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We are so busy we hardly have time to look at the people we love, even in our own household, and to look at ourselves. Society is organized in a way that even when we have some leisure time, we don’t know how to use it to get back in touch with ourselves. We have millions of ways to lose this precious time—we turn on the TV, or pick up the telephone, or start the car and go somewhere. We are not used to being with ourselves, and we act as if we don’t like ourselves and are trying to escape from ourselves.
Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is a wonderful moment.
We tend to postpone being alive to the future, the distant future, we don’t know when. Now is not the moment to be alive. We may never be alive at all in our entire life. Therefore, the technique, if we have to speak of a technique, is to be in the present moment, to be aware that we are here and now, and the only moment to be alive is the present moment.
To develop understanding, you have to practice looking at all living beings with the eyes of compassion. When you understand, you love.
A so-called neutral feeling can become very pleasant. If you sit down, very beautifully, and practice breathing and smiling, you can be very happy. When you sit in this way, aware that you have a feeling of well-being, that you don’t have a toothache, that your eyes are capable of seeing forms and colors, isn’t it wonderful?
If I don’t understand you, I may be angry at you all the time. We are not capable of understanding each other, and that is the main source of human suffering.
Buddhism teaches us how to look at things deeply in order to understand their own true nature, so that we will not be misled into suffering and bad feelings.
Anger is born from ignorance, and is a strong ally of ignorance.
For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.
The Buddhist way of understanding is always letting go of our views and knowledge
I saw that if I had been born in the village of the pirate and raised in the same conditions as he was, I would now be the pirate.
The proliferation of armaments, for instance, is a horse. We have tried our best, but we cannot control these horses. Our lives are so busy.
In Buddhism, the most important precept of all is to live in awareness, to know what is going on.
Every day we do things, we are things, that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our lifestyle, our way of consuming, of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment we are alive, the present moment. When we pick up the Sunday newspaper, for instance, we may be aware that it is a very heavy edition, maybe three or four pounds. To print such a paper, a whole forest may be needed. When we pick up the paper, we should be aware. If we are very aware, we can do something to change the course of things.
We are imprisoned in our small selves, thinking only of the comfortable conditions for this small self, while we destroy our large self.
Reconciliation is to understand both sides, to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then to go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side.
Are there people who can be in touch with both Israelis and Palestinians, Pakistanis and Indians, black and white? Without them, the situation gets worse. There must be people who can get in touch with both sides, understanding the suffering of each, and telling each side about the other. We need people who can help bring mediation and reconciliation to nations in conflict. Can Americans be more than Americans? Can we be people who understand deeply the suffering of both sides? Can we bring the message of reconciliation?
When you do your best, trying to be your best in understanding and accepting, you don’t have to worry about the outcome. You do your best, and that is enough.
In modern society most of us don’t want to be in touch with ourselves; we want to be in touch with other things like religion, sports, politics, a book—we want to forget ourselves. Anytime we have leisure, we want to invite something else to enter us, opening ourselves to the television and telling the television to come and colonize us.
“I vow to develop my compassion in order to love and protect the life of people, animals, plants, and minerals.”
“I vow to develop understanding in order to be able to love and to live in harmony with people, animals, plants, and minerals.”
Human life is more precious than any ideology or doctrine.
We shall learn and practice nonattachment from views in order to be open to others’ insights and experiences.
Aware of the suffering brought about when we impose our views on others, we are committed not to force others, even our children, by any means whatsoever—such as authority, threat, money, propaganda, or indoctrination—to adopt our views. We will respect the right of others to be different and to choose what to believe and how to decide. We will, however, help others renounce fanaticism and narrowness through compassionate dialogue.
Aware that true happiness is rooted in peace, solidity, freedom, and compassion, and not in wealth or fame, we are determined not to take as the aim of our life fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure, nor to accumulate wealth while millions are hungry and dying. We are committed to living simply and sharing our time, energy, and material resources with those in need.
Aware that anger blocks communication and creates suffering, we are determined to take care of the energy of anger when it arises and to recognize and transform the seeds of anger that lie deep in our consciousness.
We will try not to lose ourselves in dispersion or be carried away by regrets about the past, worries about the future, or craving, anger, or jealousy in the present.
We are determined not to say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people, nor to utter words that might cause division or hatred. We will not spread news that we do not know to be certain nor criticize or condemn things of which we are not sure.
When we ride on a horse that is out of control, I think our deepest wish is to stop. How can we stop? We have to resist the speed, the losing of ourselves, and therefore we must organize a resistance. Spending two hours with a cup of tea during a tea meditation is an act of resistance, nonviolent resistance.
Walking meditation can be very enjoyable. We walk slowly, alone or with friends, if possible in some beautiful place. Walking meditation is really to enjoy the walking. Walking not in order to arrive, just for walking. The purpose is to be in the present moment and enjoy each step you make. Therefore you have to shake off all worries and anxieties, not thinking of the future, not thinking of the past, just enjoying the present moment. You can take the hand of a child as you do it. You walk, you make steps as if you are the happiest person on Earth.
We never have time to look at each other, even those we love, and soon it will be too late.
There are three things I can recommend to you: arranging to have a breathing room in your home, a room for meditation; practicing breathing, sitting, for a few minutes every morning at home with your children; and going out for a slow walking meditation with your children before going to sleep, just ten minutes is enough. These things are very important. They can change our civilization.
