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Okay, everyone. 
So, we're going to talk about 

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meditation first of all, and 
before we talk about anything 

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else, did anyone have any 
happiness in meditation? 

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Anyone enjoy meditation? 
Was the meditation terrible? 

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Was it kind of fair to middling?
Or was it, what was it? 

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Any comments on the meditation 
before we go on to the talk? 

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No? 
Nothing? 

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Yeah, uncertain? 
That looks like the doubtful 

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look over there. 
Everyone okay? 

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Okay, good. 
So, you are more than welcome to

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ask questions about this thing, 
because sometimes it's nice to 

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be able to talk about issues, 
whatever it is. 

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But of course, sometimes it's 
hard even to formulate questions

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sometimes. 
My mind was just, I don't know, 

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I just don't know what to say. 
That's perfectly okay. 

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Anyway, so the idea, one of the 
most important things in that 

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meditation is to talk about it 
for one minute maybe before we 

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go on, is that it's supposed to 
be pleasant. 

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It's supposed to be something 
nice, something that enhances 

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your life rather than detracts 
from the quality of life. 

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And for this reason it's 
important that we do it in a way

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which actually does enhance life
quality. 

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Very often it's kind of 
interesting, because one of the 

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very first teachings, and I 
really like to tell this to 

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people who do meditation 
practice, one of the very first 

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teachings of the Buddha was the 
teaching of the middle way. 

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Has anyone not heard about the 
teaching of the middle way? 

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Anyone? 
You're very new? 

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Okay, so you haven't heard about
the middle way? 

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That's good, usually in any 
crowd, the first teaching here 

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usually is the middle way, 
because this was actually the 

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first teaching of the Buddha. 
And according to the Buddha, 

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what he starts out saying is 
that if you're going to have 

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success in your spiritual 
practice, you have to find the 

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middle way between sensual 
indulgence on the one hand and 

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torturing the body on the other 
hand. 

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And what do the vast majority of
Buddhist do? 

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They go to the meditation center
and they start torturing the 

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body. 
It's the first thing they do, 

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even though the first teaching 
of the Buddha was, please don't 

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torture the body. 
This is how we forget things, 

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even something that is very 
obvious and very simple. 

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We often forget these things 
because we haven't really 

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understood how to apply them. 
You hear the middle way and it 

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sounds good, but how do you 
actually apply it? 

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And you forget that you actually
aren't supposed to apply it to 

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your meditation practice. 
And while we're sitting here, 

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very often you can't really 
indulge very much in sensuality.

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The problem usually is one, of 
having too much pain, having too

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much torture in the body. 
That's really the biggest 

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problem for many people in 
meditation practice. 

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But the point about meditation, 
and the reason why it is so 

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powerful, is that over time it 
goes deeper and deeper and 

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deeper. 
Over time it has the potential 

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to really transform your life 
radically from the way you 

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normally used to live. 
And to enable yourself to 

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actually realize that potential,
the only way you're able to do 

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that is to enjoy it. 
If you don't enjoy it, you're 

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not going to last very long as a
Buddhist, not going to last very

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long as a meditator. 
Before you know it, you will be 

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out of here. 
So I'm very glad nobody left the

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room in the middle of the 
meditation. 

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That happens sometimes. 
They're gone. 

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You know that they're really 
struggling during the 

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meditation. 
It happened yesterday actually. 

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Just after meditation, one 
person left. 

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I was a bit bad. 
I'm a failure as a teacher. 

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No, I don't usually think that. 
Anyway, the topic for tonight's 

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talk is finding true freedom or 
something like that. 

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One of the fundamental things 
about the Buddhist outlook is 

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that it's quite different from 
the normal outlook that the vast

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majority of people have in the 
world. 

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The place that most people try 
to find freedom is not the place

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where Buddhists try to find 
freedom. 

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That is actually almost 
diametrically opposed, where 

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most people try to find it. 
If you are really on the 

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Buddhist path, where you try to 
find it. 

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The vast majority try to find it
in worldly things. 

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You want to enjoy worldly 
things. 

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You want to make sure that you 
can do whatever you want in 

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life. 
You want to pursue all these 

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things, entertainments and 
relationships and all these 

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kinds of things. 
That is one way very often 

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freedom is defined in the world.
On top of that, you have things 

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like ideas like political 
freedoms or freedom of thought 

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and these kinds of things as 
well. 

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Usually it's about external 
things, external phenomena, how 

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we relate to the world. 
That is where freedom is 

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usually, the idea of freedom for
most people actually lies. 

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But in Buddhism it's actually 
very different from that. 

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According to Buddhism, real 
freedom can never be found by 

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just pursuing external things. 
Having been able to enjoy this, 

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being able to enjoy that, after 
a while it is all quite empty. 

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After a while it doesn't really 
give any real satisfaction. 

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After a while you realize you 
are running after something 

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continuously, again and again 
and again, never actually 

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finding any real satisfaction. 
You look inside of yourself and 

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you know that what you really 
want is some real satisfaction, 

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you want some real contentment. 
Something inside of you tells 

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you that if you keep on running 
after things you will get it, it

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never happens. 
Eventually the penny drops. 

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Maybe I'm looking in the wrong 
place. 

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It's so obvious I think when you
think about it properly. 

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It's not very hard to see that 
actually if you want real 

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contentment, real happiness, 
instead of pursuing it outside 

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of yourself, you have to look 
inside. 

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It is a mental problem, it is 
not an external problem, it is a

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psychological thing that has to 
do with our internal state of 

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mind. 
That is where the problem is. 

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It doesn't tell you, you don't 
have to have that much 

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introspection to realize that 
actually is the case. 

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One of the things that has 
always struck me is why is it 

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that so many people actually 
search for happiness in the 

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wrong place, in external things,
a world that cannot control 

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phenomena, that can never really
make their own in a real deep 

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sense. 
Why is it that even though it is

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fairly obvious that these things
are unreliable, impermanent, not

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subject to the controller, why 
is it that so many people still 

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search for happiness in that 
way? 

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I think one of the problems is 
that people are not aware of the

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potential for the development of
the mind and changing your 

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mental attitude. 
The reason why we are not aware 

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of that, and this is a very deep
and profound problem which 

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everyone meets at some stage on 
the path, that I actually offer 

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immediately straight away, that 
is the sense of self that we 

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have inside of us. 
The sense of self tells you, I 

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am like this, these are my 
qualities, this is how I define 

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myself. 
Because you define yourself 

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according to certain qualities 
and certain personal 

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characteristics and whatever 
else it is, it is very hard to 

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imagine that you can change it. 
If this is who you are, if this 

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is your identity, identity is 
solid, identity is fixed, 

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identity is permanent, by 
definition it must be permanent,

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otherwise it is not identity, 
otherwise it is this floating 

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object without any kind of 
mooring. 

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Maybe that is what we are. 
Wait a minute. 

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So the point is, this is kind of
the point of this non-self 

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doctrine in Buddhism, is the 
idea that this sense of self 

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that we have, that actually 
blocks us from seeing the 

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potential for personal 
development, is actually an 

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illusion. 
Once the sense of self is taken 

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out of the equation, once the 
idea that there is a permanent 

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aspect inside of us, that is an 
illusion, then of course it 

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opens up the possibility for 
mental development in a radical 

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way. 
Because there is no obstacle 

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anymore. 
The sense of self is an obstacle

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because it tells you there are 
limits, this is me, this is who 

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I am, you can't go beyond that. 
Take the sense of self out of 

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the equation and certainly the 
potential for development 

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mentally, psychologically, is 
almost unlimited. 

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So I think that may be part of 
the problem, the delusion that 

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we actually cannot change all 
that much, so we search for 

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happiness in the wrong place, we
search for it in a place where 

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we will actually never really 
find the true development, true 

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happiness and lasting 
satisfaction. 

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So this is kind of the 
distinction, if you want to find

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true freedom in life, true 
liberation, you have to look in 

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a different place, you have to 
look inwards rather than looking

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outwards. 
There is a nice little story, I 

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am a disciple of Ajahn Brahm, so
I have to tell a few stories, 

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otherwise I get sucked from the 
monastery. 

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There is no point. 
So a few stories are obligatory.

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So this particular story is from
the Vinyapittika, the 

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Vinyapittika is the... 
That camera distracted me for a 

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second there. 
The Vinyapittika is the code of 

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conduct for the monastics and 
also the rules that regulate how

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the monastic sangha, the 
monastic community operates, how

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it functions. 
It is actually very interesting 

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documents in so many ways and it
shows you the original way that 

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the sangha operated in terms of 
very democratic, very 

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decentralized, the way the 
sangha works. 

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It is actually very interesting,
it is alright. 

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I am not going to get 
sidetracked too much by that 

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because we are going to have to 
wait an additional hour for this

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talk. 
But one of the stories in there,

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it is a nice little sweet little
story, and this is one day there

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is this monk sitting at the root
of a tree in a forest grove. 

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He is sitting at this root of a 
tree and he was born in this 

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very high, he was born the son 
of a king or something like 

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that, he was born at the very 
top of the kind of social 

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hierarchy in ancient India. 
And he was sitting at this root 

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of a tree and he was sitting 
there and he was saying, 

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Ahosukhang, Ahosukhang. 
You know what that means? 

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What do you think? 
Ahosukhang means, oh what 

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happiness, oh what happiness. 
He is sitting at the root of a 

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tree, he is a monk, he is 
shamed, he has gone forth from 

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being a prince in a kind of 
large kingdom or whatever. 

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Now he is a monk, he is sitting 
at the root of a tree saying, Oh

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what happiness, oh what 
happiness. 

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And then some of his friends, 
they are walking by, they see 

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him sitting at the root of a 
tree saying Ahosukhang, 

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Ahosukhang. 
They get a bit concerned, what 

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is it with our friend, Badia is 
the name of this monk, what is 

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00:10:28,574 --> 00:10:32,288
it with our friend Badia? 
He sounds like he is going a bit

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nuts over there saying 
Ahosukhang, Ahosukhang. 

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Could there be something wrong 
with him? 

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So they hurry up, they go off, 
they go off to see the Buddha. 

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And they say to the Buddha, well
this friend of ours, Badia, is 

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sitting at the root of a tree 
saying Ahosukhang, Ahosukhang. 

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We are a bit concerned about 
him. 

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00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:49,813
We think that he is now thinking
back to the time when he was a 

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prince, he had all the pleasures
of the royal palace, all the fun

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in the royal palace, and he is 
thinking back to that. 

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He is dissatisfied in the 
monastic life. 

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And of course the Buddha was not
better. 

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00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,600
The Buddha says to a certain 
man, he says, Well go my good 

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man, go to Badia, actually 
Badia, and ask him to come into 

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00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:10,002
my presence. 
So the man goes, he gets Badia, 

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00:11:10,002 --> 00:11:12,000
and Badia comes into the 
Buddha's presence. 

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00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,715
And of always, the Buddha always
asks, is it true, what they are 

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saying, that you are sitting at 
the root of a tree saying 

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00:11:18,540 --> 00:11:20,750
Ahosukhang, Ahosukhang. 
Yes master, it is true, he says 

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00:11:20,750 --> 00:11:23,000
Badia. 
Well, why are you doing so? 

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And then he says, well, when I 
think back at life as a prince, 

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and how complicated it was, how 
difficult it was, how many 

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00:11:30,500 --> 00:11:33,835
duties I had, all the things I 
had to do, and now I am sitting 

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00:11:33,835 --> 00:11:36,500
at the root of a tree here, 
enjoying deep meditation, 

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enjoying the true freedom of the
mind. 

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That is what we are trying to 
get to today. 

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Enjoying the true freedom of the
mind. 

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That is why I am sitting here 
saying Ahosukhang, Ahosukhang. 

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It is beautiful in the story. 
Here is someone who has 

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everything in life, absolutely 
everything. 

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He has all the power of royalty 
here. 

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He has all the wealth of royalty
here, all the enjoyment. 

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00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,800
He is obviously a pretty nice 
guy as well, because he has had 

227
00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:02,000
success in the path of 
meditation. 

228
00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,334
Everything. 
He is probably loved by the 

229
00:12:04,334 --> 00:12:07,667
people around him, and yet he 
gives everything out, because he

230
00:12:07,667 --> 00:12:11,200
understands real happiness, real
freedom, real meaning is not 

231
00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:14,858
found there. 
It is found somewhere else. 

232
00:12:14,858 --> 00:12:18,100
Ahosukhang, Ahosukhang. 
That is a little story, just to 

233
00:12:18,100 --> 00:12:21,772
get you started, get you an idea
that worldly phenomena are never

234
00:12:21,772 --> 00:12:25,286
going to give you the thing that
you require in this life, that 

235
00:12:25,286 --> 00:12:32,310
you really want deep down there.
To start off with how to find 

236
00:12:32,310 --> 00:12:36,000
this true freedom, this true 
liberation. 

237
00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,000
One of the things that I have 
just been talking about before 

238
00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:41,936
is this idea that people think 
that having license to enjoy 

239
00:12:41,936 --> 00:12:45,184
yourself in the world, true 
freedom in terms of pleasures, 

240
00:12:45,184 --> 00:12:48,251
in terms of enjoying 
relationships, and the pleasures

241
00:12:48,251 --> 00:12:52,750
of life, all the entertainment 
you have in London, all the nice

242
00:12:52,750 --> 00:12:54,400
restaurants. 
This is why London is such a 

243
00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:56,000
great place, because you have so
much entertainment. 

244
00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,000
So much nice restaurants and all
these kind of things. 

245
00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,000
But people come to London, they 
travel from around the world 

246
00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:05,000
just to enjoy themselves in this
wonderful, marvelous city here. 

247
00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:07,770
I have just been to the Peak 
District, that is even more 

248
00:13:07,770 --> 00:13:09,500
marvelous. 
London, beautiful, peaceful, 

249
00:13:09,500 --> 00:13:15,000
very nice, very, very wonderful.
But this is what people think. 

250
00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:19,286
And very often, of course, the 
Buddhist way is that you set 

251
00:13:19,286 --> 00:13:22,000
certain constraints on how you 
can enjoy yourself. 

252
00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:25,000
There is already certain 
constraints as a lay person. 

253
00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,334
Those constraints become even 
more powerful if you are a 

254
00:13:28,334 --> 00:13:31,000
monastic obviously. 
You are constraining yourself. 

255
00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:34,236
If you just take on certain 
morality, it means that there 

256
00:13:34,236 --> 00:13:37,002
are certain pleasures you can't 
have, because the morality 

257
00:13:37,002 --> 00:13:39,000
constrains you from doing those 
things. 

258
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,000
And this is one of the reasons 
why many people in the world, 

259
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,500
they don't want to live a moral 
life, because living a moral 

260
00:13:45,500 --> 00:13:48,288
life is constraining you. 
So you can't have all the 

261
00:13:48,288 --> 00:13:50,000
happiness and all the enjoyment 
that you want. 

262
00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,637
So people throw out morality and
say, let's enjoy ourselves 

263
00:13:53,637 --> 00:13:55,820
instead. 
But of course, that is 

264
00:13:55,820 --> 00:13:59,000
misunderstanding in a very 
fundamental way, where true 

265
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:02,400
freedom lies. 
Because if you practice 

266
00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:07,000
morality, of course it's going 
to constrain you on the outside,

267
00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:09,000
but it starts doing something to
your mind. 

268
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,274
What does it start to do? 
It starts to reduce some of the 

269
00:14:12,274 --> 00:14:15,334
defilements of the mind. 
It starts to reduce some of the 

270
00:14:15,334 --> 00:14:18,000
oppressive states. 
Anger is oppressive. 

271
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,000
Yeah, anger is very oppressive 
in life. 

272
00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:23,202
If you can have a sense of 
metderm and kindness for all 

273
00:14:23,202 --> 00:14:26,000
people around you, even Donald 
Trump. 

274
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,000
Some people would talk about 
Donald Trump on this retreat. 

275
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:31,572
They thought, let's get out of 
politics, but still it had to 

276
00:14:31,572 --> 00:14:33,502
come up. 
So even if you don't like Donald

277
00:14:33,502 --> 00:14:36,000
Trump, even if you don't like 
him, still have a sense of 

278
00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:37,000
compassion and metaphor in 
there. 

279
00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,668
If you can do that, you're 
getting rid of a massive 

280
00:14:40,668 --> 00:14:43,334
oppression inside of yourself. 
Restlessness, another 

281
00:14:43,334 --> 00:14:46,000
oppression, an oppression which 
kind of drives you around. 

282
00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,572
You can't sit still, you can't 
enjoy the peace of just watching

283
00:14:48,572 --> 00:14:50,780
the breath. 
Having tightness and lethargy, 

284
00:14:50,780 --> 00:14:53,000
another oppression inside of 
you. 

285
00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:56,417
And you start to realize when 
you practice morality, what 

286
00:14:56,417 --> 00:15:00,584
happens, these defilements of 
the mind, they start to drop 

287
00:15:00,584 --> 00:15:03,334
down. 
They become less and you feel an

288
00:15:03,334 --> 00:15:05,800
inner freedom. 
And that inner freedom is far, 

289
00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,184
far, far more valuable than the 
outer freedom of enjoying 

290
00:15:09,184 --> 00:15:12,667
yourself in the world outside. 
That inner freedom is real 

291
00:15:12,667 --> 00:15:14,750
freedom. 
The outer freedom is like a fake

292
00:15:14,750 --> 00:15:17,000
freedom. 
Fake news, fake freedom. 

293
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:24,335
This is how it goes. 
And it is fake because you can 

294
00:15:24,335 --> 00:15:27,668
see people who enjoy themselves 
for those kind of freedoms, 

295
00:15:27,668 --> 00:15:30,800
still they are miserable, still 
they are depressed, still they 

296
00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:32,334
sometimes even commit suicide. 
Why? 

297
00:15:32,334 --> 00:15:36,000
Because that outer freedom, 
really, at the end of the day, 

298
00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,911
is not that relevant. 
And there is a very nice story 

299
00:15:39,911 --> 00:15:43,336
that Ajahn Brahm tells. 
And this is a story about two 

300
00:15:43,336 --> 00:15:46,000
very famous monks in the 
northeast of Thailand. 

301
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,000
The northeast of Thailand is 
where all the famous monks were.

302
00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:51,000
Because that was the most boring
place in Thailand. 

303
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,365
There was nothing going on. 
It was the exact opposite. 

304
00:15:54,365 --> 00:15:57,875
It was the antithesis of London.
There was no entertainment, no 

305
00:15:57,875 --> 00:16:00,500
restaurant, no nothing. 
There were just rice paddies and

306
00:16:00,500 --> 00:16:02,000
water buffaloes. 
That's all you had. 

307
00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,000
And that is great for meditation
practice. 

308
00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,000
There is nothing interesting 
outside. 

309
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:08,000
You just find the interest 
inside and stay there. 

310
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,572
So if you want to go to 
meditation, go to the northeast 

311
00:16:10,572 --> 00:16:13,000
of Thailand. 
That's one possibility anyway. 

312
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:17,336
So the story is these two. 
So that is the place in Thailand

313
00:16:17,336 --> 00:16:21,000
that is most famous for all the 
areas, the noble ones, the 

314
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:24,668
Arahants and the Sotapanna, all 
the people who have a lot of 

315
00:16:24,668 --> 00:16:28,000
success in meditation practice. 
The northeast of Thailand. 

316
00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,144
Go to the boring places. 
That's where you find the 

317
00:16:30,144 --> 00:16:33,000
Arahants in the world, the 
enlightened beings. 

318
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:35,858
So chances that I am enlightened
is very, very small because I am

319
00:16:35,858 --> 00:16:39,000
such an exciting place. 
It is my power. 

320
00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:44,000
So you go there. 
It was interesting. 

321
00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,000
There was one of the Aja Brahm's
friends. 

322
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,000
He also went to this particular,
they went to a dana, went to 

323
00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,400
somebody's house. 
And when they went to this dana 

324
00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:54,000
in somebody's house, it was a 
kind of very wealthy family. 

325
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,000
Maybe they were visiting Bangkok
or something. 

326
00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,750
I can't really remember. 
And in this house they have an 

327
00:16:59,750 --> 00:17:01,092
aquarium. 
And in this aquarium of course 

328
00:17:01,092 --> 00:17:03,200
all these fish swimming around. 
So these two very senior and 

329
00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,000
very famous Thai monks, they 
were talking among each other. 

330
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,500
And one of them said, the other 
one said, it's terrible. 

331
00:17:08,500 --> 00:17:11,500
They are capturing all these 
fish, and they go to the other 

332
00:17:11,500 --> 00:17:13,500
water tanks. 
They have no freedom in this 

333
00:17:13,500 --> 00:17:15,714
water tank. 
We should go and release those 

334
00:17:15,714 --> 00:17:16,858
fish. 
Actually I don't think he said 

335
00:17:16,858 --> 00:17:18,000
that because that would have 
been really bad. 

336
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,000
You can't just go and release 
people's fish. 

337
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,273
That is kind of immoral. 
So please don't do that when you

338
00:17:23,273 --> 00:17:25,092
go to somebody's house. 
Don't just go to the aquarium 

339
00:17:25,092 --> 00:17:28,000
and start releasing the fish 
because it makes you very 

340
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:32,000
unpopular if you do not. 
What was very interesting was 

341
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:36,000
that the other monk said, no, 
you are not right about this. 

342
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:41,000
This is not how it works. 
The way it works is that fish in

343
00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,000
the aquarium is free of so many 
dangers. 

344
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:48,000
There is only one type of 
friendly fish in the aquarium. 

345
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:51,600
There are no sharks, there are 
no piranhas, and this kind of 

346
00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:54,000
fish. 
There is no fish eating fish. 

347
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,667
All friendly fish in there. 
The food supply is always 

348
00:17:57,667 --> 00:17:59,556
constant. 
Every day they get fed at the 

349
00:17:59,556 --> 00:18:01,715
right time. 
Just to have the right body 

350
00:18:01,715 --> 00:18:05,002
size, not too fat, not too thin.
Because fish also get fat if 

351
00:18:05,002 --> 00:18:08,000
they get too fat too much. 
So just come to the right shape,

352
00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:10,000
to be in good shape and all 
these kind of things. 

353
00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:13,334
The temperature of the water is 
always perfect, always just 

354
00:18:13,334 --> 00:18:17,500
pleasant, etc. etc. etc. 
So he was saying, making the 

355
00:18:17,500 --> 00:18:20,000
point that even though these 
fish have certain boundaries, 

356
00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:24,000
they get so much in return. 
And those boundaries are 

357
00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:27,500
actually far less important than
getting all these other things 

358
00:18:27,500 --> 00:18:28,910
in return. 
Actually, we don't know that 

359
00:18:28,910 --> 00:18:31,667
because we can't ask the fish. 
That's kind of the assumption 

360
00:18:31,667 --> 00:18:33,750
here. 
So actually you get so much in 

361
00:18:33,750 --> 00:18:36,000
return. 
For having those boundaries, 

362
00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,667
those four glass walls around 
you, quite likely it is much 

363
00:18:39,667 --> 00:18:41,750
better. 
Then we get the fish doctor come

364
00:18:41,750 --> 00:18:44,000
in, if you have a disease, all 
this kind of stuff. 

365
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:48,000
Do we have fish doctors? 
Probably do. 

366
00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,000
There are all kinds of doctors, 
fish doctors as well. 

367
00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:54,000
I've never met one. 
You meet many people in life, 

368
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,000
I've never met a fish doctor 
before. 

369
00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:58,000
And that is exactly the same 
thing as with morality. 

370
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,000
It puts certain constraints on 
your life, certain boundaries. 

371
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,500
But actually, in the long run, 
it is far, far preferable life 

372
00:19:05,500 --> 00:19:07,715
to live. 
If you can live with certain 

373
00:19:07,715 --> 00:19:11,336
constraints, if you can live 
with kindness, you want to live 

374
00:19:11,336 --> 00:19:14,858
a life which is really kind of 
unpleasant without these very 

375
00:19:14,858 --> 00:19:17,092
important qualities of mind. 
And I'm sure you know straight 

376
00:19:17,092 --> 00:19:20,000
away what I mean, yeah? 
Because it is so obvious. 

377
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:22,000
And the oppression in the mind 
declines. 

378
00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,667
The oppression goes down. 
The suffering, the problems, the

379
00:19:25,667 --> 00:19:28,000
defilements, all of these things
come down. 

380
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:30,000
And that is where true 
liberation comes from. 

381
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,000
And that is where true 
liberation comes in. 

382
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,000
It's really liberation from 
oppression. 

383
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:36,000
We're talking about ending 
suffering on the body's path. 

384
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:39,144
And of course, suffering is the 
primary, is the prime oppression

385
00:19:39,144 --> 00:19:42,000
in human life and any other life
in that matter. 

386
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,000
So let's have a look at some of 
these defilements of the mind 

387
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:46,500
and try to understand why it is 
that they are oppressive, why 

388
00:19:46,500 --> 00:19:50,000
they are problematic. 
And one way of looking at this, 

389
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,500
I was just giving a talk 
yesterday about the five 

390
00:19:53,500 --> 00:19:57,000
hindrances, I was talking about 
those now, and I was talking 

391
00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:59,778
about the five obstacles, I was 
also talking about those now as 

392
00:19:59,778 --> 00:20:01,274
well. 
It makes it easy to talk about 

393
00:20:01,274 --> 00:20:04,000
exactly the same thing. 
Two talks. 

394
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:09,078
So, of the five hindrances, five
hindrances for those of you who 

395
00:20:09,078 --> 00:20:12,000
are new to the Buddhist 
teachings, these are obstacles 

396
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:15,334
on the meditation path. 
These will stop you from going 

397
00:20:15,334 --> 00:20:18,286
deeper in meditation, becoming 
peaceful, having insight, having

398
00:20:18,286 --> 00:20:20,000
clarity, all these kinds of 
things. 

399
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:26,286
And the first one of these, 
whoa, okay, the first one, this 

400
00:20:26,286 --> 00:20:30,000
is going to sound very good, 
mentality. 

401
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:37,000
So the first one of these 
hindrances is called central 

402
00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,274
desire. 
The desire we have for all the 

403
00:20:39,274 --> 00:20:42,668
objects of the world and also 
all the attachments that we have

404
00:20:42,668 --> 00:20:45,667
for the things in our life, the 
things we own, our 

405
00:20:45,667 --> 00:20:49,200
relationships, all of these 
kinds of things, that's part of 

406
00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:51,556
central desire. 
A very important part of it is 

407
00:20:51,556 --> 00:20:54,800
the objects of the material 
world that we attach to, that we

408
00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:58,000
hold on to. 
Do you hear yourself there? 

409
00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:00,000
I'm trying to stay in the 
system. 

410
00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,000
I'm trying to stay in the 
system. 

411
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,000
I'm trying to stay in the 
system. 

412
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,000
Okay, maybe I put it a bit 
further down. 

413
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:08,000
Is that going to make a 
difference? 

414
00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:11,001
Can you still? 
Is that too? 

415
00:21:11,001 --> 00:21:13,144
It's not working. 
Is that all right? 

416
00:21:13,144 --> 00:21:15,715
Yeah, okay, good. 
Let's try that and see what 

417
00:21:15,715 --> 00:21:17,556
happens. 
So, and what is the problem with

418
00:21:17,556 --> 00:21:20,446
central desire? 
And one of the things that the 

419
00:21:20,446 --> 00:21:23,430
Buddha says in the suttas is 
that if you indulge in the 

420
00:21:23,430 --> 00:21:27,334
essential things, it is as if 
you are, if you still have 

421
00:21:27,334 --> 00:21:31,250
central desire, attachment to 
central object, it is as if you 

422
00:21:31,250 --> 00:21:34,000
have a debt. 
Yeah, you have a debt. 

423
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,446
Why is it that we have a debt 
when we indulge too much in the 

424
00:21:36,446 --> 00:21:39,334
central world and we attach too 
much to central phenomena or 

425
00:21:39,334 --> 00:21:42,000
central objects, if you like? 
What is going on there? 

426
00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,334
This is one of those very 
important and very basic things 

427
00:21:45,334 --> 00:21:48,000
to understand on the Buddhist 
path. 

428
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:52,000
Whenever we attach to things, we
hold on to things. 

429
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:55,334
Nature is always going to come 
at some stage and take it away 

430
00:21:55,334 --> 00:21:57,715
from us. 
Yeah, you know that this is 

431
00:21:57,715 --> 00:22:00,000
true. 
Everyone knows that this is true

432
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:05,000
because the world, of the world 
outside, sometimes you can hold 

433
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,500
on to your relationships for a 
lifetime, sometimes much shorter

434
00:22:07,500 --> 00:22:10,000
than that. 
That's the very most lifetime. 

435
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,112
And when you die, when you pass 
away, you're going to have to 

436
00:22:13,112 --> 00:22:16,334
give it all up. 
And if you attach too much, and 

437
00:22:16,334 --> 00:22:20,000
nature says, now is time to take
it back again. 

438
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,364
Nature says that now your 
relationship has lasted for 20 

439
00:22:22,364 --> 00:22:24,000
years and now you're going to 
have a divorce. 

440
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,182
What happens? 
You're going to suffer because 

441
00:22:26,182 --> 00:22:28,000
you were attached to those 
things in the first place. 

442
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:31,334
So this is one of the ways of 
understanding the idea of all 

443
00:22:31,334 --> 00:22:34,000
the central... 
It's kind of dramatic. 

444
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:38,000
This is the idea with Buddhism. 
Buddhism is the idea is to be 

445
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:42,000
honest, yeah, but honest in a 
very profound sense. 

446
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:45,430
Brutally honest, if you like. 
Seeing things really as they 

447
00:22:45,430 --> 00:22:47,334
actually are. 
This is the problem with all 

448
00:22:47,334 --> 00:22:49,600
these worldly phenomena, all the
things that we're attached to in

449
00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:53,600
the world, they are subject to 
change, subject to not being 

450
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:55,334
controlled. 
And because of that, there will 

451
00:22:55,334 --> 00:22:58,858
come a time when you're going to
have to pay back the debt of 

452
00:22:58,858 --> 00:23:01,715
attaching to these things. 
And it's kind of obvious, isn't 

453
00:23:01,715 --> 00:23:04,000
it, in many ways? 
You can kind of understand this 

454
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,000
one day we're all going to have 
to pass away. 

455
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,334
It is obvious. 
And the more you understand 

456
00:23:08,334 --> 00:23:12,000
that, the more you understand 
that the liberation, the freedom

457
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:15,430
of the mind, comes from 
developing a mind center where 

458
00:23:15,430 --> 00:23:18,000
these attachments gradually go 
down. 

459
00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,000
Yeah. 
And it doesn't mean that we have

460
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,002
to give up our relationships. 
It doesn't even mean that we 

461
00:23:23,002 --> 00:23:26,572
have to give up our possessions.
The main thing it means is that 

462
00:23:26,572 --> 00:23:30,668
we have to develop our mind in 
such a way that we have an inner

463
00:23:30,668 --> 00:23:34,400
strength, an inner happiness 
that is able to counteract these

464
00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:37,430
problems when they arise. 
And this is the difference 

465
00:23:37,430 --> 00:23:40,000
between someone who has lived 
life really well. 

466
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,000
If you have lived your life 
really well, it doesn't matter 

467
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:44,000
if you are a monastic or a lay 
person. 

468
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,000
It doesn't really matter 
exactly. 

469
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,000
Your status in life is not the 
important one. 

470
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,002
But if you have lived your life 
well, it means that at the end 

471
00:23:51,002 --> 00:23:54,500
of life, you have built up a 
store of independence, of 

472
00:23:54,500 --> 00:23:58,000
happiness, of enjoyment in 
yourself, of contentment. 

473
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,715
Which means that your attachment
to external things are not so 

474
00:24:01,715 --> 00:24:04,000
great. 
Then you can pass on into your 

475
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,000
whatever future existence you 
may have after that. 

476
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:10,334
You can pass on to that with a 
sense of equanimity, a sense of 

477
00:24:10,334 --> 00:24:13,250
contentment, not being too 
touched by the things that you 

478
00:24:13,250 --> 00:24:15,750
are leaving behind. 
Here this is what life is all 

479
00:24:15,750 --> 00:24:17,500
about. 
This is one of the very 

480
00:24:17,500 --> 00:24:20,400
important things of life. 
You are actually achieving a 

481
00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:24,000
higher degree of freedom when 
you pass away than when you came

482
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,334
into this world. 
And this is a wonderful thing 

483
00:24:26,334 --> 00:24:28,572
actually. 
Maybe you think that this might 

484
00:24:28,572 --> 00:24:32,223
end up in you becoming a 
monastic, but you really want to

485
00:24:32,223 --> 00:24:35,334
be in that relationship, so you 
don't want to think about that. 

486
00:24:35,334 --> 00:24:37,000
But don't please don't think 
like that. 

487
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,000
Because one of the things that 
you will find out is that as 

488
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:43,334
these attachments become a 
little bit less, usually our 

489
00:24:43,334 --> 00:24:46,668
relationships become better. 
This is kind of the strange 

490
00:24:46,668 --> 00:24:49,778
thing that people often say you 
have to have attachments to each

491
00:24:49,778 --> 00:24:52,000
other. 
But the answer actually is no. 

492
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,667
It is often the exact opposite. 
Because when you reduce your 

493
00:24:55,667 --> 00:24:58,400
attachments to people around 
you, you have less vested 

494
00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:02,500
interest in those relationships.
If you have children for 

495
00:25:02,500 --> 00:25:06,000
example, we often take our 
children to be like an extension

496
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:09,000
of ourselves. 
And if our children misbehave in

497
00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:12,000
good company, we feel a bit 
embarrassed. 

498
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,667
Behave yourself. 
This is kind of my... 

499
00:25:14,667 --> 00:25:18,000
I have tried to bring you up for
goodness sake. 

500
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:21,000
If you kind of behave badly now,
it's going to look really bad on

501
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:22,750
me. 
This is what happens to some 

502
00:25:22,750 --> 00:25:24,400
extent. 
Because we have a vested 

503
00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,000
interest in the relationships 
around us. 

504
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:31,001
The more detached we are in a 
sense, the more cool we are 

505
00:25:31,001 --> 00:25:34,800
about these things. 
The more we are not so vested in

506
00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:39,200
that particular relationship, 
the more we are able to react in

507
00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:42,668
those relationships in a way 
that is in the best interest of 

508
00:25:42,668 --> 00:25:46,000
the other person, rather than 
being in our own best interest. 

509
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,000
Here you see the difference 
there. 

510
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:51,200
It's actually very beautiful. 
As the detachment decreases, you

511
00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:53,000
have less suffering and less 
pain. 

512
00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:56,446
And you are also able to deal 
with the people around you in 

513
00:25:56,446 --> 00:25:58,750
your ordinary life. 
In a more neutral, in a more 

514
00:25:58,750 --> 00:26:02,000
skillful and in a wiser fashion.
It's actually very nice when 

515
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:04,182
that happens. 
The people in the world who 

516
00:26:04,182 --> 00:26:06,250
suffer the most are often the 
ones who are most attached. 

517
00:26:06,250 --> 00:26:08,750
The people in the world who 
shout at the children. 

518
00:26:08,750 --> 00:26:11,750
I always feel so terrible when I
see people shouting at the 

519
00:26:11,750 --> 00:26:13,430
children. 
But sometimes it happens because

520
00:26:13,430 --> 00:26:17,000
it's unavoidable sometimes. 
But it happens usually because 

521
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:21,430
of attachments in the wrong way.
This is the first thing. 

522
00:26:21,430 --> 00:26:26,000
This is about the idea of the 
debt that we often incur as a 

523
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:30,000
cause of how we relate to the 
world around us. 

524
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:32,000
So relate to the world in a 
different way. 

525
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,001
This doesn't mean that you have 
to do anything dramatically 

526
00:26:35,001 --> 00:26:38,000
different in your life. 
All it means is that you focus 

527
00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:40,334
more on the process of how you 
live. 

528
00:26:40,334 --> 00:26:42,910
What is that process? 
What do I mean by that? 

529
00:26:42,910 --> 00:26:46,000
I mean how do you deal with 
people on a daily basis? 

530
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:49,144
What is the process that you go 
through when you're trying to 

531
00:26:49,144 --> 00:26:53,000
achieve certain goals in your 
professional life, in your 

532
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,750
family life? 
How do you try to achieve those 

533
00:26:55,750 --> 00:26:58,000
goals? 
That is the process. 

534
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,000
That process is filled with 
kindness, with understanding, 

535
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,572
with compassion, with generosity
to the people around you. 

536
00:27:04,572 --> 00:27:06,572
That is when your life becomes 
better. 

537
00:27:06,572 --> 00:27:09,667
The process is what is 
important, not so much the 

538
00:27:09,667 --> 00:27:11,750
goals. 
That is almost all we need to 

539
00:27:11,750 --> 00:27:13,112
know. 
Focus on the process, don't 

540
00:27:13,112 --> 00:27:15,715
focus on the goals. 
And you are in business pretty 

541
00:27:15,715 --> 00:27:17,500
much. 
That's all we have to do. 

542
00:27:17,500 --> 00:27:20,000
That's really a very nice way to
summarize in the spiritual life.

543
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:24,000
But I'm going to talk a bit more
anyway. 

544
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:29,001
So that is the first of these 
kind of hindrances that we talk 

545
00:27:29,001 --> 00:27:30,750
about. 
Another one, and this is 

546
00:27:30,750 --> 00:27:34,000
probably a far more important 
one for most people, that is the

547
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,572
hindrance of ill will. 
And I would really recommend you

548
00:27:36,572 --> 00:27:40,334
to put a bit of effort into 
overcoming the negativity and 

549
00:27:40,334 --> 00:27:43,400
ill will of the mind. 
And one of the things that the 

550
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:46,546
Buddha says about ill will, 
similarly that he uses for that,

551
00:27:46,546 --> 00:27:48,000
is that you are like you are 
sick. 

552
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,000
You are ill when you have ill 
will. 

553
00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,858
You're kind of, you know, we 
better put you to bed and give 

554
00:27:52,858 --> 00:27:55,430
you some, you know, whatever, 
some cold compressions, whatever

555
00:27:55,430 --> 00:27:57,112
you get when you get really 
sick. 

556
00:27:57,112 --> 00:28:00,000
Put you to bed. 
Why is that? 

557
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,572
And the reason is, if you get 
really sick, you have a high 

558
00:28:02,572 --> 00:28:04,250
fever, it's like you are 
deluded. 

559
00:28:04,250 --> 00:28:06,800
You see all kind of weird 
things, feverish kind of dreams 

560
00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:09,715
and all this kind of stuff. 
You get deluded when you are 

561
00:28:09,715 --> 00:28:13,000
really sick. 
And when you are angry, you are 

562
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:16,000
also deluded. 
You are in a state where you are

563
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:18,500
absolutely incapable of seeing 
things in a straight way. 

564
00:28:18,500 --> 00:28:21,750
It is when you are angry that 
you do things that you later 

565
00:28:21,750 --> 00:28:24,000
regret. 
Yeah, right? 

566
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,668
You know what I mean? 
You say something a bit too 

567
00:28:26,668 --> 00:28:28,446
fast. 
You do an act that you later 

568
00:28:28,446 --> 00:28:30,000
don't think, I shouldn't have 
done that. 

569
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,000
Even you might even think 
thoughts that, no, you shouldn't

570
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,200
really be thinking. 
And when you come out of your 

571
00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,000
anger, that only then do you 
realize that was a mistake. 

572
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:42,400
So, why is it that you did that 
thing when you were angry but 

573
00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:44,890
you actually understand 
afterwards that it was a 

574
00:28:44,890 --> 00:28:46,500
mistake? 
And the reason is because when 

575
00:28:46,500 --> 00:28:48,000
you were angry, you were 
deluded. 

576
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:49,556
You didn't know what you were 
doing. 

577
00:28:49,556 --> 00:28:52,223
You were a bit crazy basically. 
You were a bit insane. 

578
00:28:52,223 --> 00:28:55,500
But what I say is that when you 
are angry, essentially you are a

579
00:28:55,500 --> 00:28:58,000
little bit insane. 
So we are all a little bit 

580
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,446
insane. 
So there is no need to have too 

581
00:29:00,446 --> 00:29:02,728
many kind of looked down upon 
people who have mental problems.

582
00:29:02,728 --> 00:29:04,668
We all have a little bit of 
mental problems. 

583
00:29:04,668 --> 00:29:08,000
Except maybe the Arahant. 
It is a nice way of actually 

584
00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,858
remembering the problem with 
anger, ill will. 

585
00:29:10,858 --> 00:29:14,750
You are now, you are sick. 
You need to take the day off and

586
00:29:14,750 --> 00:29:17,112
just relax because this isn't 
going, that's pretty good, isn't

587
00:29:17,112 --> 00:29:19,144
it? 
Take the day off every time you 

588
00:29:19,144 --> 00:29:20,000
get angry. 
Whoa! 

589
00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:23,334
How many days off? 
Boss, I'm really sick. 

590
00:29:23,334 --> 00:29:26,250
The Buddha was my real doctor. 
He said, I'm sick today. 

591
00:29:26,250 --> 00:29:30,667
I'm going to take the day off. 
I'm giving you some terrible 

592
00:29:30,667 --> 00:29:33,715
ideas. 
You're going to be kind of, your

593
00:29:33,715 --> 00:29:36,000
boss is going to come after me 
and give me a hard time. 

594
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:41,500
So that is a very kind of simple
way of thinking about anger as 

595
00:29:41,500 --> 00:29:46,000
illness and how troublesome and 
difficult it actually is. 

596
00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:50,400
The third of these hindrances 
that we're talking about, this 

597
00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:52,750
is the hindrance of tiredness 
and lethargy. 

598
00:29:52,750 --> 00:29:57,200
It's sometimes called sloth and 
torpor, which I prefer tiredness

599
00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:01,500
and lethargy. 
And this is often the use for 

600
00:30:01,500 --> 00:30:06,572
that is a similarly of a prison.
When you are really tired, your 

601
00:30:06,572 --> 00:30:09,144
mind is kind of contracted 
inside yourself because you 

602
00:30:09,144 --> 00:30:10,572
can't really formulate thoughts 
properly. 

603
00:30:10,572 --> 00:30:13,200
You know what it's like when you
have tiredness and lethargy? 

604
00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:15,000
It feels like you're in a prison
inside yourself. 

605
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:17,144
You can't really reach out to 
the world properly. 

606
00:30:17,144 --> 00:30:19,819
But when you're bright, you feel
that you can reach out to people

607
00:30:19,819 --> 00:30:21,200
around you. 
You can talk to them. 

608
00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:22,668
You can make yourself understood
properly. 

609
00:30:22,668 --> 00:30:26,000
And you can communicate properly
with people as a consequence. 

610
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:30,250
So if you want to be free of 
prison, out of prison, then what

611
00:30:30,250 --> 00:30:33,430
you do, this is another lack of 
freedom obviously, what you do 

612
00:30:33,430 --> 00:30:38,500
is you develop a bright mind. 
One that is beautiful, light and

613
00:30:38,500 --> 00:30:43,144
bright and has a kind of 
buoyancy and lightness to it, 

614
00:30:43,144 --> 00:30:46,668
like a balloon flowing out. 
One of the nice metaphors I like

615
00:30:46,668 --> 00:30:49,715
is the idea of a balloon. 
As you live your life well, 

616
00:30:49,715 --> 00:30:52,000
you're filling that balloon with
helium. 

617
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,572
And as you are cutting off some 
of these hindrances, some of 

618
00:30:54,572 --> 00:30:57,667
this defilements of the mind, 
it's like cutting off the 

619
00:30:57,667 --> 00:31:00,000
tethers that tethers that 
balloon to the ground. 

620
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:02,890
Chucking out some of the 
sandbags that you use for 

621
00:31:02,890 --> 00:31:04,668
weight. 
And as you chuck out the 

622
00:31:04,668 --> 00:31:07,715
sandbags, cut the tethers, and 
you fill the balloon with 

623
00:31:07,715 --> 00:31:10,600
helium, it soars. 
And as it soars, it's like your 

624
00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:12,667
mind is soaring. 
You get a lighter, more 

625
00:31:12,667 --> 00:31:18,800
beautiful, more buoyant mind. 
And as you do that, you soar 

626
00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:21,600
over the landscape. 
And you start to see things in a

627
00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:23,668
different way, because you get 
the bird's eye view as you go 

628
00:31:23,668 --> 00:31:25,750
high up. 
And when you get the bird's eye 

629
00:31:25,750 --> 00:31:27,430
view, that's where you get 
insights. 

630
00:31:27,430 --> 00:31:29,556
That's where you start to 
understand things like wholeness

631
00:31:29,556 --> 00:31:32,750
or reality. 
Going high up, it's like having 

632
00:31:32,750 --> 00:31:34,000
Samadhi, seeing things from 
above. 

633
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,500
And from that Samadhi, from that
stillness of the mind, that is 

634
00:31:37,500 --> 00:31:40,000
where the insight comes. 
You see the landscape below you.

635
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:43,144
It's a beautiful simile for the 
Buddhist path. 

636
00:31:43,144 --> 00:31:45,600
But the soaring happens. 
It happens why? 

637
00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:49,000
Because you let go of these 
defilements, these 

638
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:52,000
anti-liberation, anti-freedoms 
that hold you down. 

639
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,000
And then liberation happens in 
this way. 

640
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:58,500
The next defilement is the one 
which is called restlessness and

641
00:31:58,500 --> 00:32:01,250
remorse very often. 
And of course to overcome 

642
00:32:01,250 --> 00:32:04,000
remorse, the best way of doing 
that is simply to live well. 

643
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,890
If you live generally with 
kindness in your life, you're 

644
00:32:06,890 --> 00:32:10,000
going to have less remorse and 
less regret. 

645
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:15,200
And the restlessness part of it 
is often compared by the Buddha 

646
00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:19,600
to a slave driver. 
Restlessness is your slave 

647
00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:21,750
driver. 
So it means that if you are 

648
00:32:21,750 --> 00:32:25,715
restless, you are a slave. 
Do you feel like a slave 

649
00:32:25,715 --> 00:32:27,600
sometimes? 
Restlessness comes into your 

650
00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:32,182
mind, agitation driving you on, 
making you do things that you'd 

651
00:32:32,182 --> 00:32:34,000
rather actually just like to sit
down and be still. 

652
00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:36,000
But then when you close your 
eyes and you want to be still, 

653
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,000
your mind just moves all over 
the place. 

654
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:40,670
The body doesn't really settle 
down and you actually want to 

655
00:32:40,670 --> 00:32:42,000
get up all the time and do 
something else instead. 

656
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:45,715
That's restlessness. 
You are a slave to the 

657
00:32:45,715 --> 00:32:47,715
restlessness. 
And this is a very interesting 

658
00:32:47,715 --> 00:32:50,667
defilement because actually it 
is very, very closely connected 

659
00:32:50,667 --> 00:32:54,000
to the I think it's my hands, 
I'm waving my hands too much. 

660
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:58,000
It's the defilement very closely
related to the idea of desire. 

661
00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:02,668
Restlessness. 
Because when you have lots of 

662
00:33:02,668 --> 00:33:06,400
desires in your mind, the 
desires are always at that state

663
00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:10,000
that is not fulfilled. 
You feel unfulfilled. 

664
00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:13,334
You want to move somewhere else.
That feeling of having to go 

665
00:33:13,334 --> 00:33:16,000
somewhere else, obviously, is 
very closely related to 

666
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:20,500
restlessness. 
So desires and restlessness are 

667
00:33:20,500 --> 00:33:24,000
very closely conjoined to each 
other. 

668
00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,600
And one of the beautiful sutras,
one of the beautiful koas, I was

669
00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:29,500
just reading this out on the 
retreat that we had up in the 

670
00:33:29,500 --> 00:33:32,858
Peak District last week. 
This is this koa, this is a 

671
00:33:32,858 --> 00:33:37,000
sutta called Ratapala Sutta. 
And in this sutta, this monk 

672
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:40,800
called Ratapala, he speaks to a 
king. 

673
00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:47,334
And this king asks this monk 
Ratapala, he says to him, is it 

674
00:33:47,334 --> 00:33:51,600
okay? 
And this king says to this monk 

675
00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:54,000
Ratapala, you are young. 
You came from a good family. 

676
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:56,000
You were wealthy. 
You had everything in life. 

677
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:58,572
You were not saved. 
You had everything in life. 

678
00:33:58,572 --> 00:34:02,000
And still you went forth. 
Why is that? 

679
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:04,500
Why is it that someone, usually 
when you are sick, you are 

680
00:34:04,500 --> 00:34:06,890
miserable, you lost all your 
possessions on the stock market,

681
00:34:06,890 --> 00:34:09,667
that's when you go forth. 
There's no purpose in living 

682
00:34:09,667 --> 00:34:12,000
anymore. 
I didn't sell the stock market. 

683
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:14,000
I didn't have a stock market in 
those days. 

684
00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:17,429
But you know. 
So what is the reason? 

685
00:34:17,429 --> 00:34:21,667
And then Ratapala gives these 
four reasons for why he went 

686
00:34:21,667 --> 00:34:23,667
forth. 
And one of these very 

687
00:34:23,667 --> 00:34:27,199
interesting reasons is that 
there are four teachings that he

688
00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:30,000
got from the Buddha. 
And one of them is, life is 

689
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:34,000
insatiated, incomplete, the 
slave of craving. 

690
00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:37,001
Craving is the thing that always
comes after us. 

691
00:34:37,001 --> 00:34:40,000
Craving is very closely related 
to the idea of restlessness. 

692
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:42,500
Because when you crave, you are 
restless. 

693
00:34:42,500 --> 00:34:47,001
Craving drives your honor. 
It is a very different way of 

694
00:34:47,001 --> 00:34:50,000
regarding the world from the way
we normally regard the world. 

695
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,000
Because usually we regard 
craving as something positive. 

696
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:56,000
You crave and then you choose to
go after the cravings. 

697
00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:59,667
You choose to satisfy them. 
Enjoy craving for goodness sake,

698
00:34:59,667 --> 00:35:01,715
because that's what life is all 
about. 

699
00:35:01,715 --> 00:35:05,144
Crave, desire, then run after 
them and satisfy them and then 

700
00:35:05,144 --> 00:35:07,715
you'll be happy. 
But the Buddha says no, it's 

701
00:35:07,715 --> 00:35:11,200
exactly the exact opposite. 
Craving is the slave driver. 

702
00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:14,572
Craving is the restlessness that
always makes you run around from

703
00:35:14,572 --> 00:35:18,000
one thing to the next one. 
And as soon as you think that 

704
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:20,668
you have satisfied one craving, 
another craving arises behind 

705
00:35:20,668 --> 00:35:23,001
it. 
There is no satisfaction in the 

706
00:35:23,001 --> 00:35:26,000
realm of craving. 
You are always driven on. 

707
00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:31,001
And the reason why we often feel
so enticed by craving, one of 

708
00:35:31,001 --> 00:35:34,000
the main reasons is because we 
identify with the doer. 

709
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,000
With the agent inside. 
You know what I mean? 

710
00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:40,000
You identify with the doer. 
When you do, you feel alive. 

711
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,750
I'm doing things. 
Some people identify with the 

712
00:35:42,750 --> 00:35:45,500
doer in a very profound sense. 
They spend their whole life 

713
00:35:45,500 --> 00:35:48,000
running around and you start 
feeling alive because you do 

714
00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:50,364
things. 
I'm sure you all know what I'm 

715
00:35:50,364 --> 00:35:52,000
talking about. 
You have some idea what this is 

716
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:54,800
about. 
And because we identify with the

717
00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:59,000
doer, then when craving arises, 
that identity gets satisfied. 

718
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:03,667
I am now expressing my identity 
as the doer through running 

719
00:36:03,667 --> 00:36:06,000
after all these wonderful things
that I crave for. 

720
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:08,000
I get them all, then I will be 
happy and satisfied. 

721
00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:10,858
No, you won't be happy and 
satisfied. 

722
00:36:10,858 --> 00:36:12,800
And that is precisely the 
problem. 

723
00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:16,500
And what is so interesting about
this is that this identification

724
00:36:16,500 --> 00:36:22,000
with the doer is actually a very
useless and very 

725
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:26,334
counterproductive kind of 
identification. 

726
00:36:26,334 --> 00:36:29,667
Because what happens, and this 
is what happens in meditation 

727
00:36:29,667 --> 00:36:33,112
practice, why meditation is so 
beautiful and why it is so 

728
00:36:33,112 --> 00:36:36,800
powerful, one of the many 
reasons, as you start to calm 

729
00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:41,001
down, as the craving, as the 
doing calms down, you actually 

730
00:36:41,001 --> 00:36:44,750
start to realize that the less 
doing there is, the more happy, 

731
00:36:44,750 --> 00:36:47,715
the more content you are. 
The less things are happening in

732
00:36:47,715 --> 00:36:50,000
life, the better you feel about 
yourself. 

733
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:53,500
And you start to understand that
this whole idea of identifying 

734
00:36:53,500 --> 00:36:59,715
with the doer is a con job. 
What I am identifying with is 

735
00:36:59,715 --> 00:37:01,715
suffering. 
That is what you are identifying

736
00:37:01,715 --> 00:37:04,500
with. 
If doing, if agency, if movement

737
00:37:04,500 --> 00:37:08,000
of the mind, if running after 
craving, if all of this is 

738
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:11,334
suffering, and this you can 
actually see that in your 

739
00:37:11,334 --> 00:37:13,556
meditation practice, because the
more peaceful you are, the 

740
00:37:13,556 --> 00:37:16,572
better you feel about yourself. 
If that is suffering, it means 

741
00:37:16,572 --> 00:37:19,430
that you are identifying with 
suffering when you identify with

742
00:37:19,430 --> 00:37:22,000
the doer, with the agency inside
of you. 

743
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:26,000
Isn't that kind of radical? 
You are new to Buddhism. 

744
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,000
Have you heard about this 
before? 

745
00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:31,000
You see, there you are. 
Buddhism is why Buddhism is so 

746
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,500
interesting, because it has some
insight that is actually very 

747
00:37:33,500 --> 00:37:37,750
hard to combine in almost any 
other kind of philosophy, if you

748
00:37:37,750 --> 00:37:39,715
like. 
But this you start to understand

749
00:37:39,715 --> 00:37:41,715
that. 
And when you start to understand

750
00:37:41,715 --> 00:37:45,600
that, you start to understand 
that freedom is not found in 

751
00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:49,001
pursuing things through your 
will, through your volition, 

752
00:37:49,001 --> 00:37:52,000
through your choice. 
Freedom is actually found in the

753
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:55,430
diametrically opposite 
direction, by letting go of all 

754
00:37:55,430 --> 00:37:58,667
the doing, letting go of all the
choosing, and actually becoming 

755
00:37:58,667 --> 00:38:01,334
still inside. 
There is like a double wonder 

756
00:38:01,334 --> 00:38:03,500
there. 
Those things that you pursue 

757
00:38:03,500 --> 00:38:07,000
through choice, by through 
agency, through using the doer, 

758
00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:09,715
those things are not really 
worthwhile pursuing in the first

759
00:38:09,715 --> 00:38:12,000
place. 
And on top of that, the very act

760
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:16,000
of pursuit is suffering. 
It's pretty bad news, yeah? 

761
00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:18,000
It doesn't get much worse than 
that. 

762
00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:22,000
So, because of that, you start 
to withdraw from the agency. 

763
00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,000
You start to withdraw from the 
doing. 

764
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:26,000
You start to understand that 
doing is a problem. 

765
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:29,556
And when you start to get that, 
it becomes so much more easy to 

766
00:38:29,556 --> 00:38:32,000
be peaceful in your meditation 
practice. 

767
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,000
Why? 
Because you no longer express 

768
00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:37,600
the doing, because there is no 
point in expressing what is 

769
00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:43,000
actually suffering. 
So that is the fourth of these 

770
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:45,500
five hindrances. 
The fifth one is the hindrance 

771
00:38:45,500 --> 00:38:49,000
of doubt. 
And doubt is often expressed in 

772
00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:52,223
the suttas with the simile of 
going through a desert, going 

773
00:38:52,223 --> 00:38:54,858
through a place where there is 
no drinking, nothing to eat, 

774
00:38:54,858 --> 00:38:57,600
there is just barren, there is 
nothing to see, there is all 

775
00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:00,250
these cactuses around. 
Actually, those cactuses are 

776
00:39:00,250 --> 00:39:03,000
quite nice, yeah? 
What is the plural of cactuses? 

777
00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:04,000
Cacti? 
Cacti? 

778
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:05,200
Cacti? 
Is it? 

779
00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:10,446
Okay, whatever. 
So, so yeah, in this very barren

780
00:39:10,446 --> 00:39:13,112
place, there is kind of, there 
is nothing there to sustain you.

781
00:39:13,112 --> 00:39:16,668
Obviously, it is kind of desert 
everywhere, or rocks, kind of 

782
00:39:16,668 --> 00:39:20,000
stupid rocks or whatever, not 
nice rocks, stupid rocks. 

783
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:23,600
You are walking through this 
landscape, nothing to eat, 

784
00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:26,000
nothing to drink, yeah? 
It is kind of terrible. 

785
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:28,000
And this is what it is like to 
have doubt. 

786
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:32,500
Why is that? 
And the reason is, because in 

787
00:39:32,500 --> 00:39:36,000
life, if all you have are the 
ordinary things of life that 

788
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:39,430
everyone has, the pleasures, 
ordinary pleasures of life, the 

789
00:39:39,430 --> 00:39:41,250
ordinary things that we attach 
to, yeah? 

790
00:39:41,250 --> 00:39:44,800
The things that everyone does, 
get an education, get married, 

791
00:39:44,800 --> 00:39:50,000
have kids, have a job, become a 
pensioner, die. 

792
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:55,430
Yeah? 
Okay, wait a minute, and then 

793
00:39:55,430 --> 00:39:57,287
you die, and you look like, what
was that all about? 

794
00:39:57,287 --> 00:39:58,501
Yeah? 
I have been doing all of this, 

795
00:39:58,501 --> 00:40:00,334
saying, I have been doing what 
everyone else does, yeah? 

796
00:40:00,334 --> 00:40:02,223
And now what? 
I am dying. 

797
00:40:02,223 --> 00:40:04,728
And you think back and you 
wonder what it was all about. 

798
00:40:04,728 --> 00:40:07,400
And I think a lot of people, 
when they come to the death bed,

799
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:10,000
they start to wonder, what was 
this all about? 

800
00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:12,858
I have been doing all of this, 
saying, has it got me anywhere? 

801
00:40:12,858 --> 00:40:16,000
Have I actually achieved 
anything kind of final, or any 

802
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:18,000
sense of completion, anything 
like that? 

803
00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:20,000
Not really, I have just been 
doing all these things, 

804
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:23,334
following along like a sheep in 
society, because everyone else 

805
00:40:23,334 --> 00:40:27,144
does it, and now I am here, and 
I wonder what it was all about. 

806
00:40:27,144 --> 00:40:28,890
And this is the problem with 
life. 

807
00:40:28,890 --> 00:40:32,000
If you haven't got something 
more to life than the mere 

808
00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:35,250
pursuing what everyone else 
pursues, and if you look at 

809
00:40:35,250 --> 00:40:38,501
people in general, they are not 
super duper happy or anything 

810
00:40:38,501 --> 00:40:40,572
like that, they kind of go 
through their lives, okay, that 

811
00:40:40,572 --> 00:40:43,400
may be okay, but they haven't 
really found the meaning of life

812
00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:46,858
or anything like that. 
So sometimes you think, maybe I 

813
00:40:46,858 --> 00:40:49,715
should go a different path, 
maybe I should do something 

814
00:40:49,715 --> 00:40:51,430
else. 
Because when you follow, when 

815
00:40:51,430 --> 00:40:55,144
you walk through life, just 
doing the ordinary things in 

816
00:40:55,144 --> 00:40:58,500
life, it feels dry, it feels 
barren, there is nothing there 

817
00:40:58,500 --> 00:41:01,144
to really give you that 
additional kind of wetness that 

818
00:41:01,144 --> 00:41:04,000
makes life exciting or 
interesting or joyful. 

819
00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:07,715
You do this ordinary pleasures 
of the world, which don't really

820
00:41:07,715 --> 00:41:10,000
lead any real satisfaction or 
happiness. 

821
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:13,334
It's like walking through a 
desert, a desert free of 

822
00:41:13,334 --> 00:41:16,572
spiritual teaching, free of a 
higher purpose, free of 

823
00:41:16,572 --> 00:41:19,600
something which actually is 
really beautiful in a very 

824
00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:22,800
profound and deep sense. 
You haven't got that, and that 

825
00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:25,600
is so problematic. 
So then one day you come to the 

826
00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:27,715
Buddhist teachings instead, or 
maybe some other spiritual 

827
00:41:27,715 --> 00:41:30,400
teaching as well. 
Many spiritual teachings can be 

828
00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:32,572
uplifting. 
Personally I think the Buddhist 

829
00:41:32,572 --> 00:41:35,430
teaching is the superior one, 
otherwise I wouldn't be a 

830
00:41:35,430 --> 00:41:37,000
Buddhist monk, I was without 
saying. 

831
00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:40,446
It's not because I looked down 
upon others, just that I chose 

832
00:41:40,446 --> 00:41:43,001
this because I thought it was 
best, that's the reason. 

833
00:41:43,001 --> 00:41:45,500
Otherwise there has to be a 
reason for this. 

834
00:41:45,500 --> 00:41:49,112
But you find a spiritual 
teaching and you find that it 

835
00:41:49,112 --> 00:41:52,000
nourishes you in a far more 
profound sense. 

836
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:55,500
If you practice the spiritual 
teaching in the right way, it 

837
00:41:55,500 --> 00:41:59,000
gives rise to joy on the 
Buddhist path, it gives rise to 

838
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:01,556
contentment, it gives rise to 
all of these things that you 

839
00:42:01,556 --> 00:42:04,890
have been looking for all along.
That craving told you it was 

840
00:42:04,890 --> 00:42:08,000
going to supply to you, but that
craving never delivers. 

841
00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:11,600
Craving says, when you get this,
I will be happy, when I get that

842
00:42:11,600 --> 00:42:14,668
relationship, oh I will be so 
happy, because this woman, this 

843
00:42:14,668 --> 00:42:19,250
man, oh they are so wonderful. 
And of course it lasts for a 

844
00:42:19,250 --> 00:42:21,750
while, it's wonderful for a 
while, and then it isn't 

845
00:42:21,750 --> 00:42:24,500
wonderful anymore. 
Or it really is wonderful for a 

846
00:42:24,500 --> 00:42:28,000
long time and then you die, and 
then it isn't wonderful anymore.

847
00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:31,334
So it kind of is problematic 
regardless of how it works out. 

848
00:42:31,334 --> 00:42:33,778
So here you go with something, 
you find something more 

849
00:42:33,778 --> 00:42:37,001
profound, something really deep,
something really satisfies you 

850
00:42:37,001 --> 00:42:41,112
in a very very profound way. 
And this is why it is so 

851
00:42:41,112 --> 00:42:44,858
beautiful, and that is why the 
path, Buddhist path, is not like

852
00:42:44,858 --> 00:42:48,000
walking through the desert, like
walking through a lush forest 

853
00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:50,000
with lots of beautiful mango 
trees. 

854
00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:52,000
You just pluck off the mangoes, 
wow, this mango is so sweet. 

855
00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:54,890
Except that mangoes are sensual 
pleasures of course, but you 

856
00:42:54,890 --> 00:42:57,500
know, you get the idea. 
It's a metaphor, it's not meant 

857
00:42:57,500 --> 00:43:04,000
to be taken literally. 
So that is what, how this path, 

858
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:08,000
why these things are also 
oppressive, why they are anti- 

859
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:11,200
freedoms of the mind, and why 
they block you from actually 

860
00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:14,400
getting access to real 
liberation, real freedom in 

861
00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:16,890
life. 
And just to look at the Buddhist

862
00:43:16,890 --> 00:43:20,000
path in a little bit more 
detail, there is one very nice 

863
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:23,715
part of the Buddhist path that I
really enjoyed a lot when I read

864
00:43:23,715 --> 00:43:25,750
it. 
This part of the path is called 

865
00:43:25,750 --> 00:43:29,500
dependent liberation, yeah? 
And it shows you essentially the

866
00:43:29,500 --> 00:43:34,000
process of meditation as you are
freed from the world. 

867
00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:36,000
What is that process of 
meditation? 

868
00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:39,112
And it's a very powerful kind of
teaching, and it's found in many

869
00:43:39,112 --> 00:43:42,446
places in the Buddhist suttas, 
it is a core aspect of the 

870
00:43:42,446 --> 00:43:44,223
Buddhist teachings. 
This is one of those teachings, 

871
00:43:44,223 --> 00:43:46,858
you can feel very sure that the 
Buddha would have taught, 

872
00:43:46,858 --> 00:43:49,750
because it is everywhere in the 
suttas, he taught it to 

873
00:43:49,750 --> 00:43:51,667
everybody. 
And this sequence of dependent 

874
00:43:51,667 --> 00:43:54,500
liberation starts off with sila,
sila being morality. 

875
00:43:54,500 --> 00:43:57,250
Yeah? 
You are moral, in a very deep 

876
00:43:57,250 --> 00:43:59,778
sense you are moral. 
You are moral not just in the 

877
00:43:59,778 --> 00:44:04,500
sense of not doing bad stuff, 
but you are moral in the sense 

878
00:44:04,500 --> 00:44:07,001
of deliberately doing good 
things, yeah? 

879
00:44:07,001 --> 00:44:10,334
And you're also moral in the 
sense of thinking kind thoughts,

880
00:44:10,334 --> 00:44:13,144
and thoughts of compassion to 
the people around you. 

881
00:44:13,144 --> 00:44:17,000
Very deep sense of morality. 
From that deep sense of morality

882
00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:20,334
comes non-remorse, yeah? 
Because you start to feel good 

883
00:44:20,334 --> 00:44:23,000
about yourself. 
Not in a I always have to say 

884
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:26,000
this, not in an egotistical way,
not in the sense I am better 

885
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:28,446
than others, look at those 
scallywags over there they are 

886
00:44:28,446 --> 00:44:32,000
not moral, not like that at all.
Not comparing yourself to 

887
00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:36,000
others, but simply acquired 
satisfaction knowing that you're

888
00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:38,000
living your life well. 
Yeah? 

889
00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:41,001
You kind of close your eyes, 
you're meditating and have this 

890
00:44:41,001 --> 00:44:43,750
positive feeling inside of you, 
because you know that you're 

891
00:44:43,750 --> 00:44:45,500
living your life in the right 
way. 

892
00:44:45,500 --> 00:44:48,000
That is non-remorse, that is 
non-regret. 

893
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:52,000
And from that non-regret comes 
the Pahmujja, Pahmujja means 

894
00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:55,500
gladness or joy. 
From the gladness or joy, this 

895
00:44:55,500 --> 00:44:58,000
is now we're into the meditation
process, yeah? 

896
00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:00,500
This is what happens, you 
practice morality in ordinary 

897
00:45:00,500 --> 00:45:04,000
life, then when you sit down and
meditate this is what happens. 

898
00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:08,000
The Pahmujja comes, the gladness
or the joy in the mind comes. 

899
00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:11,500
From the gladness and the joy 
comes the Piti Piti is more 

900
00:45:11,500 --> 00:45:14,000
happiness, rapture often 
translated as rapture. 

901
00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:18,400
From that rapture, often felt as
kind of physical rapture 

902
00:45:18,400 --> 00:45:23,000
coursing through the body, very 
kind of very pleasant at this 

903
00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:25,715
stage, very very nice. 
And the mind starts to become 

904
00:45:25,715 --> 00:45:28,000
peaceful. 
From that, as you go deeper 

905
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:31,600
comes tranquility, where your 
mind calms down, you become 

906
00:45:31,600 --> 00:45:34,750
solid like a rock, you never 
want to move from the seat for 

907
00:45:34,750 --> 00:45:37,750
the rest of your life. 
You have to, but you don't want 

908
00:45:37,750 --> 00:45:39,430
to. 
Eventually you're going to have 

909
00:45:39,430 --> 00:45:41,274
to go. 
At that moment it feels like you

910
00:45:41,274 --> 00:45:44,572
never want to do anything else. 
From that sense of deep 

911
00:45:44,572 --> 00:45:48,000
tranquility of body and mind a 
profound sense of happiness 

912
00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:50,800
arises. 
Happiness because of the 

913
00:45:50,800 --> 00:45:53,750
tranquility, because everything 
is so beautiful by now, you feel

914
00:45:53,750 --> 00:45:56,000
this very very deep sense of 
happiness. 

915
00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:59,600
And that is what draws you to 
the meditation object, because 

916
00:45:59,600 --> 00:46:04,000
happiness is what glues your 
mind to the meditation object. 

917
00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:07,715
Happiness always attracts you, 
so because you are attracted to 

918
00:46:07,715 --> 00:46:11,000
happiness meditation becomes 
powerful in a very possible, in 

919
00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:14,668
a very powerful way. 
This is how meditation works, 

920
00:46:14,668 --> 00:46:18,334
and this is why it is so 
important to give rise to a 

921
00:46:18,334 --> 00:46:21,667
pleasant abiding in the present 
moment, because that will enable

922
00:46:21,667 --> 00:46:25,600
you to stay with the meditation 
object because it is so 

923
00:46:25,600 --> 00:46:27,250
pleasurable. 
So you will notice something 

924
00:46:27,250 --> 00:46:31,500
about this path, it is all about
happiness, more and more 

925
00:46:31,500 --> 00:46:34,000
profound happiness as you go 
along. 

926
00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:37,750
Why is it more and more happy? 
And the reason why it is more 

927
00:46:37,750 --> 00:46:42,000
happy is that you are letting go
of burdens as you go along. 

928
00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:44,000
Letting go of obstacles, letting
go of problems. 

929
00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:49,002
So as you carry on on this path,
some of the very first things 

930
00:46:49,002 --> 00:46:53,334
that you have let go of is 
immorality, is bad ways of 

931
00:46:53,334 --> 00:46:56,446
thinking, bad ways of living, 
and already you feel good about 

932
00:46:56,446 --> 00:46:58,890
yourself, because if you feel 
good about yourself, you let go 

933
00:46:58,890 --> 00:47:01,715
of a burden, you have already 
achieved a certain state of 

934
00:47:01,715 --> 00:47:03,500
liberation. 
As you go deeper in your 

935
00:47:03,500 --> 00:47:06,668
meditation practice, the body 
starts to fade away, your senses

936
00:47:06,668 --> 00:47:11,600
start to fade away, and as your 
senses fade away, you feel 

937
00:47:11,600 --> 00:47:15,715
inside of yourself, you feel 
that you are letting go of a 

938
00:47:15,715 --> 00:47:19,500
part of the world that actually 
is relatively painful compared 

939
00:47:19,500 --> 00:47:23,144
to the world inside. 
As you let go of that, the bliss

940
00:47:23,144 --> 00:47:24,334
starts to arise. 
Why? 

941
00:47:24,334 --> 00:47:28,000
Because you are letting go of 
non-freedom, you are letting go 

942
00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:31,000
of a burden. 
You may have heard these 

943
00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:33,334
stories, there are these stories
that you may have heard about 

944
00:47:33,334 --> 00:47:34,400
people having out-of-body 
experiences. 

945
00:47:34,400 --> 00:47:36,446
Have you heard about out-of-body
experiences? 

946
00:47:36,446 --> 00:47:38,728
You probably have, if you are 
interested in these kind of 

947
00:47:38,728 --> 00:47:40,000
things, you are very likely to 
have. 

948
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:43,200
And this was a very interesting 
out-of-body experience, this was

949
00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:47,144
from the United States. 
There was a lady who had 

950
00:47:47,144 --> 00:47:50,800
aneurysm in the brain, like an 
assembly of blood or whatever, 

951
00:47:50,800 --> 00:47:54,000
blood happening inside the 
brain, and they had to operate 

952
00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:57,000
on her, because if it had 
exploded or whatever, it would 

953
00:47:57,000 --> 00:47:58,286
have killed her almost 
instantaneously. 

954
00:47:58,286 --> 00:48:03,000
They had to get this large blob 
of blood out of her brain. 

955
00:48:03,000 --> 00:48:06,000
It was a very complicated 
operation, because it was 

956
00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:08,000
basically in the middle of her 
brain, so how am I going to get 

957
00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:10,668
this one out? 
And they figured the only way to

958
00:48:10,668 --> 00:48:13,430
get it out, this was back in the
1980s, maybe now there are 

959
00:48:13,430 --> 00:48:17,144
easier ways, but it was to cool 
the body down, so the metabolism

960
00:48:17,144 --> 00:48:22,000
of the body basically went to 
zero, then drain the blood out 

961
00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:26,200
of the brain, then open up her 
skull, then kind of fix the 

962
00:48:26,200 --> 00:48:28,858
problem, and then kind of put it
all back together again and 

963
00:48:28,858 --> 00:48:32,000
restart the whole thing. 
It sounds like an absolutely 

964
00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:35,250
astonishing kind of operation, 
and the chances of success were 

965
00:48:35,250 --> 00:48:38,500
apparently very low, but living 
with the aneurysm was even 

966
00:48:38,500 --> 00:48:41,334
worse, so she kind of went and 
decided to go through it. 

967
00:48:41,334 --> 00:48:44,667
As she was going through this, 
she had this incredible 

968
00:48:44,667 --> 00:48:48,000
out-of-body experience. 
She was out of her body, and 

969
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:50,890
while she was out of her body, 
it was so beautiful to be out of

970
00:48:50,890 --> 00:48:53,430
my body. 
It was so nice, it was a very 

971
00:48:53,430 --> 00:48:55,715
common experience. 
This is why meditation is very 

972
00:48:55,715 --> 00:48:58,800
similar, as your body fades 
away, it becomes very beautiful.

973
00:48:58,800 --> 00:49:02,572
She was out of her body, just 
looking at the operating 

974
00:49:02,572 --> 00:49:05,556
theatre, according to the story,
and this operation went on for a

975
00:49:05,556 --> 00:49:08,000
long time, so it was a long 
out-of-body experience. 

976
00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:12,000
Then, as often happens with 
these things, some voice or 

977
00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:14,000
something tells you, you've got 
to go back. 

978
00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:17,250
She didn't want to go back, this
miserable body was lying there 

979
00:49:17,250 --> 00:49:20,250
all hacked up on the operation 
table, don't want to go back to 

980
00:49:20,250 --> 00:49:23,001
this body, look at this 
miserable body but sometimes you

981
00:49:23,001 --> 00:49:26,000
have no choice, you are drawn 
back to your body. 

982
00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:29,600
She was drawn back to her body, 
and afterwards, when everything 

983
00:49:29,600 --> 00:49:33,200
was put back together, she woke 
up, she told the story, and she 

984
00:49:33,200 --> 00:49:37,200
said it was like getting back 
into a refrigerator, it was the 

985
00:49:37,200 --> 00:49:39,600
most worst experience of her 
life. 

986
00:49:39,600 --> 00:49:42,750
Her mind was drawn into this 
refrigerator because the body 

987
00:49:42,750 --> 00:49:46,000
had been taken down to 17 
degrees or something like that, 

988
00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:49,750
really, really cool. 
She said now, going back to the 

989
00:49:49,750 --> 00:49:52,000
refrigerator was actually a 
terrible experience. 

990
00:49:52,000 --> 00:49:55,144
So if you want to get out of the
refrigerator you've got to have 

991
00:49:55,144 --> 00:49:59,334
your meditation work properly. 
The antidote to that 

992
00:49:59,334 --> 00:50:03,144
refrigeration of the body is the
bliss and the happiness that 

993
00:50:03,144 --> 00:50:06,334
comes as a consequence when you 
start to let go of the body. 

994
00:50:06,334 --> 00:50:09,600
This is what liberation is 
about, you're freeing yourself 

995
00:50:09,600 --> 00:50:12,800
from suffering, and as a 
consequence of that, the bliss, 

996
00:50:12,800 --> 00:50:17,500
the joy, the stillness, they are
the alternative, they take the 

997
00:50:17,500 --> 00:50:20,000
place of the problem that was 
there before. 

998
00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:23,715
So your senses fade away, the 
body fades away, all the 

999
00:50:23,715 --> 00:50:26,668
defilements in your mind, all of
these desires, all the 

1000
00:50:26,668 --> 00:50:28,500
restlessness, all that, also 
fades away. 

1001
00:50:28,500 --> 00:50:33,334
You become more and more focused
until eventually, as you keep on

1002
00:50:33,334 --> 00:50:36,800
doing this, more and more things
disappear in your mind, less and

1003
00:50:36,800 --> 00:50:40,858
less is actually there. 
Eventually comes the point when 

1004
00:50:40,858 --> 00:50:44,400
you reach a state where the mind
is completely, utterly unified, 

1005
00:50:44,400 --> 00:50:48,000
and all there is in your mind is
bliss and nothing else. 

1006
00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:52,000
That's how good it is. 
You're not going to leave now, 

1007
00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:54,000
are you? 
No, sorry. 

1008
00:50:56,000 --> 00:50:58,890
I thought you were going to pick
up your bottle and leave, you 

1009
00:50:58,890 --> 00:51:01,715
see, so I was getting worried 
because now it gets really 

1010
00:51:01,715 --> 00:51:04,800
exciting, so you want to stay 
for the excitement, otherwise it

1011
00:51:04,800 --> 00:51:07,556
gets really terrible. 
So here you are, for the first 

1012
00:51:07,556 --> 00:51:10,572
time in your life, your mind is 
completely unified, there's no 

1013
00:51:10,572 --> 00:51:13,334
more desire, there's no more 
restlessness, all you are 

1014
00:51:13,334 --> 00:51:16,000
experiencing is a single 
experience, and that is bliss 

1015
00:51:16,000 --> 00:51:20,334
upon bliss upon bliss, 
continuously, from moment to 

1016
00:51:20,334 --> 00:51:23,667
moment to moment to moment. 
That is all you are 

1017
00:51:23,667 --> 00:51:25,250
experiencing. 
And because all you are 

1018
00:51:25,250 --> 00:51:28,286
experiencing is bliss, and 
because you have no more desire,

1019
00:51:28,286 --> 00:51:31,334
no more craving, anything like 
that, it means you are 

1020
00:51:31,334 --> 00:51:35,500
absolutely perfectly still now, 
complete passadi, complete 

1021
00:51:35,500 --> 00:51:38,500
stillness in the mind, no more 
movement of anything at all. 

1022
00:51:38,500 --> 00:51:42,000
And what that means is that 
temporarily you have actually 

1023
00:51:42,000 --> 00:51:46,000
experienced the answer to the 
very meaning of life itself. 

1024
00:51:46,000 --> 00:51:50,286
You have found absolute freedom,
it's not absolute absolute, it's

1025
00:51:50,286 --> 00:51:52,000
very very close to absolute 
freedom. 

1026
00:51:52,000 --> 00:51:54,000
Why? 
Because you have no more 

1027
00:51:54,000 --> 00:51:58,000
desires, nothing more to drive 
you on, nothing more to be done 

1028
00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:01,250
in your life. 
If you haven't reached the 

1029
00:52:01,250 --> 00:52:04,000
meaning of life, it means 
there's more to be done. 

1030
00:52:04,000 --> 00:52:06,400
The moment you have reached the 
meaning of life, there's nothing

1031
00:52:06,400 --> 00:52:09,715
to be done, and this is what it 
feels like when you reach deep 

1032
00:52:09,715 --> 00:52:12,000
samadhi, it feels like there's 
nothing more to be done. 

1033
00:52:12,000 --> 00:52:17,144
Ergo, QED, you have now found 
the answer to the very meaning 

1034
00:52:17,144 --> 00:52:20,000
of life itself. 
This is what this is about. 

1035
00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:23,200
It's from freeing yourself from 
all these oppressive states by 

1036
00:52:23,200 --> 00:52:26,800
going through the process of 
meditation, and then one day, 

1037
00:52:26,800 --> 00:52:30,000
final freedom from everything, 
through meditation practice. 

1038
00:52:30,000 --> 00:52:34,858
It's not entirely final because 
the problem is that states of 

1039
00:52:34,858 --> 00:52:37,667
samadhi, states of meditation, 
they come to an end 

1040
00:52:37,667 --> 00:52:39,750
unfortunately. 
So because of that, there is an 

1041
00:52:39,750 --> 00:52:42,668
additional thing that we have to
do, and this is the final 

1042
00:52:42,668 --> 00:52:46,000
element of freedom on the 
Buddhist path, and that is the 

1043
00:52:46,000 --> 00:52:48,600
element where you also have 
insight, you have an 

1044
00:52:48,600 --> 00:52:50,000
understanding of what is going 
on there. 

1045
00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:54,000
And when you have an insight 
based on that state of samadhi, 

1046
00:52:54,000 --> 00:52:57,334
understanding where happiness is
to be found, you undermine 

1047
00:52:57,334 --> 00:53:00,000
craving, you undermine desire, 
100 percent. 

1048
00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:02,858
And desire is cut off once and 
for all. 

1049
00:53:02,858 --> 00:53:05,778
And when desire is cut off once 
and for all, there's nothing 

1050
00:53:05,778 --> 00:53:08,000
more to seek for, nothing more 
to be done in life. 

1051
00:53:08,000 --> 00:53:12,000
It means that you have found 
ultimately the answer to the 

1052
00:53:12,000 --> 00:53:14,000
very meaning of life. 
Nothing more to be done. 

1053
00:53:14,000 --> 00:53:18,000
Nowhere more to go. 
From now on until you pass away,

1054
00:53:18,000 --> 00:53:20,668
all you have to do is just to 
experience bliss and happiness 

1055
00:53:20,668 --> 00:53:23,334
and all these things. 
There's nothing more to be done,

1056
00:53:23,334 --> 00:53:26,000
apart from maybe teaching others
a little bit, which is a nice 

1057
00:53:26,000 --> 00:53:30,000
thing to do when you eventually 
reach awakening. 

1058
00:53:30,000 --> 00:53:33,715
So this is the highest freedom 
you can achieve on the Buddhist 

1059
00:53:33,715 --> 00:53:35,667
path. 
And very often this highest 

1060
00:53:35,667 --> 00:53:38,858
freedom we talk about on the 
Buddhist path is often talked 

1061
00:53:38,858 --> 00:53:42,000
about in terms of elimination 
and freedom from suffering. 

1062
00:53:42,000 --> 00:53:46,572
And it's kind of okay, free of 
suffering, yeah, it's okay, 

1063
00:53:46,572 --> 00:53:49,002
yeah, it's a good thing. 
You agree with that, it's good 

1064
00:53:49,002 --> 00:53:50,668
to be free of suffering, yeah. 
Sounds okay. 

1065
00:53:50,668 --> 00:53:53,750
But it doesn't sound that 
exciting, yeah, it sounds a bit 

1066
00:53:53,750 --> 00:53:55,638
bland, yeah, you're free of 
suffering, now what, now it's 

1067
00:53:55,638 --> 00:53:58,572
kind of boring, yeah, suffering 
has gone, now what? 

1068
00:53:58,572 --> 00:54:00,400
But that's not really the point,
yeah. 

1069
00:54:00,400 --> 00:54:03,600
The point is that when you are 
free of suffering, you feel 

1070
00:54:03,600 --> 00:54:06,000
incredibly happy, yeah. 
This is kind of the point. 

1071
00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:09,200
So one of the important things 
with the Buddhist teachings is 

1072
00:54:09,200 --> 00:54:13,144
that we have to express these 
things in the right way, in a 

1073
00:54:13,144 --> 00:54:15,667
way where actually people 
understand what is really 

1074
00:54:15,667 --> 00:54:17,200
happening. 
If you always talk about things 

1075
00:54:17,200 --> 00:54:19,715
in terms of freedom of 
suffering, we actually miss the 

1076
00:54:19,715 --> 00:54:23,600
point that this is a state of 
the highest happiness that is 

1077
00:54:23,600 --> 00:54:26,000
possible to achieve as a human 
being, yeah. 

1078
00:54:26,000 --> 00:54:27,750
And this is really the point 
here. 

1079
00:54:27,750 --> 00:54:31,001
So total freedom, total 
liberation, yes, it means 

1080
00:54:31,001 --> 00:54:34,000
liberation from suffering, but 
it also means at the same time 

1081
00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:37,715
the achievement of the highest 
happiness that is possible for a

1082
00:54:37,715 --> 00:54:41,556
human being, yeah. 
So are you, would you like to 

1083
00:54:41,556 --> 00:54:45,715
take part in this or not? 
It's your choice, you don't have

1084
00:54:45,715 --> 00:54:48,500
to, if you don't want to, you 
can leave, you know, but and for

1085
00:54:48,500 --> 00:54:51,600
me, this is what was so powerful
for me, yeah, when I started to 

1086
00:54:51,600 --> 00:54:54,334
really study these Buddhist 
teachings, and I started to 

1087
00:54:54,334 --> 00:54:58,400
understand, at least for me, it 
was obvious, this is the answer 

1088
00:54:58,400 --> 00:55:01,250
to the very question of the 
meaning of life. 

1089
00:55:01,250 --> 00:55:04,000
Once you get that, once you 
start to get an inkling that 

1090
00:55:04,000 --> 00:55:06,668
this is true, then that is where
commitment and where 

1091
00:55:06,668 --> 00:55:08,750
perseverance on the Buddhist 
path comes from. 

1092
00:55:08,750 --> 00:55:12,000
This is why I've been a Buddhist
monk now for, what is it, 22 

1093
00:55:12,000 --> 00:55:14,000
years, something like that, 
yeah. 

1094
00:55:14,000 --> 00:55:18,000
So that is kind of a while, I 
hope it lasts much, much longer 

1095
00:55:18,000 --> 00:55:21,500
than that, because it's pretty 
cool to be a Buddhist monk 

1096
00:55:21,500 --> 00:55:25,250
actually. 
Anyway, so there you are, I'm 

1097
00:55:25,250 --> 00:55:27,400
not going to talk anymore, 
because I've talked for almost 

1098
00:55:27,400 --> 00:55:30,668
an hour already, it's amazing 
how much you can merge, how 

1099
00:55:30,668 --> 00:55:34,223
quickly time goes by, I suppose.
But what I would like to do, one

1100
00:55:34,223 --> 00:55:37,430
of the things I always do on 
these talks, is to give people 

1101
00:55:37,430 --> 00:55:42,000
an opportunity to ask questions 
and to make comments and to, if 

1102
00:55:42,000 --> 00:55:44,750
you must complain, even 
complaints are acceptable, we 

1103
00:55:44,750 --> 00:55:47,250
can even deal with that 
probably, yeah, so whatever you 

1104
00:55:47,250 --> 00:55:50,667
want to say is fine. 
So are there any questions? 

1105
00:55:50,667 --> 00:55:54,364
And basically, there is no 
limits, you can ask whatever you

1106
00:55:54,364 --> 00:55:56,000
like pretty much, I don't 
usually have any limits. 

1107
00:55:56,000 --> 00:55:59,250
Please, yeah. 
Thank you for the wonderful 

1108
00:55:59,250 --> 00:56:02,800
talk, it was really wonderful. 
Some things that I can't let go 

1109
00:56:02,800 --> 00:56:06,668
of, the cranium in what I can't 
seem to let go of at all, is the

1110
00:56:06,668 --> 00:56:11,667
need to help others pretty much 
constantly, and it means that I 

1111
00:56:11,667 --> 00:56:15,715
can't even meditate. 
So even for five minutes, I 

1112
00:56:15,715 --> 00:56:19,667
can't feel offensive. 
Maybe feeling selfish, and then 

1113
00:56:19,667 --> 00:56:23,001
there's a restlessness, and then
like a really strong drive to 

1114
00:56:23,001 --> 00:56:26,286
go, go, go constantly. 
And I'm not necessarily attached

1115
00:56:26,286 --> 00:56:30,668
to the outcome of helping with 
the sense of needing to do that,

1116
00:56:30,668 --> 00:56:34,000
and I can't make out of it, so 
I'm losing it. 

1117
00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:38,800
It's a pretty good attachment, 
as far as cravings go, it's a 

1118
00:56:38,800 --> 00:56:42,000
pretty good one. 
I can't meditate. 

1119
00:56:42,000 --> 00:56:45,556
Well, remember, one of the ways 
of maybe dealing with it is to 

1120
00:56:45,556 --> 00:56:48,446
remember that if you do some 
meditation practice as well, 

1121
00:56:48,446 --> 00:56:52,000
your ability to help others will
actually be enhanced. 

1122
00:56:52,000 --> 00:56:54,500
So remember that, because you 
get more clarity around things, 

1123
00:56:54,500 --> 00:56:57,334
you get more understanding of 
what exactly is the best way of 

1124
00:56:57,334 --> 00:57:02,000
helping other people. 
So try to see it in that way. 

1125
00:57:02,000 --> 00:57:04,500
Enhance your ability, make 
yourself a bit more wise first 

1126
00:57:04,500 --> 00:57:07,144
of all, because wisdom happens 
through stillness and peace, and

1127
00:57:07,144 --> 00:57:10,000
then you're actually increasing 
things even more. 

1128
00:57:10,000 --> 00:57:14,400
So one of the problems with 
meditation practice is that you 

1129
00:57:14,400 --> 00:57:17,750
have been here tonight for just 
wasted two hours, not helping 

1130
00:57:17,750 --> 00:57:19,334
anyone. 
So it shows you that it's 

1131
00:57:19,334 --> 00:57:21,000
possible to do. 
Well, I've been thinking about 

1132
00:57:21,000 --> 00:57:24,000
it for a few days. 
Have you been thinking about it?

1133
00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:28,000
I know, it just sometimes feels 
a little bit selfish. 

1134
00:57:28,000 --> 00:57:32,446
Intellectually I've known that I
need to be wiser and more calm, 

1135
00:57:32,446 --> 00:57:34,334
and then I'll be able to help 
people. 

1136
00:57:34,334 --> 00:57:38,000
So I help people with mental 
illness and who are suicidal, 

1137
00:57:38,000 --> 00:57:43,000
and stuff like that. 
And it just jolts me out, 

1138
00:57:43,000 --> 00:57:46,000
literally jolts me out of 
meditation after five minutes. 

1139
00:57:46,000 --> 00:57:50,000
And then I now even want to sit 
down, and sleep. 

1140
00:57:50,000 --> 00:57:52,000
It's still selfish, maybe I 
don't know. 

1141
00:57:52,000 --> 00:57:57,001
What you can try to do is try to
find a situation for yourself 

1142
00:57:57,001 --> 00:58:00,858
which actually gives rise to a 
feeling of peace to some extent.

1143
00:58:00,858 --> 00:58:03,834
So first of all, one of the 
things to do is to have a nice 

1144
00:58:03,834 --> 00:58:06,223
place to sit down where you can 
do your meditation practice that

1145
00:58:06,223 --> 00:58:09,250
kind of is peaceful, has a right
vibe, all these kind of things. 

1146
00:58:09,250 --> 00:58:12,250
If you like to use guided 
meditation, some people hate 

1147
00:58:12,250 --> 00:58:15,000
guided meditations, and that's 
fine, you don't have to do it. 

1148
00:58:15,000 --> 00:58:18,000
But if you like to do it, 
there's someone who kind of gets

1149
00:58:18,000 --> 00:58:20,000
you in the right mood a little 
bit. 

1150
00:58:20,000 --> 00:58:21,834
And that's one of the things, 
because sometimes when you're by

1151
00:58:21,834 --> 00:58:23,819
yourself it can be quite 
difficult to get in the right 

1152
00:58:23,819 --> 00:58:26,364
mood. 
So get somebody who you feel you

1153
00:58:26,364 --> 00:58:29,334
trust, somebody who you feel has
the kind of right tone of voice 

1154
00:58:29,334 --> 00:58:31,556
for you, who gives you 
instructions that are meaningful

1155
00:58:31,556 --> 00:58:34,400
to you. 
And who reminds you of the 

1156
00:58:34,400 --> 00:58:36,000
importance of being wise before 
you go out. 

1157
00:58:36,000 --> 00:58:39,250
Something like that. 
And then actually I can 

1158
00:58:39,250 --> 00:58:42,334
sometimes put you in the right 
kind of mood to be able to do 

1159
00:58:42,334 --> 00:58:44,000
it. 
These things are important. 

1160
00:58:44,000 --> 00:58:48,000
Sometimes deliberately take some
time out. 

1161
00:58:48,000 --> 00:58:50,000
Go on a retreat for a weekend or
something like that. 

1162
00:58:50,000 --> 00:58:52,924
Just kind of go with Bela 
Mocanda, whatever, if she does. 

1163
00:58:52,924 --> 00:58:54,000
Do you do weekend retreats with 
her? 

1164
00:58:54,000 --> 00:58:56,000
Yeah? 
She does weekend retreats. 

1165
00:58:56,000 --> 00:58:58,910
So there you are. 
So do something like that. 

1166
00:58:58,910 --> 00:59:00,000
And deliberately take some time 
out. 

1167
00:59:00,000 --> 00:59:02,000
Because you're not being selfish
at all. 

1168
00:59:02,000 --> 00:59:06,000
I would be extraordinarily 
selfish if meditation makes you 

1169
00:59:06,000 --> 00:59:07,274
selfish. 
I mean we're the most selfish 

1170
00:59:07,274 --> 00:59:10,200
people in the world probably. 
Ajahn Brahm would be an 

1171
00:59:10,200 --> 00:59:12,000
exceptional selfish. 
He goes on a six month retreat. 

1172
00:59:12,000 --> 00:59:15,144
All he does is kind of sitting 
in meditation and does 

1173
00:59:15,144 --> 00:59:17,250
absolutely nothing else. 
But someone like Ajahn Brahm, 

1174
00:59:17,250 --> 00:59:20,668
there are few people in this 
world who inspire more other 

1175
00:59:20,668 --> 00:59:23,715
people than Ajahn Brahm. 
Just by being six month on 

1176
00:59:23,715 --> 00:59:27,334
retreat he inspires heaps of 
people to meditate, to practice 

1177
00:59:27,334 --> 00:59:30,000
the spiritual life, to do all 
these good things. 

1178
00:59:30,000 --> 00:59:33,000
Just by doing nothing. 
Doing nothing is extraordinarily

1179
00:59:33,000 --> 00:59:35,274
powerful. 
So start to look at these things

1180
00:59:35,274 --> 00:59:37,200
in a different way. 
And you will. 

1181
00:59:37,200 --> 00:59:40,500
You will Even if you do that, 
even if you continue to study 

1182
00:59:40,500 --> 00:59:44,250
the Buddhist teachings, continue
to listen to Dharma talks at 

1183
00:59:44,250 --> 00:59:46,000
least five minutes until you 
feel restless. 

1184
00:59:46,000 --> 00:59:50,800
And then the next day you kind 
of start on the next five 

1185
00:59:50,800 --> 00:59:53,092
minutes and then after a week 
you go through the whole Dharma 

1186
00:59:53,092 --> 00:59:53,456
talk. 
Yeah? 

1187
00:59:53,456 --> 00:59:57,715
Something like that. 
So as you do that, what starts 

1188
00:59:57,715 --> 01:00:01,715
to happen is that your attitude,
your view will start to change 

1189
01:00:01,715 --> 01:00:04,000
about the world. 
And you start to get what in 

1190
01:00:04,000 --> 01:00:06,668
Buddhism is called right view. 
Your outlook will change. 

1191
01:00:06,668 --> 01:00:09,667
Your values will change. 
And it comes simply from 

1192
01:00:09,667 --> 01:00:12,000
listening to Dharma talks, 
studying the Buddhist teachings,

1193
01:00:12,000 --> 01:00:14,000
understanding what is truly 
valuable in life. 

1194
01:00:14,000 --> 01:00:15,400
So keep on doing the right 
thing. 

1195
01:00:15,400 --> 01:00:17,715
Keep on practicing this way. 
You will get there. 

1196
01:00:17,715 --> 01:00:19,750
Yeah? 
How long have you been trying to

1197
01:00:19,750 --> 01:00:22,000
meditate? 
Difficult question. 

1198
01:00:22,000 --> 01:00:24,000
Difficult question. 
For years. 

1199
01:00:24,000 --> 01:00:30,000
I have phases of redoing it and 
then neglecting it completely. 

1200
01:00:30,000 --> 01:00:34,668
But I'm not, when I say I'm not 
trying to combo the right track,

1201
01:00:34,668 --> 01:00:38,000
because sometimes the succession
drives me to anger. 

1202
01:00:38,000 --> 01:00:42,000
So I'm recognizing that I'm not 
being wise. 

1203
01:00:42,000 --> 01:00:46,000
I just need to shift. 
Shift that. 

1204
01:00:46,000 --> 01:00:48,728
You're already on the right 
track because you know the 

1205
01:00:48,728 --> 01:00:50,000
problem is. 
So just keep on brainwashing 

1206
01:00:50,000 --> 01:00:52,000
yourself at Dharma talks and 
eventually you'll get there. 

1207
01:00:52,000 --> 01:00:54,000
Yeah, I will. 
Thank you so much. 

1208
01:00:54,000 --> 01:00:58,000
You're welcome. 
Is there any... 

1209
01:00:58,000 --> 01:01:01,400
Is that my turn? 
I have two and you have zero. 

1210
01:01:01,400 --> 01:01:04,000
Is that right? 
You finished already? 

1211
01:01:04,000 --> 01:01:08,000
Yes, please. 
Okay. 

1212
01:01:08,000 --> 01:01:10,000
Anyone else want to say 
something? 

1213
01:01:10,000 --> 01:01:13,667
Yes, please. 
When you meditate in mind 

1214
01:01:13,667 --> 01:01:18,000
ornaments what is it that brings
you back to mind objects? 

1215
01:01:18,000 --> 01:01:22,000
Okay. 
So the one... 

1216
01:01:22,000 --> 01:01:26,000
There's many reasons for that. 
But the main reason, because 

1217
01:01:26,000 --> 01:01:28,000
there's not all that interest in
the meditation object. 

1218
01:01:28,000 --> 01:01:31,667
That's the main reason. 
The breath, yeah, yeah, the 

1219
01:01:31,667 --> 01:01:34,000
breath. 
So boring. 

1220
01:01:34,000 --> 01:01:36,000
I'd rather think about this, 
think about that. 

1221
01:01:36,000 --> 01:01:39,200
All these kind of things. 
So there's two things that I 

1222
01:01:39,200 --> 01:01:42,400
would recommend you do to be 
able to focus on whatever 

1223
01:01:42,400 --> 01:01:45,274
meditation object you're using. 
The first one is you have to 

1224
01:01:45,274 --> 01:01:48,000
make the breath interesting. 
And if you listen to some of the

1225
01:01:48,000 --> 01:01:50,446
instructions I was giving while 
I was going through it now, I 

1226
01:01:50,446 --> 01:01:52,000
was saying, make the breath your
friend. 

1227
01:01:52,000 --> 01:01:54,000
Make the breath something you 
care for. 

1228
01:01:54,000 --> 01:01:58,000
Something you feel gentle and 
kindly towards. 

1229
01:01:58,000 --> 01:02:00,334
And when you feel gentle and 
kind towards something you're 

1230
01:02:00,334 --> 01:02:03,500
actually bringing up very 
positive perceptions about that 

1231
01:02:03,500 --> 01:02:05,556
thing. 
And you start to want to be 

1232
01:02:05,556 --> 01:02:08,000
around that. 
It's like you want to be around 

1233
01:02:08,000 --> 01:02:12,400
kind people or pleasant people. 
You want to be around your own 

1234
01:02:12,400 --> 01:02:14,000
mind. 
If the mind is gentle, the mind 

1235
01:02:14,000 --> 01:02:17,250
is kind, the mind has a bit of 
metta and compassion, all these 

1236
01:02:17,250 --> 01:02:19,667
kind of things. 
So bring up these positive 

1237
01:02:19,667 --> 01:02:22,000
perceptions. 
And this is one reason why 

1238
01:02:22,000 --> 01:02:26,334
virtue, why kindness in our 
daily life is so absolutely 

1239
01:02:26,334 --> 01:02:28,000
fundamental on the Buddhist 
path. 

1240
01:02:28,000 --> 01:02:30,800
Because the more kind you're 
able to be in your daily life, 

1241
01:02:30,800 --> 01:02:33,715
the more good you're going to 
feel about yourself when you sit

1242
01:02:33,715 --> 01:02:35,400
down. 
The easier it is to follow your 

1243
01:02:35,400 --> 01:02:38,000
breath because everything feels 
good and nice. 

1244
01:02:38,000 --> 01:02:40,000
So these things have to come 
together. 

1245
01:02:40,000 --> 01:02:44,400
Yeah? 
I'm just thinking about what 

1246
01:02:44,400 --> 01:02:50,500
part of my mind thinks about to 
meditate as in, my mind wonders,

1247
01:02:50,500 --> 01:02:54,000
and my heart thinks what I need 
to find out. 

1248
01:02:54,000 --> 01:02:58,000
Yeah? 
So what brings it back? 

1249
01:02:58,000 --> 01:03:02,286
What brings it back is just 
having mindfulness re-arises. 

1250
01:03:02,286 --> 01:03:04,000
Yeah? 
That's what brings it back. 

1251
01:03:04,000 --> 01:03:06,000
Suddenly you know, oops, I'm not
watching the breath. 

1252
01:03:06,000 --> 01:03:08,858
That's mindfulness. 
When that happens, what I would 

1253
01:03:08,858 --> 01:03:11,778
recommend you do is don't just 
go back to the breath straight 

1254
01:03:11,778 --> 01:03:13,750
away. 
Just be aware, okay, I lost the 

1255
01:03:13,750 --> 01:03:16,000
breath. 
And just wait. 

1256
01:03:16,000 --> 01:03:18,668
Because if you go back to the 
breath straight away, there's 

1257
01:03:18,668 --> 01:03:22,000
always a bit of grasping there, 
a bit of attachment, holding on.

1258
01:03:22,000 --> 01:03:26,000
Instead, tell yourself, this is 
just a perceptual technique. 

1259
01:03:26,000 --> 01:03:30,000
This is not really quite exactly
what happens. 

1260
01:03:30,000 --> 01:03:33,144
But the perceptual technique is 
to just imagine yourself waiting

1261
01:03:33,144 --> 01:03:35,112
for the breath to come back to 
you. 

1262
01:03:35,112 --> 01:03:37,456
Instead of you going to the 
breath, you are waiting for the 

1263
01:03:37,456 --> 01:03:40,000
breath to come to you. 
It's like being the passenger on

1264
01:03:40,000 --> 01:03:41,334
the train again. 
Yeah? 

1265
01:03:41,334 --> 01:03:44,334
You're being passive. 
Instead of you being active and 

1266
01:03:44,334 --> 01:03:47,667
doing things, you are passive. 
So you're waiting, you're the 

1267
01:03:47,667 --> 01:03:49,274
passenger. 
When is the breath going to come

1268
01:03:49,274 --> 01:03:51,232
back into the window and you're 
not going to see the next 

1269
01:03:51,232 --> 01:03:52,000
breath? 
Oh, there it is. 

1270
01:03:52,000 --> 01:03:54,000
Okay, now I'm following the 
breath again. 

1271
01:03:54,000 --> 01:03:56,800
What it does, it gives you the 
perception of being passive. 

1272
01:03:56,800 --> 01:04:00,000
And this is such an important 
part of the meditation practice.

1273
01:04:00,000 --> 01:04:04,000
It leads you to passiveness. 
But I think the really important

1274
01:04:04,000 --> 01:04:07,200
question for you is how do you 
avoid the mind wandering in the 

1275
01:04:07,200 --> 01:04:09,600
first place? 
And that is how you do that, is 

1276
01:04:09,600 --> 01:04:12,000
precisely by seeing the breath 
in a positive light. 

1277
01:04:12,000 --> 01:04:14,000
By making the meditation a 
priority. 

1278
01:04:14,000 --> 01:04:17,200
One of the things is that once 
you start to understand the 

1279
01:04:17,200 --> 01:04:19,336
teachings of the Buddha, if you 
really get that this is what 

1280
01:04:19,336 --> 01:04:22,800
life is all about, everything in
life becomes about Buddhism. 

1281
01:04:22,800 --> 01:04:26,000
It becomes about practicing in 
one way or another. 

1282
01:04:26,000 --> 01:04:29,000
Every time you open your mouth, 
you think, wait, how would I do 

1283
01:04:29,000 --> 01:04:31,715
this in the right way? 
So it's in accordance with the 

1284
01:04:31,715 --> 01:04:33,667
Dhamma. 
And this is very interesting 

1285
01:04:33,667 --> 01:04:39,000
because your whole life, you 
change your perception of what 

1286
01:04:39,000 --> 01:04:42,000
your entire life is about. 
And your life becomes subsumed 

1287
01:04:42,000 --> 01:04:46,000
under the noble, hateful path. 
Whether it's your work life, 

1288
01:04:46,000 --> 01:04:49,250
whether it's your family life, 
everything becomes part of the 

1289
01:04:49,250 --> 01:04:52,400
noble, hateful path. 
And it improves your 

1290
01:04:52,400 --> 01:04:54,000
relationships, it improves 
everything. 

1291
01:04:54,000 --> 01:04:57,000
Everything becomes better as a 
consequence, including your 

1292
01:04:57,000 --> 01:05:00,334
meditation practice. 
So this is how you do these 

1293
01:05:00,334 --> 01:05:02,910
things in the long run. 
And then when you prioritize 

1294
01:05:02,910 --> 01:05:05,667
your spiritual life in that way,
when you come to your 

1295
01:05:05,667 --> 01:05:08,000
meditation, because you already 
have prioritized your spiritual 

1296
01:05:08,000 --> 01:05:11,001
life so much, you're not going 
to think about those silly 

1297
01:05:11,001 --> 01:05:13,200
worldly things anymore because 
they're secondary. 

1298
01:05:13,200 --> 01:05:16,334
Those worldly things are there 
to support your meditation, not 

1299
01:05:16,334 --> 01:05:18,858
the other way around. 
Sometimes people come to 

1300
01:05:18,858 --> 01:05:21,400
meditation class saying, yeah, 
if I meditate a lot, I can 

1301
01:05:21,400 --> 01:05:24,446
become a better manager, I can 
become a better father, I can 

1302
01:05:24,446 --> 01:05:26,000
become better, all these kind of
things. 

1303
01:05:26,000 --> 01:05:30,000
And because you think like that,
it means your priority is being 

1304
01:05:30,000 --> 01:05:32,250
a better father, your priority 
is being a better manager, your 

1305
01:05:32,250 --> 01:05:34,668
priority is to be a better 
stockbroker, whatever else it 

1306
01:05:34,668 --> 01:05:36,200
is. 
And if that is your priority, 

1307
01:05:36,200 --> 01:05:39,000
when you meditate, you're going 
to think about it by default, 

1308
01:05:39,000 --> 01:05:42,000
because that's what's the most 
important thing for you. 

1309
01:05:42,000 --> 01:05:46,000
If you turn it around and 
subsume all these other things 

1310
01:05:46,000 --> 01:05:48,200
under the spiritual life, that 
is the most important thing. 

1311
01:05:48,200 --> 01:05:50,858
And when you sit down, you're 
not going to think about them 

1312
01:05:50,858 --> 01:05:52,000
anymore, because they're 
secondary. 

1313
01:05:52,000 --> 01:05:54,000
They have fulfilled their 
function. 

1314
01:05:54,000 --> 01:05:56,000
Now you're doing what is really 
important. 

1315
01:05:56,000 --> 01:05:58,000
That is doing a meditation 
practice. 

1316
01:06:02,000 --> 01:06:03,778
These are just ways of thinking 
about it. 

1317
01:06:03,778 --> 01:06:07,600
Everybody's slightly different 
to see if that works for you or 

1318
01:06:07,600 --> 01:06:10,000
not. 
Was there somebody over there? 

1319
01:06:10,000 --> 01:06:41,112
Yes, please. 
You're not interacting with that

1320
01:06:41,112 --> 01:06:51,716
into your daily life. 
When you're sitting, you're 

1321
01:06:51,716 --> 01:06:56,000
peaceful, then you have to get 
up and do something. 

1322
01:07:00,000 --> 01:07:02,000
Then you're just trying to keep 
it moving. 

1323
01:07:10,000 --> 01:07:12,200
I wouldn't recommend that. 
When you go on retreat, then 

1324
01:07:12,200 --> 01:07:14,000
enjoy the meditation and the 
bliss and everything else. 

1325
01:07:14,000 --> 01:07:17,400
If you want to meditate in your 
daily life, it's a wonderful 

1326
01:07:17,400 --> 01:07:20,000
thing to do. 
Don't expect any kind of 

1327
01:07:20,000 --> 01:07:23,715
profound results in daily life. 
If I were you, use your 

1328
01:07:23,715 --> 01:07:25,847
meditation in your daily life 
just to help you to have an even

1329
01:07:25,847 --> 01:07:28,000
better heart, if you can, to be 
a better person. 

1330
01:07:28,000 --> 01:07:32,000
To say more kind things to 
people around you. 

1331
01:07:32,000 --> 01:07:34,334
To let people you meet in 
everyday life say something you 

1332
01:07:34,334 --> 01:07:38,000
never said to someone before. 
That really shocks them. 

1333
01:07:38,000 --> 01:07:40,000
You're such a wonderful 
colleague. 

1334
01:07:40,000 --> 01:07:41,834
I'm so glad you've been my 
colleague for the last three 

1335
01:07:41,834 --> 01:07:45,092
years. 
Do people hear these kind of 

1336
01:07:45,092 --> 01:07:49,144
things often in work life? 
Do people say, I love having you

1337
01:07:49,144 --> 01:07:52,000
as a colleague. 
Does that happen? 

1338
01:07:52,000 --> 01:07:56,000
No, more people complain. 
So say that. 

1339
01:07:56,000 --> 01:07:58,000
When you say that, you surprise 
people. 

1340
01:07:58,000 --> 01:08:03,000
It becomes very beautiful. 
This is about how to use your 

1341
01:08:03,000 --> 01:08:05,600
daily life and all the daily 
opportunities to actually live 

1342
01:08:05,600 --> 01:08:07,430
really well. 
Use your meditation practice in 

1343
01:08:07,430 --> 01:08:12,000
daily life not to try to be 
mindful, but just to be mindful 

1344
01:08:12,000 --> 01:08:14,000
enough so that you're able to be
kind. 

1345
01:08:14,000 --> 01:08:18,000
That is enough mindfulness. 
Mindfulness for its own sake, 

1346
01:08:18,000 --> 01:08:22,286
it's not really all that useful.
It is useful if it is used to 

1347
01:08:22,286 --> 01:08:25,001
enable you to reduce the 
defilements, reduce the anger, 

1348
01:08:25,001 --> 01:08:27,430
improve the kindness. 
That is why mindfulness really 

1349
01:08:27,430 --> 01:08:29,002
is useful. 
Because you're able to see what 

1350
01:08:29,002 --> 01:08:31,715
is going on in your mind. 
So you can then take appropriate

1351
01:08:31,715 --> 01:08:33,430
reactions. 
But just being mindful for 

1352
01:08:33,430 --> 01:08:37,000
mindfulness's sake isn't really 
all that, it doesn't really have

1353
01:08:37,000 --> 01:08:40,000
much power to it. 
This is what I would say. 

1354
01:08:40,000 --> 01:08:42,500
I'm sure I won't really answer 
your question formally because 

1355
01:08:42,500 --> 01:08:46,000
I'm not really, I'm kind of 
being a bit naughty. 

1356
01:08:46,000 --> 01:08:50,000
But I hope you don't mind. 
You want to come back? 

1357
01:08:50,000 --> 01:08:52,000
You want to ask me what I 
welcome to? 

1358
01:08:52,000 --> 01:08:56,000
I know what you mean. 
Okay, good. 

1359
01:08:58,000 --> 01:09:00,000
Anyone else want to say 
something? 

1360
01:09:00,000 --> 01:09:04,000
I'd like to say something. 
Tonight you talked about 

1361
01:09:04,000 --> 01:09:07,112
focusing on the process. 
This is something that you 

1362
01:09:07,112 --> 01:09:10,399
discussed in a talk that you did
a few weeks ago about getting 

1363
01:09:10,399 --> 01:09:14,000
rid of sensual pleasures. 
Okay, maybe, yeah, okay. 

1364
01:09:14,000 --> 01:09:17,000
That was very interesting 
because that's something that 

1365
01:09:17,000 --> 01:09:21,001
really stayed with me. 
Because it's very, the way that 

1366
01:09:21,001 --> 01:09:25,000
I see it, and I think you've 
already kind of answered my 

1367
01:09:25,000 --> 01:09:28,667
question, but it's basically 
focusing on every process, 

1368
01:09:28,667 --> 01:09:32,000
everything that we do on our 
daily lives. 

1369
01:09:32,000 --> 01:09:36,000
That's probably the way, that's 
the way to practice, right? 

1370
01:09:36,000 --> 01:09:40,000
Exactly, precisely. 
Because this path really starts 

1371
01:09:40,000 --> 01:09:44,399
to work when you have absolute 
full commitment to the path and 

1372
01:09:44,399 --> 01:09:47,000
you persevere with it. 
Every moment you have an 

1373
01:09:47,000 --> 01:09:49,500
opportunity to do something 
good, you take every 

1374
01:09:49,500 --> 01:09:51,500
opportunity. 
Every opportunity you have to do

1375
01:09:51,500 --> 01:09:56,000
something bad, you don't take 
that opportunity, you let it be.

1376
01:09:56,000 --> 01:09:58,000
That is when the path really 
starts to work. 

1377
01:09:58,000 --> 01:10:02,446
So this is the hardest part in 
Buddhism, oops, is, speaking 

1378
01:10:02,446 --> 01:10:06,500
with the microphone in the right
way, the hardest part in 

1379
01:10:06,500 --> 01:10:10,250
Buddhism is actually that 
commitment and perseverance to 

1380
01:10:10,250 --> 01:10:12,000
the practice. 
That is the hardest part. 

1381
01:10:12,000 --> 01:10:15,334
How do you get that? 
And the way you get that 

1382
01:10:15,334 --> 01:10:17,778
commitment and perseverance in 
the end is just listening to the

1383
01:10:17,778 --> 01:10:21,200
Dhamma, coming back to the word 
of the Buddha, allowing that to 

1384
01:10:21,200 --> 01:10:24,000
brainwash you in a beautiful 
way. 

1385
01:10:24,000 --> 01:10:26,572
And the idea of brainwashing is 
actually very nice because it 

1386
01:10:26,572 --> 01:10:30,000
all cleans out your mind on the 
one hand, and on the other hand 

1387
01:10:30,000 --> 01:10:32,000
it kind of changes your views in
the opposite direction. 

1388
01:10:32,000 --> 01:10:34,000
And then it happens 
automatically. 

1389
01:10:34,000 --> 01:10:37,500
But for me, what that meant 
also, there's a lot that I don't

1390
01:10:37,500 --> 01:10:42,800
know about the Dhamma and the 
big picture, if you like, but it

1391
01:10:42,800 --> 01:10:47,600
sort of like made it simpler and
safer because it was something 

1392
01:10:47,600 --> 01:10:50,000
that you can do, like you can 
focus on what's in front of you.

1393
01:10:50,000 --> 01:10:53,600
And that is a process. 
Good, great, wonderful, okay, 

1394
01:10:53,600 --> 01:10:56,000
excellent. 
Happy to hear that, yeah. 

1395
01:10:56,000 --> 01:11:00,000
It's wonderful. 
Yes. 

1396
01:11:00,000 --> 01:11:05,600
It's a very critical question. 
Now, either in the Anathana 

1397
01:11:05,600 --> 01:11:10,000
Siddhuta or the Sarvabdha 
Siddhuta, that's the Buddha says

1398
01:11:10,000 --> 01:11:14,000
establish your mindfulness in 
front of you. 

1399
01:11:14,000 --> 01:11:16,000
I asked about significance of 
that. 

1400
01:11:16,000 --> 01:11:20,667
And also some pages say that in 
the Vaisapadabhivam Anga, it 

1401
01:11:20,667 --> 01:11:26,000
stated that there are 18 ways 
that you can get the Anathana. 

1402
01:11:26,000 --> 01:11:31,334
It's mentioned. 
And it's also mentioned that you

1403
01:11:31,334 --> 01:11:36,000
should fix your attention 
somewhere in front of you. 

1404
01:11:36,000 --> 01:11:40,000
And then it's not this I don't 
mean it's the point of touch, 

1405
01:11:40,000 --> 01:11:44,000
but it's just a sensation 
somewhere in front. 

1406
01:11:44,000 --> 01:11:48,500
I was just wondering about this.
Sure, yeah. 

1407
01:11:48,500 --> 01:11:52,572
I think that is a very important
part of the Anathana Sattva 

1408
01:11:52,572 --> 01:11:56,500
Sutta, not the Sarvabdha Sutta. 
Parimukha Satta Upadabettilapna.

1409
01:11:56,500 --> 01:12:00,286
And it means having established 
mindfulness Parimukha. 

1410
01:12:00,286 --> 01:12:02,250
The question is what does 
Parimukha mean? 

1411
01:12:02,250 --> 01:12:05,667
That's the big question. 
And of course if you go to the 

1412
01:12:05,667 --> 01:12:08,500
commentaries and you go to what 
is called the exegetical 

1413
01:12:08,500 --> 01:12:12,286
tradition of Buddhism, which is 
the explanatory tradition, which

1414
01:12:12,286 --> 01:12:15,144
is the Patisambhida Manga that 
you're talking about, which is 

1415
01:12:15,144 --> 01:12:18,000
the Vasudha Manga, which is also
the Abhidhamma really as well. 

1416
01:12:18,000 --> 01:12:20,858
The way they explain that is 
that you should have your 

1417
01:12:20,858 --> 01:12:23,502
attention on the breath on the 
upper lip or the tip of your 

1418
01:12:23,502 --> 01:12:25,200
nose in this area here. 
That's what they say. 

1419
01:12:25,200 --> 01:12:29,334
That is kind of the standard way
that this is explained in the 

1420
01:12:29,334 --> 01:12:32,446
commentaries. 
But whether that is correct or 

1421
01:12:32,446 --> 01:12:34,286
not is actually very, is not 
really clear. 

1422
01:12:34,286 --> 01:12:37,000
It is not very certain whether 
it actually is right. 

1423
01:12:37,000 --> 01:12:40,000
And they have been studies done,
like with so many things, on the

1424
01:12:40,000 --> 01:12:41,400
word Parimukha, what does it 
actually mean? 

1425
01:12:41,400 --> 01:12:45,430
And I think my friend Venibhata 
Nalaiyur was kind of a scholar 

1426
01:12:45,430 --> 01:12:49,000
of the highest caliber and who 
has written I don't know how 

1427
01:12:49,000 --> 01:12:52,334
many papers on Buddhism, that's 
too many actually, probably, but

1428
01:12:52,334 --> 01:12:55,715
lots and lots and lots. 
Some of them are very, very 

1429
01:12:55,715 --> 01:12:58,800
good. 
And he did a detailed study on 

1430
01:12:58,800 --> 01:13:01,334
the word Parimukha. 
And he came to the conclusion 

1431
01:13:01,334 --> 01:13:04,000
that in the Suttas, in the word 
of the Buddha, it does not 

1432
01:13:04,000 --> 01:13:07,500
actually mean having anything to
do with upper lip or the tip of 

1433
01:13:07,500 --> 01:13:10,000
the nose. 
The word mukha, the word mukha 

1434
01:13:10,000 --> 01:13:12,286
in Pali means the face or the 
mouth. 

1435
01:13:12,286 --> 01:13:16,572
So basically what is kind of 
Parimukha, the prefix Pali often

1436
01:13:16,572 --> 01:13:20,000
has this feeling of all around 
or kind of something like that. 

1437
01:13:20,000 --> 01:13:23,144
Sometimes it's often, prefix are
a bit vague, but that's kind of 

1438
01:13:23,144 --> 01:13:27,000
the general meaning of Pali. 
So something like just, you 

1439
01:13:27,000 --> 01:13:30,858
know, in the way I think he 
eventually ended up translating 

1440
01:13:30,858 --> 01:13:35,500
it was something like awareness 
in the present space and the 

1441
01:13:35,500 --> 01:13:36,668
present moment, something like 
that. 

1442
01:13:36,668 --> 01:13:40,000
It means, basically what it 
means present moment and present

1443
01:13:40,000 --> 01:13:43,000
space, right here, right now, if
you like it. 

1444
01:13:43,000 --> 01:13:45,200
That's what it means. 
And the one way of interpreting 

1445
01:13:45,200 --> 01:13:48,000
that, and this is the way Ajahn 
Brahm always teaches meditation 

1446
01:13:48,000 --> 01:13:51,430
and the way I've been following 
as well and I think it works 

1447
01:13:51,430 --> 01:13:55,200
really, really nicely. 
And that is the idea of not 

1448
01:13:55,200 --> 01:13:58,500
worrying about where you are 
watching the breath because it's

1449
01:13:58,500 --> 01:14:01,144
not body contemplation. 
If you focus about the point, it

1450
01:14:01,144 --> 01:14:03,500
becomes body contemplation 
rather than breath 

1451
01:14:03,500 --> 01:14:06,334
contemplation. 
Because you're worried about in 

1452
01:14:06,334 --> 01:14:08,800
the stomach or here or where 
exactly. 

1453
01:14:08,800 --> 01:14:11,600
In the Mahasatrusha Mahasatrusha
say, oh you should feel it in 

1454
01:14:11,600 --> 01:14:14,000
the abdomen, in the other, say 
up here. 

1455
01:14:14,000 --> 01:14:17,000
But it's not body contemplation,
it's breath contemplation. 

1456
01:14:17,000 --> 01:14:22,000
So all you have to do is to know
whether the breath is going in 

1457
01:14:22,000 --> 01:14:24,600
or is going out. 
It doesn't matter where as long 

1458
01:14:24,600 --> 01:14:28,000
as you know it is going in. 
And you can know that without 

1459
01:14:28,000 --> 01:14:31,600
reference to the body. 
You can know it as a purely kind

1460
01:14:31,600 --> 01:14:34,250
of abstracted from the body, if 
you like, whether the breath is 

1461
01:14:34,250 --> 01:14:37,144
going in or breath is going out.
As your mindfulness improves, 

1462
01:14:37,144 --> 01:14:39,556
you may find that it is in a 
certain place. 

1463
01:14:39,556 --> 01:14:42,750
But initially it is almost as if
it is abstracted from the body. 

1464
01:14:42,750 --> 01:14:44,910
Just the breath going in and the
breath going out. 

1465
01:14:44,910 --> 01:14:48,500
That's all you have to know. 
And that I think is a suitable 

1466
01:14:48,500 --> 01:14:51,600
way of looking at the breath 
meditation. 

1467
01:14:51,600 --> 01:14:55,334
Because one of the problems of 
narrowing it down too much, 

1468
01:14:55,334 --> 01:14:58,334
initially especially, is that 
your mind can often become very 

1469
01:14:58,334 --> 01:15:00,572
tense. 
And people often talk about the 

1470
01:15:00,572 --> 01:15:03,000
Samadhi headaches. 
I heard about Samadhi headache. 

1471
01:15:03,000 --> 01:15:06,500
People focusing, focusing, 
focusing, oh my head, oh it's 

1472
01:15:06,500 --> 01:15:10,000
actually non-Samadhi headache. 
It's not really Samadhi at all. 

1473
01:15:10,000 --> 01:15:13,000
It's the anti-Samadhi headache. 
But anyway, this is what people 

1474
01:15:13,000 --> 01:15:14,500
get. 
And they get that precisely 

1475
01:15:14,500 --> 01:15:18,800
because the focus is too narrow.
So, ideally when you start out, 

1476
01:15:18,800 --> 01:15:21,500
you want to have a focus which 
is a little bit larger. 

1477
01:15:21,500 --> 01:15:24,000
It gives the mind a little bit 
more scope for movement. 

1478
01:15:24,000 --> 01:15:27,334
So you don't feel so trapped 
with the meditation object. 

1479
01:15:27,334 --> 01:15:30,000
And then gradually the focus 
comes down. 

1480
01:15:30,000 --> 01:15:33,112
As you become peaceful, the 
focus comes down more to one 

1481
01:15:33,112 --> 01:15:36,000
point, to one particular place. 
And I think that is a very 

1482
01:15:36,000 --> 01:15:38,000
skillful way of doing the 
Panapanasati. 

1483
01:15:38,000 --> 01:15:41,001
And I would forget about the 
Pada Samidha Magaya. 

1484
01:15:41,001 --> 01:15:45,600
It doesn't matter so much. 
And follow what I think is 

1485
01:15:45,600 --> 01:15:48,858
probably I would say, I mean 
it's very hard to be absolutely 

1486
01:15:48,858 --> 01:15:51,274
sure about these things. 
But I think that's a better way 

1487
01:15:51,274 --> 01:15:56,000
of looking at it. 
Yes, back there. 

1488
01:15:56,000 --> 01:16:01,667
I was reading the teaching and 
the teacher was talking about an

1489
01:16:01,667 --> 01:16:05,000
Ancietation saying there is no 
point in giving something up 

1490
01:16:05,000 --> 01:16:07,334
because the teacher said you 
should. 

1491
01:16:07,334 --> 01:16:10,000
Because if you force yourself to
give something up, you'll still 

1492
01:16:10,000 --> 01:16:12,000
think about it and obsess over 
it. 

1493
01:16:12,000 --> 01:16:16,500
And when the time comes, you'll 
be ready to start to do 

1494
01:16:16,500 --> 01:16:20,572
something about it. 
I was wondering Yeah, it's 

1495
01:16:20,572 --> 01:16:23,556
definitely a lot of truth about 
it, you know, because you can't 

1496
01:16:23,556 --> 01:16:27,500
really force yourself. 
But obviously it's good to get 

1497
01:16:27,500 --> 01:16:30,000
the teachings about what you may
want to give up. 

1498
01:16:30,000 --> 01:16:32,000
Let's get another way of putting
it. 

1499
01:16:32,000 --> 01:16:34,000
So this is what you may want to 
give up. 

1500
01:16:34,000 --> 01:16:37,000
Keep the five precepts. 
You may want to give up killing 

1501
01:16:37,000 --> 01:16:38,750
living beings. 
You may want to give up 

1502
01:16:38,750 --> 01:16:40,000
stealing. 
You may want anything. 

1503
01:16:40,000 --> 01:16:41,386
Yeah, maybe I should give up. 
Oh, not yet. 

1504
01:16:41,386 --> 01:16:43,668
I don't feel like it yet. 
I need to steal a bit more first

1505
01:16:43,668 --> 01:16:45,000
of all. 
And then that will drag. 

1506
01:16:45,000 --> 01:16:50,000
I will give up stealing. 
This is the way you do it. 

1507
01:16:50,000 --> 01:16:53,144
And then gradually move in that 
direction. 

1508
01:16:53,144 --> 01:16:56,334
But this is particularly true of
very profound attachments. 

1509
01:16:56,334 --> 01:16:58,668
And this is probably what we 
mean here. 

1510
01:16:58,668 --> 01:17:02,000
So if somebody says, give up 
sensual pleasures, of course, 

1511
01:17:02,000 --> 01:17:04,000
that is where it gets much more 
tricky. 

1512
01:17:04,000 --> 01:17:06,858
Because these things are 
definitely places where you have

1513
01:17:06,858 --> 01:17:09,078
to be very careful. 
If you try to give up, but 

1514
01:17:09,078 --> 01:17:11,334
you're not ready to give up, 
it's going to cause so much 

1515
01:17:11,334 --> 01:17:13,715
suffering for yourself. 
So when it comes to the 

1516
01:17:13,715 --> 01:17:16,400
pleasures of life, you know, oh,
I shouldn't be playing so many 

1517
01:17:16,400 --> 01:17:19,600
video games, or I shouldn't be 
kind of indulging in this or 

1518
01:17:19,600 --> 01:17:21,334
whatever, allow that to come 
more naturally. 

1519
01:17:21,334 --> 01:17:23,778
Try to get an understanding 
first of all why it is 

1520
01:17:23,778 --> 01:17:26,000
problematic, why it doesn't work
for you. 

1521
01:17:26,000 --> 01:17:29,002
The deeper your understanding 
is, the easier it's going to be 

1522
01:17:29,002 --> 01:17:31,715
for you to let it go eventually.
So with those things, I 

1523
01:17:31,715 --> 01:17:34,000
definitely agree. 
And if you want to become, 

1524
01:17:34,000 --> 01:17:37,250
people want to become monastics,
it's very interesting on this 

1525
01:17:37,250 --> 01:17:41,200
retreat we had in the Lake, in 
the Peak District, a few people 

1526
01:17:41,200 --> 01:17:43,250
were excited thinking about 
coming to monastics. 

1527
01:17:43,250 --> 01:17:45,800
And I always really enjoy that. 
It's really cool, people want to

1528
01:17:45,800 --> 01:17:48,250
become monastics. 
But that too is very important, 

1529
01:17:48,250 --> 01:17:50,800
that you do it when you feel 
it's the right time. 

1530
01:17:50,800 --> 01:17:54,000
It has to be fairly natural. 
You don't force these things. 

1531
01:17:54,000 --> 01:17:57,715
You don't have, you don't be too
idealistic here, I want to be a 

1532
01:17:57,715 --> 01:18:00,858
monk, I don't really, I can't 
really kind of, I'm not sure if 

1533
01:18:00,858 --> 01:18:02,936
I can kind of do it, but I'm 
going to do it anyway because I 

1534
01:18:02,936 --> 01:18:06,000
have to do it, I'm going to use 
willpower if nothing else works.

1535
01:18:06,000 --> 01:18:08,364
And that doesn't work, you're 
not going to last very long. 

1536
01:18:08,364 --> 01:18:10,500
A few months down the line 
you're going to destroy, you're 

1537
01:18:10,500 --> 01:18:13,144
going to be back messing around 
in ordinary life again. 

1538
01:18:13,144 --> 01:18:14,546
So allow things to come 
naturally. 

1539
01:18:14,546 --> 01:18:16,000
I think that is a very good 
point. 

1540
01:18:16,000 --> 01:18:19,715
So thank you for that point. 
I think it's funny, it's quite 

1541
01:18:19,715 --> 01:18:22,000
critical. 
I think it was Syngar Gustin who

1542
01:18:22,000 --> 01:18:27,556
in both God said, dear God, why 
don't we give up pleasures of 

1543
01:18:27,556 --> 01:18:30,000
the flesh? 
Pleasures of the flesh? 

1544
01:18:30,000 --> 01:18:33,250
But not yet. 
So I'll give you determination 

1545
01:18:33,250 --> 01:18:36,000
before you do. 
Right, yeah, exactly. 

1546
01:18:36,000 --> 01:18:39,600
I've heard about that one, yeah.
Exactly, timing is very 

1547
01:18:39,600 --> 01:18:42,334
important. 
And timing is about ripening 

1548
01:18:42,334 --> 01:18:44,000
your understanding of the 
Dhamma. 

1549
01:18:44,000 --> 01:18:47,000
As your understanding of the 
Dhamma ripens, timing eventually

1550
01:18:47,000 --> 01:18:49,334
becomes righter. 
So it's all about right view. 

1551
01:18:49,334 --> 01:18:51,386
People often think that right 
view is either you have it or 

1552
01:18:51,386 --> 01:18:54,500
you haven't got it. 
Yeah, I believe in rebirth, I 

1553
01:18:54,500 --> 01:18:57,000
believe in Kama, whatever else 
it is. 

1554
01:18:57,000 --> 01:18:59,000
But that isn't what right view 
is about. 

1555
01:18:59,000 --> 01:19:02,000
It's not about saying I believe 
in this. 

1556
01:19:02,000 --> 01:19:04,000
Right view is about 
investigating these things, 

1557
01:19:04,000 --> 01:19:06,800
getting a feeling for them, 
making something emotional 

1558
01:19:06,800 --> 01:19:10,364
actually mean something for you.
And as you do that, as these 

1559
01:19:10,364 --> 01:19:12,400
things become more, you know, 
actually start to mean something

1560
01:19:12,400 --> 01:19:16,000
to you, then also something 
inside of you is ripened. 

1561
01:19:16,000 --> 01:19:20,000
Eventually you are ready to give
up the pleasures of the flesh. 

1562
01:19:20,000 --> 01:19:23,715
You don't even have to ask God 
to find help, it just happens 

1563
01:19:23,715 --> 01:19:25,000
automatically. 
It's very good in Buddhism 

1564
01:19:25,000 --> 01:19:28,000
because we haven't got it God, 
so it kind of comes in handy. 

1565
01:19:28,000 --> 01:19:32,000
And then you're ready, and then 
it happens. 

1566
01:19:32,000 --> 01:19:36,000
Yeah, it's a good point. 
Yes? 

1567
01:19:36,000 --> 01:19:40,000
Every year we have the issue of 
the Buddha and the monastery. 

1568
01:19:40,000 --> 01:19:43,334
Yeah. 
There's a lot of space for 

1569
01:19:43,334 --> 01:19:50,000
people to come and then I guess 
between, I guess, around. 

1570
01:19:50,000 --> 01:19:56,000
I'm just wondering whether there
are recited in Kusum or in Kuhi.

1571
01:19:56,000 --> 01:20:00,000
This one here. 
Exactly. 

1572
01:20:00,000 --> 01:20:04,000
Follow the same sort of very 
very engaging, light way of 

1573
01:20:04,000 --> 01:20:08,334
teaching that you bring teaching
to us so that we can engage with

1574
01:20:08,334 --> 01:20:12,000
the Buddha throughout the year. 
The internet is available, yeah.

1575
01:20:12,000 --> 01:20:14,000
You have so many teachers on the
internet these days. 

1576
01:20:14,000 --> 01:20:17,336
And if you like Ajahn Brahm's 
teachings, then you can go find 

1577
01:20:17,336 --> 01:20:20,000
them on the internet. 
They're available. 

1578
01:20:20,000 --> 01:20:23,800
So I think one of the great 
things about the internet is 

1579
01:20:23,800 --> 01:20:25,600
precisely that teachings are 
certainly available in a brand 

1580
01:20:25,600 --> 01:20:28,000
new way. 
They have never been before. 

1581
01:20:28,000 --> 01:20:30,000
What did you say? 
Something about the Bodhinyana 

1582
01:20:30,000 --> 01:20:34,000
coming? 
What was the word you used? 

1583
01:20:34,000 --> 01:20:38,000
The monastery where the 
tradition is associated. 

1584
01:20:38,000 --> 01:20:40,000
Coming here once a year, is that
what you said? 

1585
01:20:40,000 --> 01:20:44,000
It's very engaging. 
Sure, sure. 

1586
01:20:44,000 --> 01:20:47,092
This is exactly right. 
This is what I found so 

1587
01:20:47,092 --> 01:20:48,000
attractive by Ajahn Brahm's 
teaching. 

1588
01:20:48,000 --> 01:20:50,000
It was very engaging. 
It was very easy to understand. 

1589
01:20:50,000 --> 01:20:52,000
It was very profound at the same
time. 

1590
01:20:52,000 --> 01:20:56,000
Engaging, profound and easy to 
understand. 

1591
01:20:56,000 --> 01:20:59,667
That's my kind of teaching. 
Many, many good things coming 

1592
01:20:59,667 --> 01:21:02,000
together makes it very powerful 
and very beautiful. 

1593
01:21:02,000 --> 01:21:07,000
So I agree with you. 
I think that one reason why 

1594
01:21:07,000 --> 01:21:10,000
meditation teachers often are 
not like that is because 

1595
01:21:10,000 --> 01:21:13,715
traditionally, the way Buddhism 
has been taught in traditional 

1596
01:21:13,715 --> 01:21:16,000
Buddhist countries is very 
formalized. 

1597
01:21:16,000 --> 01:21:18,835
Very, very formal. 
Many of the Western monks, 

1598
01:21:18,835 --> 01:21:21,000
especially those who are trained
in Asia, they have learned that 

1599
01:21:21,000 --> 01:21:25,500
way of doing things and they 
tend to continue in that kind of

1600
01:21:25,500 --> 01:21:29,667
track. 
For me, what I think is very 

1601
01:21:29,667 --> 01:21:33,250
important, when we bring the 
Dhamma to the West, and it's 

1602
01:21:33,250 --> 01:21:37,334
still very new in the Western 
world, when we do that, we have 

1603
01:21:37,334 --> 01:21:40,000
to engage differently. 
We have to do things in a way 

1604
01:21:40,000 --> 01:21:43,430
which is kind of more standard 
way of doing things in the 

1605
01:21:43,430 --> 01:21:45,334
Western world. 
People can appreciate, people 

1606
01:21:45,334 --> 01:21:46,910
can actually enjoy in a 
different way. 

1607
01:21:46,910 --> 01:21:49,500
I think that is so important. 
We shouldn't throw the baby out 

1608
01:21:49,500 --> 01:21:52,286
of the bath water. 
We shouldn't throw away rebirth,

1609
01:21:52,286 --> 01:21:54,250
which is fundamental to the 
Buddhist teachings. 

1610
01:21:54,250 --> 01:21:57,667
But what we can do, we can 
adjust some of the more 

1611
01:21:57,667 --> 01:22:00,286
superficial things, some of the 
more cultural aspects of 

1612
01:22:00,286 --> 01:22:02,000
Buddhism. 
They are not so important. 

1613
01:22:02,000 --> 01:22:06,000
And re-do those a little bit for
a modern era. 

1614
01:22:06,000 --> 01:22:09,430
This is precisely what Ajahn 
Brahm has been so good at. 

1615
01:22:09,430 --> 01:22:13,250
Bringing up modern problems and 
things, how to resolve them in 

1616
01:22:13,250 --> 01:22:16,000
the modern era, making the 
Dhamma interesting and also 

1617
01:22:16,000 --> 01:22:19,250
entertaining at the same time. 
Sometimes because it's a little 

1618
01:22:19,250 --> 01:22:22,000
bit too entertaining, but I 
don't know about that. 

1619
01:22:22,000 --> 01:22:24,000
It's wonderful when that 
happens. 

1620
01:22:24,000 --> 01:22:26,000
It actually becomes very 
powerful. 

1621
01:22:26,000 --> 01:22:30,000
I always look for ways of making
the Dhamma more accessible. 

1622
01:22:30,000 --> 01:22:33,334
One of the things that you 
notice is that the mindfulness 

1623
01:22:33,334 --> 01:22:36,000
movement becomes very powerful 
around the world. 

1624
01:22:36,000 --> 01:22:40,400
One of the reasons, I think, why
it has been so successful is 

1625
01:22:40,400 --> 01:22:44,400
that the teachings are in large 
part drawn straight from the 

1626
01:22:44,400 --> 01:22:47,430
Dhamma, straight from Buddhism. 
No copyright, nothing, just take

1627
01:22:47,430 --> 01:22:50,000
it away. 
Really unfair. 

1628
01:22:50,000 --> 01:22:54,000
Why is it successful? 
Because the entry barrier is so 

1629
01:22:54,000 --> 01:22:56,800
lower. 
It's secular. 

1630
01:22:56,800 --> 01:23:00,000
There's no weird road with shape
and head. 

1631
01:23:00,000 --> 01:23:05,000
It's not that kind of nonsense. 
You take out all the what people

1632
01:23:05,000 --> 01:23:08,500
consider the superstitious 
aspects of Buddhism and just 

1633
01:23:08,500 --> 01:23:10,000
retain what they consider the 
core. 

1634
01:23:10,000 --> 01:23:12,000
Of course, that's not what 
happens. 

1635
01:23:12,000 --> 01:23:13,500
What happens is that you take 
away all the things that matter 

1636
01:23:13,500 --> 01:23:16,000
at the same time. 
That's a different story. 

1637
01:23:16,000 --> 01:23:20,000
Sometimes we should do the same 
thing in Buddhist circles. 

1638
01:23:20,000 --> 01:23:23,144
Try to find a way to make the 
Dhamma so the entry barrier 

1639
01:23:23,144 --> 01:23:25,500
isn't so great. 
We don't have a five-meter tall 

1640
01:23:25,500 --> 01:23:29,001
Buddha statue, for example. 
This is scary. 

1641
01:23:29,001 --> 01:23:31,556
It scares people. 
I remember when I started out on

1642
01:23:31,556 --> 01:23:34,000
the Buddhist path, I was scared 
of all these kind of things. 

1643
01:23:34,000 --> 01:23:36,750
These monks in robes and these 
massive Buddha statues. 

1644
01:23:36,750 --> 01:23:40,250
It was kind of intimidating. 
You realize, actually, there 

1645
01:23:40,250 --> 01:23:42,000
must be better ways of doing 
this. 

1646
01:23:42,000 --> 01:23:45,600
I was thinking, when I should 
come tonight in jeans and 

1647
01:23:45,600 --> 01:23:48,668
t-shirt. 
Actually, the interesting thing 

1648
01:23:48,668 --> 01:23:52,500
is that if you look at the world
of the Buddha, there wouldn't 

1649
01:23:52,500 --> 01:23:55,112
have been any problem with that.
I could have done that. 

1650
01:23:55,112 --> 01:23:58,000
I wouldn't really have been 
breaking any rules as such. 

1651
01:23:58,000 --> 01:24:00,000
But it wouldn't have been the 
same. 

1652
01:24:00,000 --> 01:24:03,500
I don't think so. 
I think these robes are actually

1653
01:24:03,500 --> 01:24:04,835
quite cool. 
I think we'll probably be 

1654
01:24:04,835 --> 01:24:06,000
wearing these robes also in the 
future. 

1655
01:24:06,000 --> 01:24:10,000
Because they advertise something
different. 

1656
01:24:10,000 --> 01:24:12,728
If you come in jeans and 
t-shirt, it looks like everyone 

1657
01:24:12,728 --> 01:24:13,819
else. 
It doesn't really make a 

1658
01:24:13,819 --> 01:24:17,092
difference. 
Also, once you get to my age, 

1659
01:24:17,092 --> 01:24:19,400
you get a bit overweight. 
This is much better when you get

1660
01:24:19,400 --> 01:24:22,000
a bit overweight. 
That's not the reason. 

1661
01:24:24,000 --> 01:24:28,000
We should finish up. 
So much for finishing up. 

1662
01:24:30,000 --> 01:24:39,715
Any last question? 
I think that would be really 

1663
01:24:39,715 --> 01:24:41,000
great. 
Let's take one last question 

1664
01:24:41,000 --> 01:24:44,000
from Matt at the back. 
Please, Matt. 

1665
01:24:44,000 --> 01:24:50,500
I have a question. 
I have a question about how to 

1666
01:24:50,500 --> 01:24:55,500
integrate from repeats. 
I remember after my first 

1667
01:24:55,500 --> 01:25:02,000
retreat, I think it's hard to 
take away the world generated 

1668
01:25:02,000 --> 01:25:06,572
factors of enlightenment away. 
Because I say they've got 

1669
01:25:06,572 --> 01:25:12,858
abstraction and they're so busy.
But I thought you just consider 

1670
01:25:12,858 --> 01:25:15,750
it an oblique loop. 
A good portion of it is just 

1671
01:25:15,750 --> 01:25:21,200
what you and the process and 
where mindfulness comes in much 

1672
01:25:21,200 --> 01:25:24,000
later down. 
A lot of the factors about 

1673
01:25:24,000 --> 01:25:28,000
managing how we interact with 
other people and kindness. 

1674
01:25:28,000 --> 01:25:32,500
If you say, I like kindness. 
The reason you can take away any

1675
01:25:32,500 --> 01:25:37,667
sort of beautiful almost as if 
the world is free, but you can 

1676
01:25:37,667 --> 01:25:42,286
take away. 
So I wrote an article the 

1677
01:25:42,286 --> 01:25:46,223
weekend and I was noticing 
myself to be more behind my 

1678
01:25:46,223 --> 01:25:48,000
thoughts of the lead through the
end work. 

1679
01:25:48,000 --> 01:25:54,000
So mentioning that I was trying 
to think. 

1680
01:25:54,000 --> 01:25:58,500
I think even more sometimes we 
get a sense of how liberation 

1681
01:25:58,500 --> 01:26:04,000
could be achieved. 
Because we take some steps 

1682
01:26:04,000 --> 01:26:06,286
towards that happiness. 
We experience that happiness and

1683
01:26:06,286 --> 01:26:08,000
it's something you've never 
experienced before. 

1684
01:26:08,000 --> 01:26:14,000
And I think that gives rise to a
lot of right view about how 

1685
01:26:14,000 --> 01:26:21,334
liberation would be in terms of 
the and that all this is with 

1686
01:26:21,334 --> 01:26:25,334
you. 
I think that I think that the 

1687
01:26:25,334 --> 01:26:30,750
book was written because he 
remembered the title of the book

1688
01:26:30,750 --> 01:26:35,600
and he stayed with him and he 
remembered it and he was most 

1689
01:26:35,600 --> 01:26:38,000
probably the most powerful 
thing. 

1690
01:26:38,000 --> 01:26:40,000
Yeah, I fully agree with all 
that. 

1691
01:26:40,000 --> 01:26:43,715
That's certainly true. 
So you take away those things 

1692
01:26:43,715 --> 01:26:45,430
that you have to leave behind, 
those things that are difficult 

1693
01:26:45,430 --> 01:26:49,250
to take with you. 
Anyway, I'm going to just say, 

1694
01:26:49,250 --> 01:26:53,556
I'll say it a little bit faster.
One of the reasons I have come 

1695
01:26:53,556 --> 01:26:59,000
to the England, UK, I'm here is 
because I was invited by Quinta 

1696
01:26:59,000 --> 01:27:02,000
Matanda. 
All of you know her already? 

1697
01:27:02,000 --> 01:27:06,334
Yeah, okay. 
She is trying to establish a 

1698
01:27:06,334 --> 01:27:10,000
monastery for fully ordained 
nuns, big communities in the UK.

1699
01:27:10,000 --> 01:27:13,334
There is no such monastery in 
the UK at the moment, is that 

1700
01:27:13,334 --> 01:27:16,000
right? 
Correct, yeah, that's correct. 

1701
01:27:16,000 --> 01:27:18,000
There is only one bikini as 
well. 

1702
01:27:18,000 --> 01:27:23,000
And the idea behind this is to 
kind of give a level playing 

1703
01:27:23,000 --> 01:27:27,144
field between nuns and monks as 
far as possible and also to give

1704
01:27:27,144 --> 01:27:31,334
women the chance to ordain in 
the Buddhist sasana, the 

1705
01:27:31,334 --> 01:27:36,000
Buddhist the Buddhist thing 
here. 

1706
01:27:36,000 --> 01:27:40,668
The Buddhist sangha, to ordain 
in the Buddhist sangha so that 

1707
01:27:40,668 --> 01:27:44,800
they have the best possible 
situation to also reach all 

1708
01:27:44,800 --> 01:27:48,000
these wonderful things that I've
been talking about tonight. 

1709
01:27:48,000 --> 01:27:51,001
Liberation of the mind, 
liberation and wisdom, all of 

1710
01:27:51,001 --> 01:27:53,715
these wonderful things. 
It is a remarkable and wonderful

1711
01:27:53,715 --> 01:27:56,000
thing that she is doing. 
It is actually very difficult. 

1712
01:27:56,000 --> 01:28:00,000
She is by herself, not having 
any support is very, very hard. 

1713
01:28:00,000 --> 01:28:03,430
Monastic life is really a life 
where you are supported by your 

1714
01:28:03,430 --> 01:28:05,500
fellow monastics. 
To be by yourself is actually 

1715
01:28:05,500 --> 01:28:07,750
very difficult. 
And this is why she comes to 

1716
01:28:07,750 --> 01:28:10,500
Australia and stays close to 
Bodhidharma monastery every year

1717
01:28:10,500 --> 01:28:13,274
for three months, just to be 
with Ajahn Brahm and to have a 

1718
01:28:13,274 --> 01:28:16,000
chance to kind of develop her 
meditation properly down there. 

1719
01:28:16,000 --> 01:28:19,336
So it is a very difficult thing 
that she is doing and she really

1720
01:28:19,336 --> 01:28:22,500
needs all the support that she 
can have to make this vision 

1721
01:28:22,500 --> 01:28:25,274
into a reality. 
So I am just letting you know 

1722
01:28:25,274 --> 01:28:26,858
that so that you understand the 
situation. 

1723
01:28:26,858 --> 01:28:30,572
So that if you want to support 
in one way or another that would

1724
01:28:30,572 --> 01:28:32,400
be a wonderful and marvelous 
thing. 

1725
01:28:32,400 --> 01:28:36,000
Supporting something really 
quite historical, something very

1726
01:28:36,000 --> 01:28:39,001
useful, hopefully, would be 
very, very useful for Buddhism 

1727
01:28:39,001 --> 01:28:43,715
in the UK in the future. 
Ok, Venerable, now do you want 

1728
01:28:43,715 --> 01:28:47,750
to say something? 
So first I just want to thank 

1729
01:28:47,750 --> 01:28:50,800
you Ajahn Brahmani. 
You said that it is rare to hear

1730
01:28:50,800 --> 01:28:54,000
kind words or powerful words, 
but I want to thank you for 

1731
01:28:54,000 --> 01:28:56,000
being a wonderful Kalyan Amitra 
on this path. 

1732
01:28:56,000 --> 01:28:59,000
I feel like I have gained so 
much in terms of personal 

1733
01:28:59,000 --> 01:29:02,000
support during this time. 
And I think that bringing the 

1734
01:29:02,000 --> 01:29:05,001
early Buddhist teachings to 
England in the way you have and 

1735
01:29:05,001 --> 01:29:08,400
being able to elucidate them 
with so much clarity and 

1736
01:29:08,400 --> 01:29:12,000
inspiration has just been really
moving for many people. 

1737
01:29:12,000 --> 01:29:15,200
Many people have told me that it
was the best retreat they have 

1738
01:29:15,200 --> 01:29:17,750
ever done. 
Which is quite a big thing to 

1739
01:29:17,750 --> 01:29:19,456
say. 
And a lot of people came for the

1740
01:29:19,456 --> 01:29:21,778
first time to that retreat. 
It was their first experience of

1741
01:29:21,778 --> 01:29:24,000
meditation. 
They came specifically because 

1742
01:29:24,000 --> 01:29:27,334
they knew that this would put 
them on the path in a really 

1743
01:29:27,334 --> 01:29:29,200
clear way. 
In a way that they can 

1744
01:29:29,200 --> 01:29:32,000
understand and have that direct 
relationship to the Buddha. 

1745
01:29:32,000 --> 01:29:35,637
So thank you very much. 
It's difficult to express with 

1746
01:29:35,637 --> 01:29:38,000
words. 
But Leah just asked about the 

1747
01:29:38,000 --> 01:29:40,000
bikini project and where we are 
up to with that. 

1748
01:29:40,000 --> 01:29:43,200
Now normally I go into all this 
kind of technical, sort of 

1749
01:29:43,200 --> 01:29:46,000
mundane stuff. 
But this evening I just got so 

1750
01:29:46,000 --> 01:29:48,000
touched to kind of look at 
everybody here. 

1751
01:29:48,000 --> 01:29:50,000
I had my eyes open most of the 
time. 

1752
01:29:50,000 --> 01:29:52,000
And I felt like this is where we
are at. 

1753
01:29:52,000 --> 01:29:56,000
I mean I know half the people in
this room, many of you have been

1754
01:29:56,000 --> 01:29:58,000
key supporters right from the 
beginning. 

1755
01:29:58,000 --> 01:30:00,890
And not just supporting the 
project, but supporting me also 

1756
01:30:00,890 --> 01:30:04,000
with a lot of love and a lot of 
warmth. 

1757
01:30:04,000 --> 01:30:06,000
And without that it wouldn't be 
possible. 

1758
01:30:06,000 --> 01:30:09,500
So in a sense people here have 
been my spiritual friends, also 

1759
01:30:09,500 --> 01:30:12,858
my spiritual colleagues, also my
supporters. 

1760
01:30:12,858 --> 01:30:16,000
And it's not me that you're 
supporting actually. 

1761
01:30:16,000 --> 01:30:18,334
It's the development of Buddhism
in England. 

1762
01:30:18,334 --> 01:30:20,800
So yes it's for the Bhikkhuni 
Sangha. 

1763
01:30:20,800 --> 01:30:24,000
But through supporting the 
Bhikkhuni Sangha and also 

1764
01:30:24,000 --> 01:30:27,112
offering a residence eventually.
Because all the donations are 

1765
01:30:27,112 --> 01:30:30,000
going to go towards building up 
a place to stay. 

1766
01:30:30,000 --> 01:30:32,000
We can have a presence in this 
country. 

1767
01:30:32,000 --> 01:30:34,334
And that means of course more 
regular teaching. 

1768
01:30:34,334 --> 01:30:37,144
So I'm just starting out 
teaching, but I'm really 

1769
01:30:37,144 --> 01:30:40,000
confident I have excellent 
teachers. 

1770
01:30:40,000 --> 01:30:43,667
And so at least I have some kind
of understanding of where this 

1771
01:30:43,667 --> 01:30:46,500
path is going and how to proceed
along it. 

1772
01:30:46,500 --> 01:30:49,400
And I think like Hajin Bumali 
said it's not so much the goal 

1773
01:30:49,400 --> 01:30:53,112
but the process. 
So yes for me the process is 

1774
01:30:53,112 --> 01:30:56,500
very much about kindness, very 
much about making peace with 

1775
01:30:56,500 --> 01:30:59,667
everything that arises in our 
mind and in our practice and 

1776
01:30:59,667 --> 01:31:04,000
really allowing a natural kind 
of unfolding of the Dhamma. 

1777
01:31:04,000 --> 01:31:07,334
So I mean this for me is very 
exciting and I feel we're all in

1778
01:31:07,334 --> 01:31:09,715
it together really. 
And so this isn't something that

1779
01:31:09,715 --> 01:31:12,000
I'm doing for others, it's 
something we're all doing 

1780
01:31:12,000 --> 01:31:14,000
together. 
And so in a sense this is the 

1781
01:31:14,000 --> 01:31:16,000
monastery right now. 
You know the people in this 

1782
01:31:16,000 --> 01:31:19,430
room, the atmosphere that we 
have together, you know the love

1783
01:31:19,430 --> 01:31:22,000
that's here, the sense of 
spiritual friendship that's here

1784
01:31:22,000 --> 01:31:25,667
is the monastery. 
And hopefully over time we'll 

1785
01:31:25,667 --> 01:31:28,286
find conducive places to develop
that. 

1786
01:31:28,286 --> 01:31:33,144
And not only can women train but
lay people, men and women, can 

1787
01:31:33,144 --> 01:31:36,668
come and stay. 
So you know the more property we

1788
01:31:36,668 --> 01:31:40,000
have, the more acres we have, 
the more opportunity there is 

1789
01:31:40,000 --> 01:31:42,400
for that. 
And I just want to thank if 

1790
01:31:42,400 --> 01:31:45,715
that's okay without embarrassing
people, a few people in person 

1791
01:31:45,715 --> 01:31:50,000
because here we have an 
on-campus treasurer, Tehany. 

1792
01:31:50,000 --> 01:31:52,000
So I want to really thank you 
Tehany. 

1793
01:31:52,000 --> 01:31:54,000
Do you want to stick your hand 
up? 

1794
01:31:54,000 --> 01:31:56,000
Because you'll be coming for the
Reigns retreat. 

1795
01:31:56,000 --> 01:31:58,000
She's coming smiling and playing
with me. 

1796
01:31:58,000 --> 01:32:02,000
And this is going to really 
strengthen the whole project 

1797
01:32:02,000 --> 01:32:04,400
because when we have people 
involved who really practice, 

1798
01:32:04,400 --> 01:32:07,667
that gives a different energy to
the whole thing. 

1799
01:32:07,667 --> 01:32:11,144
Amina's here and Amina's been 
with me right from the very 

1800
01:32:11,144 --> 01:32:14,000
beginning for the first couple 
of years doing pretty much 

1801
01:32:14,000 --> 01:32:18,000
everything that I couldn't do 
online. 

1802
01:32:18,000 --> 01:32:22,400
And yeah, specifically helping 
with the tours but also helping 

1803
01:32:22,400 --> 01:32:24,750
us with getting registered as a 
charity. 

1804
01:32:24,750 --> 01:32:28,000
And that was a huge milestone 
for us. 

1805
01:32:28,000 --> 01:32:31,456
She did such a good job with the
help of some of the colleagues 

1806
01:32:31,456 --> 01:32:34,286
as well, the trustees, that we 
got registered within a month of

1807
01:32:34,286 --> 01:32:36,000
our application. 
Which one is she? 

1808
01:32:36,000 --> 01:32:39,715
Amina. 
She's the one that giggles a 

1809
01:32:39,715 --> 01:32:43,144
lot. 
And it's a taboo display and 

1810
01:32:43,144 --> 01:32:47,250
it's very contagious. 
And there's several other people

1811
01:32:47,250 --> 01:32:48,750
here who've hosted me many 
times. 

1812
01:32:48,750 --> 01:32:51,400
Rita at the back here. 
I just want to thank her for 

1813
01:32:51,400 --> 01:32:54,286
being here tonight because I 
know Rita's really not so well. 

1814
01:32:54,286 --> 01:32:58,000
And for you to turn up to a 
Dharma talk like this, you know,

1815
01:32:58,000 --> 01:33:00,750
despite the physical 
difficulties that you're going 

1816
01:33:00,750 --> 01:33:02,800
through, it just shows such 
devotion to the Dharma. 

1817
01:33:02,800 --> 01:33:06,000
And I want you to really 
appreciate that in yourself. 

1818
01:33:06,000 --> 01:33:08,000
Because that's huge. 
That's actually huge. 

1819
01:33:08,000 --> 01:33:12,000
And Anna also, she's part of the
Bidwood Buddhist Society. 

1820
01:33:12,000 --> 01:33:14,000
There's a few people here. 
Richard's here. 

1821
01:33:14,000 --> 01:33:17,144
Richard met Ajahn Chah a long 
time back. 

1822
01:33:17,144 --> 01:33:17,715
Really? 
Okay. 

1823
01:33:17,715 --> 01:33:20,000
Wow. 
And Liz is here, next to him. 

1824
01:33:20,000 --> 01:33:23,500
And the Bidwood Buddhist Society
have been supporting me as a 

1825
01:33:23,500 --> 01:33:25,600
group, really. 
Inviting me to teach. 

1826
01:33:25,600 --> 01:33:30,334
Also developing some nice little
fundraising initiatives to 

1827
01:33:30,334 --> 01:33:34,000
spread Dharma. 
So little bags and some books. 

1828
01:33:34,000 --> 01:33:37,112
So tonight at the end, we've 
only got about 10 minutes before

1829
01:33:37,112 --> 01:33:39,667
we have to leave. 
But there'll be some books 

1830
01:33:39,667 --> 01:33:44,000
available at the back with some 
of Ajahn Brahmali's poignant 

1831
01:33:44,000 --> 01:33:47,715
quotes and some nice photographs
of very Dharma places in the 

1832
01:33:47,715 --> 01:33:50,500
world. 
So they're available for 

1833
01:33:50,500 --> 01:33:54,000
everybody to take. 
Yeah. 

1834
01:33:54,000 --> 01:33:57,500
And yeah, Kirsty also is 
supporting us, helping me with 

1835
01:33:57,500 --> 01:34:00,000
the newsletter and uploads of 
YouTube. 

1836
01:34:00,000 --> 01:34:02,000
And many other people are 
involved. 

1837
01:34:02,000 --> 01:34:07,000
So it's really for everybody. 
So yeah, hopefully by January 

1838
01:34:07,000 --> 01:34:10,000
next year we might have a small 
base. 

1839
01:34:10,000 --> 01:34:12,500
But it'll be small. 
It'll be just a business where I

1840
01:34:12,500 --> 01:34:14,924
can have a bit of rest. 
And there'll be a room for 

1841
01:34:14,924 --> 01:34:16,000
someone to come and stay with 
me. 

1842
01:34:16,000 --> 01:34:20,000
Maybe not someone for the whole 
period, but have a few people 

1843
01:34:20,000 --> 01:34:22,858
coming and just experiencing how
that feels. 

1844
01:34:22,858 --> 01:34:26,858
I think the first step will be a
little bit interesting and maybe

1845
01:34:26,858 --> 01:34:29,750
a bit tricky because it won't 
feel like a monastery straight 

1846
01:34:29,750 --> 01:34:31,715
away. 
It'll be more like a little 

1847
01:34:31,715 --> 01:34:33,715
vihara. 
So you live together and just 

1848
01:34:33,715 --> 01:34:37,500
find a little bit of a balance 
between some structure and some 

1849
01:34:37,500 --> 01:34:41,144
solitary time to practice. 
But eventually when we get the 

1850
01:34:41,144 --> 01:34:45,000
team more strong and cohesive, 
then we'll move into something 

1851
01:34:45,000 --> 01:34:48,250
bigger and more normal. 
But even in the beginning I've 

1852
01:34:48,250 --> 01:34:52,000
decided to have this place in 
the countryside because 

1853
01:34:52,000 --> 01:34:58,000
countryside living, forest, it's
much more conducive to practice 

1854
01:34:58,000 --> 01:35:02,000
and a much more style I think. 
And we just spent a month, 

1855
01:35:02,000 --> 01:35:06,000
almost a month with Radita who's
here from Latvia. 

1856
01:35:06,000 --> 01:35:12,000
In Limegeis on the south coast. 
And what was really lovely there

1857
01:35:12,000 --> 01:35:14,858
was not only of course being 
supported by someone who came 

1858
01:35:14,858 --> 01:35:17,500
over specifically for that 
purpose, to support not me but 

1859
01:35:17,500 --> 01:35:22,000
the sangha. 
Was also finding that about 

1860
01:35:22,000 --> 01:35:26,000
seven days at least we had 
people coming to offer dharma. 

1861
01:35:26,000 --> 01:35:29,556
And that's in a small town on 
the south coast which is not 

1862
01:35:29,556 --> 01:35:31,500
that accessible. 
But there are people all over 

1863
01:35:31,500 --> 01:35:33,715
the place actually who want this
to happen. 

1864
01:35:33,715 --> 01:35:36,890
So that really inspired me and I
think that gives me confidence 

1865
01:35:36,890 --> 01:35:40,000
that we can actually start in a 
way we need to continue. 

1866
01:35:40,000 --> 01:35:43,334
So avoid London. 
That's the key thing. 

1867
01:35:43,334 --> 01:35:46,000
Because actually I've been like,
yeah, start in London. 

1868
01:35:46,000 --> 01:35:48,000
So that's how we're going to 
start. 

1869
01:35:48,000 --> 01:35:52,000
So thank you very much to 
everybody. 

1870
01:35:52,000 --> 01:35:55,000
There'll be an opportunity to 
give donations at the back and 

1871
01:35:55,000 --> 01:35:57,200
to have the books and whatever 
else. 

1872
01:35:57,200 --> 01:36:02,000
And hopefully see you all again 
somewhere into the next year. 

1873
01:36:02,000 --> 01:36:08,000
Thank you. 
Oh yeah, I just met him. 

1874
01:36:08,000 --> 01:36:12,000
I just met him. 
I just met him. 

1875
01:36:12,000 --> 01:36:16,000
I just met him. 
Yeah, sure, sure. 

1876
01:36:24,000 --> 01:36:32,000
So the dharma tour is going on. 
Westfield, Fulham, and Tidham. 

1877
01:36:32,000 --> 01:36:36,000
And Tidham is having a nice 
event. 

1878
01:36:36,000 --> 01:36:40,000
Great, wonderful. 
I'm very glad to hear that. 

1879
01:36:40,000 --> 01:36:44,000
It's a wonderful event. 
Are you from the... 

1880
01:36:44,000 --> 01:36:48,000
Is it Rackingback? 
Yeah, Rackingback. 

1881
01:36:48,000 --> 01:36:52,000
I was raised in Hatton. 
It didn't make sense. 

1882
01:36:54,000 --> 01:37:00,000
But I've been doing things with 
UNZ. 

1883
01:37:00,000 --> 01:37:02,000
Oh, really? 
I see. 

1884
01:37:02,000 --> 01:37:06,000
I met somebody recently who had 
the same environment. 

1885
01:37:06,000 --> 01:37:10,000
So just live well. 
Do the right thing. 

1886
01:37:10,000 --> 01:37:12,000
That's the best thing you can 
do. 

1887
01:37:12,000 --> 01:37:16,000
So, dharma is the most important
thing. 

1888
01:37:16,000 --> 01:37:22,000
It's more important, you guys. 
Mind, core. 

1889
01:37:22,000 --> 01:37:28,000
Exactly, the whole thing. 
So just keep on doing that. 

1890
01:37:28,000 --> 01:37:30,400
And making the best of it in a 
difficult situation. 

1891
01:37:30,400 --> 01:37:34,000
Because it is difficult. 
I'm learning a lot. 

1892
01:37:34,000 --> 01:37:38,000
Okay, great. 
Good, yeah. 

1893
01:37:38,000 --> 01:37:42,000
Good luck with everything. 
Yeah. 

1894
01:37:44,000 --> 01:37:48,000
Very good. 
Okay, very good. 

1895
01:37:50,000 --> 01:37:54,000
It's different, Mike. 
Yes, I guess. 

1896
01:37:54,000 --> 01:37:56,572
It's different. 
It's different. 

1897
01:37:56,572 --> 01:37:59,400
Yeah, the teaching is different.
You live over here or do you 

1898
01:37:59,400 --> 01:38:02,000
live in here? 
I live here now. 

1899
01:38:02,000 --> 01:38:07,500
You're living over here. 
I'm listening every day in 

1900
01:38:07,500 --> 01:38:10,000
YouTube. 
Okay. 

1901
01:38:10,000 --> 01:38:14,000
As a browser? 
Yeah. 

1902
01:38:14,000 --> 01:38:18,000
But it's sometimes. 
Sometimes. 

1903
01:38:18,000 --> 01:38:22,000
But today I'm studying. 
Good, I'm glad to hear that. 

1904
01:38:22,000 --> 01:38:25,750
Okay, good luck. 
I really just wanted to say that

1905
01:38:25,750 --> 01:38:30,000
it's great to meet you. 
I think the talks are wonderful.

1906
01:38:30,000 --> 01:38:34,000
And that last talk for some 
reason really hits something 

1907
01:38:34,000 --> 01:38:36,000
It's strange. 
Sometimes it really hits home. 

1908
01:38:36,000 --> 01:38:38,000
Sometimes it really works. 
It's not like that. 

1909
01:38:38,000 --> 01:38:38,845
You have to be in the right 
mood. 

1910
01:38:38,845 --> 01:38:40,000
It has to be the right talk at 
the right time. 

1911
01:38:40,000 --> 01:38:54,000
It's a bang. 
And ... ... ... ... ...