Thầy speaks to members of the US Congress and their guests about the spiritual dimension that a politician, like any other person, needs in order to handle difficulties. Clarity, compassion, and courage, he teaches, can be cultivated with mindfulness and concentration in daily life—drinking a cup of tea, taking a shower, walking from the office to the parking lot.

Looking into a sunflower, Thầy finds sunshine, clouds, and countless non-flower elements, and sees in it the Kingdom of God, available in the here and the now. Mindful breathing brings body and mind together, and with one mindful step we can arrive where life is available. “We do not have to die in order to go to the Kingdom,” he says. “In fact, we have to be very alive.”

Understanding suffering gives rise to compassion, and Thầy turns this insight toward terrorism, which he sees as rooted in wrong perceptions, fear, and anger that bombs and guns cannot remove. He compares a member of Congress to a cell in the body of the Congress, nourished by clarity, compassion, and courage so that the whole body can be healthy.

From his retreats, Thầy describes concrete practices: releasing tension in the body, generating joy, handling a strong emotion, and restoring communication with loving speech and compassionate listening. He tells of four men who reconciled with their fathers by telephone during a retreat in Germany. Suffering, he says, is the mud in which the lotus grows. He speaks of the insight of interbeing in bowing to the Buddha and in the Gospel of John, invites elected members to let the people who voted for them see how they live and practice, and suggests that each member of Congress take the Congress as their Sangha.

Thầy closes with what he has found in his practice: this body is not the whole of him, every thought, word, and action bears our signature, and spiritual practice is simple enough for everyone, including a politician.

After the talk, Thầy answers three questions from the audience:

• How can I be good news to others and not a burden?
• How can I open up to the people who did not elect me?
• As I evolve spiritually, can I transcend suffering?

In his answers, Thầy shares Pebble Meditation, the practice of Shining Light, the bell of mindfulness in a parliament, and mindfulness in schools as applied ethics. The evening ends with a song offered by Sister Chân Không.

Thầy is introduced by Mark Farr of the Faith and Politics Institute, David Smock of the US Institute of Peace, and Congresswomen Jo Ann Emerson and Lois Capps.

In his answers, Thầy shares Pebble Meditation, the practice of Shining Light, the bell of mindfulness in a parliament, and mindfulness in schools as applied ethics. The evening ends with a song offered by Sister Chân Không.

Thầy is introduced by Mark Farr of the Faith and Politics Institute, David Smock of the US Institute of Peace, and Congresswomen Jo Ann Emerson and Lois Capps.

This talk was given as the eleventh annual Walter Capps–Bill Emerson Memorial Lecture in the year 2011. Thầy offered this talk at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC, United States of America.