The Power of Goodness

The Power Of Goodness

Transcription

Last Friday when I gave a talk here. After the talk was finished and everybody left, I went to the airport to go to Thailand and just came back this afternoon. I sandwiched my trips between these Friday night talks. But the trip to Thailand was as part of the Razak ceremonies. The Razak is the one day of the year in May, the full moon night of May. It happens to be tonight to look up in the sky to see the full moon. And that is marks the birth enlightenment final. Passing away of the Buddha is a huge ceremony throughout the world and being a popular among I get invited and have to go to many places to celebrate in any way. Sacks and part of the ceremonies. There was a huge ceremony in Bangkok every year. Last year was in Hanoi, this year in Bangkok, as the United Nations sponsored Vesak ceremony, an international one that was over there representing Australia. And it was very inspiring to not just have ceremonies with many of the most senior and powerful monks and Buddhist scholars and nuns, but also to have the opportunity to use these great Buddhist teachings to solve some of the bigger problems of the world. We thought about how we can use Buddhism, not just to help a human being achieve more peace in their life, not just in the individual level. Sometimes we think that Buddhism is just about the individual, how you can be happier, more peaceful, more free, but also to make use of these Buddhist teachings in a more international arena. So we did talk about things like the global economic crisis. And those of you who think that these conferences now have no effect. As soon as we finished our three day conference, the share market rose throughout the world. Look, the evidence is out there. It worked. We talked about the political crisis in the world. And the last few days Thailand has been peaceful again. So maybe we should take responsibility for these things. But one thing which we did discuss, which is going to be the topic of this talk this tonight, is that not only in the individual theater, but also in the national theaters of our world. How much we underestimate the power of goodness. It's not hard power. It's not soft power. It's a power of ethics and virtue and goodness, which has a huge effect on this planet. And everybody keeps on saying. The reason for the current economic crisis, which is about to heal is because of our conscience, of course. The reason why it's about to heal for good is because of the porn was there because of excess greed. Not looking at the proper things in life. I mean, how much money do people need to be happy and well, I want to know how much money a person needs to be really happy. Go and look at me on the one sitting next to me. You've got absolutely nothing. And we're very happy. It's a great symbol, like a monk or a nun. So what is a monk or what is a nun? One of the most important parts of them is one with few possessions. And we live like that. Now at these conferences, people give you all sorts of stuff, you know, all sorts of gifts. You know, there's Prime Minister of Thailand, deputy Prime minister. This great person that great, they give you all these sorts of gifts. But what you do is a mark. When you receive all these things, you say, thank you very much and give it to somebody else. So I, I never had bought any of that stuff home with me because my home in my heart is peaceful and free, and I don't want it cluttered up in the same way that when you get a gift, what a wonderful thing it is, somebody gives you a gift. Oh, that's very kind of. You take a lot of happiness when they give you something. So what do you do next? You give it to someone else and they get a lot of happiness, and they give it to someone else. Please don't store possessions. Just pass it around. Like passing the parcel. And eventually it would get to somebody who really needs it and appreciate it. And then they can keep it. But what a wonderful thing it is not to keep things, but to be part of not what is as static but as this process is dynamic act of giving and receiving and enjoying the gifts and and enjoying the process of giving and passing it to someone else and passing it to someone else and passing it to someone else. So one gift keeps going round and round and round, making many, many people happy. And eventually. And it's happened to me. And the gift I gave someone. They said, we've got a present for you. And it's a gift. I gave someone else about three weeks. This happened, says the Lord. What goes around comes around, literally. But we all know that that's sort of what is the grieve thing is this you get a gift, you want to keep it. You have money, you think it's yours. You know, you have a house, you don't share it. What are things for anyway? They are for sharing, but enjoying, not just by yourself. It's not very nice enjoying things by yourself. In fact, it's almost impossible to enjoy it by yourself. But sharing it is a wonderful thing to do. You get much more happiness that way. As I say, in business, you get far more bang for your buck when you share your bucks. Do you all know that greed is a problem? Why are people so greedy? And why are people just like in politics? We also talked about the political problems in the world. Why are people just so angry? And why? What's the point of getting angry at somebody? Does that help at all? And look, come on. Every time you've got angry, what has been the consequences? Has it ever solved the problem? When you've been shouting, upset and angry, you may shout at someone for 2 or 3 minutes. And the echoes of that shouting and that anger. They stay with you all night. And you think about it. You have no peace. You're upset about it. It really screws up your brain. And no wonder many people have tumors. That's no joke. Angry people. Sometimes I give a simile. You know the camera's on. I take my rovers to. No, I haven't got many. Sort of don't have PowerPoints, but at least I use whatever resources I have. Oh! Whoa. This robe, you see how loose I wear it? Actually, this was one of the similes of differences between the Buddhism and some other religions, which somebody pointed out that, uh, at a tour which I gave to a group of executives, a little club of executives in Netherlands a few years ago, there's a wonderful comment. This exec came out to me afterwards and said, not just what you were talking about, but just the way you talked. And that really impressed me. And I found this wonderful simile, she said, because I was brought up in a Catholic convent and there were nuns there as well. But those nuns there, their clothing was just so tight. Everything, you know, was, just was just very clean, was as very smooth as no creases in their whimpers or whatever. And everything was just held so tight to their body. You I turned from your robe is falling off. It's all loose all over the place. They said, that's Buddhism confession this loose and easygoing. And I added, yes, when it's loose like this, it last much longer because it hasn't got so much stress on it. Because if I hold my row and pull it like this, how long is it going to last? That stress is going to wear out the fibers, and eventually the whole thing is going to turn wear out. So if you're an angry person, you've got this tension in your brain. If you're an anxious person, an anxious person is fearful and it's just fearful of the future, almost like angry at the future. And you tend to actually wear out your brain as a waste of your body as well. Why do people do that? So all that anger, it kills you and it also creates all these problems in the world. Now, one of the reasons why people get angry is this stupid idea of revenge. They've got no right to do that to me. They've heard me. They've been cruel to me. They've really messed me about. And I'm going to show them. And of course, revenge is nothing to do with any type of spirituality. Only stupid people seek revenge. I'm being quite blunt. If someone's hurt you and you feel that you have a need to hurt them back, which is what revenge is, to make them pay to punish them. You haven't really understood how to make a peaceful world or how to make peace in yourself. You have to let it go. So there's too much like revenge. There's too much like hatred. There's too much of this greed business. And it's because of that that people aren't good. And one of the points which I was making in my presentation, and it was echoed in so many other Buddhist presentation, the power of goodness to not only have a good, sustainable economy, but to have a world which is going to be here when you get reincarnated into it in your next life the way it is. Climate change is happening. The only place you can get reincarnated is a fish because we'll all be underwater. But also just have some political sort of peace in our world. Some harmony. Sometimes you talk to politicians, you meet them and even actually make this announcement. There's a few of the Thai people here. The Thai foreign ministers in town. And he's coming to our website. On Sunday at 10:00. I saw a foreign minister who wound a busy foreign minister. Why is he coming to a temple for? Why did the Thai Prime Minister, deputy Prime Minister turn out for a white House celebration now in our conference? Why do they do this? Because these politicians, they realize something is just not working in their system. And one of the things which is lacking is exploiting not the economic power of a nation, not the material resources underground, but the goodness resources of humanity. There's one thing which I've noticed in my life. I have a really interesting life as a monk. You know, you meet famous criminals. And I'm not talking about politicians now. I mean talking in jail. But I have met these guys. I have shaken hands with such people like John Howard and Thaksin and all these other people. You've also shaken hands with the most notorious person shaking hands with Ronnie Kray. You know, the there was one of those Kray twins as terrible gangsters in East London. He met these sort of people. I mean, how many other sort of careers can you actually have breakfast with the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and then go and meet this notorious criminal in the prison for the mentally insane, in what is it called in somewhere in England? Broadmoor. That's why it's a great career, Mark. I really recommend it. It's the most interesting life at all. Anyone think he's just going to get bored out of your skull? Meditating all day doesn't actually happen like that. We can go that path if you want to. But in all those times, I've never seen a person who I can't respect. It's a weird thing. You're seeing some of these rapists and child molesters and terrible people. So people say there's always something inside them you can respect, which is one reason why you don't feel the necessity for revenge. The power of goodness is something which is generated through the power of wisdom. And wisdom is not what you learn at school. It's not what you get out of a book. The wisdom is opening your heart and your mind to see what you're not expecting to see. And that's what happens when you meet a murderer. You don't expect to see any goodness there. It's. That's what I was taught. Now, these are evil people. These are cool people I should have. I kind of politics. I just haven't gone back to my monastery yet. But when I was asked in Bangkok a couple of nights ago, how can you forgive some of these people who've done terrible, terrible, terrible things? And I said, I used to carry around a poem. I used to carry this around in my bag to use on occasions when I was asked such a question. And I take out that poem and read it. It was an apt time to talk about this poem, because Sunday is Mother's Day, as well as Razak Day celebration here, because this was a poem about a son's duty to his mother, and I can't remember totally the the poem. I always remember part of it, which just really moved me very deeply. It was said, if your mother asks you for something, always listen to her and get it for her. And if she asks you again, go and do it again for her with joy, not with resentment. And if she asks a third time. Please go into it now without being annoyed, because the day will come when your mother can ask you no more when she's gone. So no matter how many times she asks. Go and help. Thank you. That was part of the poem for the best part of the poem was the last line. The last line? The author. It was Adolf Hitler. A most beautiful poem written by a person who's supposed to be the most evil, awful person in the Western world. Anyway. And the reason I love that poem was it wasn't perhaps the best poetry, but it was good poetry, and it was moving, and it was written by a person who was being demonized. If Adolf Hitler could love his mother and express that gratitude so beautifully. Isn't he worthy of forgiveness? Isn't your why your husband or whoever else has annoyed you today? Aren't they worthy of forgiveness? Forget God. Let go of the revenge in our hearts. And when there's no reason for revenge, where we can respect the other person. Where we can't understand them. Where will be the anger? A lot of anger comes from not seeing the full picture and not understanding the truth of the matter. When are we get angry? You've seen it many, many times in your life. You can get angry not understanding what the other person is doing or why they're doing it. And all of the causes, all of the effects. All of the complex interwoven. Was this. In our world. We just don't see the whole people see a tiny pit. We think that person should not have done that. And sometimes we do that to ourselves. That weakens goodness. How many wars have been started because of the need for revenge? Wars of anger. But if for some purpose, some reason we can gain that wisdom to forgive, it increases our morality, our goodness, our ethical strength. We will strengthen and empower this thing we call goodness in our world. We become higher people and the power of goodness is he meant. We all know how Gandhi got rid of my forebears, the British out of India. Amazing story just with this power of morality. He did take the high moral bent. He claimed that high moral ground. And the British. I know the British are one of them. They think of themselves as a civilized people. That's why they say it's not cricket. They say to be mean and to cheat people. You got to do the right thing to be a gentleman, though. All that sort of British stuff. There was actually something to be admired in that attitude. It took morality as an important part of their culture, even if they didn't practice it. This was respected. And it gave it gave that country a lot of power. No power to influence, to so-called civilize and to take people up to a higher level. But as soon as that empire lost his goodness, it lost its influence and its power to do anything good in this world. Many empires have started off some empires. Not all. Some have started off in violence, but some have started out preaching about morality or goodness, which is actually taken. People inspired them and moved them. Even a history of communism. It started off as noting some of the terrible injustices to the poor people of basically only Europe at that time. It inspired people because it had an ethical message. It was only impossible to practice, and it was abused by the tyrants of those dictatorships in Europe. But nevertheless, it was the ethics, the goodness or the apparent goodness which made that a powerful movement in this world. The power of goodness is something which will overcome. We discussed in this conference last week he will overcome one of the other pressing problems in the international theater, that of fundamentalist extremist terrorism. I do read the newspapers. I do talk to people and people who have much more information than I have. You can understand how people think. You do visit Islamic countries. You don't just talk to the Buddhists. You talk to imams as well. You can understand where a person is coming from. You know, one of the most attractive parts of Islamic fundamentalism is the people who joined, saying that they're doing something wonderfully good for the world. They do really feel that they are doing good and creating a more ethical world. As many people have noticed. If our Western world could have a higher ethic, in other words, not be seen as so selfish, as so greedy, and so easily given to anger. Then many commentators have said, and this is a powerful point. The power of goodness would overcome the need for people to take up arms and fight. I think that extremism is on the way. It is being undermined not through war, but through things like forgiveness, the things like having high ethical standards at times when, say, there is a disaster and people spend so much money, give so much time and energy and effort, those places in the world which have been destroyed by earthquakes, fires, diseases or other disasters. That undermines terrorism because it shows a higher goodness and justice. You will be attracted to something which creates better harmony, peace, prosperity and freedom in the world. So others would also be attracted to a higher ethical level and standard of behaviour. The power of goodness is huge. People vote in politicians and parties, not just because they're going to lower your taxes. Sometimes you wrote them in because they're going to end corruption at least, so they promise. So they're going to do away with unethical behavior, pork barrelling, looking after their own interests. Creating wars to vote people out. Barack Obama was elected with such a large majority on the platform of a higher ethic of goodness, of kindness, of trying to heal the wounds in the world, of being more outgoing, reaching out a hand of friendship rather than a fist of violence. That was why people got inspired. He was harnessing the power of goodness. It is a power in the economic sphere, in the political sphere, in the sphere of extremism. It is a power which has been noted and seen. And I think you're with me here. You know, it's a power. It is a way out of many problems which face our world and the future of your children and your next rebirth. No other religions don't say that. It's not just your children you're worried about. You have to worry about it. But why is it that that power of goodness is not being harnessed? Why is it the ethical standard sometimes does go down and this is the problem. Everybody notice it knows too much greed. Yeah, but I'm greedy. Too much anger. Yeah, but down with these people who sort of, you know, kill my friends. People are selfish. Why can't we let go of that and go beyond that? And one of the great things of the Buddhist teachings is it gives you practical methods to allow you to overcome those causes which stop people being good at the things which do hinder of the growth of kindness and peace in this world. Simple things like being aware of what you're saying and what you're doing and how it feels sometimes. Why do people get angry? Sometimes there's a question which was was really bugging me for many years. I knew that I seen anger. This creates so much problems. In what I remembered as one of the last protest, I was a socially aware person before I became a Buddhist monk. And then one of the last protest, which I went on, we were facing the police. This in this park outside of London. And the police were being violent, and I was ready to stand there and take it with my friends until I was next to another friend and saw his eyes go red with rage, and pick up a bottle and throw it at the police. When I saw that anger, I was ashamed. I was ashamed and so disappointed that the protest had been fatally wounded by one act of violence. I never protested after that, but I always thought, why did that fellow get so angry and so mad? One of the reasons was he was totally unaware of what he was doing. He was out of control. There's one thing about the practice of meditation. It makes you more aware of a wider sphere. It's not just that policeman over there. Whatever he's doing or whatever he's standing for. Because when you get angry, you're only focused on the object of your anger. For him, it was that policeman. You're not focused on what's going on inside of you, how it feels, what it's doing to your mind. And certainly you're not focusing on this amazing thing. The space between you and that policeman. The training in Buddhism is a training to widen your mindfulness, not just focusing it on the object. Recall the bastard, that terrible person, that awful thing out there. You're not just focusing on that. You're focusing on what's happening inside of you as well. And then a little bit of changing of your focus is one of the great solutions to the problem. If you know how it feels when you get angry, feels inside of yourself what you're doing to yourself, your body, your mind. You never get angry. It simply is not worth it. For you. It's killing you. There's an old Buddhist story, an old Buddhist story of this woman who had a problem with anger. So she went up to her favorite monk and said, can you please help me? I just always get angry. I don't want to get angry. I suppose to be a good Buddhist, I get angry at my husband. I get angry at my mother. I get angry at my children or my work because I was getting so angry. Help me or else. So I took one look at her and she was in very nice clothing, a lot of makeup, and a lot of these bangles which make so much noise. I call them handcuffs, but people call them the bracelets. Anyway, he saw she was a vain woman, so she asked. He asked, have you got a mirror, man? Of course I have. Every time you get angry, take the mirror out of your handbag and hold it in front of your nose and see what you look like. That all I need to do? Yes. Go to the store. Next up. She got angry. Do you remember what to do? Put out the mirror in front of it. She was so surprised at how ugly she looked when she got angry. It was a monster in that mirror. Not the only thing which she saw when she did her makeup or brush their teeth. It was this monster. And because of that, according to the story, she never got angry again. So have you got a person who's got angry? If they won't take out the mirror, you get a mirror. Just show it to them what they look like when they get angry. According to Buddhism, if you get angry many, many times in your next life, you'll be born as ugly, let alone your next life. In this life you get ugly. It's true. Who likes to look at an angry person? I like to run away if I see an angry person. But they look just so frightening and so ugly and so repulsive when they're angry. So be careful though. If you get angry and shout a lot in your next life, you'll be very, very ugly. And no amount of makeup and makeovers and wigs will help you. But of course, when I heard that story, that's just what. What? Doesn't matter. You know, if I put a mirror up in front of somebody angry, she just punched the mirror. And then me next. But there was something more to that story. And the more to that story is it's not just a physical mirror made of glass with silver on the back. It's a mirror of self-awareness. Well, that story really meant was that Mark was teaching, and next time he got angry. Hold a mirror up to your heart. Feel what it's like when you're really upset and angry. When you're really upset at somebody. When you really disagree with them because they're saying something which you don't agree with. What's it like when someone says you're wrong? What does it feel like inside when you actually start feeling your body and your mind? You find it so easy to overcome that anger, to overcome that resentment, overcome guilt. Blast everything when you understand what it feels like. It burns is very, very unpleasant. You know that it's something which is so unwholesome it will cause sicknesses. It will kill you eventually. It's a disease. Why? Because you are the swine. It kills you. This coming back from Bangkok into Singapore. Yesterday I gave a talk in the plain. Was a bit late because I had to be in a meeting beforehand. And so as soon as the plane landed, I started to walk very fast, to get out quickly, to get in the car and go and give the talk. And people were waiting for me a thousand. But then I decided I better stop walking so fast because even in Perth Airport, especially Singapore, but they've got the heat cameras focused on you. And if I really, I thought you got it. If I keep walking fast, I'll get my metabolism up, build up a temperature. And I think I've got closest. I've been exercising too much. So I quickly slowed down. Cool down. Otherwise I would have got through. I just thought of that in time, I'd been in big trouble. But. You can actually, when you feel what it's doing to it is burning you. And swine flu is nowhere near as dangerous. I just know the anger, the resentment, the guilt, the anxiety between people all that time. It does make you hot. You can actually feel it and it kills you. And even when we're trying, there's one fellow just gave a wonderful presentation of when we're actually settling things, when we're discussing. We were trying to have some, some peace development between warring parties and people such as the Palestinian leaders and the Israeli leaders. How can you get a compromise? How can you get sort of a solution to this problem? You know what it's like inside of you when you're just facing this person who's responsible for imprisoning your people in poverty and taking away their land? What does that do to you when you think like that? What does it feel like when you say I respect you? But my friend. I can be kind to you. When you feel the change inside of you. What it's like to be kind. To be forgiving. You feel it inside. That is the start. The ending of the argument. You feel it is the way to make those solutions. But one of these guys I was saying was given this presentation, this nice presentation. He works as a mediator, mostly in Southeast Asia amongst Buddhist people on how to solve conflicts, not by thinking and talking. People could talk and talk and talk and they end up arguing and arguing and arguing, shouting, shouting, shouting, busting fists and then leaving the table with no agreement whatsoever but to feel what it's like inside. Understand those emotions which color and bend your speech, which create the distrust and the resentment and fear and anger is perpetuates the disputes which causes so much pain and suffering, untold pain and suffering throughout our world. But you can actually get a bit of meditative awareness. Then there will be a movement because those emotional blockages, the barriers which are far tougher than any Berlin Wall or any wall separating the Palestinians and the Israeli state, will be breached. The wall inside of us, the wall of emotional stubbornness. You feel that you can let it go. It's amazing how you can find a solution if you have the right state of mind. Both of you. All arguments, all things which separate human beings, even in your family. Even in the law courts. Even in your offices. Why do people have these arguments? We feel terrible about it afterwards. These are people I respect. This, my wife, I love her. Why did I argue with her again? The reason is because you're not being aware of what's happening inside of you. You're not understanding how it feels when you realize just how painful it feels. That's just before you argue. Just before you say something terrible to the judge, just before you do something awful to people you work with. You feel what it's about to happen. You just can't do it anymore. It's just too painful. And instead, you can be quiet. And that kindness, that softness, that peace is incredibly powerful. It's the power of goodness. Anyone who thinks that's weakness, this doesn't understand the history, doesn't understand the way this world works. Goodness is the power. You don't get far with violence, with anger. You can shout somebody down. You can actually shout them out of your office. You could actually beat them down with your stare in your eyes temporarily. It is covering up the problem with kindness, with peace, with understanding. There's something there which can connect you with somebody. All the conflicts, whether it's in a marriage, whether it's an office or between countries. It's all relationship problems. That's why I quoted this former Thai prime minister, her son Tommaso, who would come up to Gentiles monasteries. And I remember you came out to, uh. What an honor once. And even though I was only second monk at the time, still very small in years as a monk, he did come and talk to me. And he told me something which I'd always remembered. I remember this was a prime minister and the the head politician, the guy who was running the country, a big country with many problems. He said there was never any problem he could not solve by going to his adversary in politics, going alone. And he said he put his hand on that man's knee. You can't do that in Australia. That means you're gay. In Thailand. It means you're a friend. You know the way things in Asia and Australia are different. So it could be very careful. I don't mean this advice to be done in exactly the same way here in Australia get into trouble. But if you go out to your adversary and do an act of kindness, of friendship, he said, in time I got to my adversary, put my hand on his knee. And I was expressing that, look, I'm a friend. And we discussed it and we could always find a solution. When we found that solution together. Because. Problems. Problems and never the problem of the other side is never your problem. It's always our problem. In a marriage, if it's on the rocks, it's never your wife's problem. It's never the husband's problem. Please remember this. This will save many marriages. It's always our problem. But don't go blaming him. Don't go saying to your friends it's hurtful. It's our fault. It always is our fall. It always is our problem, never their problem and never my problem. If it's their problem, you get anger. It's my problem. We get guilt. Both are completely stupid. Unnecessary emotions. This bluff solution. When is our problem? We are sharing, finding ways to work together to solve what is hurting both of us. It is always our problem, isn't it? When we have anger, ill will fear, anxiety. That puts a barrier between me and you. When we have the compassion that pushes aside that barrier we are seeing feeding off each other. That is where we find our solution. So peacemaking in our world, finding solutions to climate change, climate change. This is it. Emissions trading schemes. Whether it's daylight saving or no daylight saving. It was a stupid thing about arguing about something as stupid as that. I have a compromise. Put the clocks back half an hour. Very fast. But. You can see just how people take up positions. And they can argue vehemently over the most stupid of things. Why? And how do we stop that? Feel it. What it's like when you get into such arguments. I don't want to do that anymore. If you have that mirror of mindfulness, of self-awareness, whenever you get angry, upset you, it won't last that long. You get out of that habit. This is why we should teach more of our politicians, business leaders, husbands and wives, parents how to meditate, how to be aware of what their terrible emotions are doing to them, and what it's like to have peace in your heart, and how that can free the barriers between you and the other. Once those barriers are taken down, solutions are easy. We can find solution when we work at it together, when it is our problem. So the power of goodness. This is just one example. It inspires. It encourages. It makes people want to follow those leaders when they're good and kind. Knows. As an aside. A long time ago, I read. I like to read and understand how history works, and that I would miss reading about politics in ancient Rome. And I found out why a politician, even today, is called a candidate. The reason is because the word candidate is the Latin word for white. In ancient Rome, anyone standing for the Senate, which was the political body which ran their empire, anyone standing for the Senate would wear white clothes as a symbol of his purity of past conduct. He would be elected or not, that he was any woman being elected then, but he was elected not because of what he promised to do in the future if elected. Not because of some manifesto, which you all know is not worth the paper it's written on Susy, written on toilet paper as far as I'm concerned. Broken promises. It's not this part of that party. Everybody does that because how can you make promises? You don't know what's going to happen next in the world. But why is it you demand or the media demands to ask the politicians, what are they going to do? Any honest politician will say, I don't know. See what happened and then recognise this is the next. But in ancient Rome they were not elected on what they were promising to do for you or the country in the future. They were elected on the basis of their past conduct, or what type of person they had been in the past. That's why they were. White is a symbol of purity. We even have that these days. The people who come to the temple keep eight precepts. You wear white. Even people, devout Muslims wear white. Even people getting married that the bride always wears white. Why does she wear? Why did her marriage the symbol of her purity? Why does the groom. The boy always wears black. Figure it out for yourself. Because. See, the simple things like this actually help us have a better world. Who is Buddhist? And anyone listen to this on the internet. Next time there's an election. Forget about what that man or woman are promising to do for you in the future. Don't even listen or take that into account. Instead, look at their past conduct where they have been honest. Being kind, being white, being compassionate and elect such leaders because it's not what they promise for an uncertain future. I don't blame any politician for breaking promises. I blame them for making those promises in the first place. Not for breaking them. That's just totally unwise. But then, if you have a compassionate, wise, moral person and they shown that by past conduct, elect them to be far better able to have a good government and therefore good problem solving, good leadership for the future, little things like this which know our little conference started putting out. It's not just, you know, thinking that a group of monks and nuns and scholars know in Bangkok can actually solve the world themselves. But the thing is, these are leaders who go out and give talks like this and actually change people's way of doing things. When we change the way people think and see, this is actually quite positive. This is not some theory. This is something we can actually do and change and do something better for this world and for your marriage and for your own life. Be mindful of how you feel when you do things or say something. You'll soon change the way you act. Be wise in your responsibilities. In the office of family home or whatever you lead. And who knows, maybe we can make a better world. Well, it of greater goodness. A power of goodness. His. Amen. We want to save the world. It's not some technological innovation which is going to save us. It's not some wonderful person who's going to appear at the right moment. I'm super Barack Obama. Even better. A Buddhist president. But that's not the way out. The way out is he's one of us having a higher morality, a higher goodness taking us there. Simple things. Filling in your tax return? Honestly? Accurately, 100%. Not lying. Telling the truth. Not taking alcohol. Keeping precepts. Being totally faithful to your partner 100%. Even though you may be attracted to someone else. No, I'm not going to go and do that. Even though I'd like to, I want to. I'm yearning to know. Stop. Every time I increase the level of virtue in my life. I always felt the power when I gave up alcohol. I felt power, strength. Inner strength. Now when I gave up not stealing. But I'd go on the public transport in London. And I think if that bus conductor never asked me, I didn't need to pay the fare. It was his responsibility. And then I decided that didn't feel right. Someone has to pay for that petrol in the bus and that conductors fare. So even if they didn't ask me, I'd actually go and pay them. And sometimes it's wonderful when, you know, you say, excuse me, I haven't paid you yet. Here you go. And they look at you and say, wow, this is amazing. This is weird. Somebody is honest. And that really shook me. Why is it that people are so surprised about honesty? Will be wonderful if there's an honest community. A community which never cheated. Forget about other people. If you're Buddhist or if there's any Christians here. You Christian, be honest for goodness sake. A muslim, a seeker, a Hindu, a non-believer, whatever. Can you believe in goodness and rise above? That's the easy way. Put some energy and effort and inspiration. Of increasing the power of goodness in your life. You find it is a power which can change things. Notice your life. Notice your health, your relationships at work, and most importantly, in these trying times. And when there's always this news, if it's not swine flu, it's economic crisis. Don't know what's coming next. I'm sure there'll be something. Some war, some terrorist attack. Can't we actually rise and use the power of goodness to stop things in this world which are causing so much pain and misery? The message of our conference. It can be done. It is a power. It is something. Which other religions, other races, other ethnic groups, every human being, every animal recognizes. Even as I was telling people of Bangkok, every time I travel in Muslim countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. I am respected. Even I am a Buddhist. The reason I am respected is people know. A Buddhist monk has a very high level of virtue. We are good. We do keep high levels of honesty and precepts of simplicity, and that respect gives us the power. You take that power as well. You be good, ethical, and your respect will increase. And you'll be free from danger, because people don't want to harm ethical people and good people. That story we haven't told for many years. I read this when I was a monk in Thailand, when an American journal in New York. There was an Indian and Indian was, I call it monk. And I must have got lost. One evening he was walking back and was bailed up by some hooligan, some street kids who got out a knife and pointed it at this Hindu saint. Hand over your money, he said. I don't have money. Don't give us that. Can it over. He said, look, I'm a Hindu holy man. Come to give some talks. I don't carry any money. I don't have any possessions. We don't believe you have a look. And I know exactly how the conversation went. But after 2 or 3 minutes, these hoodlums were so pacified that they listened to him talk about ethics. And in the end they said, I'm sorry, sir, we've made a mistake. Please go away peacefully. And it was reported in the newspapers and the newspaper journalist said the most amazing thing were these people called anyone, sir? His power of goodness meant this guy was completely invulnerable to some of these kids who was slit your throat for $10. That's the power of goodness. It protects you, and it protects the world. The power of goodness. Go for it. And thank you for listening. Okay. Anyone got any questions about tonight's top? All the problems in the world. Easy to solve. You've got to be much better people. Yeah, I think about goodness. I haven't gone back to it. I really don't want to. I don't. Okay. You asked the question. If I want to do something good. I don't really want to do it. So there is a bit of a problem there. And I could be nice. I could be honest. I got a choice. Hang on there. If being nice is being dishonest, that's not good. It's not a good lie. So being nice doesn't mean being good. But sometimes you do have to give what we call. If Herbie says before performance assessment to your husband, dear kids, and how you're honest to them is not just shouting out, you stupid kid. You know, you sort of haven't been doing your homework, you know, you bad husband. You know, you haven't been doing your jobs around the house. Bad wife. You haven't been good enough to me. Haven't you been giving me enough sex or whatever else you say when you're married? That's not how you sort of treat people. Sandwich method. This is, uh. I said this over and again. They asked me, where is it? In the suit. It's in the vineyard. It's not exactly called the sandwich method, but it's the way you admonish fellow monks. Praise him first of all. And then tell them what they've done wrong. And then you praise him again afterwards. Sandwich, sandwich. Your criticism between two acts of positive affirmation to that person. That's been good. Okay. You're saying sometimes you should take someone out for dinner, but you don't want to? Do you really know what you want? Do you feel I want to take them out for dinner? But I don't really want to. Sometimes when I have, like, a conflict that I'm not trying to find out what I really want to do, I have, like, priorities. What's the most important thing? And it's not just enjoying the dinner. It's not actually getting the food, which I want. My important thing is there's the higher goal of having happiness and friendship with somebody. So even if it's taken them to a restaurant, which I don't like. It's more important that I turn them on and have a beautiful relationship with them. So sure, this part of it I don't want, but the higher level of priorities is what I want. That's what goodness is. Putting this great ethics as the most important thing. Even if it's going to cost you money and cost you other things. Yeah, I'm very poor. I don't really want to spend my money, but look what's more important. So remember, what's more important than an eye? That's why that famous saying somebody reminded me of this in Bangkok. The secret of a happy marriage. Speaking of happy marriage, if you're wrong, admit it. If you are right. Shut up.