This is an intervention. Vegan burnouts are real,
and I see it all around me, constantly. Stress
and anxiety from the carnist around you, boyfriend,
girlfriend, in -laws, mom and dad, even your
own children. Constant excruciating reminders
of the violence of animal cruelty from movies,
TV series, ads, your social media feed. And as
an activist, which is a position we are all forced
upon at some point, it is a whole other level
of hell, hearing the same well -known arguments
again and again, watching painfully horrific
slaughterhouse footage, saving and caring for
animals despite the financial strains, and this
is the least of it. Veganism is not only a fight
for the animals, it is also a fight for your
sanity. And in my humble opinion, one of the
most powerful weapon to guard your peace of mind
is meditation, the subject of today's episode.
To discuss this topic, I have with me someone
who has dedicated his whole life to the practice
and teaching of meditation. a Buddhist monk called
Bhante Sapi. In addition to his passion for meditation,
Bhante is vegan and a long -time defender of
the animal cause. In fact, he is the president
of the organization Dharma Voices for Animals,
which we covered in previous episodes. Now, Bhante
has recently published a book called The Mind
Workout, which is your chance to launch your
meditation. practice. This book is the result
of decades of experience, meditating and it has
the ambition to offer you the life of joy and
happiness you deserve. Visit the episode notes
for more details. Also, if you are experiencing
immense distress, please take this episode as
your cue to open up about your pain. Don't wait
visit the episode notes and click on find a helpline
and Of course if you want to support my reporting
of the vegan world including the silent vegan
burnout crisis Then please share this episode
with your fellow vegans How to interest people
in investing in their happiness That's the first
question that came to mind because, yes, the
mind workout meditation, it's the solution. But
then how to motivate people to do the meditation,
to invest in their happiness. And I made a short
list of behaviors I've witnessed from people.
Some think that they don't deserve to be happy.
There's a lot of guilt around. Some think they
are cursed. I've heard that a lot from people,
you know, it's just the way my life is. My life
is a tragedy and they've kind of normalized the
pain. Some are addicted to their pain and the
obvious example is anger. with anger, you know,
there's this rush of adrenaline, and it's an
intense emotion. So I've seen lots of people,
you know, being addicted to that anger. And maybe
one last for some, this pain becomes an identity.
And, you know, it's often even tied to your cultural
identity, like I was thinking of the different
cliche, we heard, we hear about Irish families
or things like that. You know, the, the addiction
to alcohol and the hurtful comments from the
family. Um, like it's again, maybe it's, it ties
back to the normalization of that pain, but so,
you know, what do you make of all of that? Well,
first of all, uh, if we look at what is happiness
is happiness is the reaction happiness and unhappiness
both are reactions there we choose to have a
reaction of happiness and we are trying to avoid
the reaction of unhappiness and to be happy what
we do we are trying to bring something to make
us happy Now therefore we want outside world
to make us happy, our family to make us happy.
And people buy house, they think then they'll
be happy by having a new house. But unfortunately
that excitement will go, will last, will not
last longer. so once when you get familiar with
it then you need something else to bring happiness
because you cannot be excited any longer but
wise people when somebody is wise that person
is looking for internal happiness internal happiness
is actually beyond happiness which is come from
wisdom But you don't have to be wise to be happy
with materialistic things. That's easy happiness
people are looking for. Even animals can be happy
with the same same situations. So therefore we
are trying to make us happy by providing something.
But unfortunately that happiness does not long
last longer. That's the reality of happiness.
Now then you had then you asked a different question
like about habits and and addictions and and
all of those. That's about our emotional behaviors
and our lifestyles. You know, every everything
we do can create a habit like waking up early
morning or we have a lot of habits the lifestyle
we follow with the habit even the food you eat
it's a habit and so many things but it is not
really who we are because that's what we have
trained to ourselves And yes, you can be addicted
to your emotions and you can be addicted to your
feelings. What happened? Addiction means you
seek it. Your physical body is looking for it.
And then you get addicted to that. Like anger
can be a good addiction, frustration, even fear,
even anxiety. Because when it becomes addiction,
because your body is seeking that hormones, and
hormone produced by your body but it's influenced
by your mind therefore if you have a friendly
mind that friendly mind influence your body to
have or produce friendly chemicals if you have
an unfriendly mind then unfriendly mind will
influence your body to have unfriendly chemical
When people have stressful time that is stressful
time create painful body You know your shoulder
get Shoulder aches and back aches and all of
those things, but if you are happy you don't
get a shoulder aches You know you you you you
will not call. Oh, I'm so happy right now That's
why now my my back is tight or my shoulder is
tight because I'm happy No, you don't say that
Your back get tight. I know your shoulder get
tight because you are unhappy. You are tired
and you are stressful and But what we forget
is our mind influence our body to create I mean
produce certain hormones or Some chemicals which
can be either friendly or unfriendly Even though
we look for friendly chemicals And you don't
have a choice whatever the reactions you have
created it by itself This is that's a situation
going back to the original question happiness
is the reaction I I like the way you describe
the mind as being friendly or not because I often
feel this way that looking at people and looking
at myself that, um, and you do mention it in
the book that, um, you know, sometimes your worst
enemy is yourself. You're sabotaging yourself.
You're haunting yourself. You're just hurting
yourself. And I guess the real challenge is how
to be framed yourself to make an ally out of
yourself. Is that a good way to summarize, to
define meditation? Well, the summarizing meditation
is the title of the book, the mind workout. Now,
if somebody asked, What is mind? Then I would
say everybody have a mind. But it is your mind
not somebody else mind. You are responsible for
your own mind. And if you have a friendly and
happy mind that's what you have create with yourself.
But if you have unfriendly mind that unfriendly
mind lead you to be unfriendly person But this
workout is doing workout means You know think
about the physical workout with the physical
workout you so I have mentioned that in the book
and physically in the physical workout you shape
your body and you keep your body healthy and
The same way when you don't to work out if you
just consuming food what happened and you know
you will become very unhealthy person only if
you look for tasty food or the junk food makes
your body unhealthy but we are looking for our
mind we are for our mind we look for junk food
and you are trying to bring satisfaction through
easy ways we are trying to consume that more
and more because we will never fully satisfied
ever with any experience in our life we are looking
we are looking way of we are looking a pleasure
to feed us or support our mind to be satisfied
do you know anybody who would say now I am completely
happy with my life I don't need anything else
or anymore. No, if somebody say I am happy that
person is looking more and more that same happiness
and if you if you happen to be a good restaurant
where say oh so meal is wonderful then next time
you want to come to the next same restaurant
because it was nice last time then you compare
with the with that day maybe it's not good last
last time or you would say this time is better.
And what's happened, so satisfaction does not
last longer. So that's what we call as happiness.
Now, mind is not a physical thing, but mind is
you. Your nature is your mind. If somebody asks
you, who are you? then you are your mind not
your body because your bodies keep changing it's
not yours the good example is as soon as now
think about anything on your body you what you
call it yours as long as it is attached to your
body as soon as your hair disconnect from your
body it become garbage you don't like it as long
as even your fingernails disconnect your body
it's become yucky or it's become garbage. Even
the piece of skin, it becomes an ugly thing.
As long as it is attached to your body, you claim
it as yours. What about your mind? We have memories.
Where does memory exist? It's in your mind. all
the behaviors, the nature, the quality. When
you say you love somebody, to who you love? For
that body or for the person inside the body?
The qualities that person has, the things that
person has done. So when you call you love somebody,
do you love that somebody's mind? Therefore without
saying that word, we are associating with the
mind. But we do not know how to make ourselves
better or healthier or stronger. The mind workout
offers so many ways and tools to know yourself,
know your mind. and find the person who you want
to be with you. Yes, I think the title of the
book is genius. I think that, you know, when
you say meditation, people already have so many
attached ideas of what it is. But if you say
the mind workout, you know, like, quickly, they
know what you're talking about, making your mind
healthier, like you would do with the body and
having a discipline and investing in that discipline.
You know, for the people listening and hearing
you talk about meditation and the mind and all
of that, they might think, you know, is this,
do I need to be a Buddhist? to adopt those practices,
to adopt this perspective on life. Is this, you
know, compatible with my way of life or my religion
or my way of interacting with the world? What
do you make of that is, you know, do you need
to be Buddhist to meditate basically? Thank you
for the question. So now, first of all, let's
find out what, what is, what's the meaning of
being Buddhist? Now being Buddhist means somebody,
somebody who's practicing to become more wise.
And you, you, you do not a follower of somebody
else even for Buddha. You're not a follower,
but you are continuously helping you to improve
yourself with your qualities. That's the meaning
of being Buddhist. one who's seeking wisdom.
That's a clear, direct translation of the meaning
of the Buddhist, being Buddhist. In that way,
you can have another religion and same time you
can be Buddhist. As long as you are seeking wisdom,
as long as you are reflecting yourself and improving
yourself, you are being Buddhist. So, who can
practice meditation? Any human being can practice
meditation. And anybody who practices meditation
will have the same result, will have the same
benefit of practicing meditation. Meditation
does not belong to any religion or any philosophy.
But meditation is subject to everybody who has
a mind. So therefore anybody can practice meditation
regardless. What's the culture? What's religion?
Yes. That was my next question. What are the
benefits of meditation? What is the carrot here
and why should we consider it? Well, there are
a few things and I will start from the very beginning.
Meditation helps you to cultivate or develop
your awareness, awareness of present moment,
present experience that gives you clarity and
also when you practice more meditation that help
you to have self -reflection. You are learning
to reflect yourself or seeing yourself from outside
of you In the different way that help you to
get to know yourself more As a meditator anybody
become a happier person permanent happy person
and well -satisfied person and Somebody would
have clear understanding about him or herself
by knowing who I am or who that person is by
knowing you, you would know easily what other
people are doing and you will get to know others
better too. So ultimately the meditator can be
healthier with their mind happier and their actions
and their behavior will be very friendly and
likable by others and most people find that they
can sleep well. Even you can dive happily, live
longer, live healthier, so many benefits are
there. So therefore, there are so many avenues
even people coming into meditation, those who
look for those avenues. In our classes, you know,
so I lead meditation classes, weekly classes,
and tomorrow I started another retreat. Retreats
are, I'm conducting retreats. Those people who
come to those classes or retreats, they are not
traditionally Buddhist. But I would say they
are open thinkers. They are brave because they
are willing to see themselves. Then they take
time to come and practice meditation. I see a
lot of aha moments in people's life by knowing
themselves, by seeing themselves through the
practice. And also I would say to practice meditation
or have a retreat, you have to be a committed
person, committed to yourself, committed for
well -being of yourself. But if you are a good
person, a happy person and a joyful person, that
is what you have to share with others. If you
love your family, then practice meditation, because
then they will have a good person to work with
but if you are unhappy or difficult person to
deal with then that's the person your family
has to deal with and let me tell you since you
asked this question another example several years
ago I went to a pharmacy with another friend
Then a young girl walked into me and asked me,
are you the Bante? I said, yeah, do you know
me? And then she said, well, I have seen your
pictures. That's how I recognized you. I was
looking to see you one day and to thank you for
giving us a better mother. Then I got confused.
I do what I talk about tell me more she said
Her mother is coming to one of my weekly meditation
class now she and her sister like her mother
very much because in about six months and she's
very happy a person joyful mother and they are
having wonderful time with the mother and Then
they think the meditation is really helping mother
to be a good listener and good support your mother
And then she said, we wake up Saturday morning
to go to meditation class because we want her
to meditate. And then she said, by the way, can
I ask you to come to my birthday party? Because
I want to introduce meditation to my friends
also. If you can, that would be wonderful. Then
I went to her birthday party and she said to
her friends, This is my birthday gift to all
of you and leading a meditation session by this
teacher. Then I led the session for them. So,
now, what is behind this? The family has seen
the difference in this mother. This is not only
a story I know, there are so many stories I have
heard like this. So, without you knowing, you
would be likeable and happier and beneficial
person for you and others once you become a meditator.
And I won't try to be some kind of objective
interviewer here. I completely agree with your
assessment of meditation and I've experienced
those benefits in my everyday life from my meditation
practice. You know, from hearing you talk, I
remembered a few years back, I think two or three
years ago, I had the to take and I, you know,
there was no painkiller available or it was not
working well. And I decided to meditate to attenuate
the pain and it helped. It really did. Like it
was some kind of magic. Um, and so. became an
important tool in my toolbox, you know, meditation,
whether it is, you know, to focus before a meeting,
or reduce the stress from an event or travel.
So, like you said, helping with sleep. So yeah,
very useful tool to have. So I want to tackle
the number one thing I hear when I suggest meditation,
which is, this is not for me, I can't do it,
I can't focus. And you spend a great deal of
time, you know, in the book right away to address
this issue. Because often, when I talk to people
and try to understand why they think it's not
for them, they give me not a bad description
of meditation, not what I would call meditation.
What they call meditation is they try to willfully
stop thinking. And they think that if they can't
stop their thinking, then, you know, they're
not relaxing well, and it just increases their,
you know, stress. And it's just so that's uh,
you know, the wrong way of thinking about of,
um, understanding meditation, but I guess you,
you, you've had that a lot, you know, people
telling you meditation is not for me. I'm not
made to meditate. You know, let's address that
directly. Okay. So if somebody can meditate well,
that person does not have to meditate because
that person can do that. So the reason we are
practicing meditation is because we cannot meditate.
We don't have a calm mind. That's why we are
practicing. But what this practice is doing?
Does this practice helping you to recognize the
struggles you have and helping you to understand
the nature of mind you have and as a result of
it You would know how to improve your mind and
how to help your mind to be calm and get to know
your mind, getting to know your mind. So therefore,
the answer is, that is the very reason we are
practising meditation. I often find people say,
oh no, I can't sit down right now because I can't
sit on the floor. And if I tell you, you know,
often when I have new meditators coming to our
classes, right away they start sitting on the
chair. I give them hard time if they are young
people and if I feel like I'm comfortable of
giving them hard time, I give them hard time.
I said, how come you're sitting on the chair?
Why don't you try the cushion? Oh, I can't sit
on the cushion. How do you know? I said, why
don't you try it? And sometimes some people really
surprised afterward. People says I can meditate.
Well, I often remind people or meditators. There's,
there's no thoughtless or painless meditation.
You are training your mind and also when somebody
have a unsettled body, unsettled body means unsettled
mind, not the other way around, not the other
way around. When your mind settles, your body
also gets settled. So therefore, training your
mind and training your body happens at the same
time. So to have good meditation, you have to
have determination, you have to be committed
to practice. With the commitment and determination,
this is something you can do. It is doable. It
is doable. Yet it you know going back to that
short list I mentioned in the beginning of our
conversation some people think Happiness is not
for them that they can't reach it that you know
It's it's an impossibility. It's kind of a form
of despair so And in the subtitle of your book
you wrote for a lifetime of happiness Is that
promise really golden? Is it really a real promise
we can make to people if they practice meditation?
Definitely. If they are committed to meditation
practice, they can see how their happiness level
is deepening and settling with happiness. And
also they will realize that nobody else can take
their happiness away. It is their happiness.
I have seen meditators and I have seen many practitioners
who has experienced that. Well, the reason you're
here on a podcast about veganism is because there
is a lot of suffering in the animal rights world
space. Whether you are a rescuer or a lawyer,
I remember one of my guests was a lawyer and
I never thought of being a lawyer in the world
of animal rights as being somewhat painful. But
then he told me I can spend days looking through
footage of animals being tortured and, you know,
it's something, it's a very hurtful experience.
Can meditation be a tool to address those painful
experiences? And why should we, you know, put
the emphasis on investing in your happiness in
the animal rights space? So as I mentioned earlier,
one of the one of the benefit of meditation is
you are gaining wisdom. With the wisdom you realize
What is in your capacity and what is not in your
capacity? What is in your range? What is not
in your range? So we cannot change anything beyond
our capacity or our range and We cannot be responsible
of things that you are not responsible That clarity
you will have through mindfulness and wisdom
that you gain through meditation when you have
that wisdom and you know what you can do so then
you will not have anger because you know those
people who's hurting animals they are not wise
they only know what they know that it is their
capacity. As example, you know, let me bring
you example from animal world. We know that.
Tortoise cannot run like horse. But if you expect
tortoise to run like a horse. it is your misunderstanding
just being an animal still tortoise is being
a tortoise tortoise and in the human ring there
are so many people in the world but they have
a different capacities some people are out of
compassion some people does not some people have
a lot of ignorance Self -centered people are
there and selfless people are there. Some people
are very generous, some people are not. So, with
these differences, if you expect somebody to
perform beyond that person's capacity, then we
are living in the unrealistic world. It is not
the realistic thing. Having that wisdom, you
will not become angry because you know your anger
cannot do anything. I always tell the people
in animal welfare field, do your best but don't
become an ugly or angry animal activist because
As a ugly or as an angry animal activist you
cannot convince or you cannot help others to
understand what you do Because you need to friendly
you need a friend to speak and invite you to
get into their side You know, it is like somebody
who's Waiting on the other side of the river
and you're asking hey come to this side If you
are invited by somebody who's angry and ugly
and is screaming at you and so frustrated and
blaming you, cursing you, you will never go to
that side even though you are living in danger.
Because you think, why do I go to another place
which is dangerous for me? But if you have a
very friendly and kind and compassionate person
inviting you to come to that side, then without
thinking twice, you will go there. That's the
person you want to be as an animal activist.
You are understanding other person's ignorance,
understanding other person's weakness, understanding
other person's behaviour, you need to invite
that person and help that person out to become
a better, clear person. That's the job I think
animal activists can do more effectively. So
I always encourage that. But to become that person,
it is good to have good meditation practice.
I always encourage animal activists to introduce
meditation, mindful practice. That way they can
be a better activist. And, you know, in the first
steps of meditation, you talk about and the knowledge
of the mirror and how you are reflected. And
you see your reflection and you write about this
story of a merchant that has this magical mirror
that reflects, you know, your inner self and
how many people are frightened by what they see.
You know, we talked about how some people are
hesitant to get into meditation, but there are
also people who get into meditation and then
just like the story goes, you know, they get
frightened by what they see and, you know, run
away. And, you know, personal story of mine,
I went to this meditation retreat, spent the
first Day and night there and then after that
I was talking to one of the monks there and He
said, you know, most people leave before you
know, the first the second day like it they don't
even last the night why because their mind becomes
a burden and I did experience some of that, you
know at first in meditation retreats, it's like
the best analogy I ever heard is it's like um,
turning on multiple, uh, radios and having all
of those voices in, in, in your head. Um, it's,
it's a lot of noise. So, you know, how do you,
um, what's the solution to that problem? Well,
um, now the question is, uh, the person who's
living, does that person need a solution? That
person does not see the trouble. for solution.
Because if you, you will look for solution if
you see there's a trouble or there's a challenge,
there's a question, then you need a solution.
What is happening to us, we get familiar with
ourselves. Regardless you are happy or unhappy,
you are living in the pain or not, you want to
maintain as who you are. There's a Sufi story
came to my head. I know this is a fiction story,
but there's a very wonderful message in it. An
angel appeared in this particular village. and
then call everybody and then said I am here because
I see you all have a lot of pain you are carrying.
Tomorrow morning just come to that city ground
with all of your pain and trouble put into one
bag and carry that bag with you. Now then everybody
thought okay today is the way we would know how
to get rid of my pain, my trouble, my challenge
and everybody came with it. and he said okay
now since you all have it and just leave that
everything in that just underneath the big tree
and then just come with me then this angel just
walked back walked away from the tree about a
mile distance and then said okay now but this
is the thing you can't really leave you back
there You go back and carry you had to carry
something then you can pick somebody else and
less heavier bag Now everybody ran to pick a
bag not a smaller Not something better. Yeah,
their own bag because they don't want somebody
else to take their bag Before somebody else take
their own bag They want to go and pick up their
own bag again. Why? That's a pain they are familiar
with. Those pains associated or identifying as
who they are. They used to experience that pain.
We don't want it. What is happening to meditators
who come to meditation retreat first time? They
do not want to look at themselves. Simply they
want somebody else to come and fix them, but
they don't want someone to take away who they
are, even. So, and we are scared to see ourselves.
We don't want to look at ourselves. You have
to be a brave person to look at yourself. Without
that determination, without being that much brave,
then you don't want to then you are running away
from it that's why meditation is not for everybody
meditation is for those who who's being committed
and who's seeking wisdom for those people meditation
will work i do think the world would be a better
place if everyone was meditating and you know
in my In the small niche of the world that is
animal rights movement, I would like to see more
activists get into meditation because I do believe,
like you mentioned before, if they became meditators
and they saw clearly who they are and how their
actions impact the world, I think they would
become more efficient activists, more productive
activists, more mindful activists, and, you know,
maybe make more progress for the animal cause.
Would you agree with that assessment? Definitely,
I completely agree with you. And, you know, I
myself have tried to encourage some you know
all this conference and who's having conferences
for animal activists by introducing meditation
in that scale of the bigger scale and but I don't
I haven't seen yet they are accepting my proposal
because most of the time people are looking for
academic way of approach not the practical way
of approach and Because we everybody think that
they know themselves, but you have to meditate
to see That you know little about yourself And
I would highly encourage Activists to practice
meditation and that way you can help this world
to be a better world I need to mention something
else. You start your book again with thinking
your parents and you talked about how meditation
is about the wisdom you gain and then apply in
your everyday life. The relationship you have
with your parents Needs to be very, you know,
it needs to you need to really be mindful of
that and take care of it That's something I learned
You know in the beginning of my my practice and
how it is important, you know in terms of impacting
your mental health and your everyday life And
I'm always saddened to see how many vegans or
feel alienated from their family, including their
parents, because they don't share their worldview
on animals and they don't want to sit at the
dinner table if there's animal products on the
table. What do you make of that relationship
in one's life and its importance? and its impact
on happiness on our happiness. You know, meditation
practice is a journey. In that journey, first,
you will learn how to love yourself. And, and
also in that process of loving yourself, you
would know that you are not perfect. And also
you then that will help you to learn how to treat
others the way how you want to be treated that's
very important point to treat others the way
how you want to be treated then you are becoming
an honest person you will not give others what
you don't want so if you have become when you
become that person you don't want to see that
animal flesh is waiting and placing on your table.
Why? You don't want anyone else to eat your body.
I remember one time one of the young boy about
14 -15 years old and I met this young boy in
front of his grandmother's nursing home and So
he was waiting outside and then as I was coming
out and he said he asked me Oh, I heard you are
vegan. He said true. I said, yes, I'm vegan.
How do you know? Well, I am vegetarian Then I
was very curious. I asked him how come why do
you vegetarian? and he said Well, it's a wrong
question. I know I should not ask that question,
but out of curiosity I asked him why Why did
you become vegetarian and he said well, I don't
want anyone to eat me Then why do I eat somebody
else's body? This young boy, 15 years old, I
thought he's so wise. And I said, did somebody
teach you that? No. I understood that now then
I don't eat. My parents don't like it, but I
don't because I don't want anyone else to eat
me for their food. If I don't like it, why do
I eat somebody else's body for my food? You don't
have to be a huge academic person to come into
that understanding. You don't need any religion
to tell you that. You have to be an honest person.
With meditation practice, you become that honest
person. You become the person you want to be.
Then you make the decision. You make the call
in your life. So that is what awareness is doing.
That is what mindfulness is doing. You become
the person you want to be. Once you become that
person, you cannot harm directly or indirectly
any other living beings. Eating animal flesh
means you are indirectly harming other living
beings. Because you don't... get animal fish
from a tree you have to kill somebody and in
another person recently told me I am not a thief
to steal others life for my own food yeah simply
you steal you say hey I am hungry then I'm gonna
eat you some nobody's offering their body willingly
to you to eat So you don't have to be a Buddhist
to understand that. Even you don't have to be
a meditator to understand that. Only you have
to be an honest person to understand that. And
same time meditation is helping you to be more
aware of the real world. Another topic you tackle
in the book is jealousy. And that is something
this animal rights movement is not immune of.
Why? What is jealousy exactly? And how do we
fight it? And I guess how do we use meditation
to fight it? Because I don't see, you know, any
version of a successful movement or activist
movement. having, you know, a culture of jealousy
and inner competition, you know, something that
inspires me in life is to hear stories about
startups. And, you know, if you learn about the
startup culture in Silicon Valley or, you know,
some other places, entrepreneurs share ideas
freely. They're not, they don't entertain those
feelings of jealousy. They are in a mentality
of cooperation, and that makes them incredibly
successful. And so I do think it's a big problem
for social movements. And I was really glad to
see that being, you know, talked about. I also,
you know, one last point about jealousy, I also
think it's a fire that is fueled a lot by social
media. And sadly, I'm against it. But, you know,
the reality is most of this vegan movement and
animal rights movement is present on social media,
all about social media actions and connecting
with others through social media and social media.
Well, it feeds that jealousy. It feeds those
negative feelings. So yes, please talk to us
about jealousy. Yeah, there are two reasons behind
it for animal welfare field number one is limited
resources and limited financial support and when
when that limitations are there animal welfare
people want the groups want funders to fund them,
not others. Because everybody is carrying good
visions. Everybody is going to do a good job.
But even though others are doing a good job,
you also want to do a good job. That's why you
want others to help you, not others. You want
funders, donors to support you, not others. Because
it is limited resources. limited funders and
limited donors. And that created jealousy. And
another part is some people are not willing to
accept the goodness what other people have or
what others do. As you said, in that, so when
When somebody does not have any challenge, they
don't have jealousy because they don't have any
challenge, and nobody can take what they have.
And I have even seen that among the meditation
teachers too. Somebody asked me recently, they
have seen that with other teachers but they don't
see that with me and why i was not thinking about
that in the past and then right away i said nobody
can replace me it's me and that is not only my
story it's with everybody nobody can replace
you as long as you can become who you are but
you are in trouble if you try to be somebody
else As long as you are finding yourself you
are being you no one can replace you then you
don't have to be jealous with somebody else Because
no one can replace you And no one can replace
any organization too because if that that organization
become unique with the people in the organization
And then when the donors look at that organization
they will stick with their organization With
honesty So therefore all of us are unique when
they realize that they don't they will not have
fear with fear you experience jealousy There
is also the fact of in I thought it was a funny
insight that you brought to this conversation
How you know you said? um, they're thinking about
the issue as an academic instead of a realist.
And I thought, yeah, those academic people are
completely detached from reality. Sometimes,
you know, are hearing them talk and also they
come from a very, from a very competitive culture
and pediculture of like, whose name is on that
study or that paper, and who is the biggest teacher
with the more, you know, the more incredible
titles and so on. It is an anti startup cooperation
culture. It's really a culture that breeds jealousy.
I guess my last question is less of a question
and maybe more of a request. Do you want to maybe
give instructions for a meditation? And maybe
we could leave things at that with you giving
those instructions and the person listening to
the podcast could maybe close their eyes and
try meditation. um um and and learn that from
you um you know um practically you know talking
about you know practicing and not being just
theoretical about it let's give a chance for
the listener to experience that meditation well
yeah one thing i would say to practice good meditation
you have to come to the good posture that the
good posture would be you sit down with the in
Sanskrit we call it Sukhasana which is easy posture
you can search that how it looks like that's
most easiest one which means folding your legs
and all the knees go down and make your back
straight so your legs might go to sleep sometime
don't worry that's the purpose of that posture
And once you settle with your body, the starting
meditation would be the breathing meditation.
I will guide you with the podcast and then anybody
can follow it. And also I would say, at least
try to meditate at least 20 minutes. But if you
can do 40, that would be great. And if you have
a consistent practice, That will help you to
improve yourself find a quiet space and Committed
to that time and keep your pets and kids away
because they don't know you're meditating then
they'll be disturbed also these days make sure
turn off your phone or make phone silent and
Then once when you're ready, you can sit with
the straighten back and close your eyes So I
will guide you with meditation and you can practice
with me and but I will start and then you can
continue to the end so and okay now sit on the
cushion over wherever you are gently close your
eyes feel how you have placed your body. Allow
you to be relaxed. Allow you to be here at the
present moment. Feel your breath, your present
breath. Select a place to observe your breath.
It can be your upper lip or tip of the nose,
inside the nose, your chest or your stomach.
Select a place. Now keep your attention there.
Allow your body to breathe naturally. Observe
your present breath. Breathe in mindfully, breathe
out mindfully. When your mind wonders, notice
it. Gently and mindfully bring your attention
back onto present breath. Observe this breath
remember You are not a reactor. You are an observer.
Observe your present breath. Take a deep breath.
Let your body relax. Let's cultivate these intentions
in your heart. May all living beings be well.
happy, skilful and peaceful, including you, your
family, your friends, people you know and you
do not know, pets, animals, visible and invisible
beings, May all living beings be well, happy,
skillful and peaceful. Let it cultivate freely
in your heart. Let it become you. Friend, friendly
to all living beings. When you are ready, then
open your eyes mindfully.