Sister Insight's first public talk in Belfast March 2015

Psychology is a very, very young discipline, and psychology applying itself to well-being and health is an even younger discipline. Man's search for his own well-being or her own well-being predates psychology. Man's attempt to understand himself, the nature of the self, and the nature of suffering predates psychology. It's been a feature of the psychology of well-being over recent decades that we have borrowed very heavily from Buddhist traditions, and particularly Buddhist practice of mindfulness. There has been an explosion in the literature and practice of mindfulness-based stress reduction Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, and also some of the Buddhist ideas on the nature of suffering and the nature of self have very much been incorporated into psychological views of well-being. So it is in this spirit and search for Answers to these questions that we are absolutely honored tonight to have Sister Insight speak on well-being through mind and body. It's really important for us as psychologists to acknowledge the contribution that this tradition has made to well-being and the psychology of well-being, and we do so in an open stance towards learning and openness from other ancient traditions and trying to learn from the wisdom of ancient traditions. Sister Insight is a senior Dharma teacher in Plum Village, which is a monastery founded by Thích Nhất Hạnh. She was ordained as a nun 20 years ago, over 20 years ago, and lives her daily life practicing mindfulness and doing mindfulness retreats throughout the world. So, ladies and gentlemen, it's a great honor. Can I introduce Sister and Sister?

Good evening, dear friends. At first, when Bridget and I discussed about this trip, we thought we wanted to have a talk. We thought maybe. 50 people would be good. And now we always have up to 400 people. And this is a sign that there is a collective awakening in humanity nowadays, at our present time, that people are really waking up. To something like this. There's a need for a spiritual path. There's a need for a path in our lives, a path that would enable us to touch peace and happiness in ourselves, a path of beauty. And more people are coming To our center in Plum Village. More people are coming to retreats. They request for retreats anywhere in the world. And there is a really deep hunger for a path that would help people to live a happy, peaceful life.

Everywhere.

And mindfulness is a practice that is really becoming mainstream in many places. In the US, where we have 3 centers right now, 3 monasteries, where we travel, our teacher and our community in Plum Village, Traveling every every two years to teach, and and mindfulness is becoming mainstream because it's used in the healthcare profession. It's used in schools. It's used in the military and in business. Our teacher have been to Google, to talk about mindfulness practice and how to deal with the stress that is overwhelming for people who work at Google. And so what I would like to share with you tonight is how to practice mindfulness, what is the relevance of mindfulness in our daily life, and how to really embrace this practice even if you're not a Buddhist, and even if you're not a spiritual person. Because it's, it's a practice that anyone can do at any time, anywhere, and that it brings benefits immediately, just like what we just did. Did anybody feel relaxed? Raise your hands. By the way, how many of you have Are coming to something like this, you know, to a talk or mindfulness on— I mean, a retreat on mindfulness for the first time? Can I see hands? Not so many of you. So many of you have been to my class, probably. But how many of you have been to our community in France, Plum Village? Just a few of you. Okay, great. Thank you. So mindfulness is not new to you, but you're probably not familiar with the Buddhists, with monastics. But let me just tell you a little bit about our community. We're just 2 among more than 200 monastics living in Plum Village. In Plum Village. And on the nun side, we have about 175 sisters. So they are here with me, they are here with us. Our teacher is also here with us tonight. So I'm not alone, I'm with my whole community here. And I'm sharing on their behalf. I'm sharing, I'm offering you the practice and the teachings with my community, with my teacher. So mindfulness is an energy. It's an energy And it's an energy inside ourselves. It's a potential that we have. We call it seed. And the moment we are able to come back to our breathing, like we just did, or come back to our body, become aware of our breathing and of our body, we're really tapping into that seed. And that seed manifests. And when this seed of mindfulness manifests, it becomes an energy. And what this energy does is that it helps us to be truly alive. It brings our mind back to the present moment instead of running in 10 directions all the time. It's here and now with our body. It's one with our body and mind. And it is— it's only when our body and mind are together as one that we're truly alive, that we can really savor the life that we have in this moment, that we're not carried away by the past, Worrying about the future, or preoccupied about what's happening in the moment, in the present, with projects, worries, anxieties. That the moment we are able to come back to our breathing, we're present, we're mindful, we are aware of what's happening inside ourselves, In our body, in our mind, and also what's happening around us. So it's a very powerful energy. It's the energy that helps us to wake up. It's an energy that helps this, what I just called, a collective awakening. An awakening in ourselves. And when we shed this energy of awareness onto something that's painful, for example, like a painful— a physical pain, for instance, or an emotional pain, for instance, it helps to embrace the pain. It helps us to step back a bit from the pain so that we're not overwhelmed by the pain. It helps to lessen the intensity of the pain until we have enough clarity in ourselves to really see deeply into the pain, to see causes and conditions that brought about the pain. To help us to see the way we consume, The way we consume, the way we think, to help us to see our lifestyle that contributes to this pain. And so it enables healing to happen in our body and also in our mind. But when we shine this awareness onto something that's positive, like a feeling of well-being in our body, for example, Or a feeling of love, or a feeling of generosity, then we really help to solidify the roots of this well-being in the depths of our being. It helps to prolong the experience, and it helps the seed of well-being to become stronger in ourselves. And so mindfulness, or being aware, or being conscious, can really help healing in that way. And the moment we are able to stop bringing our mind back to the present moment, we can really see deeply into what is happening, What is exactly happening in ourselves? Are we really there for ourselves? Are we really there for our body and mind? A lot of times we're not. I mean, I'm talking from my experience. I've been a nun for 22 years and been trained in this practice, but I found myself running like there's a monkey We call it the monkey mind. And that is running all the time. And that's why I have to continue practicing so that I can bring myself back to the present moment, so that I can really see myself in the present moment, what is unfolding in myself in the present moment, but also to really see the wonders Around me. There are so much wonders around us, and especially during this time of the year, springtime. So you can really— wonders are unfolding in front of us everywhere. Yesterday, Bridgeen took us to the Giant's Cave? Giant's Causeway. Giant's Causeway. And just on the way there, I told her, this is such a beautiful country that I would love to have a monastery, a hermitage somewhere here. And I think I told her, I think I'll become enlightened really quickly if I live in this kind of environment. But I'm aware that, you know, like someone like Bridgeen, for instance, or like you, you may not have the time to really look Appreciate the beauties that are there. Or even if you have the time, you may not be able to stop yourself, to stop— to stop thinking, to really see and to really experience and to really savor the beauties around you. Have you ever really looked at the sunshine and to see how sparkling it is? Can you really stop to look at the sea and see the sun shining on the sea and the sparkling of the sea? Well, when we are there, when we are present, then we can really see it, then we can really savor the sunlight, we can really appreciate the sunlight, we can be really nourished by the sunlight. Nature is always there. And if we know how to take refuge in nature, we know how to be there for nature, nature can be so instrumental in helping us to heal our body and our mind. And so, it's only when we are there that we can make that connection. So that we can really make use of the beauties around us and the wonders around us, and be nourished by the wonders around us. And so this is the kind of thing we do in Plum Village. So you'll be, you know, if you're in Plum Village, imagine you're there, and you see someone walking really slowly, looking at the trees, looking at the flowers, touching the leaves. You know, if you've never been to the practice and you don't know anything about us, you're like, I don't know what that person is.

No.

But for us, it's completely normal. For us, it's so necessary to come in touch with nature because nature is really there. Nature is really Love for Mother Earth, for us. She's always there. Mother Earth is always there underneath us, and she's always offering us abundance of nutriment, of nourishment, and of love. And it's only when we're there, we stop running in our head, that we can really recognize her love. And The offering that she gave us. Beauty surrounds us and wonders surround us. But how do we really practice mindfulness? Yes, we have it in here, we have this seed in here, we have this potential in here. But how do we tap into this seed inside ourselves? So if you've been to Plum Village or you've been to Bridgeen's class, then you have probably learned some tools to do this. And one of those tools that we do, that we have, is breathing. We call it conscious breathing. Not controlled breathing, it's conscious breathing. Which means that we simply acknowledge the breathing for what it is. We don't try to make it extra deep or long, but we simply acknowledge how it is, whether it's shallow, whether it's deep, whether it's like our breathing is really agitated, whether it's calming. We just acknowledge it.

Acknowledge it.

For what it is. See, in our practice, in the practice of mindfulness, we never really want— we don't want to create a battlefield in ourselves with the right thing to do and the good and the bad. We simply acknowledge everything for what it is, and we acknowledge it with a smile. Because whether Whether it's our good qualities, happiness, joy, or whether it's our suffering, our despair, our anxiety, they are all part of us. And that the practice is to embrace and to accept the whole of ourselves, the totality of who we are, and that we don't want to segregate or push away anything. And it's through accepting everything about ourselves that we can really understand deeply into the roots of our suffering, and that we can help to heal the suffering in ourselves. And so when we come back to our breathing, we simply acknowledge I like to feel my belly falling and rising when I breathe. Because this is where our center is, like our root, like the root of a tree. This is our root. When we come down here, we really bring our attention down, we bring our focus down so we don't get stuck in our head. I think this is where all the problems start. It's because we're so caught up in our head. Like, we have any issues and we just dwell up here, then we can never really get out of it. It's only when we can bring it down here that we have enough clarity and calmness to really see deeply, see a way out of it. And one image A metaphor that I really love about the mind is the image of a pond. A pond on a day like this when it's windy and hailing and raining— We went up to the cave here today and we were caught in the middle of this really strong gust. We had to hold hands together so we wouldn't get blown away. And it was hailing as well. But on a strong— on a day like this, when we look at a pond, all we see are just ripples and waves. Ripples and waves. So we don't really see much in the pond. But on a calm and still, clear day, we can see the pond so still, so calm, that we You can see the reflection of the sky in it, the blue sky. You can see the reflection of the trees in the pond. And our mind is like that. When we are so caught up in our worries and anxiety, when we are so caught up in our head, the pond of our mind are just ripples and waves. That's when it's so Dark. Dark. It's like overcast weather, overcast cloud. We can't really see the blue sky. We can't really see deeply into ourselves. We can't really see much. And if we make decisions on this kind of mind, it's not a very good decision. It's not because it's not coming from clarity. But if we can just come back to our breathing, bring our attention down to our belly, really take deep breaths like we just did together, breathing our attention down here, then the point of our light will be clear and calm enough that you can just really sink deeply into it.

Really?

You can see so deeply into it. It's not coming from our head. You can see into it. It's what we call insight. And this calmness is what we call— this calmness, this still being, is where we come back to our breathing. It's what we call samadhi, or still being. And when we see deeply, it's what we call vipassana, and insight. And so insight into ourselves, or understanding into ourselves, it's not coming from the head. It's not like I think, I think, I think, and I got it. It's not like that. But it's coming from the practice of calming our mind, We are coming to the practice of silence in our mind. When our mind is quiet, when it's silent, when it's calm, it just reveals to us what's there, and that is deep seeing. That's called understanding, insight. It comes from clarity in the mind, and the breathing can really It can really help with that practice of calming the mind and clarity in mind. So, you know, if you can just do this, and I know breathing exercises, breathing, mindful breathing is not just Something that happens in Buddhism alone. There are other disciplines that use breathing as a technique to really collect, you know, body and mind, and to have focus and attention, like in martial arts, for example. In yoga, we use breathing as well. In other disciplines, we use yoga. So I know some of you are familiar with yoga. We are familiar with the practice of breathing. But in the practice of mindful breathing, it's when we don't try to make it long, we don't try to make it deep, we just merely acknowledge it for what it is. We are merely becoming aware of the in and out of breath, of breathing. And that we can do it anywhere, anytime, that we don't have to do it when we do martial arts or to do yoga, but it can happen anywhere you find yourself, like right now as you're sitting and listening to me. But you can really come back here and just feel your belly rising and falling, feel the breathing. So if you can just take this practice with you, then you We have a really important tool to help calm body and mind, a tool to tap into that center of mindfulness inside yourself, a tool that helps you to wake up. And we have many other tools, so many other tools, but I was just going to talk about Do we need to do that? Because I think if we're going to have a retreat this weekend where we learn all the tools, we really have to put them into practice. Learning mindfulness is not just intellectual knowledge, that you really have to apply the practice We really experience what mindfulness is. We know what mindfulness is, but if we don't practice it, then it's just an idea in our head. It's intellectual knowledge, but it's not really beneficial because we don't really experience it, taste it, we don't really see the benefit of it if we don't really practice it. So, Let us breathe together for a couple of seconds, for a minute. My sister will invite the sound of the bell for us to hear. Come back to your breathing. Feel the air coming in and out. Feel the belly rising and falling. Allow the sound of the bell. You may want to close your eyes if that's easy for you to concentrate. And you may want to let— allow the belt to go in deeply into every cell of our body. That's so that it can facilitate relaxation and healing in every cell of our body. Sometimes we say mindfulness is light. It's a light. It's a light. Inside ourselves. And the moment we light up this light, we can see. Just like this room, when we light up, we turn on the light, we can really see.

The walls.

And when we light up the light of mindfulness inside ourselves, we can see really deeply. Breathing deeply into ourselves, see the root of our suffering. We can see who we are, the way we are, why we are the way we are. I studied psychology when I was at the university, and one of the motivations that got me into psychology So we're sponsored by the psychology department. I'd like to share a little bit about this. I mean, I was— the motivation that got me into psychology was, why am I the way I am? You know, why am I suffering the way I suffer? I was going through, you know, I was turning 18, and, you know, just past my Teenage years where there were a lot of confusion, especially I was— I came to the US when I was 10, and, you know, I was brought up in a— in 2 cultures, you know, Vietnamese culture and American culture. And I had so much confusion when I went through my adolescent years. I mean, just going through adolescence for anybody is already hard, and then I was You know, getting stuck in the middle of 2 cultures. That was really difficult. So my motivation was, why am I like this? Why am I suffering like this? Why was I feeling so lonely? And that was the motivation for me to study psychology because I thought, you know, this is like the study of the mind. I want to know my mind. And so I came out of it after 4 years, and I still didn't know my mind very well. I didn't know how to deal with the issues that I was having in my life. And it wasn't until I came to Plum Village, I stayed as a lay practitioner for a year before I decided to become a nun. And what made me decide to become a nun was really The Buddhist psychology, we call it manifestation studies or schools. And the teachings and practice had, I felt, completely responded to what I was looking for. It totally relates to the suffering that I was experiencing as a young person. This was like 22 years ago. It helps me, the practice, the practice of mindfulness really helps me learn how to generate happiness in my daily life. And it also helps me to manage my suffering, how to manage myself, how to deal with my suffering. So we have very practical tools on how to do this on ourselves, that we don't really need a psychotherapist to sit there and listen to our suffering. Maybe that may not be— that may help, but it may not really resolve the deep issues in ourselves. The deep roots of our suffering. And it's only through knowing how to manage and embrace my suffering, and knowing how to generate happiness and joy in my daily life, that helped me to deal with the concerns and issues that had motivated me to go into psychology in the first place. And it being based on the art of mindfulness, So the reasons that had made me decide to become a nun. And so mindfulness practice can really help us to come in touch with joy and happiness. And the joy and happiness is not something that comes from outside. Joy and happiness come from within. It's a potential we have in ourselves. And I think we're so trained to look for it outside. Every upbringing, our education, it's all saying you have to go out there and get it. And the practice is about coming back here and getting it here. Whatever we're looking for, it's in here. It's coming back to ourselves so that we can really tap into it. We tap into that potential in ourselves. And that's when we can really experience true happiness and true joy. Joy and happiness that does not depend on external conditions. Joy and happiness that comes from a really deep place in ourselves. And a simple practice like breathing can bring happiness. help us to tap into that seed of that potential in ourselves to be happy and to be joyful. Thank you.