This coming Monday, after sitting and walking mindfully together, we will recite the Five Mindfulness Trainings – our guidelines for an ethical life. This month, we will focus on the Second Mindfulness Training: True Happiness.
In other lineages, the title of this training is simply “Not Stealing.” This is where one can appreciate Thich Nhat Hanh's wisdom and skillful kindness: Instead of telling us what not to do, Thay (as his students call him) very gently invites us to practice the opposite of stealing, which is practicing generosity in its many forms, generosity being the root of true happiness.
In his book The Mindfulness Survival Kit, Thay writes:
The Second Mindfulness Training is about taking only what is freely given and treating the environment with care. It is about learning to share material goods, time and energy with those who are in need. The aim of this training is to end craving. Because of our craving for natural resources, because of the craving of the market for us to consume its goods, governments don't hesitate to bring an army to invade another country and end countless lives. Because of this craving, we allow poverty and hunger to exist, afraid we won't have enough for ourselves if everyone has what they need. Craving leads to the destruction of the environment and the pollution of water, the soil and the air.
To see the connection between ourselves and other people is part of the practice of the Second Mindfulness Training. The people that we take things from are not other than ourselves. When, in the richer countries of Europe and in the United States, we forget about the suffering brought about by poverty in other parts of the world or the people in our own country, we consume in a way that exploits poor people. Poverty creates violence, and sooner or later that violence will bring about suffering for the richer countries and the richer people. The suffering of the poor is directly related to the suffering of the rich. Moreover, being rich does not mean being happy. Happiness is only possible when there is peace of mind, and peace of mind isn't possible without understanding and love. (52-53)
I vividly remember, during one of Thay's talks, years ago, hearing him say: “It is our own definition of happiness that prevents us to be happy.” I still remember the silent thunder I felt when I heard this. I also remember the hope as well, stemming from Thay's invitation to meditate on the reasons why I was not happy: projecting future conditions for my happiness, and at the same time, blaming the past for my then state of sorrow, unable to enjoy the Here and Now.
In his book, Thay reminds us that the Second Mindfulness Training is also about seeing our deep connection with the Earth. He writes:
We tend to see the Earth as something different from ourselves, something for us to use, to exploit or, at best, to protect. With Right View and the insight of interbeing, we see that we are made up of Earth elements such as water and minerals, and of particles that come from the solar system. The Earth is not separate from us. When we exploit and destroy the environment we harm ourselves, our descendants, and other species. […] If we recognize that we come from the Earth and are part of the Earth, then we will feel love and gratitude for the Earth and will naturally treat her with care and respect.(56)
During an interview taped at Plum Village, Sister True Dedication shared about the root cause of climate change. She said:
We don't love the Earth enough, we don't have enough respect for the Earth, and may be, we don't understand Her enough, so we allow our greed, and our desire, and our craving, and our ambition to push us to consume the Earth, to destroy the earth. And we cannot see that when we destroy the Earth, we are destroying ourselves. It is somehow a kind of blindness , a kind of ignorance in the spiritual sense. […] The way we consume depends on how our heart is. We cannot hope to consume in an awakened way, if our heart is not at peace. […] Each of us is an agent of consumption, and this is one of our biggest actions in relation to the Earth, how we are consuming. […] When we are balanced, spacious, and fearless inside, then we have an incredible resource of energy to be able to make good choices about how to act, what to do and what not to do, individually and collectively, in order to really help.
Asked about her personal practice and how she keeps faith and hope, she shared that she trusts that good actions are never lost. She offered the picture of a beach with thousand starfish stranded on it, and although the situation is seemingly pointless, she asks us:
Who among us would not take one starfish, pick it up and throw it in the ocean? No one can take that from us. We know we have saved that one, and we can save a second and a third. We listen to our heart and we have peace because we know we have done what we can. […] Don't help me counting how many I have not been able to save.
I invite you to watch this deeply inspiring Dharma Talk.
Thay concludes his commentary on the Second Mindfulness Training, by offering two practices. The first one, Remembering the Conditions of Happiness:
Find a quiet spot. […] On a piece of paper write down the conditions you have to be happy. Following your breathing, come back to yourself. See all the wonderful things that your body, mind, and environment have to offer. If you have eyes that can see, that's already a huge condition for happiness. You only have to open your eyes and all the wonderful forms and colors of life appear. If you have ears that can hear, you're able to listen to the singing of the birds and the sighing of the wind in the pine trees. To have time to sit and enjoy your breathing, to have a spiritual path, to hug your loved ones, your children, your grandchildren, to have healthy food to eat: there are so many conditions for your happiness that you could cover far more than one sheet of paper in recounting them. Let go of the idea that only the future can bring you happiness. You can be happy with what you have now.” (58)
The second practice Thay offers us is Shopping Meditation:
It is possible to go shopping and not to buy anything. […] For instance, if an item seemed to be very cheap we could ask ourselves whether the worker who produced it was paid a fair price. Was the method of farming sustainable? We can educate ourselves and our children by shopping mindfully and sharing afterward what we learned. The supermarket does its best to persuade us to buy things we never intended to buy, and shopping meditation helps us to be content with what we truly need. Before shopping, make a list of what you need and only buy what is on the list. What makes us truly happy can't be found in the marketplace. (59)
This Monday, we will have the opportunity to share about our own practices on True Happiness and/or about what is alive in us. I look forward to our time together.
With love,
Brigitte
The Second Mindfulness Training: True Happiness.
Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am committed to practicing generosity in my thinking, speaking, and acting. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others; and I will share my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need. I will practice looking deeply to see that the happiness and suffering of others are not separate from my own happiness and suffering; that true happiness is not possible without understanding and compassion; and that running after wealth, fame, power and sensual pleasures can bring much suffering and despair. I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy. I am committed to practicing Right Livelihood so that I can help reduce the suffering of living beings on Earth and stop contributing to climate change.