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(Bell)

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(Bell)

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(Bell)

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(Bell)

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Good morning

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dear Thay dear sangha, Today is the 9th,
Sunday, the 9th of December, 2018.

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We are in the Assembly of Stars
meditation hall in Lower Hamlet,

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and this is the last of the Dharma talks

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before the end of our three month
retreat together .

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So I feel a special sense of

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speaking to that.

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Most of us have been here
for the three month retreat together.

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We've been

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those of you who came

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to Plum Village for three months
have experienced

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going through ups and downs.

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And maybe,

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some of the time you wondered,
'Why did I come?'

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I don't know. Excuse me.

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It's a loud blow.

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(Laughter)

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Maybe you felt, 'Yeah, I'd be better off

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in a cave somewhere'.

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Maybe in the Pole, or somewhere,

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in some mountain.

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When we practice together,
we really

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have to meet each other,

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and get along together.

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If we don't get along together,

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because we are living together 24/7,

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it really shows up.
It is difficult to stay calm and to enjoy.

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So actually, a lot of the practice that
you've been learning these three months

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is how to live in harmony,
how to get along.

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How to practice loving speech,

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but also you have to communicate
when there is a difficulty,

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but with loving speech.

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How to let go

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of your preference
and maybe of your irritation.

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How to see the other person
is also suffering.

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Maybe see that

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try to understand them
so you can let go of judgment.

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And we have practices, like Beginning Anew
that we do regularly.

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We do that formally, we sit down

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and practice expressing gratitude,
noticing the good things in each other,

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and also expressing when we have a regret
towards each other.

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It is very renewing practice.

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We had - It is also,
we call it the season of Shining Light.

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So because we see each other,

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we are rooming together, eating together,
working together,

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we see each other and we have
something called the sangha eye.

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Because, ourselves, if we are just
practising alone,

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there is a number of things that we miss
from practising in a community.

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One is that because
we are not interacting,

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things don't maybe come up
in the same way.

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So when we are interacting we get to see
ourselves,

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but also we have blind spots.

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And so the it's very helpful for us,
for the people we trust,

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we open ourselves up,
we allow ourselves to be

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open to receiving their view about us.

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And that view is expressed
with all of the love and appreciation also

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for the whole of us
not just pointing to the difficulty.

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So we also practice this
in the three months retreat,

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shining light on each other's practice,

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in order to help the other person
have more freedom,

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more growth in themselves,
and more happiness.

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Sometimes it can be a bit scary

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to allow ourselves

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to have people share like that.

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I've known people run away.

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But when they allow themselves to
they only experience the love.

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I'm sure there are
some exceptions to that.

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Sometimes people can get hurt also,
and then we also have compassion

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that we are learning the practice.

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So living together is
a practice in itself.

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And in a sense, it is -

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you can say that
learning to live together,

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learning to get along is also the fruit
of the practice.

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Thay has said, brotherhood, sisterhood,
there is no religion

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that is higher than that.

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So we are generating
brotherhood and sisterhood.

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We are going in that spirit.

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There was a Harvard study

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done, it was one of the longest ever
studies, 75 years.

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It is still going on, I think.

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And they interview
and get also self-information

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from standardised groups of men
in the States.

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Essentially the point is that

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they were looking to see
what are the conditions

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for happiness and health

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looking right through the life.

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And what they found was
if you want to know

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what makes a happy octogenarian,
that means, if you are 80 years or over,

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because these groups they've been
following since they were boys,

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and now they are in their 80's.

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You look back when they are 50 years old,
which is my age,

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you can determine whether

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the conditions that seem to be common,

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like the ones that are happy,
the ones that are healthy,

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the result is only one factor.

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It is not how much cholesterol
in the blood,

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it is not many things you might think,

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but the one factor that comes out

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is those people report that they have
good relationships.

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Relationships they can trust.

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And that seems to be

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an essential requisite for a happy life.

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So in community,we are blessed with having
.many deep connections to each other.

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There is a lot of trust of each other
in the community,

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which allows us to be open,
and allows us to be

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free to express.

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And, of course, relationships,

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when we talk about relationships,

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what came to my mind when I
heard about this study is,

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what about the relationship
we have to ourselves?

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Do we trust ourselves?

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This must also be important.

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And the relationship we have to society,
to Mother Earth.

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This must also count
as a relationship.

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And it is also clear
we know from our experience

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That to the extend that we are
in a good relationship with ourselves,

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our relationship with others goes well.

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And when our relationship with ourselves
is not so good,

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we find, things seem
to get reflected to us.

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The sangha is like a hall of mirrors.
We keep seeing ourselves reflected.

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So when we have a difficult interaction,

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it's always helpful to ask
what is going on in me

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that is connected with
that difficult interaction,

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as well as, you know,
because there is a tendency maybe

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to blame or put it on the other person.

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We may see interesting things
when we do that.

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We may see that,

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'Ah! This reaction I had in the meeting,
or in this interaction,

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brought about
quite a strong emotion in me.

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It seems a bit more than,

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kind of disproportionated
to what actually happened.

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Why did I get so angry?

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Why did I feel so anxious?'

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I myself found myself in a situation
where some anxiety and fear came,

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and it started actually that anger.

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I was,

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I was feeling somehow slightly let down
about something, and then

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this anxiety came.
And I ask the question to myself,

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what does this remind me of?

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I should ask it to my store consciousness.
What does this remind me of?

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I just waited for something to come,

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and I suddenly had an image of myself
in kindergarten.

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A memory that I didn't have before.

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It is not one I could remember,
but it's suddenly a flash

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of waiting to be picked up.

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But my mother was late that day.

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And there was a fear in me, I guess.
And it was amazing how that

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I made the connection just
by asking that question.

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So it allowed me to, just having
that interaction with the other person

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allowed me to touch something
that needed healing.

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And the healing is maybe a continuous

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path of healing that we are on.

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We are not going to heal
everything overnight,

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or with one insight.

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But we, each time we have a small healing,
we get more energy and more confidence.

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And we feel, wow!
Okay, this is a good path.

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And actually,

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just understanding ourselves,

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understanding that this is
where it is coming from,

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in a sense it can help so much

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knowing that we have a practice
that also embraces

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ourselves in that moment,

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embraces maybe the little boy,
the little girl in us,

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when we see that coming up,

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we recognize that there is
some suffering there relating to that age

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when we were very young,

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we have the opportunity to embrace,
to smile and with our solidity,

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that we generate through the practice,
we can breathe with that emotion.

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So knowing we have a path,

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we have a lot of kind of

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we have happiness and we have
a sense that the suffering

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doesn't need to be so much now,

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because the biggest suffering
is not having a way, having a path.

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So we have a lot of gratitude also
for having the practice.

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Even before we've applied it, but when
we apply it, and we get the experience,

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every time we are so grateful.

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I also had an opportunity in this winter,
this three month retreat,

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we don't call it the winter retreat now
because for the very first time

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is more the autumn period. I also had
an experience this three month retreat

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of connecting with my 14 year old in me.

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And, yeah. At that time
when he felt very isolated

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and not enjoying school,
and feeling

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pretty in a bit of a hostile environment
he found.

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And I knew, I know about this time, and I
know t somehow shows up in my interactions

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but I took sometime to try to talk
with the boy. And he showed up.

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And I, he said,

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he asked, I asked, 'Would you like
to spend time with me?

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Now I'm an adult'. And he said,
'You are too busy'.

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(Laughter)

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'You got too many things going on.

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And I cause you
all sorts of problems anyway,

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so I don't want to cause you
any more problems.

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I don't want to take up your time.'

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It was very fascinating
to hear this response.

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And actually, it gave me quite
some insight into myself.

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Because, of course, that is part of me.

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So I share that because

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it is part of our journey
that we are on to

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heal all the parts of ourselves.

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Inside as well as outside.
Inside we also have a kind of sangha.

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Different voices.

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And we also need to bring harmony to
those different voices inside ourselves.

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But when I was deciding to become a monk,

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I remember

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the Dharma teacher
from the UK Martin Pitt,

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he gave me that advice, he said,
'In making the decision,

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check with your internal sangha, and
make sure everybody -'

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So it's a real sangha, a real decision.

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Because there are
these many voices in you.

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Some other voices of doubt,
I had to say, 'Please, I hear you, but

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we've touched something deeper
than doubt at this moment',

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and the doubt had to agree.

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The Christians say, the doubting Thomas.

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So,

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isn't a fascinating journey, isn't it?
The spiritual path.

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And we do it together.

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And somehow, being together as a community
brings so much joy and insight,

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it is so rich.

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Some others are going away,
going back to the real world.

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I always find slightly ironic
to use that term,

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because it seems like out
in the real world

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is where people are busy, very busy,
running away from reality.

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Whereas the idea here in Plum Village
is we touch reality

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within us and in nature.

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But we go back out, and
we want to maintain our practice.

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One of the things we need to draw on is
the connections we made here,

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to keep them in our heart, and know

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when we think we are isolated,
and all around out there,

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remember that is not true.
Because the connections we make

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that are real,

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they are not subject to dissolving simply
because we are in a different place,

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they are non local.

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So we always remember
the sangha has our back.

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They are behind us.

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People visualize it in different ways.

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Connected with the Harvard study
I mentioned,

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loneliness is the biggest killer. That is
a medical fact, that loneliness kills.

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And we are so blessed that we don't -

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We have so many conditions
to not be lonely

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through the practice of
being there for ourselves,

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and learning how to be there with
other people and the connections we make.

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The relationships we make.

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Because even you can be in a relationship,
you can be in a family,

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you can be with many people,
but, as the 14 year old boy,

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in a boarding school,
lots and lots of people.

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They are not dissimilar to Plum Village's.
Living in a dormitory,

251
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sharing rooms. But I felt isolated
and lonely at that particular time.

252
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So it's not exactly
that you are next to people

253
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that you don't feel lonely.

254
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It can also be that you can feel lonely
even in Plum Village.

255
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Again, if you

256
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
somehow are not in good relationship
with what is going on in you.

257
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And in those cases, where
that is happening in Plum Village,

258
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the encouragement is to stay.

259
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And you may feel
you don't have

260
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your smile anymore.

261
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I'll always remember reading

262
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thay saying,
'The dandelion keeps your smile.'

263
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You know, the flower you see all alone,
it has your smile for you.

264
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And like so in the sangha we can feel

265
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not doing well, but we should try
to become aware

266
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that there is a lot of love

267
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and care. People are giving us space,
but they care.

268
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And sometimes the care comes
in a way we don't want,

269
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maybe somebody comes into our space,
and tries to shake us up a bit.

270
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And we don't want that.

271
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Maybe it wasn't so skilful of them.

272
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But nevertheless we can recognize it
as good intention, as care.

273
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So we may have taken different themes
for this three month period,

274
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as well. I know some of the brothers in
Upper Hamlet were studying the Anapanasati

275
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for instance.

276
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Some brothers were studying
the 40 tenets of Plum Village.

277
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The Manifestation Only teachings
was one subject I was engaged with.

278
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I think many other topics.
But them all, somehow,

279
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connect to the same point

280
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of how to come into relationship
with myself, to be there,

281
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and really understand what is going on
in my body, in my mind.

282
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And see my nature of interbeing.

283
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And Thay has said that even just
practising the first 4 of the Anapanasati,

284
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awareness of the breath,
awareness of the body,

285
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we touch all of the other aspects,

286
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because of the nature of interbeing.

287
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So in connection when we are
just aware of our body,

288
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as we really realize that,
oh, here is my body

289
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and I'm really get to be in my body,

290
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experiencing it with the breath,

291
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I also naturally become aware
of my feelings.

292
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They are part of what is going on,

293
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and there is a correspondence in the body.

294
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And also mental formations,

295
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
perceptions and consciousness.

296
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I remember,

297
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
yes, we'll have one sound of the bell.
Thank you.

298
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Bell)

299
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Bell)

300
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I was just reflecting

301
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that one of the earliest winter retreat

302
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I can recall, I can't remember
specifically which one it was,

303
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but Thay said at the very opening talk
of the retreat,

304
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
'This retreat as an opportunity

305
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and we should practice to be there
for every mental formation

306
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as it arises.'

307
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And this was,

308
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I just remember being astounded
by the possibility of that.

309
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Every mental formation that will arise,
I will be there,

310
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and embrace, and take care, and recognize.

311
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I guess that was
a very wonderful thing to set

312
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as an aim for myself.

313
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To try to be there for what is going on.

314
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Always being aware
what mental formations come and go

315
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and watching the impermanence of them,

316
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and watching them in relation to
what is happening in me,

317
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
around me.

318
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And in my interactions.

319
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But we sometimes get forgetful and lost,
so just like on the cushion,

320
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we recognize and
we have to keep coming back.

321
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
One of the themes
of the three month retreat

322
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
has been the 14 mindfulness trainings.

323
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And the ones that were left to me
to share about

324
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
were concerning

325
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
right compassion and action, it has to do
with right livelihood, reverence for life

326
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and generosity.

327
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So it is 11, 12 and 13.

328
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The 14 mindfulness trainings,

329
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thay wrote then in 1964.

330
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And it seems to me
they are as relevant today

331
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as they could ever had been.

332
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They were written
in the time of the Vietnam War.

333
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And they have been revised.

334
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So we try to make them more and more
relevant and skilful, appropriate

335
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to our time and with the insight
that we have.

336
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Ethics

337
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is a big subject, and in a sense,

338
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the trainings, be they
the 5 mindfulness trainings or the 14,

339
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they are a contribution to what we hope
is a good contributions to a global ethic.

340
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And they don't need to be

341
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
religious or include Buddhist -

342
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Kind of, things specific to Buddhism.

343
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They can be put into the language that
is for anybody can feel comfortable with.

344
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But hopefully, they are universal.

345
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They speak to the universal.

346
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And they are about

347
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they are about love,

348
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they are about the actions
and interactions

349
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that come about when we are

350
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
coming from a place of true love.

351
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
True love we know
has a number of ingredients.

352
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
True love has brotherhood and sisterhood,

353
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
kindness in it, loving kindness.

354
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It has that friendship element.

355
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Spiritual friendship,
being there for each other.

356
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
True love also has compassion.

357
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We really can have empathy
for the other person,

358
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but we don't get overwhelmed
by the suffering,

359
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so we can truly be there.

360
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Even when somebody is suffering,
we can maintain our stability

361
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and be there for that person
and help them.

362
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
True love also has joy.

363
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Without joy, we can () so ().

364
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Joy is something very important.

365
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And it arises
from unusual places sometimes.

366
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Sometimes it is the joy that comes
when we are able to

367
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
be there with our suffering in such a way
that we think, oh!

368
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is a kind of joy,
because I get to be with -

369
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I'm in the most important place,
where I need to be.

370
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And there is a sort of
underlying joy to that,

371
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
even though you are maybe
experiencing the suffering.

372
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So I'm using that example to show
joy doesn't always show up,

373
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it's not always what we think
in terms of excitement, joy,

374
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
although expressions of joy and smiles
is also

375
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
very good.

376
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I said to a brother before I came
to the talk this morning,

377
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
'I need to have a laugh before I go.'
I need to generate that joyful energy.

378
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Sometimes we need to -

379
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Sometimes I think of something funny
just to generate that joy.

380
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But the real joy coming from friendship,

381
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
from insight,
from our mindfulness practice,

382
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that is a very deep kind of joy.
And we need that.

383
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And then there is inclusiveness.

384
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We include all that is in us and
we take care of what is going on,

385
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but we don't set up
an internal battle field.

386
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So even we see part of ourselves
is seemingly

387
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
causing us suffering, maybe
doing something which brings us -

388
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
makes us feel ashamed,
or it is a bad habit,

389
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
or we've spoken to somebody in a bad way,

390
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we somehow have to still have compassion
for that part of us too, and say,

391
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Okay, I accept.

392
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I accept everything that is there,
I love and accept myself just as I am.

393
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I know that there are
causes and conditions

394
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for why it is like this right now.
Maybe I'm frustrated with myself.

395
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I also accept my frustration with myself.
Okay, I'm frustrated with myself.

396
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So whatever is there, you say, Okay,
I get it. If you are there,

397
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you are there for a reason.
And I accept you.

398
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It doesn't mean we have to be
again overwhelmed, or pushed,

399
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but we accept and we smile to that.
An d we try to generate stability

400
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so we can be with that part of ourselves
without being carried away.

401
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And so too with our relationships
with other people,

402
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and when we get frustrated and upset
with other people,

403
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to have this capacity to include and
to stay with, to be there for each other.

404
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And there is

405
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in the Discourse on Love, we are invited
to extend our love to all beings

406
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
across the entire cosmos.
It's very grand.

407
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
A new chant that Thay Phap Linh
has been doing with a group of us

408
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is on the CD, a new chanting CD.

409
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I'm very embarrassed with the video
they made to go with that, by the way.

410
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I don't know if anybody saw it, but
I got very self-conscious seeing myself,

411
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To look like very, very sincere.

412
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Anyway, on this chant,

413
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
there is the line,
'showing love and concern for

414
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as for our very own family'.

415
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So bringing that spirit of
being concerned for

416
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
anybody we meet

417
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as if they were our own family.
That is the spirit.

418
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And it's not totally beyond our capacity.

419
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We know when we are in a good place
we can have that openness of heart.

420
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There is a quote I heard about

421
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a husband whose wife came back
after being on a Buddhist retreat.

422
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And the husband was asked, 'Sorry,
have you seen any change in your wife

423
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
since she came back? - Yes, she is in love
with the whole universe,

424
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but nobody in particular.'

425
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Laughter)

426
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I think that ment

427
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we have to be careful to just be
in this place of thinking about

428
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the grand love for everything, but then
we don't actually apply it to

429
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
what is this relationship
going on right now.

430
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Yes, I can't deal with this one, but,

431
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Laughter)

432
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I love - I feel so much for
all the suffering in the world,

433
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but I can't deal with you.

434
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So that is also why a sangha is important.

435
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We meet the - It is where the rubber hits
the world, hits the real, we rub it.

436
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The expression is, the chopsticks we use,
to clean chopsticks

437
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you get a bunch
and you rub them all together,

438
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
rub and then clean them individually.

439
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It is a good image.

440
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Yes, I was going to share something.

441
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I have emailed Christiana Figueres.

442
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She is the lady
that brought together 195 countries

443
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
Do you remember her?

444
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She has been to Plum Village
quite a few times,

445
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and she has spoken quite a few times
to young Wake Up groups

446
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that were here
when we had a Wake Up retreats.

447
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She has come with her daughter.

448
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And she loves Plum Village.

449
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But when she was doing the work,

450
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I emailed her to just check
if she was Okay that I share this story.

451
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because when she was
in the middle of her work

452
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of bringing together these countries

453
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for the Paris, they call it,

454
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is it COP 21? Yes.

455
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
COP 24 is going on right now in Poland.

456
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So it is a momentous thing
that she achieved, and it sets,

457
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
gave everybody quite a sense of Okay,

458
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
at least these countries coming together,

459
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
there is a certain sangha harmony
in the world to take climate change

460
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as an issue to really do something.
And it was a great start that was -

461
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In all of the other previous times,
we couldn't get to the starting block.

462
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So it was a wonderful thing
she was able to achieve,

463
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and she did it with Thay's teachings.
And she practised listening.

464
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She said that was the main factor
that helped to get to that.

465
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This listening to really understanding
what was the situation,

466
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
what was the obstacles
for these countries,