Good afternoon. The first item of business is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader is Ani Rinchen Khandro from the Edinburgh Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Centre for World Peace and Health.
Good afternoon, everybody. This is a very short slot, so I will cut to the chase.
The vast range of Buddhist teachings can be summarised by the following advice: refrain from doing what is harmful to oneself and others, practise what is helpful to oneself and others, and fully tame the mind. That sounds simple, and it is simple, but it is not always easy. Good intentions are not enough. To truly understand what makes an act either harmful or helpful requires honesty, impartiality, wisdom and compassion—and that is where the mind training comes in.
In today’s world, so much emphasis is put on physical appearance. The time, money and energy that are spent on appearances keep vast industries in business, but does that make us happy? If we spent just a fraction of the time that we spend looking after our bodies on looking after our minds, we would soon feel calmer and happier, less stressed and more stable.
When I first saw his holiness the Dalai Lama at Samye Ling, the theme of his talk was “Inner peace leads to world peace”. It resonated with me so much that it has become part of the bedrock of my belief. Most of us want world peace; yet, how can we realistically achieve it while our own minds are in turmoil? If we cannot control our minds, how can we control our actions? On an individual level, we may lose our tempers. On a global level, we may go to war. It follows that we first need to find inner peace so that our minds become stable and clear and allow us to act wisely.
If we can find time to go to the gym or the health club to look after our bodies, surely we can find even 15 minutes a day to look after our mind, giving it time to rest and recuperate from the constant bombardment, stresses and strains of modern life. You can call it meditation, mindfulness or time for reflection. You do not need to be a Buddhist or to have a particular faith; you just need your mind. Sitting quietly, resting body and mind in the present moment, is one of the most precious things that we can give ourselves. It does not require fancy equipment; it does not cost anything. We just need to allow ourselves time to be. After all, we call ourselves human beings, not human doings!
So, let us spend the last minute of our time together doing absolutely nothing. Just relax body and mind, keeping a good posture, letting go of thoughts and expectations and allowing the mind to settle. With peace and clarity of mind, our inherent wisdom and compassion have space to grow and blossom into actions that are truly beneficial to ourselves and our world. Let us spend one minute together sitting quietly, doing nothing.
[Silence.]
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