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VN retreat GDPT day 2 (talk)
The Buddhist family is regarded as a true family, where each leader and member needs to recognize suffering, seek its causes in order to transform, because only when there is harmony, trust, and happiness can the organization fulfill its mission of intervening in schools and families. By recognizing the seeds of suffering and happiness in our mind, each person practices mindful consumption by making a contract with themselves:
- Unwholesome means of entertainment that sow seeds of violence, hatred, despair, or discrimination must be clearly identified in order to let go of them.
- Wholesome means of entertainment that water the seeds of love, forgiveness, and joy—such as singing the song “I Vow to Offer My Three Pure Actions” or practicing walking meditation to touch the wonders of nature.
When anger arises, we practice transformation through mindfulness: returning to the breath, breathing in aware of breathing in, breathing out aware of breathing out, following the breath three times to generate the energy of mindfulness to embrace our suffering. At the same time, we invite the second energy—mindfulness—to take care of the energy of anger, just as a mother holds her child. Three simple sentences to “heal anger” in daily family life:
- Express suffering and anger: “Dear one, I am suffering and angry with you.”
- Affirm the effort to practice: “I am doing my best.”
- Ask for loving support: “Please help me.”
In this way, we avoid holding on to anger for more than 24 hours, open the path to true love, and build “spiritual friends”—good friends—who help nourish mindfulness and the seeds of happiness.