[Three sounds of the bell]

Good morning, dear Sangha. Today is the third of March, 2011, and we are in the Meditation Hall of the Assembly of Stars. It is the third day of our Francophone retreat.

When I listen to the bell, I listen with my body and my mind at the same time. This is because body and mind do the same thing. I invite all the cells in my body to join me so that we can listen together. It is a community of cells, all kinds of cells, neurons, and other cells. And we can invite them all to listen to the bell with us. The sound of the bell must penetrate deeply into each cell. And the concentration will be wonderful.

We know very well that there are genes. Our ancestors, our parents are there in every cell of our body. Scientifically speaking, they are always there, our ancestors, always alive, because we are here. I am here, so my ancestors are here. It is logical, I am alive, so my ancestors are still alive in me. So you can invite all your ancestors to join you in listening to the bell. And it is a deep listening that can transform. With mindful breathing, we can calm the body, the sensations, the perceptions.

And our ancestors will listen with us. And as we know how to relax, during the listening, we open, we know how to relax, that is why the bell can enter deeply into each of the cells. It touches the presence of all our ancestors. Peace is possible, healing is possible for us, for our ancestors.

It is because our pain, our suffering, have also been transmitted by our ancestors. And this deep listening is also to cradle, to embrace this collective suffering within us, which also reflects the suffering of the world. The sound of the bell