The habits of happiness | Matthieu Ricard

Translator: Guhanath Paudel गुहनाथ पौडेल Reviewer: Deepak Basyal

So, I guess it is a result of globalization

अँ, त, यसलाई विश्वव्यापीकरणको कमाल नै मान्नुपर्छ कि,

that you can find Coca-Cola tins on top of Everest

सगरमाथाको शिखरमा कोकाकोलाको टिन फेला पर्छ

अनि मन्टेर्ये (न्युयोर्क)मा बौध्दभिक्षु

and a Buddhist monk in Monterey.

(हाँसोको लहर)

(Laughter)

अनि म दुई दिन अघि मात्र हिमालयको फेदीबाट अाइपुगेको

And so I just came, two days ago, from the Himalayas

तपाईको न्यानो निमन्त्रणामा

to your kind invitation.

So I would like to invite you, also, for a while, to the Himalayas themselves.

तपाईहरूलाई हिमालयतिरै स्वागत गर्न चाहन्छु एकैछिनलाई भए पनि

जहाँ ध्यानगरेर बस्ने मान्छेहरू र मजस्ता

And to show the place where meditators, like me,

who began with being a molecular biologist in Pasteur Institute,

पाश्चर अध्ययन संस्थामा सूक्ष्मअणु जीववैज्ञानिक भएका मान्छेहरू प्रवेश गर्छन्

and found their way to the mountains.

र पहाडतिर आफ्नो गन्तव्य फेला पार्छन्

So these are a few images I was lucky to take and be there.

यहाँ त्यस्ता दृश्यहरू छन् जहाँ पुग्न र चित्र लिन पाएकोमा आफू भाग्यमानी सम्झन्छु

There's Mount Kailash in Eastern Tibet -- wonderful setting.

कैलाश पर्वत, पूर्वी तिब्बतको अद्भूत दृश्य

यो मार्लोबोरोको देश भैहाल्यो

This is from Marlboro country.

(हाँसोको लहर)

(Laughter)

This is a turquoise lake.

यो चाहीँ नीलाभमणिको ताल

A meditator.

ध्यानमा आसन जमाएको

पूर्वी तिब्बतको कुनै ठाउँ, वर्षभरिको सबैभन्दा गर्मी दिन, अगस्ट १ मा

This is the hottest day of the year somewhere in Eastern Tibet, on August 1.

रात हुनु अघि डेरा जमाउने तरखरमा तिब्बती मित्रले भने– हामी

And the night before, we camped, and my Tibetan friends said,

“आज राती खुला आकाशमुनि सुत्नेछौं"

"We are going to sleep outside."

And I said, "Why? We have enough space in the tent."

“किन? पालमुनि प्रशस्तै ठाउँ छ त’ मैले भनें

“यो गृष्मऋतु हो’ उनले भने

They said, "Yes, but it's summertime."

(Laughter)

(हाँसोको लहर)

So now, we are going to speak of happiness.

अँ, हामी सुखको बारेमा कुरा गर्न लागेका हौ

फ्रान्सेली भएको नाताले मैले यो भन्नैपर्ने हुन्छ

As a Frenchman, I must say

that there are a lot of French intellectuals

धेरै नै फ्रान्सेली बुध्दिजीवीहरू

सुख भन्ने कुरोलाई कुनै रुचिको विषय मान्दैनन्

that think happiness is not at all interesting.

(हाँसोको लहर)

(Laughter)

मैले भर्खरै मात्र सुखको बारेमा लेख लेखेको, ठूलो विवाद खडा भयो

I just wrote an essay on happiness, and there was a controversy.

And someone wrote an article saying,

कसैले लेख लेखेरै भने -

"Don't impose on us the dirty work of happiness."

“सुखजस्तो फोहोरी शब्द हामीमाथि नथोपर्नुहोला”

(हाँसोको लहर)

(Laughter)

सुखसँग हामीलाई मतलव छैन, हामीलाई अभिलाषामा नै जिउनु छ

"We don't care about being happy. We need to live with passion.

We like the ups and downs of life.

हामीलाई जीवनमा उतारचढाव नै प्यारो,

We like our suffering because it's so good when it ceases for a while."

जीवनमा आउने दुःख नै प्यारो छ किनकि जब एकछिन यो कम हुन्छ अनि गजब हुन्छ

(हाँसोको लहर)

(Laughter)

हिमालयमा रहेको मेरो कुटीको बार्दलीबाट देखिने यो दृश्य

This is what I see from the balcony of my hermitage in the Himalayas.

त्यहाँबाट दुईमीटरभन्दा टाढा छैन यहाँहरू सबैलाई जुनसुकै वेला पनि स्वागत छ

It's about two meters by three, and you are all welcome any time.

(Laughter)

(हाँसोको लहर)

Now, let's come to happiness or well-being.

अव हामी खुशी अथवा सर्वकल्याणतिर लागौं

And first of all, you know, despite what the French intellectuals say,

सर्वप्रथम त फ्रान्सेली विद्वानहरूले जे भने पनि,

थाहै छ, एकाविहानै कोही पनि आज दिनभर

it seems that no one wakes up in the morning thinking,

"May I suffer the whole day?"

खुबै दुख पाइयोस् भन्दै उठ्ला र?

(हाँसोको लहर)

(Laughter)

Which means that somehow, consciously or not,

यसको मतलव चेतनामा वा अचेतनमा

प्रत्यक्ष वा परोक्ष, लामो वा छोटो समयमा

directly or indirectly, in the short or the long term,

whatever we do, whatever we hope, whatever we dream --

हामीले जे गरे पनि, जस्तो आश गरे पनि र जस्तो सपना देखे पनि

प्रकारान्तरले सुख अथवा सर्वकल्याणकै अथाह एवं गहीरो चाहना नै हो

somehow, is related to a deep, profound desire for well-being or happiness.

पास्कल भन्थे - आफैं झुण्डिन लागेको व्यक्ति पनि

As Pascal said, even the one who hangs himself,

somehow, is looking for cessation of suffering.

अन्ततः दुःखबाट मुक्ति पाउने उपायमा लागेर नै हो ।

He finds no other way.

उसले यो बाहेक अरू उपाय नै देखेन”

But then, if you look in the literature, East and West,

हामीले पूर्व र पश्चिमका साहित्य हेर्ने हो भने पनि

you can find incredible diversity of definition of happiness.

हामी सुखको परिभाषामा आश्चर्यजनक विविधता पाउँछौं

Some people say, I only believed in remembering the past,

क्वै भन्छन् वितेका पुराना कुरा सम्झनु नै सुख हो

भविष्यको कल्पनामा, वर्तमानमा त हुँदै हैन

imagining the future, never the present.

Some people say happiness is right now;

कोही भन्लान् वर्तमान समयमा नै सुख छ

it's the quality of the freshness of the present moment.

वर्तमान समय मिठासको पार नै हो त !

And that led Henri Bergson, the French philosopher, to say,

हुँदाहुँदै फ्रान्सका दार्शनिक हेनरी बर्गसनले भने

"All the great thinkers of humanity have left happiness in the vague

“संसारका ठूला मानवतावादी चिन्तकले सुखलाई अस्पष्टै बनाएर छाडे

so that each of them could define their own terms."

किनभने हरेकले आ–आफ्नै परिभाषा दिन्छन्

अनि, जीवनमा यो दोस्रो नम्बरमा पर्ने चासोको विषय भए त ठिकै थियो

Well, that would be fine if it was just a secondary preoccupation in life.

But now, if it is something that is going to determine

यदि यो पक्कापक्की नै गर्नुपर्ने विषय बन्दैछ भने

the quality of every instant of our life,

हाम्रो जीवनको हरेक क्षणको उत्कृष्ट स्वरूप

then we better know what it is, have some clearer idea.

यसको स्पष्ट अवधारणा के हो त्यो जान्नु नै राम्रो हुन्छ

And probably, the fact that we don't know that is why, so often,

अनि संभवतः, धेरै समयसम्म हामी यो कुरो जान्दैनौं

लाग्छ, सुखको खोजीमा छौं, तर उल्टोतिर दौडिरहेछौं

although we seek happiness, it seems we turn our back to it.

Although we want to avoid suffering,

दुःखसँग छुटकारा चाहन्छौं,

लाग्छ, हरबखत यसैको पछि कुदिरहेका छौं

it seems we are running somewhat towards it.

And that can also come from some kind of confusions.

अनि एकदिन एक प्रकारको अनिश्चयमा पुग्छौं

सबैलाई चाहिएको एउटै मात्र कुरो सुख र आनन्द हो

One of the most common ones is happiness and pleasure.

But if you look at the characteristics of those two,

तर यी दुइको स्वभाव हेर्ने हो भने

pleasure is contingent upon time, upon its object,

आनन्द भनेको समय अनि वस्तुमा निर्भर रहने कुरा हो

ठाउँ विशेषमा

upon the place.

एक प्रकारको स्वभावमा परिवर्तन

It is something that -- changes of nature.

सुन्दर चकलेटी केक : पहिलो गाँस साह्रै नै स्वादिष्ट

Beautiful chocolate cake: first serving is delicious,

second one not so much, then we feel disgust.

दोस्रो त्यति होइन, अनि पछिपछिको त निल्नै गाह्रो ।

(Laughter)

(हाँसोको लहर)

That's the nature of things.

वस्तुको स्वभावै त्यस्तो हो

हामी त्यसै वाक्क हुन्छौं

We get tired.

म बाख संगीतको भक्तनै थिएँ

I used to be a fan of Bach.

I used to play it on the guitar, you know.

थाहै छ यसलाई म गितारमा आफैं बजाउँथैं

I can hear it two, three, five times.

दुइ, तीन वा पाँचपटकसम्म सुन्थें ।

चौवीसै घन्टा सुने वाक्क लाग्थ्यो होला

If I had to hear it 24 hours, non-stop, it might be very tiring.

If you are feeling very cold, you come near a fire, it's so wonderful.

साह्रै जाडो भएको वेला आगोको नजीकै पुग्न पाए कति रमाइलो

After some moments, you just go a little back,

एकै छिन तापेपछि अलि पछि हटिन्छ

and then it starts burning.

त्यस पछि त पोल्न नै थाल्छ

It sort of uses itself as you experience it.

यो उपयोगिता अनुभव गरेकै हो

फेरि कुरो के भने नि ! हामी आफैंले अनुभव गरेको हो

And also, again, it can -- also, it's something that you --

बाहिरबाट कसैले हेरेर बताइदिएको होइन

it is not something that is radiating outside.

Like, you can feel intense pleasure

कि तपाईं चरम आनन्द मानिरहनुभएको छ,

and some others around you can be suffering a lot.

तपाई वरिपरिका अरू अत्यन्त दुःख मानिरहेका छन्

अनि त्यसको पछि के होला त ?

Now, what, then, will be happiness?

सुख, यो शब्द अलि विस्तृत छ, एकछिन आनन्दको वारेमा कुरा गरौं

And happiness, of course, is such a vague word, so let's say well-being.

And so, I think the best definition, according to the Buddhist view,

मेरो विचारमा, बौद्ध दृष्टिमा सबभन्दा राम्रो परिभाषा,

is that well-being is not just a mere pleasurable sensation.

सुख भनेको सांसारिक भोगविलासबाट पाइने सन्तुष्टि मात्र होइन

यो त धीरता र पूर्णताको गहीरो आभाष हो

It is a deep sense of serenity and fulfillment.

वास्तवमा नै सर्वत्र व्याप्त अवस्था

A state that actually pervades

and underlies all emotional states,

सबै भावनात्मक अवस्थालाई रेखाङ्कित गर्न सक्ने

आफ्नो मार्गमा आउने सबै सुख र दुःख

and all the joys and sorrows that can come one's way.

For you, that might be surprising.

कसैको लागि यो अप्रत्यासित पनि हुनसक्छ

Can we have this kind of well-being while being sad?

आफैंलाई दिक्दार लाग्दा आनन्दी भावना आउछहोला त

In a way, why not?

एक प्रकारले भन्दा, किन नहुनु?

Because we are speaking of a different level.

किनकि हामी विभिन्न तहबाट बोलिरहेछौं।

किनारतिर आइरहेका लहरहरूमा दृष्टि दिऊँ त !

Look at the waves coming near the shore.

लहरको तल पीँधमा हुनुहुन्छ भने तपाईं ठोकिनुहुन्छ

When you are at the bottom of the wave, you hit the bottom.

ठोस चट्टानमा तपाई ठोकिनुहुन्छ

You hit the solid rock.

When you are surfing on the top, you are all elated.

तपाईं सतहमा तैरिरहेको हुनुहुन्छ भने

So you go from elation to depression -- there's no depth.

प्रफुल्ल हुँदाहुँदै उदास भैसक्नुहुनेछ गहिराइको अभावले

Now, if you look at the high sea,

यदि तपाईले विशाल समुद्रलाई हेर्ने हो भने

there might be beautiful, calm ocean, like a mirror.

ऐनाजस्तै शान्त, सुन्दर सागर देख्न सक्नुहुनेछ

There might be storms,

त्यहाँ आँधीबेह्री आउन सक्छ

but the depth of the ocean is still there, unchanged.

तर समुद्रको गहिराइ शान्त छ, हलचलबिनाको

So now, how is that?

उसोभए, यो कस्तो छ त ?

यो क्षणभङ्गूर भावना वा संवेदनारहित यथास्थितिको अवस्था हुनेछ

It can only be a state of being, not just a fleeting emotion, sensation.

Even joy -- that can be the spring of happiness.

अनि हर्ष – यो त खुशीको झर्ना हुनेछ

But there's also wicked joy, you can rejoice in someone's suffering.

तर यहाँ अपवित्र खुशी पनि हुनसक्छ, तपाइलाई कसैको दुःखमा रमाइलो लाग्नसक्छ

So how do we proceed in our quest for happiness?

उसो भए हामी खुशीको खोजीमा कसरी बाटो लाग्ने त?

धेरैजसो हामी बाहिरी संसारलाई हेर्दछौं

Very often, we look outside.

We think that if we could gather this and that, all the conditions,

यो त्यो ऊ सबै संग्रह गर्न पाए हुन्थ्यो भन्ने इच्छा गर्दछौं

हामी यसो पनि भन्ने गर्छौं – “हरेकलाई सुखी हुनको लागि

something that we say, "Everything to be happy --

हरेक कुरा सुखले भरिएको पनि त हुनुपर्छ ।”

to have everything to be happy."

That very sentence already reveals the doom, destruction of happiness.

हो यही वाक्यले नै बर्बाद पार्छ, सुखको विनास

To have everything.

सबै कुरा पुग्नु ?

केही कुरा भुल्यौं भने पनि ग्वार्ल्याम्मै ढल्छ

If we miss something, it collapses.

And also, when things go wrong, we try to fix the outside so much,

अनि आफूले भनेजस्तो नभएमा, यसलाई ठीक पार्न बाहिरतिर खूव लाग्छौं

but our control of the outer world is limited,

बाहिरी संसारमा हाम्रो पकड एकदमै सीमित छ

temporary, and often, illusory.

क्षणिक अनि धेरैजसो अवास्तविक पनि

त्यसकारणले भित्री अवस्थालाई हेरौं

So now, look at inner conditions.

तिनीहरू अचम्मलाग्दा छैनन् र?

Aren't they stronger?

Isn't it the mind that translates

मनले नै व्याख्या गर्ने होइन र

the outer condition into happiness and suffering?

बाहिरका परिस्थिति दुःख दिने र सुख दिने छन् भनेर

अनि यो अचम्म भएन त ?

And isn't that stronger?

हामी अनुभव गरेर नै भन्न सक्छौं

We know, by experience,

that we can be what we call "a little paradise,"

यो ‘सानो स्वर्ग नै’ हुनेछ भनेर

भित्री मनले पूरै दुःखी भए पनि ।

and yet, be completely unhappy within.

दलाइ लामा कुनै बखत पोर्चुगलमा हुनुहुन्थ्यो

The Dalai Lama was once in Portugal,

and there was a lot of construction going on everywhere.

त्यो समयमा जताततै धमाधम निर्माणको काम हुँदै थियो

एक साँझ उहाँले भन्नुभयो हेर तिमीहरू जताततै नयाँ घर बनाउँदै छौ

So one evening, he said, "Look, you are doing all these things,

आफूभित्रै पनि केही बनाउन सके राम्रो हुने थिएन होला र?

but isn't it nice, also, to build something within?"

यसको अभावमा तिम्रो अत्याधुनिक कोठा छ

And he said, "[Without] that -- even if you get a high-tech flat

सुपर मडर्न आरामदायी घरको १०० औं तलामा

on the 100th floor of a super-modern and comfortable building,

if you are deeply unhappy within,

तर त्यसभित्र तिमी सुखी छैनौ भने,

तिमी हामफाल्नको लागि झ्याल मात्र खोज्न लागेका हुनेछौ

all you are going to look for is a window from which to jump."

So now, at the opposite,

यसको विपरीत हामीले

कठिन परिस्थितिमा रहेका मानिसहरू देखेका छौं

we know a lot of people who, in very difficult circumstances,

manage to keep serenity, inner strength, inner freedom, confidence.

शान्ति, आन्तरिक शक्ति, बल र आत्मविश्वाससँग बसेका छन्

यदि आन्तरिक स्थिति बलियो छ भने

So now, if the inner conditions are stronger --

of course, the outer conditions do influence,

हो, बाहिरी परिस्थितिले पनि प्रभाव त पार्छ नै

ठूलो कुरा त दीर्घ जीवन, सुस्वास्थ्य

and it's wonderful to live longer, healthier,

to have access to information, education,

सूचना र सञ्चारको प्रवाह, शिक्षा

to be able to travel, to have freedom.

यात्रा गर्न सक्ने सामर्थ्य, स्वतन्त्रता

यिनीहरू ठूला आकांक्षाहरू हुन्

It's highly desirable.

However, this is not enough.

तर यति नै पर्याप्त भने होइनन्

यिनीहरू त सहायक परिस्थिति मात्र हुन्

Those are just auxiliary, help conditions.

The experience that translates everything is within the mind.

हरेक घटनालाई एकअर्कामा रूपान्तर गर्ने त मन नै हो

So then, when we ask oneself

अनि हामीले आफैंलाई सुखको अवस्थालाई

how to nurture the condition for happiness,

कसरी बढाउँदै लाने भनेर सोध्दा

the inner conditions, and which are those which will undermine happiness.

आन्तरिक अवस्था, सुखलाई कमजोर पार्दै कसले लगिरहेको छ

So then, this just needs to have some experience.

भन्ने बुझ्न अनुभवको ज्यादै आवश्यकता पर्दछ ।

We have to know from ourselves, there are certain states of mind

हामी आफैले चित्तको खास खास अवस्था छ भन्ने बुझ्नु जरूरी छ ।

that are conducive to this flourishing, to this well-being,

आनन्दको बाटोमा क्रमशः लाग्न अनुकूल छ

what the Greeks called eudaimonia, flourishing.

यसलाई ग्रीकहरूले फल्दोफुल्दो ‘सुख’ eudaimonia भने

यस्तो खाले आनन्दको प्रतिकूल व्यक्तिहरू पनि छन्

There are some which are adverse to this well-being.

And so, if we look from our own experience,

हामीले आफ्नै अनुभवले हेर्ने हो भने पनि

anger, hatred, jealousy, arrogance,

क्रोध, घृणा, ईर्ष्या, अज्ञानता, अत्यधिक आशक्ति,

obsessive desire, strong grasping,

लोभको कुण्ड, हामीले जतिसुकै अनुभव गरे पनि

they don't leave us in such a good state after we have experienced it.

यिनीहरू भने सजिलै छाड्नेवाला छैनन्

And also, they are detrimental to others' happiness.

यिनीहरू अरूको सुखको लागि हानिकारक नै छन्

यिनीहरूले हाम्रो चित्तमा जतिजति आक्रमण गर्दै जान्छन्

So we may consider that the more those are invading our mind,

and, like a chain reaction,

शृंखलाबद्धरूपमा

the more we feel miserable, we feel tormented.

त्यति नै हामी आफूलाई उत्पीडित र निरीह पाउँछौं ।

At the opposite, everyone knows deep within

यसको विपरीत, जोसुकै आफ्नो भित्र गहीरोसँग नियाल्न सक्छ

स्वार्थरहित उदारतापूर्वकको काम

that an act of selfless generosity,

if from the distance, without anyone knowing anything about it,

टाढैबाट भए पनि कसैले कसैलाई नचिनिकन नै पनि

we could save a child's life, make someone happy.

बालकको जिन्दगी बचाउन, कसैलाई सुखी पार्न हामी सक्छौँ

हामीलाई कुनै सम्मान पनि चाहिएन न त कुनै अभिनन्दन नै

We don't need the recognition. We don't need any gratitude.

Just the mere fact of doing that

यसले हाम्रो केही गर्ने भित्री स्वभावको

fills such a sense of adequation with our deep nature.

निकटतातिर लैजान्छ र हामी हरबखत

And we would like to be like that all the time.

यस्तै अवस्थामा रहिरहन खोज्छौं

के यो सम्भव छ ?

So is that possible,

to change our way of being, to transform one's mind?

हाम्रो आचरण परिवर्तन गर्न हाम्रो चित्तलाई रूपान्तरण गर्न

Aren't those negative emotions, or destructive emotions,

ती नकारात्मक शक्ति अनि विनासकारी मनोविकार

चित्तको स्वभावसँगै टाँसिएका हैनन् र?

inherent to the nature of mind?

हाम्रो आवेग, विशेषता, अनि चित्तवृत्ति परिवर्तन गर्न सकिन्छ त?

Is change possible in our emotions, in our traits, in our moods?

यसको लागि पहिले प्रश्न गर्नुपर्नेछ चित्तको स्वभाव केहो

For that we have to ask, what is the nature of mind?

यदि अनुभवीको आँखाबाट हेर्ने हो भने

And if we look from the experiential point of view,

there is a primary quality of consciousness

त्यहाँ चेतनाको प्रारम्भिक गुण देखिन्छ

खालि संज्ञानात्मक, चैतन्यस्वरूप प्रमाण मात्र

that's just the mere fact to be cognitive, to be aware.

चैतन्य भनेको सफा ऐनाजस्तो अवस्था हो जुनसुकै वस्तुको विम्ब छर्लङ्ग देखाइदिने

Consciousness is like a mirror that allows all images to rise on it.

ऐनामा भद्दा र सुन्दर दुवै अनुहार हेर्न सकिन्छ

You can have ugly faces, beautiful faces in the mirror.

ऐना दृश्य त देखाइदिन्छ तर ऊ आफू दृश्यबाट परै रहन्छ

The mirror allows that, but the mirror is not tainted,

is not modified, is not altered by those images.

अथवा ऐना ती विम्बहरूले बदलिएको हुँदैन

यसैगरि हरएक विचारको पछाडि

Likewise, behind every single thought

त्यहाँ केवल चैतन्य एवं शुद्ध अभिज्ञता रहन्छ

there is the bare consciousness, pure awareness.

This is the nature.

स्वभाव भनेको यस्तो हुन्छ

यसलाई घृणा वा ईर्ष्याले दूषित पार्न सक्दैन

It cannot be tainted intrinsically with hatred or jealousy because then,

if it was always there --

यो पहिलादेखि नै त्यस्तै थियो भने

like a dye that would permeate the whole cloth --

रङ्गाइएको कपडाजस्तै

then it would be found all the time, somewhere.

जताततै जहिले पनि र जुनवेला पनि त्यस्तै एकनासे नै हुनुपर्थ्यो

We know we're not always angry, always jealous, always generous.

थाहा छ हामी सँधैं रीसाहा, ईर्ष्यालु, उदारमना पनि त छैनौं

चेतनाको आधारभूत संरचना

So, because the basic fabric of consciousness

ज्ञानको विशुध्दतम गुण, जसले मणि र ढुङ्गाको फरक देखाइदिन्छ

is this pure cognitive quality that differentiates it from a stone,

there is a possibility for change because all emotions are fleeting.

त्यहाँ परिवर्तनको सम्भावना पनि छ, किन कि सबै भावनाहरू क्षणिक हुन्

चित्तको अभ्यासको लागि आधारभूत थलो यही हो

That is the ground for mind training.

चित्तको अभ्यास केमा अधारित छ भने मनमा एकैपटक दुइटा

Mind training is based on the idea that two opposite mental factors

cannot happen at the same time.

भिन्नाभिन्नै विचार उत्पन्न हुँदैनन्

मायाबाट घृणातिर जान सकिएला, तर

You could go from love to hate.

एकै समयमा, एउटै वस्तुलाई कुनै पनि व्यक्तिले

But you cannot, at the same time, toward the same object,

the same person, want to harm and want to do good.

लाभ र हानी पुर्याउने सोच्न सक्दैन

You cannot, in the same gesture, shake hand and give a blow.

एउटै भावभङ्गीमा हात मिलाउन र मुक्का हान्न सकिंदैन

So, there are natural antidotes to emotions

आवेगहरूका पनि स्वाभाविक प्रति–आवेगहरू हुन्छन्

that are destructive to our inner well-being.

यिनीहरू हाम्रा भित्री आनन्दको विनासक पनि हुन्छन्

So that's the way to proceed.

अगाडि बढ्ने तरिका यही हुन्

ईर्ष्यामा जल्नुभन्दा त्यसैमा रमाउनु जाती

Rejoicing compared to jealousy.

A kind of sense of inner freedom

एक प्रकारको आन्तरिक स्वतन्त्रता

as opposite to intense grasping and obsession.

अत्यन्त लोभ र पागलपनको विपरीत

Benevolence, loving kindness against hatred.

उदारता, प्रेम सद्भाव, घृणाको विपरीतमा

यस्तो अवस्थामा पनि हरेक मनोवेगलाई बेग्लाबेग्लै प्रतिआवेग चाहिन्छ

But, of course, each emotion then would need a particular antidote.

अर्को तरिका सबै आवेग हटाउने एउटै मात्र उपाय

Another way is to try to find a general antidote to all emotions,

उनीहरूको मूल स्वरूप अवलोकन गर्नु हो

and that's by looking at the very nature.

खासगरी जव हामी कसैसँग रीस, घृणा, परेसान हुन्छौं

Usually, when we feel annoyed, hatred or upset with someone,

or obsessed with something,

अथवा कसैप्रति आशक्त हुन्छौ

the mind goes again and again to that object.

चित्त घरिघरि त्यतैपट्टि लागिरहन्छ

Each time it goes to the object,

जतिजति चित्त उक्त वस्तुमा लाग्छ

उतिउति त्यसमा पागल जस्तै लागिरहन्छ, वाक्कै पार्छ

it reinforces that obsession or that annoyance.

So then, it's a self-perpetuating process.

यो निरन्तर आफै चलिरहने प्रकृया हो

So what we need to look for now is,

यस अवस्थामा हामीले

instead of looking outward, we look inward.

बाहिरतिर हेर्नुको सट्टामा हामीले आफूभित्रै हेर्नुपर्दछ

रीसकै कुरा गरौं न,

Look at anger itself.

It looks very menacing,

यो असाध्यै डरलाग्दो देखिन्छ नि

like a billowing monsoon cloud or thunderstorm.

वर्षन लागेको कालो बादल वा आँधीबेह्री

We think we could sit on the cloud,

हामी बादलमाथि बस्न पाए हुन्थ्यो भन्ठान्छौं

बादलमाथि पुग्दा यो कुइरोजस्तो मात्रै त हो

but if you go there, it's just mist.

Likewise, if you look at the thought of anger,

त्यसैगरि रीसको विचारलाई जरैसम्म पुगेर हेर्ने हो भने

it will vanish like frost under the morning sun.

यो पनि तुसारो जस्तै विलाएर जान्छ

If you do this again and again, the propensity,

यस्तो प्रकृया गरिरहने हो भने, यो लगाव,

the tendencies for anger to arise again

यो लगातार रीस उठीरहने प्रवृत्ति

हरेकपटकबाट कम हुँदै हुँदै बिलाएरै जान्छ

will be less and less each time you dissolve it.

And, at the end, although it may rise,

अनि अन्तमा, कुनै वखत रीस उठीहाले पनि

it will just cross the mind,

यसले हाम्रो मनलाई छोएर विलाइहाल्छ

जस्तो चरा आकाशमा पदचिन्ह नछाडिकनै स्वाट्टै उडेर जान्छ

like a bird crossing the sky without leaving any track.

So this is the principal of mind training.

चित्तको अभ्यासको मूल सिध्दान्त यही हो

Now, it takes time,

यसको लागि त समय लाग्छ

because it took time for all those faults in our mind, the tendencies, to build up,

हाम्रो चित्तमा धेरै गलत प्रवृत्तिहरू गाँठा परेर बसेका हुन्छन्

so it will take time to unfold them as well.

यसलाई फुकाउन त समय लाग्छ नै

But that's the only way to go.

तर एउटै मात्र उपाय यही नै हो

Mind transformation -- that is the very meaning of meditation.

चित्तको रूपान्तरण, ध्यानको वास्तविक अर्थ यै हो

यसको माने वस्तुको स्वभावसँग परिचित हुँदै जाने नयाँ मार्ग

It means familiarization with a new way of being,

वस्तुलाई अनुभव गर्ने अर्को पाटो

new way of perceiving things,

which is more in adequation with reality,

यो नै बास्तविकतालाई नजीकबाट हेर्न प्रशस्त छ

प्रवाह र यसको निरन्तर परिवर्तनबीचको अन्योन्याश्रित सम्बन्ध

with interdependence, with the stream and continuous transformation,

यो नै हाम्रो अस्तित्व र चेतना हो

which our being and our consciousness is.

संज्ञानात्मक विज्ञानको वल्लो पल्लो छेउ

So, the interface with cognitive science,

हामीलाई त्यो छेउ पुग्नु नै छ, लाग्छ त्यो विषय थियो

since we need to come to that, it was, I suppose, the subject of --

एकदम छोटो समयमै हामीले त्यो बेहार्नु नै पर्छ ‘ब्रेन प्लास्टिसिटि’ साथ

we have to deal in such a short time -- with brain plasticity.

The brain was thought to be more or less fixed.

मस्तिष्कलाई कम बा बेसी अचल नै मानिएको थियो

All the nominal connections, in numbers and quantities,

संख्या र परिमाणमा नाममात्रको संयोजन छ भन्ने विचार थियो

were thought, until the last 20 years,

– बीस वर्ष अघिसम्म

to be more or less fixed when we reached adult age.

प्रौढ अवस्थामा पुगुञ्जेल, एकदमै उस्तै एकनास

Now, recently, it has been found that it can change a lot.

अहिले आएर थाहा भो मस्तिष्कमा धेरै परिवर्तन गर्न सकिन्छ

A violinist, as we heard, who has done 10,000 hours of violin practice,

सुने अनुसार १०,००० घन्टा भायोलिनमा अभ्यास गरेकाहरूको

some area that controls the movements of fingers in the brain changes a lot,

औंलाहरूको चाललाई नियन्त्रण गर्ने मस्तिष्कको भागमा निकै परिवर्तन देखियो

increasing reinforcement of the synaptic connections.

चेतनासँग सम्बन्धित मस्तिष्कको भागमा राम्रो बृद्धि

So can we do that with human qualities?

मानवको अन्य पक्षमा पनि यस्तै वृद्धि ल्याउन सकिएला ?

With loving kindness, with patience, with openness?

प्रेम अनि दयालुपन, धैर्य अनि निष्कपटतामा

हो यसैको लागि यी दिग्गज ध्यानीहरू केही गर्दैछन्

So that's what those great meditators have been doing.

Some of them who came to the labs,

तीमध्ये कतिपय प्रयोगशालामा आए

like in Madison, Wisconsin, or in Berkeley,

मेडिसनमा, विस्कान्सिनमा अनि बर्कलेमा

did 20 to 40,000 hours of meditation.

२० देखि ४०,००० घण्टासम्म ध्यान गरेका

They do, like, three years' retreat, where they do meditate 12 hours a day.

दिनहुँ १२ घण्टा ध्यान गरेर ३ वर्ष गुफा बसेपछि

And then, the rest of their life, they will do three or four hours a day.

बाँकी जीवन दैनिक ३ घण्टा ध्यान गर्ने पनि छन्

They are real Olympic champions of mind training.

चित्तको अभ्यासमा यिनीहरू ओलम्पिक च्याम्पियन नै हुन्

(Laughter)

(हाँसोको लहर)

This is the place where the meditators -- you can see it's kind of inspiring.

यस्तो ठाउँमा ध्यानीहरू – यो एक किसिमको प्रेरणा नै हो

Now, here with 256 electrodes.

अनि २५६ थरी तारका मुख (इलेक्ट्रोडस्)

(Laughter)

(हाँसोको लहर)

अनि उनीहरूले के पत्तालाए

So what did they find?

निश्चय नै केही नौलो

Of course, same thing.

अहिलेसम्म विज्ञानले नकारेको कुरा

The scientific embargo --

a paper has been submitted to "Nature," hopefully, it will be accepted.

स्वभाव मानेको, आशा गरौं सबैले स्वीकार्छन्

It deals with the state of compassion, unconditional compassion.

यसले करुणासँग सम्बन्ध राख्छ, निःशर्त करुणा

We asked meditators, who have been doing that for years and years,

वर्षौंसम्म ध्यान गरेकालाई अनुरोध गरियो

आफ्नो चित्तलाई प्रेम र करुणामा ट्वाक्क अड्याइराख्न

to put their mind in a state where there's nothing but loving kindness,

total availability to sentient being.

सम्पूर्ण प्राणीहरूमाथि

अवश्य नै ध्यान सिक्ने समयमा यस्तै गर्छौं,

Of course, during the training, we do that with objects.

We think of people suffering, of people we love,

हरेक दुःख पाईरहेका वस्तुमाथि हामी माया गर्छौं

कुनै क्षणमा आइपुग्दा यो व्यापक भइसक्छ

but at some point, it can be a state which is all pervading.

प्रारम्भिक परिणाम यस्तो छ

Here is the preliminary result,

which I can show because it's already been shown.

म देखाउँदै छु यो पहिला नै प्रकाशमा आइसकेको हो

घन्टी आकारका १५० वटा नियन्त्रण रेखा हुन्

The bell curve shows 150 controls,

अनि के देखियो भने

and what is being looked at

is the difference between the right and the left frontal lobe.

अगाडिपट्टिका दायाँ बायाँ भागमा आएको फरक

In very short, people who have more activity

छोटकरिमा भन्दा, साह्रै सकृय हुने मान्छे

in the right side of the prefrontal cortex

प्रिफ्रन्टल कोर्टेक्स को दायाँतिर

धेरै उदास र अन्तर्मुखी देखिए

are more depressed, withdrawn.

They don't describe a lot of positive affect.

उनीहरूले सकारात्मक प्रभाव देखाउन सकेनन्

यसको विपरीत बायाँतिरका मान्छेले

It's the opposite on the left side:

परोपकारतिर ज्यादा नै झुकाव

more tendency to altruism,

सुख अनि यस्तै कुराहरूप्रति साह्रै उत्सुकता देखाए

to happiness, to express, and curiosity and so forth.

So there's a basic line for people. And also, it can be changed.

यसरी मानिसमा एउटा आधारभूत रेखा देखापरयो तर बदल्न सकिने

हँसाउने सिनेमा हेयौ भने बायाँतिर लाग्यौ

If you see a comic movie, you go off to the left side.

If you are happy about something, you'll go more to the left side.

कुनै कुराबाट खुशी भएका छौ भने अझै बायाँतिर नै लाग्यौ

कुनै कारणबाट उदासीले गाँजेको छ भने सोझै दायाँतिर

If you have a bout of depression, you'll go to the right side.

Here, the -0.5 is the full standard deviation

अनि, यो –०.५ पूर्ण स्ट्याण्डर्ड डेभिएसन

of a meditator who meditated on compassion.

करुणमा लीन भएर ध्यान गर्नेहरूको

यो त घन्टी रेखाभन्दा पूरै बाहिरपट्टि नै परयो

It's something that is totally out of the bell curve.

सबै फरक वैज्ञानिक परिणामतिर जान यहाँ समय पुग्दैन

So, I've no time to go into all the different scientific results.

आशा गरौं ती विस्तारै हुनेछन्

Hopefully, they will come.

But they found that -- this is after three and a half hours

तर के भने, यी सबै साँढे तीन घन्टा

in an fMRI,

FMRI भित्र बसेर निस्केका परिणाम हुन्

it's like coming out of a space ship.

यो त अन्तरिक्षयानबाट निस्केजस्तो भयो

यसलाई अन्यत्र पनि प्रयोग गरेर देखाइयो

Also, it has been shown in other labs --

जस्तै वर्कलेस्थित पाउल एकम्यानको प्रयोगशालामा

for instance, Paul Ekman's labs in Berkeley --

कतिपय ध्यानीहरूले त आफ्ना भावनात्मक क्रियालाई

that some meditators are able, also,

to control their emotional response more than it could be thought.

सोचेभन्दा पनि बढी समय काबुमा राखे

Like the startle experiments, for example.

झस्कादिने प्रयोगहरू, जस्तै

If you sit a guy on a chair

एकजनालाई कुर्सीमा बसालेर

यत्राविधि जीवतत्व नाप्ने उपकरणले घेरेर

with all this apparatus measuring your physiology,

and there's kind of a bomb that goes off,

पड्कन लागेको एक प्रकारको बम जस्तो

it's such an instinctive response that,

यो यस्तो एउटा स्वाभाविक प्रकृया भयो कि

वितेका २० वर्षमा यस्तो देखेकै थिएनन् । बिना हलचल

in 20 years, they never saw anyone who would not jump.

Some meditators, without trying to stop it,

कुनै ध्यानीहरू यसलाई रोक्ने प्रयत्न पनि गर्दैनथे

एकदमै सजिलै बसिदिन्थे

but simply by being completely open,

thinking that that bang is just going to be a small event like a shooting star,

मानौं ग्रहको ठूलो धमाका उल्काको फिस्स भन्दा बढी केही होइन

उनीहरू हलचल नगरिकन बस्न सक्छन्

they are able not to move at all.

संक्षेपमा भन्दा यो कुनै किसिमको

So the whole point of that is not, sort of, to make, like,

सर्कस वा तमासा, अचम्मका कुराहरू देखाउने उफ्रने वा यस्तै

a circus thing of showing exceptional beings who can jump, or whatever.

It's more to say that mind training matters.

यसो भन्नु अति नहोला, चित्तको अभ्यास भनेको

That this is not just a luxury.

विलासी कुरा होइन

This is not a supplementary vitamin for the soul.

सबै आत्माहरूको लागि काम लाग्ने कुनै भिटामिन पनि होइन

निर्धारण गर्न लागेको कुरो नै यही हो

This is something that's going to determine

the quality of every instant of our lives.

हाम्रो जीवनको हरेक पलको उत्तमोत्तम अवस्था

We are ready to spend 15 years achieving education.

हामी शिक्षा हासिल गर्न १५ वर्ष विताउँदछौं

तन्दुरुस्त रहन शारीरिक अभ्यास

We love to do jogging, fitness.

राम्रो रहने हरेक उपाय

We do all kinds of things to remain beautiful.

तैपनि अचम्म, महत्वपूर्ण कुरामा भने कमै समय

Yet, we spend surprisingly little time taking care of what matters most --

हाम्रो चित्तले कसरी काम गरिरहेको छ

the way our mind functions --

which, again, is the ultimate thing

सबैभन्दा जडी कुरा त यो नै थियो

यसलेनै हाम्रो अनुभवको विशिष्टता निर्धारण गर्छ

that determines the quality of our experience.

Now, compassion is supposed to be put in action.

अव करुणालाई व्यवहारमा उतार्नुपर्ने बेला भइसक्यो

विभिन्न ठाउँमा यही प्रयास गरिरहेका छौं

That's what we try to do in different places.

यस्ता उदाहरण नै कामका लायक हुन्

Just this one example is worth a lot of work.

This lady with bone TB, left alone in a tent,

बोन टिबि भएकी यी महिला कतै पालमा अलपत्र

was going to die with her only daughter.

एउटै मात्र छोरीको साथमा मरणासन्न थिइन्

One year later, how she is.

एक वर्ष पछि यस्ती पो देखिइन्

तिब्बतका विभिन्न ठाउँमा हामीले स्कूल र क्लिनिक चलाइरहेका छौं

Different schools and clinics we've been doing in Tibet.

And just, I leave you with the beauty of those looks

जानु अघि सुन्दरतम कुराको अवलोकन गराइहालुँ

that tells more about happiness than I could ever say.

यिनले सुखको बारेमा मैले भन्न खोजेभन्दा पनि बढी भन्न सक्छन्

(Laughter)

(हाँसोको लहर)

तिब्बतका ‘जम्पिङ्ग मङ्कस्’

And jumping monks of Tibet.

(Laughter)

(हाँसोको लहर)

‘फ्लाइङ्ग मङ्कस्’

Flying monks.

धेरै धेरै धन्यवाद ! !

Thank you very much.