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Tonight I'm going to talk about 
development of the mind, or 

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mental development, if you like.
In a sense, this idea of 

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developing the mind is one of 
the Buddha's discoveries. 

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He understood that it's possible
to do such a thing as developing

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the mind. 
And you may think, of course 

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it's possible. 
But in fact, it's not as obvious

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as you might think that this 
actually can be done. 

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And I will talk about that maybe
towards the end of the talk, why

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it is not so obvious. 
But the first thing is just 

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basically that mental 
development is a wonderful, 

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wonderful discovery. 
Because so many people spend all

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their lives trying to develop 
their happiness, trying to 

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develop their contentment, 
trying to develop their lives, 

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always by external things, 
always by earning more money, by

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social position, by possessions,
by all these kind of things. 

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This is normally the things that
we try to develop. 

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And very few people actually 
spend enough time working 

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instead directly on the mind, 
instead of always trying to find

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satisfaction and happiness 
indirectly using external 

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things. 
And if you think about it, if 

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you're really going to be happy,
it is much wiser to do it 

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directly by working on the mind,
rather than trying to gain that 

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happiness through external 
stimuli indirectly. 

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First of all, it's much more 
efficient because you're working

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directly with the mind. 
You're working directly with the

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source of things. 
And secondly, if you're working 

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on the mind, rather than having 
an indirect happiness, you can 

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actually change the mind 
directly, which you never can by

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external things, by using 
possessions or fame or whatever 

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else it is. 
That way you don't actually 

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change the mind. 
You're just giving the mind the 

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stimulus that makes it happy for
a very short period of time. 

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So working directly on the mind 
is much wiser, much more 

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far-reaching, a much more 
powerful tool that we can use in

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life. 
And the Buddha said that it's 

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possible to develop the mind. 
This can be done. 

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He said that if it wasn't 
possible to develop the mind, I 

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wouldn't give these teachings. 
It is because it's possible, 

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because it can be done, that I 
teach Dhamma in the way that I 

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do. 
It's possible to develop 

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wholesome states of mind. 
It's possible to develop a 

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luminous mind, a beautiful mind,
a peaceful mind. 

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And it's possible to get rid of 
all these negative tendencies 

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that we have inside of us. 
And it's precisely because it's 

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possible, that I teach the way I
do. 

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I give these teachings to you. 
And I have to admit in my own 

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life as a monk, a Buddhist monk,
certainly the idea of mental 

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development is one of the draw 
cards for being a Buddhist monk.

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The more highly you value the 
idea of developing the mind, the

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more obvious it makes sense to 
become a Buddhist monk or a 

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Buddhist nun for that matter. 
Why? 

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Because that is the whole focus 
of the monastic life. 

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That is the whole purpose. 
The whole purpose of monastic 

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life. 
You're giving up most of the 

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other external things to give 
100% attention to the 

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development of the mind instead.
So what is it about monastic 

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life? 
I'm going to talk a little bit 

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about monastic life first of 
all, and talk about lay life 

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afterwards, how these same 
principles that apply to 

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monastic life also apply to lay 
life. 

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So what is it about monastic 
life that makes mental 

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development so much more... 
possible, if you like, or much 

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more efficient in monastic life 
than it is in lay life? 

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And there's two things in 
particular I want to talk about.

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The first one is, of course, the
idea of kalyana mita, of 

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spiritual friendship. 
This is a very important aspect 

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of monastic life. 
If you think about it, when you 

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live as a monk, you are 
surrounded by other monks all 

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the time. 
You're always reminded when you 

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see another monk, you think, 
yeah, I'm also a monk. 

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I'm also part of this. 
You always, when you talk to 

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your fellow monks, you tend to 
talk about Dhamma. 

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Not always, but often the 
conversation is about Dhamma, 

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because that's what all of you 
are doing together. 

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So you're always reminded. 
You are in the middle of the 

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Dhamma all your life. 
And because of that, of course, 

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you have much more inclination 
yourself to also practice this 

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Dhamma, because you're part of a
group of people, everybody 

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practicing in the same way. 
That's the first thing. 

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The second thing is, of course, 
that you have the kalyana mita. 

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It's not a ritual. 
It's not only the people you're 

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surrounding you with. 
But one very important factor of

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the spiritual friendship, the 
kalyana mita, is the teacher 

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that you have. 
It's extremely important to have

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a good teacher. 
And ideally, the kind of teacher

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you have is somebody who has a 
full appreciation of the 

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Buddha's teachings, who has 
insight into those teachings 

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that the Buddha gave two and a 
half thousand years ago. 

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So this is one of the things. 
If you can find a good 

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monastery, a good place that has
a teacher, which has that sort 

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of insight, it is wonderful 
because you come into the 

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presence of the living Dhamma, 
the living teaching of the 

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Buddha, as he gave it two and a 
half thousand years ago. 

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Because it is those people today
who realize those teachings. 

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They are the living example. 
And it's still possible to 

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practice those teachings two and
a half thousand years after the 

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Buddha. 
So this is one of the wonderful,

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wonderful things. 
It's great to have books, of 

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course, about Buddhism and read 
what the Buddha said. 

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This is very important. 
But sometimes if you only have 

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the books and you don't actually
have the living example, it's as

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if something is missing. 
It's like the moisture is 

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missing or something is not 
there, which should be there. 

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It's only when it comes alive in
actual people that you see 

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around you. 
When you see somebody in your 

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life who you find inspiring, 
when you see somebody who lives 

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up to the example of the 
Buddha's teaching, that's when 

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it becomes really real. 
And certainly for me, that is 

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extremely important. 
So that is the second aspect of 

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monasteries. 
The third aspect of a monastic 

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life is that you come close to 
these kinds of teachers. 

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Ideally, you live with a teacher
who has these kinds of 

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qualities. 
And you then become conditioned,

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you become influenced. 
And slowly but surely, you're 

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moving in the same way. 
But the highest kind of 

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spiritual friendship that you 
can have in monastic life, and 

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this, of course, is also true 
for lay life, is the friendship 

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of the Buddha himself. 
And that friendship of the 

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Buddha himself, is reading what 
the Buddha said two and a half 

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thousand years ago. 
When you read what the Buddha 

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said two and a half thousand 
years ago, you're in the 

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presence of the Buddha. 
There he is right there. 

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Because this is what he was. 
This is what he was all about, 

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teaching these teachings. 
So there you have the highest 

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kind of spiritual friendships, 
right there, right in front of 

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you, by reading these Buddhist 
teachings. 

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And it's actually quite 
important to have some idea what

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the Buddha talked about, because
if you don't know that, it's 

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very easy to be led astray. 
You have no idea what people 

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like me, I come up here and 
speak to you, you don't know 

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what I'm saying. 
You know if it's true, if it's 

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wrong, if I'm leading you 
astray. 

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The only way you can find out if
what I say is correct or not, is

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by going to the suttas and check
it out. 

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Am I saying what is in 
accordance with the Buddha, or 

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am I talking nonsense? 
And of course you can't take my 

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word for that. 
You have to check it out for 

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yourself. 
And it's important, and I know 

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that there are many people who 
have been led astray by teachers

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in the past. 
And when they find out that the 

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teacher is not what they thought
this teacher was, they become 

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incredibly disappointed. 
And sometimes they fall away 

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from Buddhism, they fall away 
from this potential of 

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developing themselves in a 
beautiful way, simply because 

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they placed faith in the wrong 
person. 

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So for that reason it's good to 
have some idea what the Buddha 

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taught. 
And the Buddha is the highest 

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kind of spiritual friend, 
because of course he had the 

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full insight into the teachings 
that he taught. 

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So don't neglect that. 
And of course in monastic life 

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you have these things more than 
you have anywhere else. 

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I spent a fair amount of my time
as a monk to study these suttas.

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I study these suttas almost 
every day, because I think it is

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very important to know what they
are. 

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And it's also very nice to be 
able to draw inspiration by 

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reading some of these beautiful 
teachings. 

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So these are the reasons why, 
one reason why I'm a monk, for 

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the spiritual friendship, 
because it pushes you along. 

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It gives you a sense of the 
spiritual world. 

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It gives you this extra impetus 
on the path. 

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And sometimes people think, oh I
don't need the spiritual 

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community around me because I'm 
really solid, I'm an individual,

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I know what is right and wrong 
in the world, I can do it all 

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myself. 
I'm not so dependent on the 

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spiritual community. 
But the fact is, and this is one

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of the problems, we tend to 
overestimate our own 

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independence. 
We tend to overestimate our 

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sense of individuality, that we 
can go against the stream of the

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world, what everybody else is 
doing, and do things our own 

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way. 
The reality is we can't do that.

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The reason we can't do that is 
because we are 100% conditioned 

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as human beings. 
We are conditioned by the people

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around us, by the things we 
hear, the things we see, the 

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things we read. 
And we don't have anywhere near 

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as much independence as we think
we have. 

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And this is the reality of this 
teaching of anatta, of non-self 

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in Buddhism. 
Because there is nothing 

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permanent, because there is 
nothing permanent inside of us, 

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because there is no entity which
controls us and steers us in the

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right direction, because that is
missing, we are essentially just

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conditioned. 
And we are running around 

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according to our conditions. 
It's only because we have this 

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illusion inside of us, this idea
that we are some kind of 

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separate entity, we get this 
feeling that we are in charge, 

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we are in control. 
Well, we are not. 

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And because of that, it is so 
important to have a spiritual 

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community around you, and that 
is as true for lay people as it 

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is in monastic life. 
Obviously, in monastic life, it 

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is more powerful and more easy 
to get. 

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So that is the first part of 
monastic life, which I value so 

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much, this idea of spiritual 
friendship. 

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The other aspect of monastic 
life, which is very beautiful, 

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is the idea of seclusion, that 
you can withdraw from society, 

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you can withdraw from the world 
around you, you can withdraw 

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from all these things, and just 
be by yourself, be completely 

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self-sufficient in your little 
cootie in the forest far, far 

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away. 
Why is seclusion so important? 

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Why is it so useful for 
practicing the spiritual path? 

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How does seclusion lead to 
mental development? 

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What is actually going on here? 
And the first thing, of course, 

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is simply that when you are 
secluded, you are away from the 

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noises of the world, all the 
traffic, the people, the 

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everyday things which are 
happening in the world all the 

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time, all the noise and the 
problems. 

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That, of course, is a very big 
help in its own right. 

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The second reason, which is also
an important one, and this came 

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up quite recently, there was a 
young woman who came to me and 

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asked if she could interview me.
She was doing some kind of 

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research, anthropological 
research project at one of the 

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universities here in Western 
Australia. 

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And she asked me, well, how do 
monks view the city? 

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What is the monk's view of the 
city? 

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She was trying to figure out 
something about monks and city. 

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And I must admit I wasn't sure 
what to say straight away, but 

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then I realized that probably 
the way the monks view the city 

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is the city is a realm of 
sensual desires, a realm of 

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sensual delights. 
Because that is what people do 

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in the city. 
They run around, they enjoy 

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themselves, they go and get 
entertained somewhere, they go 

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to the cafes and restaurants to 
eat nice food, they go and see 

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nice sights. 
They have a nice park to walk 

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in. 
They may do courtship with 

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somebody of the opposite sex. 
Or they may just make lots of 

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money, try to make more money 
for themselves, and get status 

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and get social position, all 
these kind of things. 

226
00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:03,920
So the city is essentially about
sensual desires. 

227
00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:05,920
And this is the other thing 
about monastic life. 

228
00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:09,820
We get away from the sensual 
desires, because sensual desires

229
00:12:09,820 --> 00:12:11,920
are the opposite of peace of 
mind. 

230
00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:13,920
They're the opposite of 
meditation. 

231
00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:18,206
They're the opposite of being 
able to develop your mind in the

232
00:12:18,206 --> 00:12:20,816
right direction. 
And that is why, that is 

233
00:12:20,816 --> 00:12:25,349
probably the main reason why the
city is not the place to be if 

234
00:12:25,349 --> 00:12:29,208
you're going to be really 
serious about practicing the 

235
00:12:29,208 --> 00:12:33,720
spiritual path of Buddhism. 
And to give you some ideas how 

236
00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:37,922
highly the Buddha praised the 
idea of seclusion, the idea of 

237
00:12:37,922 --> 00:12:41,254
pulling away, because I always 
take my references from the 

238
00:12:41,254 --> 00:12:43,920
Buddha himself, because he is 
the ultimate Buddha. 

239
00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:45,920
He is the ultimate teacher in 
this whole thing. 

240
00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:48,920
There's a beautiful little story
in the Buddha's discourses. 

241
00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:51,920
These discourses are called 
suttas, in case you don't know. 

242
00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:55,492
In these suttas, there's a 
beautiful story of the Buddha 

243
00:12:55,492 --> 00:12:59,831
wandering around in India with a
large retinue, a large group of 

244
00:12:59,831 --> 00:13:03,254
monks with him. 
At a certain point, they pass by

245
00:13:03,254 --> 00:13:06,104
a village. 
And on the outskirts of this 

246
00:13:06,104 --> 00:13:10,076
village, they see another monk. 
And this monk is sitting on the 

247
00:13:10,076 --> 00:13:11,920
outskirts of this village in 
meditation. 

248
00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:13,920
And he looks very straight and 
looks very impressive. 

249
00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,920
And they walk past and they see 
this monk. 

250
00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,920
Later on, they walk through the 
forest. 

251
00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:23,648
And as they're walking through 
the forest, they see another 

252
00:13:23,648 --> 00:13:25,922
monk. 
And this monk is obviously tired

253
00:13:25,922 --> 00:13:29,588
or he has nothing to offer 
because he's nodding as he's 

254
00:13:29,588 --> 00:13:33,170
meditating in the forest. 
Something is not quite right in 

255
00:13:33,170 --> 00:13:36,064
his mind. 
And then, having seen these two 

256
00:13:36,064 --> 00:13:40,392
things, the Buddha then turns to
his monks and he says, first of 

257
00:13:40,392 --> 00:13:43,920
all, did you see that monk on 
the outskirts of the village? 

258
00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:47,920
Sitting there in meditation, in 
samadhi or whatever. 

259
00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:51,984
And the monk says, yes, Lord, we
saw that monk at the outskirts 

260
00:13:51,984 --> 00:13:54,768
of the village. 
And then the Buddha says, quite 

261
00:13:54,768 --> 00:13:56,920
surprisingly, because this monk 
was meditating properly, 

262
00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:00,920
surprisingly, he says, I am not 
happy with that monk. 

263
00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:03,920
Why am I not happy with that 
monk? 

264
00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:06,920
Because he's sitting too close 
to the village. 

265
00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:09,670
And before you know it, he's 
going to be disturbed by 

266
00:14:09,670 --> 00:14:11,048
somebody. 
Somebody's going to come up to 

267
00:14:11,048 --> 00:14:12,920
him and say, excuse me, why are 
you sitting here? 

268
00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:16,920
Or something like that. 
That's what often happens. 

269
00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:21,028
So, and then the Buddha said, 
but did you see the other monk 

270
00:14:21,028 --> 00:14:24,920
who was sitting in the forest? 
And he was nodding. 

271
00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:27,920
And again, surprisingly, the 
Buddha says, I praise that monk.

272
00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:31,920
That monk is praiseworthy. 
Why? 

273
00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:36,152
Because he's sitting far away 
from the village, far away from 

274
00:14:36,152 --> 00:14:39,076
the city. 
It would only be a matter of 

275
00:14:39,076 --> 00:14:41,778
time before he overcomes that 
tiredness, before he overcomes 

276
00:14:41,778 --> 00:14:45,170
the sloth and tiredness. 
And then his meditation will be 

277
00:14:45,170 --> 00:14:49,365
going really well because he's 
far away from the world, far 

278
00:14:49,365 --> 00:14:52,920
away from the city, far away 
from people. 

279
00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:58,276
And this gives you some idea of 
the degree to which the Buddha 

280
00:14:58,276 --> 00:15:01,795
praised seclusion and solitude. 
Another story which comes to 

281
00:15:01,795 --> 00:15:07,045
mind, or rather, it came to mind
when I was thinking about what I

282
00:15:07,045 --> 00:15:11,588
was going to say tonight. 
And this is a story where a lay 

283
00:15:11,588 --> 00:15:14,831
person comes to him. 
And he says to the Buddha, and 

284
00:15:14,831 --> 00:15:18,376
this lay person asks the Buddha,
who should we place faith in in 

285
00:15:18,376 --> 00:15:20,768
the world? 
There are all these monks out 

286
00:15:20,768 --> 00:15:22,920
there, all these nuns, all these
people. 

287
00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:26,920
Where should we have respect? 
Who should we respect? 

288
00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:30,795
Who should we support? 
Where should we place our 

289
00:15:30,795 --> 00:15:33,588
confidence and faith? 
And the Buddha answered that the

290
00:15:33,588 --> 00:15:36,366
place where you should have 
respect, the place where you 

291
00:15:36,366 --> 00:15:39,320
should support, are those 
people, those monks, monastics, 

292
00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:44,520
nuns, whatever it is, who are in
the forest, who meditate in the 

293
00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:46,920
forest, who are far away from 
the world. 

294
00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,922
Because it is among those monks 
and nuns that you will find 

295
00:15:50,922 --> 00:15:54,700
those who gain the deepest 
meditation, who gain the deepest

296
00:15:54,700 --> 00:15:56,920
understanding of the Buddha's 
teachings. 

297
00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:58,920
That's where you're going to 
find it. 

298
00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:01,635
Why? 
Because they are far away from 

299
00:16:01,635 --> 00:16:03,740
sensuality. 
They're far away from the 

300
00:16:03,740 --> 00:16:05,920
troubles and sensuality of the 
world. 

301
00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:07,920
That's why you're going to find 
it there. 

302
00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:11,654
But for those who live in the 
village or those who live in the

303
00:16:11,654 --> 00:16:16,045
city, well, those monks, there 
is a great chance that they will

304
00:16:16,045 --> 00:16:17,920
be affected by their 
surroundings. 

305
00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:21,156
And for that reason, it's much, 
much more difficult for those 

306
00:16:21,156 --> 00:16:25,920
people to let go of sensuality, 
let go of sensual pleasures. 

307
00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:29,422
Of course, this doesn't mean 
that every monastic who lives in

308
00:16:29,422 --> 00:16:32,602
the forest is going to be a 
supreme example of 

309
00:16:32,602 --> 00:16:33,920
enlightenment. 
Of course not. 

310
00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:38,509
All it means is that you're much
more likely to find those good 

311
00:16:38,509 --> 00:16:42,349
monks, those good nuns, or even 
good laypeople sometimes, who 

312
00:16:42,349 --> 00:16:46,460
come to stay in faraway places. 
That's where you're going to 

313
00:16:46,460 --> 00:16:49,588
find these people who have 
attained these things, who have 

314
00:16:49,588 --> 00:16:51,920
understood the depth of the 
Buddha's teachings. 

315
00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:53,920
Sometimes, of course, this is 
not true. 

316
00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:56,706
Sometimes you can find a very 
good monk in a city or a 

317
00:16:56,706 --> 00:16:58,920
village. 
It's just a general principle 

318
00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:02,920
that the Buddha laid down. 
So these are some important 

319
00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:06,920
guides for you to see why 
seclusion is so important, 

320
00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:08,920
because you get away from 
sensuality. 

321
00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:10,920
There's another simile which the
Buddha used. 

322
00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:11,920
And this is a very important 
one. 

323
00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:13,920
This is a simile of the fire 
stick. 

324
00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:17,492
A fire stick in ancient times, 
the way they made fire, was by 

325
00:17:17,492 --> 00:17:21,253
having two pieces of wood, and 
they would rub these pieces of 

326
00:17:21,253 --> 00:17:23,635
wood together. 
And by rubbing the fire sticks 

327
00:17:23,635 --> 00:17:25,920
together, they would produce 
sparks. 

328
00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:27,920
And in this way, eventually, 
they would produce a fire. 

329
00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:32,920
This is the way it was done a 
long time ago. 

330
00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:37,712
And the Buddha similarly, he 
says that it is just like a fire

331
00:17:37,712 --> 00:17:41,520
stick which is lying in water, a
wet and sappy fire stick, lying 

332
00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:45,816
in a puddle somewhere. 
There is no chance that you're 

333
00:17:45,816 --> 00:17:49,920
going to be able to use that 
fire stick to make a fire. 

334
00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,920
Why not? 
Because it's wet and sappy. 

335
00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:57,920
And it's just like somebody who 
lives in the city or a village. 

336
00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:01,720
Because they are surrounded by 
sensuality, because they 

337
00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:05,420
themselves enjoy sensuality, and
are full of sensuality, there is

338
00:18:05,420 --> 00:18:07,920
no way that they are going to 
get the fire. 

339
00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,920
The fire here is a metaphor. 
It's a metaphor for meditation. 

340
00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:15,636
They can't get that meditation, 
because they are living in the 

341
00:18:15,636 --> 00:18:17,920
middle of the wet sensuality of 
the city. 

342
00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:20,920
Then the Buddha says there is 
another type of fire stick. 

343
00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,920
This is the fire stick which 
lies far away from the river. 

344
00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:27,613
This is like somebody who has 
gone to the forest somewhere far

345
00:18:27,613 --> 00:18:30,920
away. 
But it's still wet and sappy. 

346
00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:34,587
Wetness and sappiness here means
there is still sensuality in the

347
00:18:34,587 --> 00:18:36,420
mind. 
In other words, it's possible to

348
00:18:36,420 --> 00:18:40,076
live in a monastery far away, 
but you still have a mind full 

349
00:18:40,076 --> 00:18:41,920
of sensual thoughts and sensual 
ideas. 

350
00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:43,920
And of course, again, it is 
useless. 

351
00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:46,366
This fire stick, you cannot use 
it to make fire, because there 

352
00:18:46,366 --> 00:18:49,698
is no way you can get something 
that is wet and sappy to make a 

353
00:18:49,698 --> 00:18:51,670
fire. 
In the same way, it doesn't help

354
00:18:51,670 --> 00:18:53,920
you just to go and live in a 
monastery. 

355
00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:58,920
You have to actually abandon 
these sensual parts of the mind 

356
00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:02,388
as much as possible if you are 
going to have success in a 

357
00:19:02,388 --> 00:19:04,768
meditation practice. 
And of course, the only fire 

358
00:19:04,768 --> 00:19:08,720
stick which is useful to make 
fire is the one which lives far 

359
00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:11,920
away from the river, in other 
words, far away from sensuality,

360
00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:14,920
and is also dry and sappy 
inside. 

361
00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:17,920
You have dried out the 
sensuality of the mind. 

362
00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:22,920
You have dried out the sensual 
pleasures. 

363
00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:26,812
And all you have left then, you 
have a mind, you have a stick 

364
00:19:26,812 --> 00:19:30,468
which can make fire. 
And then it is possible for you 

365
00:19:30,468 --> 00:19:33,558
to gain deep meditation. 
So this is then the requisites, 

366
00:19:33,558 --> 00:19:36,420
what you have to do. 
And this is how the monastic 

367
00:19:36,420 --> 00:19:38,831
life works. 
First of all, you go to a 

368
00:19:38,831 --> 00:19:42,920
secluded place far away to get 
away from the sensuality 

369
00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:45,670
surrounding you. 
And then the second part of the 

370
00:19:45,670 --> 00:19:47,920
practice is to remove the 
sensuality in the mind. 

371
00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,350
And then you have a chance to 
really go deep in your 

372
00:19:51,350 --> 00:19:54,720
meditation practice. 
So this is why the monastic life

373
00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:58,320
is so useful. 
And this is why the monastic 

374
00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:01,255
life you read about, for 
example, in Thailand, which 

375
00:20:01,255 --> 00:20:04,588
always is the most famous of the
Thai tree teachers, they always 

376
00:20:04,588 --> 00:20:07,420
lived in the forest. 
They always lived far away from 

377
00:20:07,420 --> 00:20:09,500
the city. 
Because this is a traditional 

378
00:20:09,500 --> 00:20:13,290
way that monks and nuns have 
always lived since the time of 

379
00:20:13,290 --> 00:20:16,254
the Buddha. 
Because it is the way to gain 

380
00:20:16,254 --> 00:20:18,670
deep meditation. 
It is the way to do it 

381
00:20:18,670 --> 00:20:21,720
basically. 
So how does this affect our life

382
00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:24,920
as lay Buddhists? 
What can we do as lay Buddhists?

383
00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,210
Of course, it is not easy for a 
lay person to find the kind of 

384
00:20:29,210 --> 00:20:30,920
seclusion you find in a 
monastery. 

385
00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:34,366
It is also not easy for a lay 
person, a lay Buddhist, to find 

386
00:20:34,366 --> 00:20:35,920
the kind of spiritual freedom 
they want. 

387
00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:38,920
It is the spiritual friendship 
that you find in the monastery. 

388
00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:43,920
But what it means in lay life, 
spiritual friendship, is still 

389
00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:46,920
very important. 
Because it is the foundation 

390
00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:51,254
condition which is going to make
the spiritual life possible just

391
00:20:51,254 --> 00:20:54,920
as much in lay life as it is in 
monastic life. 

392
00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:59,844
So have some joy, have some 
sense of happiness that there is

393
00:20:59,844 --> 00:21:02,920
such a thing as a Buddhist 
society in Western Australia. 

394
00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:05,920
A place you can go to find 
like-minded people around you. 

395
00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,920
It is very important to have 
like-minded people in life 

396
00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:11,920
because we are so conditioned by
the people around us. 

397
00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:14,920
There is so much social pressure
in life. 

398
00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:17,320
I know how hard it is to give up
drinking, for example, if 

399
00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:20,920
everybody around you drinks. 
It is extremely difficult. 

400
00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:24,045
Sometimes I tell my younger 
brother that you should really 

401
00:21:24,045 --> 00:21:27,476
stop all this drinking business 
because it is not going to do 

402
00:21:27,476 --> 00:21:29,635
any good. 
But all his friends drink, you 

403
00:21:29,635 --> 00:21:30,920
know. 
So what can I say? 

404
00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:33,920
I can't really tell him to go 
against everybody else. 

405
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:35,920
It is very hard to give up these
kinds of things. 

406
00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:40,152
So don't underestimate the power
of having a place like the 

407
00:21:40,152 --> 00:21:42,350
Buddhist society. 
Having these kinds of people 

408
00:21:42,350 --> 00:21:46,206
around you who are like-minded, 
who think in the same way, who 

409
00:21:46,206 --> 00:21:48,920
do the same kind of things. 
Search these people out. 

410
00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,670
Make sure that you have these 
kinds of friends because it is 

411
00:21:51,670 --> 00:21:55,170
going to be a tremendous support
in your life as a lay person to 

412
00:21:55,170 --> 00:21:56,920
have these kinds of people 
around you. 

413
00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:00,740
Don't underestimate that. 
Remember what I said before 

414
00:22:00,740 --> 00:22:02,920
about the Buddha's teaching of 
non-self. 

415
00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:05,350
There is nobody in here. 
There is nobody controlling all 

416
00:22:05,350 --> 00:22:08,230
of this. 
There is nobody who is always 

417
00:22:08,230 --> 00:22:10,920
able to withstand the pressures 
from outside. 

418
00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:14,613
And because there is nobody who 
is able to withstand all these 

419
00:22:14,613 --> 00:22:17,460
pressures, because there is 
nobody who is able to hold on to

420
00:22:17,460 --> 00:22:21,194
these things, it is incredibly 
important to make sure that the 

421
00:22:21,194 --> 00:22:24,492
external conditions condition 
you in the right way, that push 

422
00:22:24,492 --> 00:22:27,920
you in the right way. 
This is why it is so important. 

423
00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:31,670
So it is a wonderful thing to 
have so many friends, so many 

424
00:22:31,670 --> 00:22:33,920
potential friends in the 
Buddhist society. 

425
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:35,920
Don't underestimate the power of
that. 

426
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:37,920
Make sure you socialize with 
that sort of people. 

427
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:41,420
Make sure you use them. 
Don't abuse them, but use them 

428
00:22:41,420 --> 00:22:45,320
to your best of your ability so 
that you can actually benefit 

429
00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,920
from that spiritual friendship, 
that karyana mitta. 

430
00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:52,420
And of course the other thing is
that you also have a chance of 

431
00:22:52,420 --> 00:22:57,720
coming here to listen to talks. 
And this is your chance to hear 

432
00:22:57,720 --> 00:22:59,920
the Buddha's teachings by coming
to the Buddhist society. 

433
00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:02,920
Again, it is a wonderful and 
amazing thing. 

434
00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:05,922
I don't think sometimes people 
quite understand that a place 

435
00:23:05,922 --> 00:23:08,778
like the Buddhist society, 
Western Australia, how rare it 

436
00:23:08,778 --> 00:23:10,922
is in the world. 
You travel around the world and 

437
00:23:10,922 --> 00:23:13,920
you don't see places like this 
almost anywhere else. 

438
00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:17,557
My own home country is in 
Northern Europe, Norway, far 

439
00:23:17,557 --> 00:23:19,923
away. 
And sometimes I go back there 

440
00:23:19,923 --> 00:23:24,420
and I think it is so backward 
this place compared to Western 

441
00:23:24,420 --> 00:23:26,670
Australia. 
Or even you go to places like 

442
00:23:26,670 --> 00:23:30,120
Sydney, much larger city than 
Perth, and yet the Buddhist 

443
00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:33,170
scene in Sydney is nowhere near,
doesn't have anywhere near the 

444
00:23:33,170 --> 00:23:36,920
kind of quality and cohesion as 
you find in Western Australia. 

445
00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,920
And this is what you see again 
and again around the world. 

446
00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:44,810
Almost wherever you travel, 
particularly in the West, it is 

447
00:23:44,810 --> 00:23:48,920
very difficult to find good 
spiritual friendship, the real 

448
00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:51,920
karyana mittas. 
So value this opportunity. 

449
00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:55,778
Value the ability to come here 
and listen to talks, to be 

450
00:23:55,778 --> 00:23:59,588
around people like Ajahn Brahm, 
people who have a deep 

451
00:23:59,588 --> 00:24:01,670
understanding of these 
teachings, all these other 

452
00:24:01,670 --> 00:24:03,920
teachers who come here and give 
you the teachings. 

453
00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,920
It is a wonderful, wonderful 
opportunity. 

454
00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,635
And then watch those teachers 
and see if they live up to the 

455
00:24:10,635 --> 00:24:13,920
standards that the Buddha said 
they should live up to. 

456
00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:17,588
And then lastly, you also, also 
lay people also, sometimes if 

457
00:24:17,588 --> 00:24:21,545
you have the chance, read a 
little bit of the Buddha's 

458
00:24:21,545 --> 00:24:23,420
teachings. 
There are some very good books 

459
00:24:23,420 --> 00:24:26,920
available now, introductory 
books, which get you started. 

460
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:31,170
Because again, as I said before,
the Buddha, he is the ultimate 

461
00:24:31,170 --> 00:24:33,420
spiritual friend. 
That is where you find the 

462
00:24:33,420 --> 00:24:37,920
ultimate reference for what 
Buddhism really is all about. 

463
00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,720
And that is when you can decide 
for yourself what real Buddhism 

464
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:45,254
actually is. 
So this is the karyana mitta in 

465
00:24:45,254 --> 00:24:47,588
lay life. 
Make sure that you take 

466
00:24:47,588 --> 00:24:50,920
advantage of the opportunity of 
karyana mittas around you. 

467
00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:54,670
Of course, there is also the 
Internet these days, and the 

468
00:24:54,670 --> 00:24:56,920
Internet is a wonderful, 
wonderful thing. 

469
00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:00,920
The Buddhist Society has quite a
good website, I understand. 

470
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:02,420
I don't really know very much 
about these things, but I 

471
00:25:02,420 --> 00:25:04,670
understand it is quite good 
compared to other Buddhist 

472
00:25:04,670 --> 00:25:06,922
websites. 
And the wonderful thing is that 

473
00:25:06,922 --> 00:25:10,256
it allows people around the 
world, I've heard about people 

474
00:25:10,256 --> 00:25:13,520
who live in the middle of 
Christian communities, or 

475
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:16,420
sometimes fundamentalist 
Christian communities, but they 

476
00:25:16,420 --> 00:25:18,920
are Buddhists, they have no 
spiritual friends whatsoever. 

477
00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:22,588
There is nobody to support them.
But they have the virtual 

478
00:25:22,588 --> 00:25:25,670
community of the Internet. 
They can log on and they can 

479
00:25:25,670 --> 00:25:28,558
hear a good Dhamma talk. 
So it is a great thing, it is a 

480
00:25:28,558 --> 00:25:30,670
wonderful investment, I think, 
that the Buddhist Society has 

481
00:25:30,670 --> 00:25:32,740
done. 
To provide this service for 

482
00:25:32,740 --> 00:25:37,064
thousands of people around the 
world who don't have any good 

483
00:25:37,064 --> 00:25:40,255
spiritual friends. 
So this is one of the great 

484
00:25:40,255 --> 00:25:43,285
benefits and the beautiful 
things of using modern 

485
00:25:43,285 --> 00:25:46,920
technology to provide spiritual 
friendship far, far away. 

486
00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:50,984
It is an excellent thing, I 
think, that we are doing here in

487
00:25:50,984 --> 00:25:54,420
the Buddhist Society. 
So that is the spiritual 

488
00:25:54,420 --> 00:25:57,420
friendship. 
What about seclusion in lay 

489
00:25:57,420 --> 00:25:59,520
life? 
How should we approach 

490
00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:02,254
seclusion? 
And there is a story, again from

491
00:26:02,254 --> 00:26:06,720
the suttas, where one of the 
Buddha's main supporters, a man 

492
00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:10,254
known as Anathapindika, he was 
probably the main supporter of 

493
00:26:10,254 --> 00:26:13,720
the Buddha, he gave vast 
fortunes to the Sangha, to build

494
00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:16,920
monasteries in particular. 
And he once went to the Buddha, 

495
00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:20,520
and the Buddha gave him a 
teaching, and he said to 

496
00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:24,520
Anathapindika, you also, 
Anathapindika, you also, and lay

497
00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:28,476
people, you should also 
sometimes get away from the 

498
00:26:28,476 --> 00:26:32,920
city, get away from the hustle 
and bustle of life, and enjoy 

499
00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,920
the happiness that comes from 
seclusion. 

500
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:39,921
The happiness that comes from 
the seclusion is the happiness 

501
00:26:39,921 --> 00:26:43,545
of the mind, the happiness that 
you get from meditation 

502
00:26:43,545 --> 00:26:45,720
practice. 
So the Buddha said that every 

503
00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:50,920
one of you here, if you are 
eager about spiritual practice, 

504
00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:55,720
sometimes take the opportunity 
to go away, do something, go 

505
00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:59,795
somewhere peaceful, go somewhere
fun, go somewhere far away from 

506
00:26:59,795 --> 00:27:03,349
the ordinary pleasures, the 
hustle and bustle of life, and 

507
00:27:03,349 --> 00:27:05,920
do a meditation retreat, for 
example. 

508
00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:09,920
It's a wonderful thing that the 
Buddha Society now is building, 

509
00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:13,670
a meditation retreat center. 
I'm sure all of you have heard 

510
00:27:13,670 --> 00:27:16,207
about this meditation retreat 
center, just across from 

511
00:27:16,207 --> 00:27:17,920
Bodhinyana Monastery in 
Serpentine. 

512
00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:21,254
It's a beautiful meditation 
center, very peaceful 

513
00:27:21,254 --> 00:27:24,720
surroundings, just like being in
a monastery really, the same 

514
00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:27,920
kind of surroundings. 
So if you have the opportunity, 

515
00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:30,920
use that meditation center in 
the future. 

516
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:32,920
It's a wonderful and great 
resource. 

517
00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:36,587
I think it's probably difficult 
to find anywhere else in the 

518
00:27:36,587 --> 00:27:40,588
world that has such a wonderful 
meditation retreat center as the

519
00:27:40,588 --> 00:27:43,920
Buddha Society has here. 
So make use of that resource. 

520
00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:47,920
The Buddha said we should make 
use of this kind of resource. 

521
00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:52,587
So this is the kind of seclusion
that you can get also in lay 

522
00:27:52,587 --> 00:27:54,476
life. 
Make sure you do that from time 

523
00:27:54,476 --> 00:27:58,350
to time, to test out how you're 
going, to test out if you're 

524
00:27:58,350 --> 00:28:02,206
making progress, to test out if 
that mind is being developed in 

525
00:28:02,206 --> 00:28:05,558
the way that it should be. 
So all of these things are 

526
00:28:05,558 --> 00:28:08,587
support for developing the mind.
If you have that spiritual 

527
00:28:08,587 --> 00:28:11,922
friendship, if you have that 
seclusion, then developing of 

528
00:28:11,922 --> 00:28:15,922
the mind is going to happen. 
It's going to happen much faster

529
00:28:15,922 --> 00:28:19,476
than it's otherwise going to do.
So that was going back to where 

530
00:28:19,476 --> 00:28:23,154
I started. 
I said I became a monk largely 

531
00:28:23,154 --> 00:28:28,254
because of being able to live, 
of being able to live in a 

532
00:28:28,254 --> 00:28:30,254
monastic setting. 
I chose that because I realized 

533
00:28:30,254 --> 00:28:33,466
the many benefits, I think at 
least in part, I've realized 

534
00:28:33,466 --> 00:28:36,420
those benefits much more after 
becoming a monk actually than 

535
00:28:36,420 --> 00:28:38,670
initially. 
But that was one of my decisions

536
00:28:38,670 --> 00:28:42,420
because I knew that was going to
be beneficial for developing the

537
00:28:42,420 --> 00:28:44,285
mind. 
And developing the mind made 

538
00:28:44,285 --> 00:28:45,920
such incredibly good sense to 
me. 

539
00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:49,350
When I looked around the world, 
I realized that it's the 

540
00:28:49,350 --> 00:28:51,920
happiness of the mind which 
really matters in life. 

541
00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:55,557
The happiness that comes from 
material things is not so 

542
00:28:55,557 --> 00:28:57,670
important. 
You can travel to some of the 

543
00:28:57,670 --> 00:29:00,587
poorest countries in the world 
and sometimes you see people 

544
00:29:00,587 --> 00:29:02,350
happy. 
They have beautiful smiles on 

545
00:29:02,350 --> 00:29:05,920
their faces even though they're 
absolutely dirt poor. 

546
00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:10,768
So that was one decision I made.
And it is interesting that all 

547
00:29:10,768 --> 00:29:14,032
the decisions that you have to 
make, can make in life, or 

548
00:29:14,032 --> 00:29:17,739
should make in life, or have to 
make sometimes, all the choices 

549
00:29:17,739 --> 00:29:22,920
that you have to make or can 
make, these can always be made 

550
00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:27,920
according to a very natural, 
very simple rule of thumb. 

551
00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:31,388
And this is the kind of rule 
which I want to just mention 

552
00:29:31,388 --> 00:29:34,170
briefly here. 
We recently, just yesterday, we 

553
00:29:34,170 --> 00:29:36,670
had a monk in Bodhinyana 
Monastery who left for Sri 

554
00:29:36,670 --> 00:29:38,350
Lanka. 
And every time somebody leaves 

555
00:29:38,350 --> 00:29:42,587
the monastery, I think to 
myself, why should one leave the

556
00:29:42,587 --> 00:29:44,920
monastery? 
What is the reason? 

557
00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:48,920
What is the right time to leave 
a place and go somewhere else? 

558
00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,520
Sometimes I myself have thought 
about, should I go somewhere 

559
00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:54,587
else? 
Should I start a monastery 

560
00:29:54,587 --> 00:29:56,921
somewhere? 
I was recently invited to start 

561
00:29:56,921 --> 00:29:59,920
a monastery actually. 
And the more I think about it, 

562
00:29:59,920 --> 00:30:02,920
the more I think, well maybe I 
should, maybe I shouldn't. 

563
00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:05,920
But what actually criteria 
should I use to decide this? 

564
00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:10,520
And the Buddha gave a very 
simple rule of thumb to decide 

565
00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:14,920
if a monk or a nun or anybody 
should go somewhere else. 

566
00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:19,420
He said that if you are 
improving in wholesome 

567
00:30:19,420 --> 00:30:23,254
qualities, if your mind is 
developing in mindfulness, if 

568
00:30:23,254 --> 00:30:26,587
your meditation is becoming 
better, if you are becoming more

569
00:30:26,587 --> 00:30:29,020
concentrated, if you are 
reducing in the unwholesome 

570
00:30:29,020 --> 00:30:32,920
aspects of life, then you should
stay where you are. 

571
00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:37,920
You should not go anywhere else.
The Buddha went so far as to say

572
00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:41,670
even if they ask you to leave 
this monastery, you should not 

573
00:30:41,670 --> 00:30:43,670
go. 
You should still hold on to this

574
00:30:43,670 --> 00:30:45,537
place. 
I remember some years ago we had

575
00:30:45,537 --> 00:30:46,920
a monk staying at Bodhinyana 
Monastery. 

576
00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:50,170
He said, even if I'm told to 
leave, I will chain myself to 

577
00:30:50,170 --> 00:30:52,920
the front gate of the monastery 
here, because this is really 

578
00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:54,920
working for me here. 
And he was right. 

579
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:58,720
It was the right thing to say, 
because the Buddha said that you

580
00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:01,920
can refuse to leave if things 
are going really well for you. 

581
00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:03,920
Of course, maybe there comes a 
point when you have to leave 

582
00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:07,588
because it becomes too 
difficult, but you can at least 

583
00:31:07,588 --> 00:31:10,635
try to refuse initially. 
And when you should leave a 

584
00:31:10,635 --> 00:31:13,670
monastery is when you are 
deteriorating, when you're 

585
00:31:13,670 --> 00:31:16,588
getting more unwholesome 
qualities coming up, more anger,

586
00:31:16,588 --> 00:31:19,420
more desire, more jealousy. 
Your meditation is 

587
00:31:19,420 --> 00:31:23,420
deteriorating, your mindfulness 
is getting worse, your wisdom is

588
00:31:23,420 --> 00:31:25,420
deteriorating. 
That is when you should leave 

589
00:31:25,420 --> 00:31:27,720
the monastery. 
The Buddha said you should leave

590
00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:30,920
that very same day because it's 
pointless to stay in a place 

591
00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:33,920
where things are going down. 
Why? 

592
00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:37,255
Because the whole purpose of 
life is to increase the 

593
00:31:37,255 --> 00:31:40,920
wholesome qualities of the mind.
This is what it's all about. 

594
00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:44,032
This is the whole point of this.
If you're missing the whole 

595
00:31:44,032 --> 00:31:46,698
point of this life, then of 
course you have to do something 

596
00:31:46,698 --> 00:31:47,920
else. 
You have to leave. 

597
00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:49,920
You have to go to a different 
place. 

598
00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:53,588
So this is the criteria by which
you should judge whether you 

599
00:31:53,588 --> 00:31:55,920
should go somewhere or not go 
somewhere. 

600
00:31:55,920 --> 00:32:00,587
Are things going right for you? 
Are you increasing in the 

601
00:32:00,587 --> 00:32:02,588
wholesome? 
Are you becoming more happy, 

602
00:32:02,588 --> 00:32:05,920
more contented, more satisfied? 
Is your mind becoming brighter? 

603
00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:09,350
Are you getting more wisdom? 
Are you getting more compassion 

604
00:32:09,350 --> 00:32:10,920
and kindness for the world 
around you? 

605
00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:13,920
What do you feel inside of you? 
Do you feel better? 

606
00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:17,920
If you do, then you should stay 
put where you are because things

607
00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:21,635
are going somewhere else. 
Of course, grass tends to look 

608
00:32:21,635 --> 00:32:23,920
greener on the other side of the
fence. 

609
00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:26,920
So you have to be very careful 
not to just jump over the fence 

610
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:30,588
just because it looks greener. 
If we're doing well already, 

611
00:32:30,588 --> 00:32:33,920
stay where you are. 
Don't move on. 

612
00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:37,466
And the Buddha said this is not 
only for deciding where you 

613
00:32:37,466 --> 00:32:39,920
should live or whether you 
should move or not. 

614
00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:44,920
This is also about deciding 
anything in monastic life. 

615
00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:46,920
What sort of food should you 
eat? 

616
00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:48,920
What sort of robe should you 
wear? 

617
00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:50,920
What sort of hut should you live
in? 

618
00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:54,420
What sort of choices in life? 
Almost anything you choose 

619
00:32:54,420 --> 00:32:58,921
should always be guided by 
whether it will increase the 

620
00:32:58,921 --> 00:33:02,920
wholesome in you or it will 
increase the unwholesome. 

621
00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:05,920
That is the general guiding 
principle. 

622
00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:10,012
It's a very simple way of making
decisions, a beautiful way of 

623
00:33:10,012 --> 00:33:11,920
being able to make decisions in 
life. 

624
00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:16,920
And you can, of course, apply 
that also to lay life. 

625
00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:19,920
This is not something that only 
applies to monastic life. 

626
00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:21,920
How do you apply that in lay 
life? 

627
00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:25,920
Well, in lay life, sometimes I 
think we tend to forget. 

628
00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:30,120
We tend to sort of sometimes put
the spiritual life is like in 

629
00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:33,620
one pigeonhole, and then our 
worldly life is in a different 

630
00:33:33,620 --> 00:33:35,376
pigeonhole. 
But we have to be sure that we 

631
00:33:35,376 --> 00:33:38,920
try to integrate the spiritual 
life into our worldly life. 

632
00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:43,920
It's very important to make our 
worldly life spiritual in a 

633
00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:46,921
certain sense. 
So when we make our ordinary 

634
00:33:46,921 --> 00:33:50,170
life more spiritual, then when 
we have a spiritual life, we 

635
00:33:50,170 --> 00:33:53,420
have to make a choice in life, 
particularly the really large, 

636
00:33:53,420 --> 00:33:59,376
the really important choices. 
Make sure you try to give those 

637
00:33:59,376 --> 00:34:05,420
choices a spiritual factor. 
Give it a spiritual, one of the 

638
00:34:05,420 --> 00:34:09,306
components, one of the things 
that you use to decide things in

639
00:34:09,306 --> 00:34:12,699
your life. 
Make sure spirituality, how you 

640
00:34:12,699 --> 00:34:17,587
can develop your mind, make that
part of the choices in daily 

641
00:34:17,587 --> 00:34:19,670
life. 
So, for example, if you are a 

642
00:34:19,670 --> 00:34:22,754
thing and maybe you should move 
houses, you want to go somewhere

643
00:34:22,754 --> 00:34:26,254
else, maybe a place you think is
nicer, maybe you think you're 

644
00:34:26,254 --> 00:34:30,920
moving overseas or interstate or
whatever, then ask yourself, 

645
00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:34,920
what effect is this going to 
have on your spiritual life? 

646
00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:38,350
Are you going to be able to have
a good spiritual community 

647
00:34:38,350 --> 00:34:40,120
around you? 
Remind yourself of the 

648
00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:41,920
importance of a good spiritual 
community. 

649
00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:43,920
Are you going to find that 
there? 

650
00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:47,920
Is it going to be as good as it 
is where you're staying now? 

651
00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:50,920
Or is it not? 
Make that at least one factor. 

652
00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:55,320
It is not wrong, of course, to 
travel overseas or interstate or

653
00:34:55,320 --> 00:34:58,920
changing houses or whatever. 
There's nothing wrong with that.

654
00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:02,254
But try to bring the spiritual 
aspect into the equation to 

655
00:35:02,254 --> 00:35:05,920
broaden your scope of view a 
little bit when you decide on 

656
00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:09,064
these kind of issues. 
I know people who have moved 

657
00:35:09,064 --> 00:35:13,636
close here to the Buddhist site 
in Dolamara to have easy access 

658
00:35:13,636 --> 00:35:16,254
to this place. 
And I think that's a wonderful 

659
00:35:16,254 --> 00:35:19,588
thing to do because you are 
showing, in a sense, that you 

660
00:35:19,588 --> 00:35:21,920
are very dedicated to the 
Buddhist path. 

661
00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:26,504
And it gives you a chance to 
increase your practice of 

662
00:35:26,504 --> 00:35:28,920
Buddhism. 
What other choices in life? 

663
00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:31,920
Choices about careers, for 
example. 

664
00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:35,778
Maybe you get a possibility of 
getting a new job with much 

665
00:35:35,778 --> 00:35:38,920
better salary, with better 
status, higher up in the 

666
00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:41,921
hierarchy of a company. 
Should you accept that job or 

667
00:35:41,921 --> 00:35:44,921
should you not? 
Well, again, there is no right 

668
00:35:44,921 --> 00:35:47,476
or wrong answer. 
It's not as if you should always

669
00:35:47,476 --> 00:35:52,254
say yes or always should know. 
The point is more that make the 

670
00:35:52,254 --> 00:35:56,920
spiritual aspect one of the 
aspects in making that decision 

671
00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:59,476
for yourself. 
Should I accept a job or should 

672
00:35:59,476 --> 00:36:02,320
I not? 
If you think that accepting a 

673
00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:06,104
job with more responsibility, 
with higher salary, is going to 

674
00:36:06,104 --> 00:36:09,920
make you more stressed out, it's
going to make you more... 

675
00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:11,920
And when you get stressed, maybe
your temper gets much shorter, 

676
00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:14,920
maybe you start saying bad 
things to people around you, 

677
00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:16,920
well, then maybe you should have
second thoughts. 

678
00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:18,920
What is really important in 
life? 

679
00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:23,831
Is it my spiritual progress, the
fact that I can actually do 

680
00:36:23,831 --> 00:36:27,254
something with my mind, change 
my mind, develop the mind, or 

681
00:36:27,254 --> 00:36:29,920
are the worldly things more 
important to me? 

682
00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:33,670
Take it into... 
Add this to the equation of your

683
00:36:33,670 --> 00:36:37,635
life and then ask yourself. 
You might alter things a little 

684
00:36:37,635 --> 00:36:39,350
bit. 
You might look at things 

685
00:36:39,350 --> 00:36:41,420
slightly different. 
Maybe you will decide it's not 

686
00:36:41,420 --> 00:36:44,720
really worthwhile taking on lots
of responsibility, which might 

687
00:36:44,720 --> 00:36:48,920
be very stressful and might have
a detrimental effect on my life,

688
00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:52,254
my spiritual life. 
So again, I'm not saying this 

689
00:36:52,254 --> 00:36:54,739
because I say that there is a 
right or wrong answer in these 

690
00:36:54,739 --> 00:36:57,492
things. 
Just make this part of the 

691
00:36:57,492 --> 00:36:59,635
equation. 
The last thing I was thinking 

692
00:36:59,635 --> 00:37:02,320
about is very important in 
people's lives, particularly 

693
00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:05,032
when you are young. 
People think, well, should we 

694
00:37:05,032 --> 00:37:07,635
have children or not? 
And how many children should we 

695
00:37:07,635 --> 00:37:09,920
have? 
Again, ask yourself again. 

696
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:13,920
It's a question of, again, there
is no right or wrong answers. 

697
00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:17,921
But that, of course, again, the 
spiritual life, put that also 

698
00:37:17,921 --> 00:37:21,670
into the equation in deciding if
you should have children and if 

699
00:37:21,670 --> 00:37:28,120
so, how many you should have. 
So these are some ways of using 

700
00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:31,920
the spiritual guide to make 
decisions in life. 

701
00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:35,831
And you can actually use this 
idea of what is going to be good

702
00:37:35,831 --> 00:37:38,831
for your spiritual life in 
almost any kind of decision that

703
00:37:38,831 --> 00:37:42,492
you take in life. 
So try to do this because it 

704
00:37:42,492 --> 00:37:43,920
might change your perspective 
slightly. 

705
00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:48,320
It might change your way of 
looking at things slightly from 

706
00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:51,254
what otherwise would be. 
You may come to some interesting

707
00:37:51,254 --> 00:37:58,295
results in life if you do that. 
So these things are just a few 

708
00:37:58,295 --> 00:38:02,920
things to help you, give you 
support in mental development. 

709
00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:06,588
I want to talk briefly about 
what mental development, how we 

710
00:38:06,588 --> 00:38:08,920
actually do it in more practical
things. 

711
00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:11,720
I'm not going to talk very much 
about this because mental 

712
00:38:11,720 --> 00:38:14,920
development is really just about
the Eightfold Path. 

713
00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:18,520
Practicing all the Buddhist 
practices that we talk about 

714
00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:21,920
normally, that is what mental 
development is all about. 

715
00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:24,588
But just very briefly, mental 
development usually can be 

716
00:38:24,588 --> 00:38:28,320
divided into three aspects. 
You have the virtue aspect, the 

717
00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:31,587
morality, if you like. 
Then you have the meditation 

718
00:38:31,587 --> 00:38:33,920
aspect, and then you have the 
wisdom aspect. 

719
00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:36,920
These are the three aspects of 
developing the mind. 

720
00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:41,420
And you will find that all of 
these three aspects, ultimately,

721
00:38:41,420 --> 00:38:44,920
they come down to the 
development of the mind. 

722
00:38:44,920 --> 00:38:48,170
If you practice virtue, what is 
happening if you are a good 

723
00:38:48,170 --> 00:38:49,920
person, if you are a moral 
person? 

724
00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:53,254
If you want to be a moral 
person, sometimes you have to 

725
00:38:53,254 --> 00:38:55,670
restrain yourself from doing 
things that you otherwise might 

726
00:38:55,670 --> 00:38:57,635
do. 
You have to stop maybe saying 

727
00:38:57,635 --> 00:39:00,520
something that you might want to
say to somebody because you know

728
00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:03,587
it doesn't fit with the moral 
code as it's prescribed by the 

729
00:39:03,587 --> 00:39:06,143
Buddha. 
So you restrain yourself, and 

730
00:39:06,143 --> 00:39:07,920
the restraint, of course, 
happens in the mind. 

731
00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:11,920
So it is the mind which develops
when you are virtuous. 

732
00:39:11,920 --> 00:39:15,670
Or you decide to be kind, you 
decide to say something nice to 

733
00:39:15,670 --> 00:39:17,920
somebody that maybe otherwise 
you would not. 

734
00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:20,921
And again, of course, that 
impetus, that intention comes 

735
00:39:20,921 --> 00:39:24,920
from the mind, even though it 
actually is a verbal act. 

736
00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:29,920
So ultimately, all morality also
is a mental thing. 

737
00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:32,920
That's why it counts as a 
development of the mind. 

738
00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:37,588
As you are being virtuous, as 
you are being kind, you start 

739
00:39:37,588 --> 00:39:40,587
feeling better about yourself. 
You don't have any remorse 

740
00:39:40,587 --> 00:39:42,921
anymore. 
You create a sense of beauty 

741
00:39:42,921 --> 00:39:46,545
inside of you. 
And because there is no sense of

742
00:39:46,545 --> 00:39:50,120
remorse, there is less darkness 
in the mind, less grayness in 

743
00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:52,920
the mind, you start to feel 
lighter. 

744
00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:55,635
You feel more beautiful. 
You feel more radiant inside of 

745
00:39:55,635 --> 00:39:57,831
you. 
You feel a sense that the mind 

746
00:39:57,831 --> 00:40:00,920
is becoming more beautiful. 
And you can see this happening 

747
00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:04,921
if you are able to sustain that 
virtuous practice over a long 

748
00:40:04,921 --> 00:40:07,587
period of time. 
And essentially, the main thing 

749
00:40:07,587 --> 00:40:10,920
here is that you are taking away
remorse. 

750
00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:14,920
You may think that you don't 
have any remorse after doing 

751
00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:18,170
something bad, but very often 
what happens is that the remorse

752
00:40:18,170 --> 00:40:20,920
we often have is a very kind of 
subtle thing. 

753
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:24,520
You may not even be able to see 
it inside of your mind, but it's

754
00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:28,420
almost as if the mind gets 
slightly darker or slightly more

755
00:40:28,420 --> 00:40:30,920
gloomy because we have done 
something negative. 

756
00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:33,920
And you may not even be aware of
it yourself. 

757
00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:37,520
But the Buddha said that if you 
are virtuous, you take away that

758
00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:39,420
remorse. 
And that's why the mind slowly 

759
00:40:39,420 --> 00:40:43,587
but surely, stage by stage, 
becomes more radiant, more 

760
00:40:43,587 --> 00:40:48,120
peaceful, more kind, more 
compassionate as you practice 

761
00:40:48,120 --> 00:40:51,920
that virtue. 
So virtue is mental development.

762
00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:55,920
Being moral is the development 
of the mind. 

763
00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:58,920
And of course meditation then 
takes that mental development 

764
00:40:58,920 --> 00:41:03,420
even further because then you 
are working directly with the 

765
00:41:03,420 --> 00:41:07,076
mind itself. 
But in life in general, and this

766
00:41:07,076 --> 00:41:11,420
is true both for monastic life 
and also for lay life, the most 

767
00:41:11,420 --> 00:41:14,920
important aspect in all these 
trainings is always the aspect 

768
00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:18,920
of virtue. 
This is so important in life 

769
00:41:18,920 --> 00:41:21,920
because this is like the 
foundation stone. 

770
00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:26,064
If you can be virtuous, if you 
can be good, then you are laying

771
00:41:26,064 --> 00:41:28,920
the foundation stone for 
meditation to happen. 

772
00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:32,254
You almost don't have to 
meditate at all if you are in 

773
00:41:32,254 --> 00:41:34,120
lay life. 
Very often people don't have so 

774
00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:36,920
much time for meditation. 
And it's okay. 

775
00:41:36,920 --> 00:41:40,350
Very often people think that 
meditation is the essence of the

776
00:41:40,350 --> 00:41:42,720
Buddhist path, so what I should 
really do more than anything 

777
00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:46,320
else is meditate. 
And I would say no, what you 

778
00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:48,920
should really do more than 
anything else is to make sure 

779
00:41:48,920 --> 00:41:52,920
that you live a kind and good 
life, a moral life, kindness 

780
00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:55,920
towards others, goodness towards
others. 

781
00:41:55,920 --> 00:42:00,420
That should be the main priority
in all life, whether monastic or

782
00:42:00,420 --> 00:42:02,720
lay. 
Because when you do that, you 

783
00:42:02,720 --> 00:42:05,920
are creating the mind which will
be able to meditate. 

784
00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:08,920
If you don't do it, you can 
meditate, you can meditate as 

785
00:42:08,920 --> 00:42:12,420
much as you want, but you will 
never get there because you 

786
00:42:12,420 --> 00:42:13,920
haven't laid down the foundation
work. 

787
00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:17,920
That is how important it is to 
have a virtuous and moral life. 

788
00:42:17,920 --> 00:42:21,820
It's the only way that you are 
going to be able to have a 

789
00:42:21,820 --> 00:42:23,920
stable and good meditation in 
the future. 

790
00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:25,920
So this is where your focus 
should be. 

791
00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:30,120
This is the main focus in 
developing the mind as far as 

792
00:42:30,120 --> 00:42:32,921
I'm concerned. 
And then if you do some 

793
00:42:32,921 --> 00:42:37,045
meditation in life, in daily 
life, ask yourself, how can I 

794
00:42:37,045 --> 00:42:41,420
use this meditation to support 
my practice of virtue and 

795
00:42:41,420 --> 00:42:43,635
morality? 
If virtue and morality is so 

796
00:42:43,635 --> 00:42:46,920
important, what sort of 
meditation will support that? 

797
00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:50,254
And of course, you can do a 
little bit of compassion, a 

798
00:42:50,254 --> 00:42:54,720
little bit of metta meditation, 
so that when you have the metta 

799
00:42:54,720 --> 00:42:58,648
inside of you, it's so much 
easier to be kind and to be 

800
00:42:58,648 --> 00:43:00,920
moral and to be good to the 
people around you. 

801
00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:04,254
So it's a very powerful way of 
helping your virtue, helping 

802
00:43:04,254 --> 00:43:07,104
your morality. 
Or you can just do a little bit 

803
00:43:07,104 --> 00:43:10,220
of peace meditation because 
again, if you feel peaceful, if 

804
00:43:10,220 --> 00:43:14,254
you have a sense of tranquility 
inside of you, if you feel good 

805
00:43:14,254 --> 00:43:18,320
about yourself, it's so much 
easier to be kind and good to 

806
00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:21,476
the world around you. 
So that, I think, should be the 

807
00:43:21,476 --> 00:43:23,920
main purpose of meditation 
practice. 

808
00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:29,254
Use it as a support for your 
virtue, for your kindness in 

809
00:43:29,254 --> 00:43:31,588
daily life. 
And then if occasionally you 

810
00:43:31,588 --> 00:43:34,920
have a deep meditation, that's 
wonderful and that's great. 

811
00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:37,920
But sometimes it's difficult to 
get that really deep meditation 

812
00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:40,831
in lay life. 
If you cannot get it, don't be 

813
00:43:40,831 --> 00:43:44,468
too concerned about it. 
Use it instead just a little bit

814
00:43:44,468 --> 00:43:48,588
to get that sense of feeling 
better about yourself, to make 

815
00:43:48,588 --> 00:43:51,920
it easier to be kind to the 
world around you. 

816
00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:55,920
So this is the power and the 
importance of virtue. 

817
00:43:55,920 --> 00:43:58,920
And this is the most important 
part of mental development. 

818
00:43:58,920 --> 00:44:02,466
Then, when you have a chance to 
go on retreat maybe, you have a 

819
00:44:02,466 --> 00:44:05,720
chance to go to the new 
meditation retreat, the retreat 

820
00:44:05,720 --> 00:44:09,831
center in Serpentine, then you 
can test yourself and see how 

821
00:44:09,831 --> 00:44:14,193
far your meditation, your 
practice of virtue has gone, and

822
00:44:14,193 --> 00:44:16,920
see if it has an effect on your 
meditation practice. 

823
00:44:16,920 --> 00:44:20,220
And then maybe if your 
meditation is going well, then 

824
00:44:20,220 --> 00:44:22,920
maybe you can even start 
developing the wisdom aspect, 

825
00:44:22,920 --> 00:44:26,720
the panya aspect of meditation, 
or rather I should say of 

826
00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:29,420
development of the mind. 
Because then when your 

827
00:44:29,420 --> 00:44:32,768
meditation is going well, that 
is when wisdom has a real chance

828
00:44:32,768 --> 00:44:38,420
to arise in the mind. 
So this then is what we mean 

829
00:44:38,420 --> 00:44:40,920
essentially by development or 
developing the mind. 

830
00:44:40,920 --> 00:44:42,920
These are the three kind of 
characteristics. 

831
00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:47,005
And when you develop this, 
again, what you see inside of 

832
00:44:47,005 --> 00:44:51,720
yourself happening is you become
more peaceful, stage by stage, 

833
00:44:51,720 --> 00:44:54,587
slowly, slowly. 
You become a more peaceful 

834
00:44:54,587 --> 00:44:56,920
person. 
You become more contented. 

835
00:44:56,920 --> 00:44:58,920
You become more satisfied with 
life. 

836
00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:01,920
You get more self-esteem. 
You get more self-confidence. 

837
00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:04,920
You feel better about yourself. 
All these things. 

838
00:45:04,920 --> 00:45:08,920
All these things that we want in
life, they come from this kind 

839
00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:12,795
of development of the mind. 
And of course it's wonderful 

840
00:45:12,795 --> 00:45:15,920
when that happens. 
And you should observe yourself,

841
00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:20,920
look at yourself as you do this 
practice, and see if this sort 

842
00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:22,920
of development actually is 
happening. 

843
00:45:22,920 --> 00:45:26,420
If you look inside of yourself 
and you see the development is 

844
00:45:26,420 --> 00:45:30,520
not happening, nothing is going 
on, then you should ask 

845
00:45:30,520 --> 00:45:32,920
yourself, what am I doing wrong?
Where? 

846
00:45:32,920 --> 00:45:35,920
What is not happening? 
What is going right? 

847
00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:38,920
Maybe there is some adjustment I
can do to my practice to sort 

848
00:45:38,920 --> 00:45:41,920
things out so I get more mental 
development out of this. 

849
00:45:41,920 --> 00:45:48,207
And when you evaluate yourself 
in this way, and it's very 

850
00:45:48,207 --> 00:45:51,206
important to evaluate yourself, 
for goodness sake, don't 

851
00:45:51,206 --> 00:45:54,420
evaluate just from a day-to-day 
basis, not from week-to-week 

852
00:45:54,420 --> 00:45:56,420
basis. 
Evaluate yourself from 

853
00:45:56,420 --> 00:45:58,920
month-to-month, from 
year-to-year. 

854
00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:02,587
Take a very long-term approach. 
Because these things take a 

855
00:46:02,587 --> 00:46:04,920
while and they actually have an 
effect on the mind. 

856
00:46:04,920 --> 00:46:08,587
So don't be impatient. 
Don't think that it isn't 

857
00:46:08,587 --> 00:46:10,920
working just because you haven't
got results straight away. 

858
00:46:10,920 --> 00:46:14,795
Allow it to take time. 
And then evaluate yourself over 

859
00:46:14,795 --> 00:46:17,920
periods of time, long periods of
time. 

860
00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:20,587
And then you will see whether 
your practice is actually 

861
00:46:20,587 --> 00:46:22,670
working. 
You have to be patient in this 

862
00:46:22,670 --> 00:46:24,420
practice. 
Patience is extraordinarily 

863
00:46:24,420 --> 00:46:29,780
important as well. 
So, I want to go back to where I

864
00:46:29,780 --> 00:46:33,256
started off on this talk. 
At the very beginning I said 

865
00:46:33,256 --> 00:46:35,698
that this is one of the most 
wonderful discoveries of the 

866
00:46:35,698 --> 00:46:39,557
Buddha, that there is such a 
thing as development of the 

867
00:46:39,557 --> 00:46:41,920
mind. 
And I always ask myself, 

868
00:46:41,920 --> 00:46:43,820
sometimes I wonder, I look 
around the world and I say to 

869
00:46:43,820 --> 00:46:47,558
myself, why is it that not 
everybody practices development 

870
00:46:47,558 --> 00:46:50,670
of the mind? 
Why is it that so many people 

871
00:46:50,670 --> 00:46:54,254
are trapped in this idea that 
their happiness is going to come

872
00:46:54,254 --> 00:46:57,920
from outside, through 
relationships, through wealth, 

873
00:46:57,920 --> 00:46:59,920
through possessions, through all
these kinds of things? 

874
00:46:59,920 --> 00:47:03,920
Yes, there is happiness to be 
gained in those things. 

875
00:47:03,920 --> 00:47:07,120
But the real happiness, the true
happiness, comes from developing

876
00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:09,350
the mind. 
It doesn't matter how wealthy 

877
00:47:09,350 --> 00:47:12,420
you are, it doesn't matter what 
sort of relationship you are, if

878
00:47:12,420 --> 00:47:15,920
you are depressed, you are going
to be miserable anyway. 

879
00:47:15,920 --> 00:47:19,320
So the reality is that the mind 
is so much more important than 

880
00:47:19,320 --> 00:47:22,520
all these external things. 
So why doesn't everybody 

881
00:47:22,520 --> 00:47:24,920
practice the development of the 
mind? 

882
00:47:24,920 --> 00:47:28,194
What is the reason for that? 
And the main reason for that, as

883
00:47:28,194 --> 00:47:32,520
I can see it, is we have this 
sense of, this sense of self 

884
00:47:32,520 --> 00:47:34,922
inside. 
This sense of self gives us a 

885
00:47:34,922 --> 00:47:38,920
feeling that we are who we are. 
And because we are who we are, 

886
00:47:38,920 --> 00:47:42,557
we are not really able to 
understand the potential for 

887
00:47:42,557 --> 00:47:44,920
change that there is inside of 
the mind. 

888
00:47:44,920 --> 00:47:48,420
We are blinded, we are blocked 
by this thing inside of us that 

889
00:47:48,420 --> 00:47:52,920
we see, this sense of self, this
illusion of a self. 

890
00:47:52,920 --> 00:47:55,768
We are blinded by this, to 
thinking that we cannot actually

891
00:47:55,768 --> 00:47:57,920
go so far with developing the 
mind. 

892
00:47:57,920 --> 00:48:02,558
And that's why we tend to, I 
think, not put in as much effort

893
00:48:02,558 --> 00:48:05,698
as we otherwise might do. 
And it's a bit, to give you the 

894
00:48:05,698 --> 00:48:08,588
example, it's a bit like 
somebody, this is from Ajahn 

895
00:48:08,588 --> 00:48:12,920
Brahm's book, Opening Door of 
Your Heart, a bit like somebody,

896
00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:15,920
no, that's not the right, right 
symbol I want to use, it's just,

897
00:48:15,920 --> 00:48:19,920
it's just as if somebody is very
depressed, and they feel down, 

898
00:48:19,920 --> 00:48:22,920
and after a while they feel 
there is no hope anymore. 

899
00:48:22,920 --> 00:48:26,565
They feel this is the way it is,
I'm depressed, and they think 

900
00:48:26,565 --> 00:48:28,920
maybe the only way out of this 
is to commit suicide. 

901
00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:31,920
Because this life is not worth 
living anymore. 

902
00:48:31,920 --> 00:48:34,920
Why is it that somebody commits 
suicide when they are depressed?

903
00:48:34,920 --> 00:48:38,795
It's because there is no hope. 
Because they think that this 

904
00:48:38,795 --> 00:48:41,920
condition is permanent, they 
think that this is who they are,

905
00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:45,768
they are this depressed thing, 
and the only way to get out of 

906
00:48:45,768 --> 00:48:47,920
it is by committing suicide. 
There is a sense of self again, 

907
00:48:47,920 --> 00:48:51,740
there is this illusion of a 
self, which blinds you to think 

908
00:48:51,740 --> 00:48:55,420
that things are much more 
permanent than they actually 

909
00:48:55,420 --> 00:48:57,670
are. 
But of course, depression is not

910
00:48:57,670 --> 00:48:58,920
permanent. 
It's not permanent. 

911
00:48:58,920 --> 00:49:02,635
Eventually, if you keep going, 
you will get out of that 

912
00:49:02,635 --> 00:49:04,476
depression. 
And that's why one of the most 

913
00:49:04,476 --> 00:49:07,420
important things is to remind 
somebody who is depressed, tell 

914
00:49:07,420 --> 00:49:12,587
them, this is impermanent, this 
will change, this is not who you

915
00:49:12,587 --> 00:49:15,254
are. 
Eventually, if you just keep 

916
00:49:15,254 --> 00:49:18,587
holding out, keep doing the 
right thing, you will get out of

917
00:49:18,587 --> 00:49:20,285
this. 
And I think everybody probably 

918
00:49:20,285 --> 00:49:23,320
has had times in their lives 
that have been difficult, most 

919
00:49:23,320 --> 00:49:26,420
people probably had times when 
they felt a bit depressed, or 

920
00:49:26,420 --> 00:49:29,778
down, or sad, or depressed. 
And we know that these things 

921
00:49:29,778 --> 00:49:31,920
end. 
This is just the way things are.

922
00:49:31,920 --> 00:49:35,587
So again, we should remind 
ourselves that the mind is 

923
00:49:35,587 --> 00:49:38,064
impermanent. 
The way we are, the way we look 

924
00:49:38,064 --> 00:49:40,920
at the world, everything can 
change. 

925
00:49:40,920 --> 00:49:44,922
So when we think about 
developing the mind, there is no

926
00:49:44,922 --> 00:49:46,920
limit to our development in 
mind. 

927
00:49:46,920 --> 00:49:49,795
There is no end to it. 
You can achieve states of 

928
00:49:49,795 --> 00:49:53,921
happiness and bliss beyond your 
imagination, beyond what you 

929
00:49:53,921 --> 00:49:56,920
think is possible. 
And on the way, you will change.

930
00:49:56,920 --> 00:49:58,920
You will become a slightly 
different person. 

931
00:49:58,920 --> 00:50:02,320
Your outlook will change. 
You will look at the world in a 

932
00:50:02,320 --> 00:50:05,920
different way, just as you look 
at the world in a different way 

933
00:50:05,920 --> 00:50:09,920
when you are happy, compared to 
when you are sad. 

934
00:50:09,920 --> 00:50:13,587
So remind yourself of this. 
Remind yourself of the great 

935
00:50:13,587 --> 00:50:15,920
potential for spiritual 
development. 

936
00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:20,492
Don't allow yourself to be 
blinded by this illusion that we

937
00:50:20,492 --> 00:50:24,320
all carry around with us. 
It's a terrible illusion because

938
00:50:24,320 --> 00:50:29,420
it stops us often from being 
able to enjoy this spiritual 

939
00:50:29,420 --> 00:50:33,795
path to its maximum. 
Remind yourself that things are 

940
00:50:33,795 --> 00:50:36,920
much more changeable than you 
think they are. 

941
00:50:36,920 --> 00:50:41,120
Then you can start this path of 
mental development and go it 

942
00:50:41,120 --> 00:50:47,920
much further, much faster than 
otherwise you might be able to. 

943
00:50:47,920 --> 00:50:51,920
Okay, so that is the talk this 
evening. 

944
00:50:55,920 --> 00:50:58,920
Anybody has any questions or 
comments, anything you want to 

945
00:50:58,920 --> 00:51:02,920
say about this tonight? 
Yes? 

946
00:51:02,920 --> 00:51:53,100
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
leave. 

947
00:51:53,100 --> 00:51:54,360
That's really all I meant by 
that. 

948
00:51:58,440 --> 00:52:02,520
Anybody else has anything they 
want to ask about? 

949
00:52:02,720 --> 00:52:04,180
Any questions? 
Any comments? 

950
00:52:04,180 --> 00:52:06,560
Anybody? 
Yes? 

951
00:52:13,640 --> 00:52:19,880
Yeah, indeed. 
I mean this is an extremely 

952
00:52:19,880 --> 00:52:22,568
important point. 
And this is also not only is it 

953
00:52:22,568 --> 00:52:24,220
in lay life, it's also in 
monastic life. 

954
00:52:24,700 --> 00:52:26,560
Sometimes monastic life can be 
difficult as well. 

955
00:52:27,540 --> 00:52:30,586
Sometimes people think that 
monastic life is something 

956
00:52:30,586 --> 00:52:32,000
completely different from lay 
life. 

957
00:52:32,000 --> 00:52:34,530
But it's just, it's basically 
the same. 

958
00:52:34,530 --> 00:52:37,860
It's just that monastic life is 
a slightly different emphasis. 

959
00:52:38,160 --> 00:52:40,148
But you still have the same 
problems, you know, the same 

960
00:52:40,148 --> 00:52:42,440
kind of thing, the same 
hindrances that you're battling 

961
00:52:42,440 --> 00:52:45,008
with. 
So essentially it's just a 

962
00:52:45,008 --> 00:52:48,000
microcosm of what's happening in
the larger society in monastic 

963
00:52:48,000 --> 00:52:50,748
life. 
But sure, of course, and this is

964
00:52:50,748 --> 00:52:53,900
the thing, when you come across 
something difficult in life, 

965
00:52:53,980 --> 00:52:57,300
something which is hard, 
sometimes it is right maybe to 

966
00:52:57,300 --> 00:53:00,492
move away from that, to go away.
But very often the best thing to

967
00:53:00,492 --> 00:53:04,918
do when you have a hard time is 
to ask yourself, well, why is it

968
00:53:04,918 --> 00:53:07,067
so difficult? 
How can I look at things 

969
00:53:07,067 --> 00:53:09,116
differently? 
How can I change myself? 

970
00:53:09,116 --> 00:53:12,420
What can I do to actually 
overcome this problem? 

971
00:53:12,420 --> 00:53:15,154
Because the problem is usually 
inside ourselves. 

972
00:53:15,154 --> 00:53:19,104
If we have somebody, very often 
problems in life are personal 

973
00:53:19,104 --> 00:53:22,348
problems with other people. 
People that upset us, make us, 

974
00:53:22,348 --> 00:53:25,598
you know, we find very difficult
to deal with, maybe bullies, I 

975
00:53:25,598 --> 00:53:29,607
don't know what. 
And of course, this, instead of 

976
00:53:29,607 --> 00:53:33,512
running away from that, is a 
chance to actually look at the 

977
00:53:33,512 --> 00:53:36,080
problem differently. 
Because wherever you go in life,

978
00:53:36,120 --> 00:53:38,360
if you go somewhere else, you're
always going to encounter 

979
00:53:38,360 --> 00:53:40,914
difficult people. 
There's no such thing as a 

980
00:53:40,914 --> 00:53:42,843
place, as a paradise, where 
nobody is difficult. 

981
00:53:42,843 --> 00:53:44,700
This is just the way the world 
is. 

982
00:53:44,700 --> 00:53:48,568
So by changing, instead of 
changing where you are, change 

983
00:53:48,568 --> 00:53:50,880
your perception instead. 
Change your mind. 

984
00:53:51,100 --> 00:53:54,475
Because if you're able to change
your mind, you deal with the 

985
00:53:54,475 --> 00:53:57,696
problem once and for all. 
And you don't have it again in 

986
00:53:57,696 --> 00:54:00,508
the future. 
And this is what I, sometimes, I

987
00:54:00,508 --> 00:54:03,660
do that in monastic, I try to do
exactly the same in monastic 

988
00:54:03,660 --> 00:54:05,648
life. 
First of all, I look at the long

989
00:54:05,648 --> 00:54:08,916
term and I say, okay, I seem to 
be making progress in monastic 

990
00:54:08,916 --> 00:54:11,906
life, so I'll just stay here at 
Bodhinyana Monastery, at least 

991
00:54:11,906 --> 00:54:15,280
for now, because it seems to be 
the right thing for me to do. 

992
00:54:15,280 --> 00:54:18,909
And then a difficulty comes up. 
And then I try to do exactly 

993
00:54:18,909 --> 00:54:21,288
that. 
I say to myself, okay, this is a

994
00:54:21,288 --> 00:54:23,980
difficulty. 
This is no reason to run away. 

995
00:54:23,980 --> 00:54:27,328
This is a chance for me to see 
if I can get rid of some of my 

996
00:54:27,328 --> 00:54:29,679
own defilements. 
I can weaken some of my own 

997
00:54:29,679 --> 00:54:31,404
defilements. 
Try to have more compassion on 

998
00:54:31,404 --> 00:54:34,080
the people around me. 
Understand that if somebody is 

999
00:54:34,080 --> 00:54:37,140
difficult out there, there is a 
reason for that difficulty. 

1000
00:54:37,140 --> 00:54:39,780
They are probably suffering. 
They have a hard time. 

1001
00:54:39,780 --> 00:54:41,035
I should have compassion for 
them. 

1002
00:54:41,035 --> 00:54:42,995
I should have loving kindness 
for these people. 

1003
00:54:42,995 --> 00:54:45,952
How can I develop loving 
kindness and compassion for 

1004
00:54:45,952 --> 00:54:49,088
somebody who is difficult? 
How can I look at them in a 

1005
00:54:49,088 --> 00:54:51,472
different way? 
What is the right perception in 

1006
00:54:51,472 --> 00:54:54,412
this case? 
Very often we are trapped in 

1007
00:54:54,412 --> 00:54:56,900
certain ways of looking at the 
world, and that is one of the 

1008
00:54:56,900 --> 00:55:00,188
problems in life. 
We have to somehow try to get 

1009
00:55:00,188 --> 00:55:02,534
out of those traps, try to get 
out. 

1010
00:55:02,534 --> 00:55:05,496
There's always the same person 
who always gives us the same 

1011
00:55:05,496 --> 00:55:06,648
problem. 
It's a trap. 

1012
00:55:06,648 --> 00:55:08,960
It's because our mind is like 
one track. 

1013
00:55:08,960 --> 00:55:12,399
We can't get out of it. 
So we have to change these 

1014
00:55:12,399 --> 00:55:14,210
tracks. 
We have to change these habits 

1015
00:55:14,210 --> 00:55:16,418
and try to get out of those 
things. 

1016
00:55:16,418 --> 00:55:20,319
So yes, I agree with you. 
Problem is always a great chance

1017
00:55:20,319 --> 00:55:26,780
for spiritual progress in life. 
So try the best of your ability 

1018
00:55:26,780 --> 00:55:30,080
to change it that way. 
If you can't, there's also 

1019
00:55:30,080 --> 00:55:34,681
nothing wrong with changing your
position or changing your job or

1020
00:55:34,681 --> 00:55:37,740
whatever if you find it very 
hard. 

1021
00:55:38,540 --> 00:55:42,085
If it gets too much, that can 
also be the right thing 

1022
00:55:42,085 --> 00:55:45,564
sometimes. 
There's never any absolute right

1023
00:55:45,564 --> 00:55:52,280
or any absolute wrong in this. 
Anything to say, before we 

1024
00:55:52,280 --> 00:55:53,780
close? 
Yes, sir. 

1025
00:55:53,780 --> 00:55:59,780
You talked about the self, and 
you said that we stop ourselves 

1026
00:55:59,780 --> 00:56:05,704
from developing our mind because
our self is going to pull 

1027
00:56:05,704 --> 00:56:07,780
ourselves down. 
Yeah. 

1028
00:56:07,780 --> 00:56:11,780
Preserving ourselves. 
So does that mean that the 

1029
00:56:11,780 --> 00:56:16,924
developed mind is the virtuous 
mind, the mind that has made 

1030
00:56:16,924 --> 00:56:18,780
itself this? 
That's possible. 

1031
00:56:18,780 --> 00:56:21,324
That's possible. 
That's part of the thing. 

1032
00:56:21,324 --> 00:56:25,020
The more developed the mind is, 
the less self usually you have 

1033
00:56:25,020 --> 00:56:29,332
in there because usually if the 
mind is less developed, it's 

1034
00:56:29,332 --> 00:56:32,360
usually more selfish, more 
self-centered, all these kind of

1035
00:56:32,360 --> 00:56:34,398
things. 
The more developed you are, the 

1036
00:56:34,398 --> 00:56:37,540
more generous you're going to be
and the more kind you're going 

1037
00:56:37,540 --> 00:56:40,876
to be to people around you. 
You're going to be naturally 

1038
00:56:40,876 --> 00:56:44,332
less self-centered. 
There's going to be less sense 

1039
00:56:44,332 --> 00:56:46,817
of self there. 
But even if you are being 

1040
00:56:46,817 --> 00:56:48,629
virtuous, even if you do develop
the mind, you're going to be 

1041
00:56:48,629 --> 00:56:49,473
more self-centered, and the more
self-centered you are, the more 

1042
00:56:49,473 --> 00:56:50,530
self-centered you are going to 
be, the more self-centered you 

1043
00:56:50,530 --> 00:56:51,172
will be. 
So the way the self develops in 

1044
00:56:51,172 --> 00:56:52,198
the development of the mind is 
only when you actually make a 

1045
00:56:52,198 --> 00:56:55,955
really profound breakthrough to 
profound wisdom to get through 

1046
00:56:55,955 --> 00:56:59,340
this idea of self altogether. 
Until you get to that point, 

1047
00:56:59,340 --> 00:57:01,813
there's always going to be a 
sense that there's somebody in 

1048
00:57:01,813 --> 00:57:04,316
here who is you, something 
permanent, a core. 

1049
00:57:04,316 --> 00:57:08,378
So because of that, there's 
always going to be a sense of a 

1050
00:57:08,378 --> 00:57:11,192
limitation in there because of 
that sense of self. 

1051
00:57:11,192 --> 00:57:14,852
So it's always going to be with 
you until you get very, very far

1052
00:57:14,852 --> 00:57:17,780
away, a long way on the 
spiritual path. 73. 

1053
00:57:17,780 --> 00:57:48,760
Thank you. 
Thank you. 

1054
00:57:48,780 --> 00:57:50,780
Thank you.