(Half Bell)
(Bell)
Dear Thay, I never met my father,
so there will always be this longing I have to meet him.
You learn here to recognize our grandfather or our grandmother or father
in ourselves.
So my question is: how do I practice to see my father
when I never met him or have seen him?
There are people who see their father every day,
but have not really met him.
I mean that there are couples: there are fathers and sons, fathers and daughters
who see each other every day, but there is no communication between them.
They see the other person, yes, but they have not really met the other person
because there is no communication; there is no love;
there is no understanding.
So, in that case,
to see a father every day
that's not true happiness
because there is no understanding, no love.
But if you practice looking deeply, meditation,
you will see that you are the continuation of your father.
And this is the truth.
You are not only the continuation of your father, but you ARE your father.
You cannot take your father out of you.
Look at the cloud in the sky.
The cloud may become the rain
and the rain may become the tea.
And when you look at the tea you can see the cloud.
It's not so difficult to see the cloud in the tea.
So when you look into yourself
is not difficult to see your father in you.
You are not only
the continuation of your father,
you ARE your father.
The rain IS the cloud.
And the tea IS the rain and the cloud.
So the appearance is not the most important thing.
It is the content.
So if you can smile with joy and peace,
your father is smiling with joy and peace at the same time.
And you carry your father always with you.
When you make a step that is full of peace and joy,
your father is making this step at the same time with you.
And you are closer, closer to your father than you might have thought.
And you can talk to your father at any time.
My own father, he has not died
and he walks with me every day.
He breathes with me every day and I talk to him.
The cloud has not died.
It is now a new form: the rain or the tea.
So you can talk to the cloud, and you can drink your cloud.
And meditation can help us see things deeply like that.
And when we are able to see things like that we can remove
all kind of afflictions, and regret, and sadness, and suffering.
(Half Bell)
(Bell)