Ambassador of the Buddha

Summary

This talk presents a detailed teaching on how to invite a bell in the context of Buddhist mindfulness practice, and it uses that practice as a gateway to explain how peace, family harmony, and social reconciliation can be cultivated. The speaker begins by addressing the Sangha on the third day of a retreat held on 6 April 2013, under the theme “Happy Teachers, You’ll Change the World.” The central lesson is that one does not “hit” or “strike” the bell, but rather invites it to sound, treating the bell as a respected presence, a bodhisattva, and even an ambassador of the Buddha. The bell master must bow before the bell, breathe mindfully, and recite a verse that unifies body, speech, and mind before producing sound. A major emphasis is placed on the ritual and discipline of bell practice. The speaker explains that the bell master should first produce a half sound to prepare everyone, then allow time for three full sounds of the bell, with three mindful breaths after each sound. This creates nine breaths in total, enough to generate peace, mindfulness, and happiness. The talk repeatedly stresses that the purpose of the bell is to help people return to themselves, stop talking and thinking, and reestablish contact with the present moment, which is described as the true home. The bell is portrayed as a means of deep listening, in which not just one person but the entire body, including “billions of cells,” listens together in collective awareness. The speaker extends the practice into family life by describing a “breathing room” in the home, a small meditation space where family members can sit together, listen to the bell, and restore calm when anger, fear, or irritation arise. The bell becomes a tool for reconciliation within the household, especially between parents and children. The speaker notes that children should be able to go to the breathing room when family conflict becomes overwhelming, and that parents should respect that space as sacred territory. The practice is also presented as something that can be integrated into ordinary activities such as cooking, shopping, and caring for children. The talk then moves to education, offering the example of Henry, a mathematics professor in Toronto who became a lay Dharma teacher after practicing in Plum Village. He transformed his classroom by walking mindfully, erasing the board slowly, and introducing regular pauses for breathing, initially through a student clapping every 15 minutes. His students responded positively, and other teachers adopted the practice. This example supports the broader claim that teachers can function like loving parents in the classroom, listening deeply to students’ suffering and helping transform the classroom into a family. The speaker argues that many students come from broken families and need a second chance to learn kindness, communication, and emotional regulation. Another major theme is Sangha building. The speaker explains that not only monastics but also school teachers, psychotherapists, and politicians need communities of practice. A teacher’s Sangha can provide support, shared understanding, and collective energy that is stronger than individual effort. The talk describes monastic communities as families with grandpa teachers, father teachers, uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters, and notes that the “brown family” is one expression of this shared life. The speaker emphasizes that mindfulness should not be tied to religion in a narrow sense, making it accessible in secular settings such as schools, medicine, and public life. The final part of the talk focuses on loving speech and deep listening as the fourth mindfulness training. The speaker explains that when one has reduced one’s own suffering through practice, one becomes capable of approaching another person with compassion, acknowledging past harm, and asking to understand the other’s suffering. Deep listening requires restraint: one must not interrupt, debate, or correct the other person immediately, even if blame or anger arises. Instead, one listens with the intention of helping the other suffer less. The speaker gives examples of reconciliation between fathers and sons, husbands and wives, and even people in conflict zones such as Israelis and Palestinians. The talk concludes by affirming that three or four days of practice can already make reconciliation possible, and that the next session will be questions and answers on this theme.