What is the hardest thing to do for Thay?
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0:02 - 0:04(Bell)
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0:07 - 0:12(Bell)
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0:33 - 0:36What is the hardest thing
that you practice? -
0:39 - 0:45That is not to allow yourself
to be overwhelmed by despair. -
0:45 - 0:48That is the hardest thing.
-
0:48 - 0:51Because when you are
overwhelmed by despair, -
0:51 - 0:55that is the worst thing
that can happen to you. -
0:57 - 1:00I remember when the war was going on.
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1:02 - 1:07We did not see the light
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1:10 - 1:12at the end of the tunnel.
-
1:12 - 1:17It seemed that the war
would go on and on forever. -
1:18 - 1:22The young people
came and asked: -
1:22 - 1:24'Dear Thay,
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1:24 - 1:28do you think that
the war will end soon?' -
1:31 - 1:34It is very difficult to answer.
-
1:34 - 1:38Because you have not seen the light
at the end of the tunnel. -
1:39 - 1:41But if you say: 'I don't know',
-
1:42 - 1:51then you water
the seed of despair in them. -
1:55 - 2:00So Thay had to
breathe in and out a few times -
2:01 - 2:03and then what he said was:
-
2:03 - 2:04'Dear friends,
-
2:05 - 2:08the Buddha said
that every thing is impermanent. -
2:08 - 2:12The war should be impermanent also.
-
2:12 - 2:14It should end some day.
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2:15 - 2:18Let us continue to work for peace.'
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2:19 - 2:21During the war,
-
2:22 - 2:27we, young nuns and monks,
and lay practicioners -
2:27 - 2:31we organized the School of
Youth for Social Service -
2:32 - 2:37like the Peace Corps
created by John F. Kennedy. -
2:38 - 2:41We went into the war zone
and we helped the wounded people. -
2:44 - 2:49We helped create refugee centers,
-
2:49 - 2:54we gave them a chance
to go back to normal life. -
2:56 - 3:01We rebuilt the villages
that had been bombed. -
3:04 - 3:07There was a village called Tra Loc
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3:07 - 3:11not very far from the demilitarized zone
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3:12 - 3:14separating North and South.
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3:15 - 3:20The village of Tra Loc was bombed,
completely destroyed. -
3:21 - 3:24Our young social workers,
-
3:24 - 3:27including monks and nuns
and lay practitioners, -
3:27 - 3:31they had rebuilt the village.
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3:32 - 3:35But it was bombed again
and destroyed again. -
3:37 - 3:41And our social workers wired us
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3:42 - 3:46and asked whether
they should rebuild it. -
3:46 - 3:49We said: 'Rebuild it'.
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3:49 - 3:51And we rebuilt it.
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3:51 - 3:54And it was bombed again.
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3:56 - 3:57Four times.
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3:58 - 4:00If we gave up,
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4:02 - 4:05that would create a feeling of despair.
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4:05 - 4:11That is why we kept
rebuilding it and rebuilding it. -
4:12 - 4:16So the hardest thing is
not to lose your hope, -
4:16 - 4:19not to give up, to despair.
-
4:19 - 4:22That is the hardest thing.
-
4:22 - 4:26We have gone through
two wars like that. -
4:28 - 4:33We saw French soldiers came,
killed and get killed. -
4:35 - 4:38We saw young Americans came
and killed and get killed. -
4:39 - 4:4450.000 young Americans
were killed in Vietnam. -
4:45 - 4:51Hundred of thousands of them were wounded
-
4:53 - 4:57and many had to be cared
by psychotherapists and so on. -
4:57 - 5:02In a situation of
utmost suffering like that -
5:02 - 5:06if we don´t have a practice
we cannot survive. -
5:07 - 5:10We practice in such a way
-
5:10 - 5:17that we can preserve
our hope and our compassion. -
5:25 - 5:31When the journalists
asked us questions about that, -
5:32 - 5:37about how do we felt
about young Americans coming -
5:40 - 5:44and killed and died in Vietnam,
-
5:44 - 5:48we said: 'They are victims,
we don't hate them. -
5:49 - 5:54They are victims of a kind of policy
that is not very intelligent. -
5:57 - 6:00A policy based on fear.
-
6:04 - 6:11Fear of the taking by the communists
of the whole South East Asia. -
6:16 - 6:18They are victims.
-
6:18 - 6:21They have to come here
to kill and to die.' -
6:21 - 6:24You understand,
so you are not angry at them. -
6:27 - 6:35In 1966, Thay was invited
to come to America. -
6:37 - 6:46He had the chance to talk
to the American people about the war. -
6:48 - 6:53There was a very angry young American
-
6:54 - 6:58who stood up
and told Thay this: -
7:00 - 7:02'You should not be here.
-
7:02 - 7:08You should go back and fight
American imperialism in Vietnam. -
7:09 - 7:13You have to kill
the American soldiers there.' -
7:14 - 7:16Thay's answer was:
-
7:16 - 7:20'I thought that
the root of the war is here. -
7:20 - 7:22It is not in Vietnam.
-
7:23 - 7:26The young Americans
who came in Vietnam -
7:26 - 7:29they are just victims.
-
7:29 - 7:31So I had to come here
and tell the American people -
7:32 - 7:36that this war
is not helping Vietnam at all.' -
7:37 - 7:42So without that kind of
understanding and compassion, -
7:44 - 7:48you will lose yourself
in anger and hate. -
7:49 - 7:51And you will not be able
to say things like that -
7:51 - 7:54and help the American people understand
-
7:54 - 7:59and change the policy.
-
8:06 - 8:13There was a peace movement in America
oposing the war in Vietnam. -
8:22 - 8:25As people demanded peace
and did not get it, -
8:26 - 8:28they got very angry.
-
8:29 - 8:32So there was a lot of anger
in the peace movement. -
8:34 - 8:37And when Thay toured America
and talked to these groups, -
8:37 - 8:40Thay said: 'If you have
a lot of anger in you -
8:41 - 8:42you cannot touch the peace.
-
8:43 - 8:45You have to be peace
before you can do peace. -
8:48 - 8:51Understanding is very important.
-
8:51 - 8:55You need to know
how to write a love letter -
8:56 - 8:59to your president, to your Congress,
-
9:00 - 9:04and tell them that
you don't support the war. -
9:04 - 9:08If you write a strong, angry letter,
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9:08 - 9:10they will not read it.'
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9:10 - 9:13Thay was able to speak like that
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9:14 - 9:18and help somehow to end the war.
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9:23 - 9:25Understanding suffering
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9:28 - 9:32helps compassion to be born in you.
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9:34 - 9:38You will be free
from despair, from anger, -
9:38 - 9:41and you can help the cause of peace.
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9:42 - 9:44(Bell)
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9:47 - 9:54(Bell)
- Title:
- What is the hardest thing to do for Thay?
- Description:
-
Thay answers questions on 21 June 2014. Question 6
Topics: mindfulness, Buddhism, Thich Nhat Hanh, Thay, Blue Cliff, teenagers, teens, despair, Vietnam, war, peace, school of youth for social service, compassion, activism
- Video Language:
- English
- Duration:
- 10:19
Panwaree Rattanalerthada edited English subtitles for What is the hardest thing to do for Thay? | ||
Bego Laka edited English subtitles for What is the hardest thing to do for Thay? | ||
Bego Laka edited English subtitles for What is the hardest thing to do for Thay? |