Download - The Mindfulness Bell

dharma TALK
Suffering can instruct us a lot and help us
cultivate compassion and understanding.
In fact we cannot grow without experiencing suffering. When we say we should
not give the negative seeds a chance we are referring to the teaching of Right Diligence.
This means first of all that when positive seeds are present we should keep
them alive as long as possible. One example of a positive seed is compassion. We
should keep the seed of compassion alive in our hearts and our minds. One way to
keep this seed alive is to be aware of the suffering. The practice of Right Diligence
secondly means that we do not give negative seeds like hatred and anger a chance
to increase by watering them everyday. If you are experienced in the practice of
mindfulness you can complete the practice of Right Diligence by the practice of
embracing strong emotions.
From time to time there is a mental formation that refuses to be replaced, like
a CD that plays over and over. Even if you have a strong intention to replace it, it is
too strong. If you are a skillful practitioner you will not try to change the CD. You
will say, “You want to stay It’s okay!” [laughter] You accept the CD; you accept
the feeling, you embrace it tenderly and look deeply into it. That is also the teaching
of the Buddha, to recognize the painful emotion, not to fight it but to recognize
and embrace it in order to get relief. Look deeply into its nature in order to find all
the roots of that feeling or emotion, because understanding is the way of liberation.
Mindfulness and concentration lead to insight that is liberating.
Suffering exists in the context of family and school. There should be collaboration
between parents and teachers, between parents and children, between teachers
and students, to teach them how to handle their suffering. This is very clear in the
tradition of Asia. When you come to learn from a teacher, what you have to learn
first is how to behave – how to behave with others and with the teacher. You learn
ethics first. And then after that you learn to write, to read, to study literature, history,
mathematics, and so on. It is possible for us to do that in the context of family
and school.
Making a living is important but that is not everything. Parents should show
their children that although they are busy making a living for the whole family, they
also devote enough time to make sure that harmony and happiness exist in the family.
You can bring home a lot of money but that is not enough. You have to be there for
your partner, your spouse, your children.
Their happiness depends on your way of being around them. The same must be
true with school teachers. Not only do they need to transmit technical knowledge so
that students will get a job later on, but we have to transform school into a family,
into a Sangha. We should devote enough time to just being together. If there is deep
communication between school teachers and children, the atmosphere of school will
be pleasant. This helps the learning process to happen easily. So we have to offer
retreats to parents and school teachers so they can take better care of their families
and their students.
And that is part of Engaged Buddhism.
Transcribed and edited by Janelle Combelic, with
help from Barbara Casey and Sr. Annabel, Chan Duc.
photos by David Nelson
the Mindfulness Bell 9