect being. So we have the potential to do that, to become that. And so from the Buddhist point of view, to deprecate oneself, to say, oh I'm useless, I'm horrible, My life has no meaning. These kind of very negative thoughts. It's just completely wrong. It's completely untrue. So thinking in that way is mistaken. Report an error in the passage at 42:42 Highlight the passage at 42:42

43:25 It's a wrong way of thinking. Report an error in the passage at 43:25 Highlight the passage at 43:25

43:30 Some of you may have, if you've been coming to teachings here or in other Buddhist centers, you may have heard about this meditation on the preciousness of the human life. so... Report an error in the passage at 43:30 Highlight the passage at 43:30

43:41 This can be something that can help us to have a more positive view of ourselves and also our life. Because we can think, my mind has positive qualities and the negative qualities in my mind are not permanent. They're not things that will be there forever. We say they're like... Clouds that go through the sky or like pollution. It's not a permanent part of the sky. So in the same way the negative thoughts and emotions are not permanent parts of our mind and they can be reduced and eventually eliminated and the positive qualities can be developed and I can become an enlightened being and then I can be of benefit to others. Report an error in the passage at 43:41 Highlight the passage at 43:41

44:27 I can just put all my time and energy into helping others. It takes time to do that. It takes... Not just something we can do in a few days or weeks or months, but even before we reach enlightenment, as long as we're working in that direction, we become a happier person and our ability to help others increases. Report an error in the passage at 44:27 Highlight the passage at 44:27

44:50 So we don't have to wait till we're enlightened to be more happy and more helpful to others. So it increases as we go along. So we have that ability and that potential. Whereas other types of beings, like a fly for example, Report an error in the passage at 44:50 Highlight the passage at 44:50

45:05 Isn't able to do that because they just don't have the kind of mind, the kind of intelligence that can understand their potential and can transform themselves. Report an error in the passage at 45:05 Highlight the passage at 45:05

45:18 So as human beings, most human beings do have an intelligent mind and we're able to reason, we're able to understand what's right and wrong and what's true and false. And if we are taught methods for changing our mind, we can use them. We can do them. So we can change our mind. And that's something that other types of beings like animals and insects are not able to do. Report an error in the passage at 45:18 Highlight the passage at 45:18

45:45 For example, if you have a cat and your cat is always trying to chase mice and birds and other kinds of creatures and kill them and you try to tell your cat, please don't do that. They want to live too. Please respect the lives of others. Report an error in the passage at 45:45 Highlight the passage at 45:45

46:04 Is the cat able to understand that? So as a human being, even a young child, can understand that and can follow your advice. They may not want to, but at least they have the ability to. So this is the beauty of human life, human existence, the human mind. Report an error in the passage at 46:04 Highlight the passage at 46:04

46:29 So I don't have time to go into the whole explanation of that. If you're interested, there's actually in the book I wrote called How to Meditate, there is an explanation of that meditation on the preciousness of the human life. So if you think that might be helpful, you could get a hold of that and try out that meditation. Otherwise, like I say, just try to counteract the negative patterns of thinking, the habitual, self-deprecating, self-critical types of thoughts and try to introduce... Report an error in the passage at 46:29 Highlight the passage at 46:29

47:03 Positive ways of thinking. And like I say, if it's difficult to do this on your own just by sitting and thinking, you could do it by writing. Some people find it more effective to write things down, like keep a journal or make it a point of spending a little bit of time each day writing positive things. Report an error in the passage at 47:03 Highlight the passage at 47:03

47:24 Five positive things about yourself in your life or ten positive things or even one. Whatever much time you have, just writing down. Good things about yourself and good things about your life. And make it a point to remember that, to remind yourself of that. Does that make sense? Report an error in the passage at 47:24 Highlight the passage at 47:24

47:50 Another method, number two on the list, is to do mindfulness meditation. So this has actually become quite well known and popular. Report an error in the passage at 47:50 Highlight the passage at 47:50

48:02 And I've heard, some people have told me that through the practice of mindfulness meditation they have recovered even from really serious depression. Report an error in the passage at 48:02 Highlight the passage at 48:02

48:14 So, as I explained before, with mindfulness meditation we become more aware of what is going on in our mind without being caught up in it. This is what you actually do when you're practicing mindfulness. It's like you take a sort of stance of being calm and clear and just watching the thoughts, the emotions, the feelings, perceptions, whatever is taking place in your mind without just... Report an error in the passage at 48:14 Highlight the passage at 48:14

48:43 You know, reacting to or following whatever is happening. Just understanding that all these experiences are impermanent, like waves, you know, when you're at the sea, the waves come and then break and then go out again. So like waves of the ocean or like clouds going through the sky, you know, they just come and go. So these are analogies that can help us understand the way our mind works. Report an error in the passage at 48:43 Highlight the passage at 48:43

49:10 Thoughts arise and then they pass. Emotions arise and then they pass. And this is something you can see for yourself. You can experience this for yourself through practicing mindfulness. So then you learn that you don't have to just follow, get caught up in and let yourself become hijacked. I like that term somebody used. Being hijacked by negative thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 49:10 Highlight the passage at 49:10

49:38 It's really like that. Sometimes our mind, our whole being can get hijacked by anger or depression or anxiety. It's like we're just taken over by those particular states of mind and we just get completely stuck in them. So we can learn not to do that through practicing meditation, especially mindfulness meditation. We can learn to just observe a particular type of thought or emotion coming up and we can see it come and go. Report an error in the passage at 49:38 Highlight the passage at 49:38

50:09 And we don't get hijacked by it. We don't get caught up in it. Because as I said, the Buddhist explanation is that all the things that happen in our mind are impermanent. And this isn't just a theory, but it's a fact. We can see it for ourselves if we pay attention to our mind. Report an error in the passage at 50:09 Highlight the passage at 50:09

50:32 For example, if you think back to a time when you did feel depressed, it may have been yesterday. Or this morning or may have been last week or last year. And then you ask yourself, did I feel that way all the time? That particular feeling of depression. Is it there every single minute, every single day, every month, every year? Report an error in the passage at 50:32 Highlight the passage at 50:32

50:59 Is it something that's constant and pervasive, never goes away, never changes? If you're honest with yourself, you really... Carefully check your experience, you'll probably see that, no, it's not like that. It's something that comes and goes, even though it may come back, goes, but then it comes back again. Report an error in the passage at 50:59 Highlight the passage at 50:59

51:19 But just to recognize that it isn't permanent, it isn't all pervasive, it isn't there 24-7 every moment. It gives you a little bit of space, a little bit of opening to accept that, okay. Report an error in the passage at 51:19 Highlight the passage at 51:19

51:36 If I work on my mind a bit more, then maybe it will be there, this depression will be there less often. And this is definitely my experience. I sometimes get a little bit of depression, but it doesn't last very long because I've learned these methods and I use these methods. So it comes and it goes quite quickly. Report an error in the passage at 51:36 Highlight the passage at 51:36

52:15 So the practice of mindfulness, well, I'll just talk a little bit more, then we'll have a break and then we'll do... So that those of you who are unfamiliar with meditation can get a little taste of what it is and how it can be helpful. But with mindfulness meditation, like I say, you just pay attention to what is happening in your mind and try to not follow. Report an error in the passage at 52:15 Highlight the passage at 52:15

52:42 Now that's something that's not always so easy to do. Because if we do have the tendency, the habit of following, Whatever thought or emotion comes up, then it will take time to change that. So we might notice ourselves just going with, following, getting caught up with these old habitual thoughts and emotions. Report an error in the passage at 52:42 Highlight the passage at 52:42

53:04 But we can learn to change that. We can learn to pull our mind back from that. For example, by reminding ourselves that this is just something impermanent. This is just a state of mind. It's just like a cloud passing through the sky. It's just a mental phenomenon passing through my mind. And so it's impermanent, it's transitory, it's fleeting. I don't have to go with it. Report an error in the passage at 53:04 Highlight the passage at 53:04

53:27 I don't have to believe in it. I don't have to follow it. I can let it go. So in time, then you learn how to do that. And it becomes your experience. It becomes your reality. Report an error in the passage at 53:27 Highlight the passage at 53:27

53:46 Okay, then another method, number three. Report an error in the passage at 53:46 Highlight the passage at 53:46

53:52 There's a text, a classic Buddhist text. It's called The Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, which I think Geshe-la has been teaching for some time. And in that text, it's written by an Indian master, Shantideva. There's a verse which says, why be unhappy or worried about something if it can be remedied? Report an error in the passage at 53:52 Highlight the passage at 53:52

54:16 And what is the use of being unhappy or worried about something if it cannot be remedied? So this can be used. As a method for dealing with situations where we may feel unhappy or depressed. Because what can happen is maybe there's some kind of problem or some unwanted experience, whether it's something going on outside of you in your life or it's something going on inside of you, something happening in your mind that's making you feel unhappy or worried or depressed. Report an error in the passage at 54:16 Highlight the passage at 54:16

54:51 So this verse is telling us to look at it in a practical way. First of all, check if there's something that can be done about this situation. Can I do something about this unwanted experience? Sometimes there is. Sometimes there is. There are things we can at least try to do. Remedies we can apply. They may not work, but we can at least try to do them. Report an error in the passage at 54:51 Highlight the passage at 54:51

55:22 And so then he's saying, if there's something that can be done, if there's a remedy, Then why be unhappy? What use is it to just sit there and feel unhappy or worried or complain or self-pitying? To just let your mind go over and over all these unhappy ways of thinking. Does that do any good? Does that bring about a solution to the problem? Report an error in the passage at 55:22 Highlight the passage at 55:22

55:47 Does that make you feel better? It doesn't. In fact, it makes you feel worse. There's this problem or this unwanted situation. Which is the basis for these unhappy feelings. But then on top of that, having all these unhappy thoughts and feelings again and again, it's like adding layers and layers of more unhappiness, more problems, more misery onto what's already there. Report an error in the passage at 55:47 Highlight the passage at 55:47

56:15 And if you ask yourself, does this do any good? Does this change the situation? Does this solve the problem? Having all these negative thoughts? Probably not. It doesn't help. It doesn't make things better. And in fact, it just makes things worse. It just exacerbates the problem, increases the problem, makes you more unhappy by thinking in that way. Report an error in the passage at 56:15 Highlight the passage at 56:15

56:39 So if you can recognize that, then you can say, no, this is useless. It's completely useless to let my mind continue to think in these negative ways, in these unhappy ways. So instead of doing that, be practical. Ask yourself, is there anything I can do? To solve this problem, to make things better. There's probably something you can do, or at least try to do. So do it. Put your energy into that instead of just sitting there feeling miserable, having all these unhappy thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 56:39 Highlight the passage at 56:39

57:12 And if you do apply the solutions, the remedies, you might be able to solve the problem. Or even if you don't solve the problem, maybe you can alleviate it, make it better. Report an error in the passage at 57:12 Highlight the passage at 57:12

57:26 so But it's also true that sometimes you can't solve the problem. There's nothing that can be done. So then he's saying, if that is the case, what use is it to feel unhappy or worried? If there's nothing that can be done about it, absolutely nothing, then it's better to just accept it, accept the situation. Report an error in the passage at 57:26 Highlight the passage at 57:26

57:52 I was interviewing one of my teachers, Dhamma Locha Rinpoche. Great, highly respected Lama in the Tibetan tradition. So I was interviewing him for a little newsletter and I asked him the question, I asked him if there was ever a time when he faced some difficult situation and how he dealt with it. Because I thought that could be inspiring for students to hear how a high Lama teacher deals with problems. So he thought for a while and he said that, Actually, he didn't have a very difficult life, and I thought that was amazing, considering the fact that, you know, if you know the story of Tibet, it was taken over in 1950 by the Chinese Communist Army, and there were all these problems, and then eventually in 1959 a whole bunch of people fled to India with almost nothing. Report an error in the passage at 57:52 Highlight the passage at 57:52

58:57 They just had to walk over the mountains, just carrying whatever they could carry on their backs. They arrived in India, which is not an easy country to live in, even if you have money. So they arrived with nothing, and they had to live as refugees and so on. So he went through that experience, and yet he thought, well, I didn't have any big problems. Report an error in the passage at 58:57 Highlight the passage at 58:57

59:17 But he said, but there was one time when I had a hard time, and I think it was during the Cultural Revolution. He was already in India in a monastery studying and he heard about what was going on in Tibet, all the destruction. You know, squads of young, energetic young people were just going through and destroying the monasteries, the temples, the statues, the books, just totally destroying everything about the old culture, the religion and so on. Report an error in the passage at 59:17 Highlight the passage at 59:17

59:53 And of course many people killed and jailed and so on. So when he was in India he heard the news of what was going on and it seems like it just broke his heart. He said he became so sad, so depressed. He couldn't study. His mind was just so disturbed. So he went to see his teacher, who was Ling Rinpoche, Dalai Lama's senior tutor, and spoke to him about his mind. Report an error in the passage at 59:53 Highlight the passage at 59:53

1:00:21 Ling Rinpoche quoted this verse to him. What's the use of being unhappy if it can be remedied and what's the use of being unhappy if it can't be remedied? So he said that snapped him out of it because he realized there was nothing he could do about the situation. He couldn't change the situation and just being unhappy about it wasn't helpful at all. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:21 Highlight the passage at 1:00:21

1:00:48 So that helped him. To clear up his mind and get to a more calm state of mind and be able to go back to his studies. So anyway, that's just a little analogy or anecdote about how this advice can be helpful. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:48 Highlight the passage at 1:00:48

1:01:11 And I've also found it very helpful in situations, even like practical situations. Once I was doing a retreat center we have in Spain. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:11 Highlight the passage at 1:01:11

1:01:24 And it was in July and the weather got so hot. We had a heat wave and there's no air conditioning, no swimming pool, nothing. No place to cool off, not even many trees around, you know. So I was just sitting in my little house, baking in the sun. And it was so hard to meditate with the heat and I was falling asleep and so on. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:24 Highlight the passage at 1:01:24

1:01:47 So I found my mind becoming quite unhappy about this. And then I said to myself, okay, is there anything I can do about this? And of course, you know, you can't change the weather. There's nothing you can do about the weather. So I thought, well, it's useless to just be unhappy about the weather. I can't change it. And I did manage to find some little remedies, you know, like I put a cold, wet cloth on top of my head. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:47 Highlight the passage at 1:01:47

1:02:15 It gave me a little bit of cool. I'd sit on the floor because it was cooler down there than up higher. So I found a few little remedies to be less hot. But I also found it helpful to think about people who are probably suffering even worse than me. There's some places where it gets even more hot, like right in the middle of the Sahara Desert or in India. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:15 Highlight the passage at 1:02:15

1:02:40 Sometimes it gets up to 50 degrees. And people have no relief from the heat. Huh? Where? Oh, sorry. Yeah, 50 degrees Celsius. I don't know what that is. Maybe 120, 130, something like that. That's hot. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:40 Highlight the passage at 1:02:40

1:03:10 You know, it was only hot for about a week and then it cooled down again. So that's, again, helpful to remind ourselves of impermanent, whatever. Unpleasant experience we may be having, whether it's internal in our own mind or external, something going on outside of us, it's impermanent. It's not going to last. It's going to be there for a while, but then it will change. So that itself can be helpful, to just remind ourselves of that, remind ourselves of impermanence, and also remind ourselves that other people are suffering too. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:10 Highlight the passage at 1:03:10

1:03:45 You are not the only one who is having a hard time. And in fact, I'll talk about that. It's not mentioned here, but that's another very helpful remedy to problems. Because what happens when we have a problem, or what can happen, maybe it doesn't happen to everybody, but what can happen is that we become kind of self-absorbed. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:45 Highlight the passage at 1:03:45

1:04:10 And I do think this is a problem with depression. My own experience, and I've heard this from other people as well, that... We tend to just focus so much on me and my problems, my unhappiness. It's like the mind just keeps playing these tapes over and over again about my own suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:10 Highlight the passage at 1:04:10

1:04:33 And one effect of that is that the problem seems to grow. It seems to become bigger. Like we have a saying, making a mountain out of a molehill. The problem may not really be that bad, but by getting obsessed with it, obsessing about it, it seems to become really huge. I've heard the Dalai Lama talk about this as well. Focusing on one's own problem makes it seem bigger and worse than it is. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:33 Highlight the passage at 1:04:33

1:05:06 Another effect of this way of thinking is that you may come to feel quite lonely because it can happen that the mind will say, say, oh, uh... Other people don't know how I feel. Other people aren't suffering like me. Other people are happy. It can even get to the point where you think, I'm the only one in the world who's suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:06 Highlight the passage at 1:05:06

1:05:30 Everybody else is having a wonderful time, doing well, happy. Have you ever noticed that? That you feel like you're all alone in your misery. And that makes it worse as well, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:05:30 Highlight the passage at 1:05:30

1:05:49 We feel like alone and isolated and everyone else is over there and happy and not suffering. So that exacerbates the suffering as well. And you may feel nobody could understand me and so on. So those kinds of thoughts just make your suffering worse. So a useful method or a useful antidote to this is to deliberately bring to mind other people. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:49 Highlight the passage at 1:05:49

1:06:17 For example, just say to yourself, I'm not the only person in the world who has this kind of problem. Whatever the problem may be, it's certain there are other people who also have that problem, right? Probably millions of people. So you're definitely not alone. And it's useful to really think about that. Try to bring to mind people you know or just imagine. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:17 Highlight the passage at 1:06:17

1:06:43 Just use your imagination and think of other people. For example, depression. How many millions of people? Just in this country suffer from depression and all over the world. So probably millions of people experience depression. So you're definitely not alone. So that can decrease your suffering, make you feel less alone and isolated. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:43 Highlight the passage at 1:06:43

1:07:09 And also you may be able to think of people who have even worse suffering than you do. Some people's experiences of depression may be even worse than yours. They can't even function. I've heard of this. Some people are so depressed they just become kind of paralyzed. They can't function. They can't do anything for themselves. They need to live in some kind of hospital or institution and take strong medication for years at a time. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:09 Highlight the passage at 1:07:09

1:07:43 Maybe your depression isn't that bad. It could be worse. However bad you may feel, you might be able to see that it could be worse. Other people may be experiencing something worse. So then, if you do this kind of thinking in a correct way, the effect may be that your problem may seem more like a molehill rather than a mountain. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:43 Highlight the passage at 1:07:43

1:08:09 It kind of shrinks. It doesn't seem so bad, so unmanageable, so unbearable. Does that make sense? It's good to try. And, I mean, when I do this, I find it sort of gives me courage. It gives me this sense, like, I can manage this problem. It's not really that bad. Other people have it worse. And also in the Buddhist tradition, this way of thinking can lead us to feel compassion. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:09 Highlight the passage at 1:08:09

1:08:42 And we can try that as well. Because we can think, compassion is wishing others to be free of suffering. And so if we think, well, I'm experiencing this problem, it's painful, I don't want it, I wish to be free of it. The same is true for all those other people who are having a similar problem. They also don't want it. They want to be free from it. How wonderful if they could be free from their problem. May they be free. So that's the kind of thinking of compassion. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:42 Highlight the passage at 1:08:42

1:09:16 Understanding that others suffer. Empathizing with their suffering, wishing their suffering to go away, wishing their suffering to be relieved. Now we have to be careful here, because if we're not careful, this could make us more depressed. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:16 Highlight the passage at 1:09:16

1:09:34 Like if you think, oh, there's so much suffering in the world, so many people are suffering, and there's no solution. It's like we're going to be stuck in suffering forever. So you have to be very careful not to let your mind go in that direction. According to Buddhism, there's no suffering which is permanent. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:34 Highlight the passage at 1:09:34

1:09:51 Which will last forever. Suffering is always transitory and everybody, even the person in the worst situation, will one day be out of that situation, will be free of their suffering, will be enlightened. So there's this very positive, very optimistic view of people and life and the world. Everybody will one day be free of suffering, everybody will one day be enlightened and never have to experience suffering again. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:51 Highlight the passage at 1:09:51

1:10:22 So if you can believe that, then you can remind yourself of that and think, yes, all those people are suffering, but I wish them to be free of suffering and I know they can be free of suffering and I will do what I can to bring that about. So this is what a practitioner of Buddhism, especially in the Mahāyāna tradition, does. They put their energy into doing whatever can be done to bring about. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:22 Highlight the passage at 1:10:22

1:10:51 The end of suffering for oneself and for others. So instead of just sitting there feeling depressed about all this suffering in the world, like it's hopeless, they get completely energized to end suffering for themselves and others. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:51 Highlight the passage at 1:10:51

1:11:09 So does that make sense? So I didn't specifically explain that technique here, but something to keep in mind. So I don't want to just spend all this time talking. I thought it would be nice to do some meditation but let's take just a short break, a few minutes break for you to stretch and use the restroom if you need to and then when you come back we'll do some meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:09 Highlight the passage at 1:11:09

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:13:02 Finish your tea. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:02 Highlight the passage at 1:13:02

1:13:12 So some of you may not be familiar with mindfulness meditation so I thought we could do a little bit of that just to teach you the basic technique. and I'm, I'm, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:12 Highlight the passage at 1:13:12

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:13:23 Although it's something that does take practice. We can't expect that the first time we try to meditate we're going to be doing it perfectly. It's helpful to think of meditation as being something like learning to play a musical instrument. You know, the first time you pick up a guitar or try to play the piano, you're not going to be able to make beautiful music. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:23 Highlight the passage at 1:13:23

1:13:48 You have to start gradually learning the skills, the technique, how to make the notes, and you need to practice. The more time you spend practicing, gradually you get better at it, and pretty soon you'll be able to make nice music. But you can't expect to do that the first time. So it's similar with meditation. It's a skill that we need to learn, and we need to practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:48 Highlight the passage at 1:13:48

1:14:15 We need to do it. The more we do it... Then the more we get skilled at it and the better we get. So we'll do a little bit of mindfulness meditation and then I'll lead a meditation on some Report an error in the passage at 1:14:15 Highlight the passage at 1:14:15

1:14:33 of the things I mentioned before, how we can look at our thoughts and check if our thoughts may be unrealistic, exaggerated, untrue. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:33 Highlight the passage at 1:14:33

1:14:48 Looking at how we might be able to change that. So when we meditate it's good to have a straight back, whether you're sitting cross-legged on the floor or in a chair. Keeping the back straight helps your mind to be more clear and concentrated, focused and awake. Because when we meditate we should try to stay awake. People sometimes fall asleep. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:48 Highlight the passage at 1:14:48

1:15:19 And another thing to help stay awake is to not close your eyes completely, but leave them open a little bit so there's a little light coming in. And just look down on your lap or the floor in front of you. So having the light coming into your eyes helps you to stay awake and not become sleepy. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:19 Highlight the passage at 1:15:19

1:15:46 But it's also important to be relaxed, keeping your back straight, but at the same time... Being relaxed, not tense. So if you do have tension anywhere in your body, see if you can release the tension. Just let it melt and flow away. And Report an error in the passage at 1:15:46 Highlight the passage at 1:15:46

1:16:32 also let your breathing be natural. Don't force your breathing. Don't control your breathing. Don't breathe in an unnatural way. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:32 Highlight the passage at 1:16:32

1:16:43 Just let your body breathe as it normally does. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:43 Highlight the passage at 1:16:43

1:16:52 Now before we begin the actual meditation, it's good whenever we meditate and also whenever we do any kind of spiritual activity or even ordinary activities like eating, it's good to try to have the motivation that we're doing it not just for me but for others as well, to be able to be more helpful, more beneficial for others and less likely to hurt others. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:52 Highlight the passage at 1:16:52

1:17:22 or create problems for others So that's the meaning of altruism, caring for others, wanting to help them, wanting to not hurt them. So it's always good to try to have an altruistic motivation for the things that we do. So see if you can do that. You can just say to yourself, I'm doing this meditation for the benefit not only of myself but also of others so I can be more helpful to others and not... Report an error in the passage at 1:17:22 Highlight the passage at 1:17:22

1:17:54 Then Report an error in the passage at 1:17:54 Highlight the passage at 1:17:54

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:19:03 for the mindfulness meditation, put your awareness on your breathing. Be aware of the breath coming in and going out. Some people do this by paying attention to the sensations around the nostrils, the openings of the nostrils or the upper lip where the breath is coming in and going out of the body. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:03 Highlight the passage at 1:19:03

1:19:31 Other people pay attention to the movement of the abdomen in and out with each breath The rise and fall of the chest. So it doesn't matter so much where you pay attention to the breath. Find a way that is comfortable for you. The important thing is to try to stay with the breath and not think about other things. But it's only normal that other thoughts will come up in your mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:31 Highlight the passage at 1:19:31

1:20:03 Memories of the past or plans about the future. So it's, Only natural that your mind will go to the past or the future, to other objects rather than the breath. So when you notice that happening, just do your best to disengage your mind from that other thought and bring it back to the breath. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:03 Highlight the passage at 1:20:03

1:20:33 And even if the other thought seems like something very important that you really need to think about, try to say to yourself, not now, I'll do this later, I'll take. Take care of that later. Right now I'm going to sit here and meditate. Watch the breath. So try to bring your mind back to the breath whenever it wanders away to a thought or to sounds, anything other than the breath. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:33 Highlight the passage at 1:20:33

1:21:04 Let go of that other thought, that other experience and go back to the breath. And don't worry if your mind keeps wandering away again and again. And you have to bring it back to the breath again and again. That's part of the practice. That's part of the training. So don't feel frustrated or discouraged if it's hard to stay on the breath. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:04 Highlight the passage at 1:21:04

1:21:25 Just patiently, again and again, bring your mind back to the breath. And it may be helpful to count your breaths. Count each breath as one. And then either count up to five if you're new to meditation. Or if you're more experienced you can count up to ten, go back to one each time you reach five or ten. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:25 Highlight the passage at 1:21:25

· · · silence, 6 minutes

1:28:03 Move into analytical meditation in which we check our ways of thinking that might be negative and see if we can bring about a change in them. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:03 Highlight the passage at 1:28:03

1:28:22 So see if you can bring to mind some kind of negative thought, negative way of thinking that you... Notice arising in your mind sometimes. So it could be a depressive way of thinking, seeing yourself in a negative way, hating yourself or feeling that you're worthless or that you're really bad or something like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:22 Highlight the passage at 1:28:22

1:28:53 So it could be kind of self-deprecating way of thinking. Or it could be some other type of negative way of thinking. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:53 Highlight the passage at 1:28:53

1:29:06 It could be something about somebody else or about some aspect of your life, your job for example. Or it could be something like anxiety, feeling worried, you're worried about or afraid of. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:06 Highlight the passage at 1:29:06

1:29:27 Bring to mind some type of negative thought, negative way of thinking that you notice happening to you, arising in your mind at least sometimes and try to remember. A time when you did have that kind of thought in your mind. Now Report an error in the passage at 1:29:27 Highlight the passage at 1:29:27

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:30:43 let's check. Is this way of thinking permanent or impermanent? In the sense that permanent means it's always there in the mind, constantly, never goes away, but it's there every minute, every second, 24-7. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:43 Highlight the passage at 1:30:43

1:31:05 So is it like that or is it impermanent? In the sense that it's sometimes there and sometimes not. Sometimes you have that type of thought in your mind, but other times you don't. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:05 Highlight the passage at 1:31:05

1:31:18 So just check. Is it permanent or impermanent? Report an error in the passage at 1:31:18 Highlight the passage at 1:31:18

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:32:00 Are you able to remember experiences which were totally opposite to that negative way of thinking? Have you had positive ways of thinking about yourself or the other person? Report an error in the passage at 1:32:00 Highlight the passage at 1:32:00

1:32:20 The negative way of thinking is something like anxiety, then if you felt strong and courageous. See if you can remember times where you felt the opposite state of mind to the negative one. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:20 Highlight the passage at 1:32:20

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:33:17 Now check if that negative way of thinking is really true. Is what it's saying completely true? Like, for example, if you're having a negative thought about yourself, like, I'm worthless, I'm hopeless, or nobody loves me. Really true. Something you need to believe in. Something you need to buy into. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:17 Highlight the passage at 1:33:17

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:34:39 And if you can see that it's not 100 % true or correct, see if you can bring into your mind other ways of thinking that are more true, more correct. Like, well, I'm not completely bad. I do have some good qualities. I do some things well. See if you can come up with reasons to counteract it. The negative and untrue way of thinking. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:39 Highlight the passage at 1:34:39

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:36:32 The thing that is helpful with any kind of negative thought, negative mental state, is to learn to not identify with it. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:32 Highlight the passage at 1:36:32

1:36:47 Normally what we do is identify with whatever is in our mind. I am angry, I am depressed, I am frightened. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:47 Highlight the passage at 1:36:47

1:37:01 So we are not our thoughts, our experiences. Thoughts and experiences are just mental phenomena, mental events that occur in our mind. They come, they go, they pass through our mind in the same way the clouds appear and pass through the sky and then disappear. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:01 Highlight the passage at 1:37:01

1:37:25 These are just states of mind. They're not me. They're not who I am. So see if you can understand that. See if you can say to yourself, this is just a state of mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:25 Highlight the passage at 1:37:25

1:37:41 There is depression, there is anxiety, there is fear, there is this negative state of mind, but it's not me. It's just something in my mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:41 Highlight the passage at 1:37:41

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:38:55 See if you can accept that it's possible to transform your mind to decrease the painful, disturbing and negative ways of thinking and feelings and emotions. Those can be decreased. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:55 Highlight the passage at 1:38:55

1:39:18 So they arise less and less frequently. Even when they arise, they don't stay long, they disappear. So those can be decreased and positive states of mind can be increased. Love and compassion and joy and wisdom, seeing things in a correct way, those can increase. So they arise more frequently and last longer. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:18 Highlight the passage at 1:39:18

1:39:48 So you can become more and more happy and peaceful and positive. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:48 Highlight the passage at 1:39:48

1:39:56 Even one day become enlightened, free of everything negative and fully developed and everything positive. Just consider that idea. See if you can accept that. Out Report an error in the passage at 1:39:56 Highlight the passage at 1:39:56

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:41:00 of the meditation you can slowly relax your sitting position and open your eyes. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:00 Highlight the passage at 1:41:00

1:41:21 So we have a few minutes left. Do any of you have a question you'd like to ask? Report an error in the passage at 1:41:21 Highlight the passage at 1:41:21

1:41:31 And you got the microphone. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:31 Highlight the passage at 1:41:31

1:41:36 What do you think the karmic cause of depression is? Yeah, I've wondered about that. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:36 Highlight the passage at 1:41:36

1:41:46 And my conclusion... Well, actually, no, I remember now. I did ask a Lama. I went to see one Lama, Kirti Sancho Rinpoche, one of our Lamas, and asked him. Because I thought, if I knew what it was, then I could really make sure I don't create that in this lifetime. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:46 Highlight the passage at 1:41:46

1:42:07 And his answer was, well, he didn't really give anything specific. He said it could be many different things, different causes and conditions. So I didn't really get a clear answer. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:07 Highlight the passage at 1:42:07

1:42:19 But just on my own, I came to the thought that it, just with my experience, I mean, everyone can check for themselves, that it could be because of harming others, causing suffering to others. To me, that makes sense. If you do harmful things to others, you hurt them, you cause them to have suffering, mental suffering, that as a result of that you would have mental suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:19 Highlight the passage at 1:42:19

1:42:46 So for me that was helpful because now I really try hard not to do anything hurtful to others. And also just recently I'm doing a study program and we're studying now this text called the Abhidhamma Kosha Vasubandhus. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:46 Highlight the passage at 1:42:46

1:43:04 We just came across a section in the text, I can't remember the context of it, but anyway, there's this expression, disturbed mind, something about disturbed mind. What are the causes of disturbed mind? And it mentioned one is harming others, harming others in the past. But it mentioned other causes of disturbed mind, like seeing spirits. Scary, I suppose it could be spirits. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:04 Highlight the passage at 1:43:04

1:43:35 Or also people or animals, you know, that are really scary. So you're like, you know, really terrified. And another cause was the elements being out of balance. You know, your four elements, like in Chinese medicine, Tibetan medicine, they say that your elements can get out of balance. So that could also cause disturbed mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:35 Highlight the passage at 1:43:35

1:43:57 And there Report an error in the passage at 1:43:57 Highlight the passage at 1:43:57

1:44:02 may have been another one. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:02 Highlight the passage at 1:44:02

1:44:07 So anyway, that sort of confirmed what I thought of others before. It doesn't necessarily mean this life, it could be past lives. And as a result of that, one's own mind could have this unhappiness, this disturbance. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:07 Highlight the passage at 1:44:07

1:44:32 I was just thinking about it before coming to the training. And I don't know if you agree with it, I think the depression is the result of self-loathing. It's basically two sides with the same coin when you have exaggerated self-worth and it's easier. Like to go from one side to the other. It's just basically it's a reflection. If you think so much of yourself, it's easy to fall down and think so less of yourself. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:32 Highlight the passage at 1:44:32

1:45:01 You're not really perceiving yourself adequately, objectively. And that, you know, basically it's the play of the ego that it's constantly being like obsessed about yourself. You're not just really doing anything. To help others because you're so about yourself and that causes a lot of depression, I think. I think so too. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:01 Highlight the passage at 1:45:01

1:45:29 So I think as an antidote or remedy to depression, if we can gradually learn to think more about others, to kind of train our mind to be more concerned for others. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:29 Highlight the passage at 1:45:29

1:45:43 Even starting in little ways, just try to be more aware of the people around you and that they have needs as well, and just helping them in little ways, offering a cup of tea, being smiling and friendly, Report an error in the passage at 1:45:43 Highlight the passage at 1:45:43

1:45:57 developing that habit of being more aware of others and being more helpful to others helps to take the mind away from me all the time and being obsessed with me. And also... Helping others is a way of feeling good. I heard there was an experiment done. There were some people who had lost their jobs. They were unemployed. I guess that can be a pretty depressing experience. They got these people to do volunteer work, service work. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:57 Highlight the passage at 1:45:57

1:46:32 I don't remember clearly how it went. It was like a research done. They found these people were actually happier. And they found also that they had more endorphins. There was an increase in endorphins. I don't know what it is, the substance that makes you feel good. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:32 Highlight the passage at 1:46:32

1:46:50 So it seems that helping, and I think you can experience this for yourself. If you do some volunteer work, service work, helping, it doesn't mean you have to go to Calcutta and help with Mother Teresa's organization, but just in your own neighborhood or in your own family. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:50 Highlight the passage at 1:46:50

1:47:11 You're helping others and at the same time helping yourself because you're going to feel better and it also increases your altruism and decreases the egoism. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:11 Highlight the passage at 1:47:11

1:47:23 Thank you very much. There's brought up a million things that I was thinking about, including that one of the things that I found very helpful is Tonglen and it goes along with a lot of these different ideas you've got here. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:23 Highlight the passage at 1:47:23

1:47:39 But to be able to be with what's going on and transform it at the same time. And the other thing that I found as very helpful from Buddhism is the four measurables. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:39 Highlight the passage at 1:47:39

1:47:57 Sometimes people cannot meditate. It's impossible sometimes to still the mind even. I think that's another form of the hell realm. I don't know what it is. But if one can... I think in terms of may I be happy or I keep saying it that actually the way that I found helpful is may there be happiness, may there be freedom from suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:57 Highlight the passage at 1:47:57

1:48:35 I don't know why I'm blocking it. But anyway, the four measurables are a way to think in a way that is Positive and helpful and I just wanted to say I so much appreciate this and there's so many tools from Buddhism that I think are really important. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:35 Highlight the passage at 1:48:35

1:49:01 I'm indicating this, oh I still have to read your next book. I'm really looking forward to it. But I was actually indicating this book because I was going to cheat and maybe that's why. I, um, that, that, Thank you. That's why I probably was blocking it because I kept thinking I'll go to the book. May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:01 Highlight the passage at 1:49:01

1:49:24 May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May all sentient beings be inseparable from the happiness that is free from suffering. May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment for friends and hatred for enemies. And sometimes, again, the meditations like the Tonglen, And this for me is a meditation at times when it's difficult to meditate on anything else and very helpful. And it naturally brings joy into the mind because these are such beautiful positive thoughts so they kind of make you feel better. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:24 Highlight the passage at 1:49:24

1:50:02 I have heard this as well about depression, that they say depression is like anger or hatred directed at yourself. So if you can also learn methods for decreasing anger and hatred. Again, there's tons of methods in Buddhism for how to have less anger and hatred. So working on those could also help defeat depression. I think it gets difficult sometimes when people do the opposite. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:02 Highlight the passage at 1:50:02

1:50:31 It's easy to turn on yourself and think, I'm just being egotistical or selfish. That's another aspect. I mean, it's really... I think to have a compassion for oneself is really important. Any Report an error in the passage at 1:50:31 Highlight the passage at 1:50:31

1:50:53 other questions or comments? Report an error in the passage at 1:50:53 Highlight the passage at 1:50:53

1:51:00 I remember reading in Ultimate Healing by Rinpoche. He said if you wake up when you don't have an actual cause for the depression, you know, like you haven't just lost your job or something, you just sort of wake up with depression for no apparent reason, that it's the karmic result of... Sexual misconduct, and in his case he was talking about adultery causing depression in the mind of another, which I found so fascinating because I was depressed when I read it. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:00 Highlight the passage at 1:51:00

1:51:32 So it was like the first time in my life I felt both depressed and happy at the same time because it felt like, oh, this was just exhausting. And then it was easier, especially with having some faith and trust in karma too. I had some feeling that it was just eliminating some negative. old actions from Actually, another thing I wanted to mention is there's all these techniques under the general title of transforming problems into the spiritual path. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:32 Highlight the passage at 1:51:32

1:52:05 And there's a book by Lama Zopa Rinpoche with that title, Transforming Problems. So this is a traditional kind of genre of practice. Whenever we face some kind of problem or difficulty, which could include depression also, Other things that may cause us depression, like losing our jobs or losing a relationship or whatever, losing a loved one. There's lots of things that can happen that make us unhappy. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:05 Highlight the passage at 1:52:05

1:52:32 And so the idea of this technique is when a problem happens in your life, it doesn't have to be a bad thing. It all depends on how you look at it, how you deal with it. And there are these techniques you can use to actually transform that painful situation, that problem, into good things. It's like manure, you know, you take garbage, what do they call it? Compost, yeah, you take all this garbage, this stuff we don't want, and it gets used to bring about something beautiful, like flowers and vegetables. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:32 Highlight the passage at 1:52:32

1:53:07 So there are different techniques, like thinking about karma. Like you mentioned. Oh, this must be some bad karma I created in the past. Now I'm going through this experience of that karma. I'm getting rid of that karma. And if I can really try and make sure I don't create that same karma again, then I won't have to experience this problem again in the future. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:07 Highlight the passage at 1:53:07

1:53:30 So really make sure you direct your life towards good karma and not bad karma. And then things will get better and better. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:30 Highlight the passage at 1:53:30

1:53:40 And also compassion, like I mentioned. So, Report an error in the passage at 1:53:40 Highlight the passage at 1:53:40

1:53:43 Turning your problem into having more compassion for others. So that's another source of information on things you could do to deal with depression or any other kind of problem, whatever the problem may be. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:43 Highlight the passage at 1:53:43

1:54:01 Also, I've heard that... Oh, actually I do mention it here. Point number six, go out and help others. Do volunteer work. And also physical. They say that doing something physical... Doing some exercise, going for a walk, doing some work. That also has the effect of producing endorphins in your body, so you'll feel better. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:01 Highlight the passage at 1:54:01

1:54:26 Sometimes when you're depressed, you don't feel like doing anything. You just want to stay in bed with the covers over your head. And that's not going to help. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:26 Highlight the passage at 1:54:26

1:54:36 That'll probably make you feel worse. But if you can get yourself out of bed and go for a walk or go and do something, come down to Tse Chin Ling and... Do something awful. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:36 Highlight the passage at 1:54:36

1:54:50 Yeah, you'll probably find it makes you feel better. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:50 Highlight the passage at 1:54:50

1:54:58 And there is, I mentioned before that there doesn't seem to be a lot of information in the Tibetan tradition on depression, but I did find on the web, on the internet, this talk given by a Lama in Australia, Charlie Rinpoche, who lives in Canberra, and he's been there a long, long time. So he's quite familiar with the West. So he gave this talk about depression and that was quite interesting. So you could look that up as well. And there is also this learning path. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:58 Highlight the passage at 1:54:58

1:55:30 And one thing in the learning path from the UK, they mentioned someone discovered a connection between dreams and depression. There was a whole complicated explanation about that. But what I remember was, Um, if, if... Like you have problems during the day and you don't resolve them. Then you go to bed at night and in your dreams your mind will try to resolve your problems in your dreams. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:30 Highlight the passage at 1:55:30

1:56:01 And the result of that is your mind is really busy during the night having a lot of dreams, really complicated dreams. And as a result of that you wake up feeling exhausted. And when you wake up feeling exhausted then you feel depressed. This is one symptom of depressed people is physical exhaustion. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:01 Highlight the passage at 1:56:01

1:56:18 And one reason for the physical exhaustion is because they're not getting restful sleep because their mind is so busy trying to process things and resolve the problems that they didn't resolve during the day. Does that make sense? So the solution was, if I remember correctly, but please go and check this, was to try to resolve problems during the day so your mind doesn't have to do it during the light and then you wake up depressed in the morning. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:18 Highlight the passage at 1:56:18

1:56:45 Take care of things as they come. And I'm sure mindfulness meditation would be helpful as well, because that does help you to deal with things rather than getting all caught up in them. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:45 Highlight the passage at 1:56:45

1:57:02 But most of these Buddhist techniques are things that you do on your own, like being your own therapist. And that may be difficult for some people, especially if you're not so experienced in meditation. Of course you can... Come to a group and learn meditation in a group and do meditation in a group and that can help you get more experienced at working with your own mind. But if you do find it difficult to do these techniques on your own and you find a good therapist that can help you deal with your depression, then for sure. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:02 Highlight the passage at 1:57:02

1:57:43 So I'm not trying to say forget therapists and medication and just meditate. That may be okay for some people, but not for others. So I think it's okay to have a combination of methods. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:43 Highlight the passage at 1:57:43

1:57:57 Any last Report an error in the passage at 1:57:57 Highlight the passage at 1:57:57

1:58:02 questions before we finish? Report an error in the passage at 1:58:02 Highlight the passage at 1:58:02

1:58:20 When I've experienced depression, it's been as a kind of protracted grief response to actual events where something horrible happened that I was essentially surprised by. So my ability to process it was overwhelmed and it stuck around for a long time. And so I was thinking about that in terms of things like the tsunami in Japan where you have a tragic event that happens to a great number of people. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:20 Highlight the passage at 1:58:20

1:58:51 Do you have any sense of whether it is more straightforward for people to repair their depression or to recover from depression if the tragedy that occurred to them is part of a large group event? Report an error in the passage at 1:58:51 Highlight the passage at 1:58:51

1:59:11 As opposed to tragedy that occurs on an individual level. I don't know. I never thought about that. But just what pops into my mind is that I would think that if there's a shared experience of grief or tragedy or some kind of painful experience, the fact that you know you're not alone. You know there are others who had a similar experience and there's probably some bonding that goes on as well and your attempts to... Report an error in the passage at 1:59:11 Highlight the passage at 1:59:11

1:59:42 You know, get yourself out of this situation, get help and so on, that perhaps it would be less painful than if you're just on your own with your own problem. But I don't know. You had something to... I Report an error in the passage at 1:59:42 Highlight the passage at 1:59:42

2:00:01 don't know if this addresses it directly, but apparently people become less disturbed when it's a natural type of disaster. There's less of that than other types of... Report an error in the passage at 2:00:01 Highlight the passage at 2:00:01

2:00:18 Like human made. Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 2:00:18 Highlight the passage at 2:00:18

2:00:27 because we know there's nothing that can be done about it. It's just the forces of nature or, I don't know, whereas human beings doing horrible things to other people, that's probably anger, anger that comes up. You can't really, I don't know, can you get angry at the world, at the planet, at Mother Earth for making earthquakes? You can? Report an error in the passage at 2:00:27 Highlight the passage at 2:00:27

2:00:54 But it's not so much like a person, like a human being who, you know, anger towards another person I think is more powerful than anger at something that's more inanimate. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:54 Highlight the passage at 2:00:54

2:01:09 I don't know, I haven't been through that kind of experience so I don't know what it's like. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:09 Highlight the passage at 2:01:09

2:01:18 But anyway, I really feel convinced that what I've learned from Buddhism, the Buddhist way of looking at things, Buddhist methods, Buddhist meditations and so on, are so helpful. Any kind of problem, any kind of problem that could happen, whether it's natural or human-made, whether it's personal or collective, these tools are helpful. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:18 Highlight the passage at 2:01:18

2:01:42 We at least have tools. When you find yourself in a difficult situation, instead of just feeling totally lost, totally not knowing what to do, you can remember, oh, my Lama said this. Buddha said that, Lama Tsongkhapa, you know, you remember these things you've learned, these tools you've learned and you know you've at least got something and if you try them they work, they do work, they do help. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:42 Highlight the passage at 2:01:42

2:02:16 Okay, so let's finish there and let's just take a few moments to make a dedication of the positive energy that we have accumulated or created by Being together for this period of time and learning about, thinking about, doing meditation on these ideas to help the mind to become more positive and less negative which benefits oneself and benefits others and benefits the world. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:16 Highlight the passage at 2:02:16

2:02:52 So feel confident that what we've done here is a good thing and so we have created good energy or positive energy. Which is the cause of good experiences in the future, more happiness and peace and also the mind growing spiritually, developing on the spiritual path, getting closer to enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:52 Highlight the passage at 2:02:52

2:03:17 So we've created this positive energy and let's dedicate this positive energy that it will be helpful not just to ourselves but also to others, as many other people and beings. As possible, all beings, if possible, help all beings have less suffering like depression and more peace and happiness and more love and compassion. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:17 Highlight the passage at 2:03:17

2:03:44 And may it bring them more close to enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:44 Highlight the passage at 2:03:44

· · · silence, 1 minute

2:04:31 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 2:04:31 Highlight the passage at 2:04:31

2:04:36 See you again. Report an error in the passage at 2:04:36 Highlight the passage at 2:04:36

2:04:41 Best wishes in your practice and in your mental transformation to be more happy. Thank Report an error in the passage at 2:04:41 Highlight the passage at 2:04:41

· · · silence, 1 minute

2:05:40 you. Report an error in the passage at 2:05:40 Highlight the passage at 2:05:40