dear Satish the young generation facing
potential great challenges if not social
breakdown we've heard about it's already
happening in different parts of the
world there is a sort of strange bubble
that some of us find ourselves in in the
West of abundance but we also know and
there is a there is this you know mother
earth Gaia she offers abundance but
there is something about the way the
system has set us up to sort of steal
the future away from the young
generation and this brings anger to some
young people and we could say we could
say righteous anger
they say you may die of old age but we
will die of climate change things like
that and they also of course will have
fear and so your teaching your activism
based in love seems to be the message
for the young people the could use maybe
say some some more some kind of maybe
fatherly advice somebody who's been
through quite a lot some words
warm words for them encouraging words
and some words of strength so they can
face such an uncertain and you could say
terrifying kind of future thank you
anger this energy but force of anger
is exhausting and can only last for a
short time but the power of love is
enduring force of fear anger and fear
are connected so force of fear will
frighten others was power of love will
inspire and transform so I urge young
people like get a sunburn again and
she's wonderful and I totally support
her and she's a great hero of our time I
would say she's wonderful an extinction
rebellion they are heroes of our time
they are driven by love as far as I know
them but I urge young people school
strikers eco warriors defenders of the
earth congratulations well done but act
with the power of love and if you see
our past history our ancestors all the
great changes have come about by leaders
who have led the movement with love the
Suffragette movement in england women
asking for vote Nelson Mandela 27 years
in hard prison Mahatma Gandhi Martin
Luther King high
václav havel Luke and gold long history
all great changes have come about in the
world slavery ended
apartheid ended racial discrimination
diminishing discrimination against women
diminishing all these have come about
because of the power of love and a
long-term commitment it's not that you
want your result tomorrow today
you go for extinction rebellion and you
want result tomorrow yes as you say they
can be angry and say okay you will die
of old age but I'm going to die of
climate change it's a very powerful
comment but remember my dear young
leaders and activists and eco warriors
and earth defenders and school strikers
remember even in your ancestors people
have died in Vietnam war not because of
old age but because of war created by
humans or Second World War or
concentration camps or poverty
so human history has been tragic as well
as amazing and wonderful and glorious
and that has been human condition so yes
let's all get together join hands
together and I will go to prison like
Mahatma Gandhi like bride and groom goes
to wedding chamber yes I will go with
you but there's no point in getting
angry we are where we are but change can
come this industrial society industrial
system polluting wasting extracting
exploiting had been created by humans in
last three four hundred years what is
created by humans can be changed by him
from the hunter-gatherer society and
culture and civilization we became
agriculture society from agriculture we
moved to industrial society now if we
all with our power of love join hands
together walk together act together go
to prison together do whatever needed we
can create an ecological civilization
rooted in love compassion kindness
mindfulness meditation sharing caring
for each other we may not be perfect and
we may never achieve a perfect world but
we are humans and human conditions and
we all have a bit of anger a bit of fear
and we are humans we have to embrace our
imperfection and yet the goal of
creating a harmonious sustainable
resilient regenerative future is worth
striving for but if you act out of anger
and fear and we are going to die because
of climate change therefore what can you
do
desperation that's not going to solve
any problem you can be desperate for
desperation and despair is not going to
energize you inspire you so I urge the
activists who are driven by anger and
fear to look deeply liked I says look
deeply and see big picture and when you
see big picture you will see the power
of love is so powerful that the Buddha
Jesus Christ st. Francis batma Gandhi
Mother Teresa
Wangari Maathai women and men Simone de
Beauvoir I remember reading her work
when she I was reading Simone de
Beauvoir's book second sex when I was 28
29 years old at that time the place of
women in our society was very very
difficult women were not allowed even to
go to work in in trousers
and women had to come in hi huge shoes
to work and and and many many other
problems and now situation is longer to
go
versus versus better so all these
examples we see we have to take heart
and say yes we are on a journey and we
will keep going and keep improving and
that's a long-term commitment lifelong
commitment it's not that I want to
achieve all the change tomorrow and I
want to end industrial civilization
tomorrow and I want everybody to be
vegan and vegetarian and and and live in
plum village tomorrow it's not going to
happen tomorrow
I wish it would but it won't I have to
be realistic but also I had to be
idealistic so I'm an idealist pragmatic
idealist and I urge all the radicals in
the world - yes I'm with you I'm as
radical as you are but my motivation is
not fear my motivation not anger my
motivation and intention is love and I
want love revolution one of the actions
of love that I feel very important is
that we begin anew with Mother Earth and
that means coming into connection with
her falling in love with her and with
our courage to acknowledge the suffering
of Mother Earth that is also our
suffering and this is a kind of grieving
work in some ways but it's also love
also has the reverence and the joy and
the gratitude and so somehow I think
when we share just before if I can just
you said a lovely thing about even if
you're your father or mother is dying of
cancer
so please just maybe we finish with that
and then we go to questions from here
grief is good but we do not stay in
grief forever because if my parents have
died my near and dear have died my grief
I feel sorrow I'm a living heart but
there are living people who have not
died if I just think of those who have
died and not take care of those who have
no who are alive then I'm not being
complete so grief is half picture for
that caring for the living is the other
half picture and when someone is ill so
is suffering from cancer doctors say
that this person has maybe six months to
live or one year to live even at that
time we know that this person is going
to die we don't stop caring don't stop
loving do you don't stop looking after
them we don't stop feeding them even if
I know and I know certainly I will die
I'm 83 and maybe a few years I will die
and yet I love myself yes I love myself
and I urge you all to love yourself
loving yourself is equally important as
loving others and even though I know I
will die a day I feed I will walk I read
I laugh I heard I kiss I come to plum
village
I do as if I will live forever and yet I
know I will die so even if and we don't
know we are not astrologers there's only
a prediction that Earth is not going to
survive even life as we know will not
survive and maybe as James blender says
that it's too late never mind never mind
it's never too late to love it's never
too late to take care of our dying
parents it's never too late to take care
of your body even when you are old and
and going to die
so love is not conditional we don't love
Mother Earth because Mother Earth is
going to live forever even the
scientists say that earth began with Big
Bang and an earth is running out of
energy and one day ice is going to die
anyway even the scientists say never
mind about climate change or global
warming or any other problem in
impermanence we know about impermanence
everything is impermanent
but in that impermanence we have eternal
love so never mind what is going to
happen to earth tomorrow or day after
all in five years time today this moment
I love the flowers I love the plums I
love the love department fruit on your
trees they're out there beautiful trees
full of that kind of miracle miracle of
nature
I love the soil and I love people I love
future generations every moment I am in
love as ty says that Gaia is bodhisattva
so and even when somebody's dead still
alive ty says that there's no birth no
death the Buddha is not with us but we
die the Buddha is with us
the brutalize with us is our spirit so
our consciousness our awareness our
realization of that metaphysical
consciousness level where love is
eternal life is eternal material world
is impermanent but consciousness is
eternal so what will happen to the earth
what will happen to humanity what will
happen to my life from personal to
global we don't know but today is the
day to love today is the day to act
today is day to be completely alive here
and now and every day less welcome every
day with that open heart open mind with
generosity and enjoy this moment
never mind what happens tomorrow and if
we enjoy I guarantee you if we start
enjoying earth will be saved