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Dear respected Thay, 
dear community,

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today is today's day.

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It's not old and it's not gonna be new.

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We give it a date,
just to have fun with it and celebrate.

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In Plum Village, we celebrate everything,
including today's day.

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Today's day, Thay loves to celebrate that.

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The thirty-first,
the 31st of December.

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We'll be reflecting a little bit 
on our calendar, our dates,

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our watches,

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these things that we make up 
so that we can work together.

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It's kind of artificial,

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especially when you have to change time,
the seasons,

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I think it's functional,
but it's a little bit annoying.

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Here in Plum Village, 
we follow the bell.

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When you hear the bell, 
just gather, and go.

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The monks and the nuns,

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we sometimes forget what time it is,
what date it is,

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and sometimes even the year.

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Well, some of us do.

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We live according to the leaves,
autumn leaves, grass,

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coldness, the warmth,
the moon,

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We tell our time based a little bit
on what happens in nature.

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The moss starts to be different,
the color, the leaves,

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the animals, the different birds,

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come around late spring,
you hear a cuckoo bird,

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[sounds of cuckoo]

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and you know, you don't even have to
call what season,

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you just know, "Ah, that's a....."

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and we also see the farmers,

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so we keep time a little bit based
on the actual vines, the grape vines,

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the cycle of making wine.

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and it's quite quick.

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Now, as the new year comes,
they will start to come out,

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and start to clip,

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and soon, it will [phuip],
and then leave 1, and then...

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and all of a sudden, spring,
and then summer,

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so we actually, instead of
looking at a calendar,

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we look at the grape vines,

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as we drive back and forth
between New Hamlet and Lower Hamlet.

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And also the sunflowers,
the wheat,

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So it's a kind of rhythm
that we find here when we live here,

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year-round and many years.

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It's a very natural rhythm

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So every time we have to do this
'changing the clock',

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it just feels very,
"gosh, who made this up?"

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We also have retreat-seasons,

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summer is where we have our
festival-season,

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children come

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and many, many people 
from many countries come.

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We have spring and autumn,

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when the monks and nuns 
fly away like birds

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they go to different countries,

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and they share the practice
with many people around the world.

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And then, winter time.

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We copy the trees, 
we let go of our leaves

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and we come back to what is most essential

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so we watch nature,

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and we, in a way, 
mimick nature.

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Not just the time but --
it's a habit

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It's a lot of wisdom.

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You live around nature 
and you pay attention

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even a little flower pot,
we take care of it.

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Year round, you begin to understand
something about that flower

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These are the kind of rhythms

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that we are used to in Plum Village.

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So, when it comes New Year,

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we do kind of pretend 
"ok, let's call it New Year"

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we even have a
non-alcoholic kind of...

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and we celebrate you and..,

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but luckily we don't have a hang-over

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The monks, we celebrate,
we go in a brother's room,

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and we gather and we drink,

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yes, we do drink.

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But it's so nice, we get all the brothers,
and we're aware of each other,

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and we're aware of our happiness,
we're not lost in some kind of

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mental confusion.

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But we do laugh a lot,
and we do celebrate,

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so it does look like we're drunk,

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I call it 'Dharma drunk'

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So I share with you a little bit 
about some of the things that happen here,

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and it's nice,
it's nice to celebrate,

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to make a moment special,
and call it 'New Year' and get together

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and we celebrate our life together.

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And we're very happy that 
you've come to join us

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and support and be with us

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to gather this energy

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When I lived in Deer Park Monastery,

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we also celebrate Christmas and New Year's

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and sometimes we get news

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of all the tragedy that happens
around this holiday season

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It's quite sad to find this kind of news

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especially when people celebrating 
the New Year, their life, their family

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accidents because of alcohol

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as well as people become very violent

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so this is something for you,

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to come here to generate the peace 
and calm and compassion,

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it's wonderful for the world.

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You're not just coming here to take refuge
from all the craziness,

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but you're also here 
to send that energy out

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for those people who are unfortunate

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I know there are many teachers here,
gathered with us this week,

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I just want to acknowledge 
and thank you for being teachers.

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Our teacher loves teachers,

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he even wrote a calligraphy
that has teachers on it.

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He doesn't write 'happy businessmen
can change the world'

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He writes 
'happy teachers change the world'

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He doesn't write 
'happy monks change the world'

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Not that we're jealous or envy you,
but, I have to say,

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our teacher understands the importance
of what you're doing,

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your dedication, 
although you might not feel that

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from society and from other people,

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but how you affect the student, is..

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you're in such a position 
to really transmit compassion,

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love, peace, 
patience, kindness.

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We're also aware of this.

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In a way, monks and nuns,

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we're also in the role of 
having to hold a class

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or hold an audience,

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so, how we emit ourselves is important.

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So, for you to dedicate yourself 
for one week, to come here,

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to take care of yourself,

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so that you can take care of your student,

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I know it's tough,

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I have a brother and a sister-in-law
who are teachers,

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and it's very hard.

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They sometimes want 
to change careers or something,

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because it's so difficult,

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but luckily, they continue to affect.

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My brother's very patient, very kind,

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so I keep encouraging him,

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and I'm very grateful that he's a teacher.

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So today I teach a little bit
surrounding the theme of renewal

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I think there's a kind of tradition
around New Year's

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to have an aspiration.

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People make fun of it,
they say you have an aspiration,

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but the rest of the year
you don't remember it.

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That's what I remember

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For me, when it comes 
to this time of year

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or the season of winter,

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it's a comtemplation I like to touch,

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a practice I like to touch,

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it's a renewal,
I have to renew my practice.

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So this is the wisdom of nature,

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it knows how to renew itself.

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You look at any living thing,

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a plant,
grass,

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it has a cycle renewal

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and we, as human beings,
as animals,

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we also are part of that natural system.

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So we need to find a way 
to renew ourselves.

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This is something we've lost touch with

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as we've become very organized 
and very civilized

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We have many things 
that try to keep us very ...

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I was telling my brother 
about the alarm clock,

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it's such an artificial thing.

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It wakes you up, it yells at you,

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and you wake up..

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so we train ourselves 
with these kind of rhythms.

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You live around the monastery 
long enough...,

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some of us can find a rhythm,

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and we wake up naturally
with the earth and with the day.

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So this is the subject of renewal

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When we look at our society,
I think, many of you are here,

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and you might agree that the way 
we've organized our society

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is a little bit off.

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I don't know, 
maybe that's why you're here

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this is kind of like a refuge.

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Many of you are stressed,
at lunch time on arrival day

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and the lay friends who just came,
stand up to share why they're here

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the monks, 
we love to hear it,

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because we say 
"wow, we're in the right place"

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So you remind us every time

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the way we organize our society is,

174
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we have to re-look at it.

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We've separated our families

176
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every one is living in little pockets,

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there's no community.

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So we isolate ourselves,

179
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as well as the busy-ness,

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the scheduling of our society.

181
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I come home and visit,
and I see the families now

182
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they organize even the weekend 
for their children,

183
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you know, they have soccer, 
piano, ballet,

184
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extra reading.

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Even the weekend, the mother 
has to drive the child to this place,

186
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and the father drives
the other child to that place.

187
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So even when they're little,
4 or 6 years old, they're already....

188
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you know, very quick.

189
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So our life, 
the way we've organized is quite..

190
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we're always in a rush,

191
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and we feel like 
we don't have enough time.

192
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I remember when I was working 
in the city of Los Angeles,

193
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and I would see a friend,
a colleague at the grocery store,

194
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and we don't talk to each other,

195
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but we say "email me"
or "see you later",

196
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"I'll catch you later!"

197
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And I never forget that,

198
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it's a habit, 
you see someone in the street,

199
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you say "I love to get ahold of"

200
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"let's, let's have a ...."

201
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You make an appointment, later,

202
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rather than actually meeting them.

203
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Do you know this? Yeah.

204
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That's the city...

205
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You feel like you don't have enough time,

206
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it's like "I don't have time for you 
right now, but let's email each other",

207
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or now, "let's text".

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So the energy is quite..,
we feel like we don't have enough time,

209
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and this is a real tragedy,

210
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to go very quick

211
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and you'll be in your '60s 
and '70s and '80s,

212
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so this is something we need to look at.

213
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I'm not saying to change it now,

214
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I'm just reflecting.

215
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We have to look deeply 
where we're at, as a society

216
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and not just to accept it.

217
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So this is a kind of suffering
and we need to look at it.

218
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We also have to look at the way we...

219
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.. kind of lost touch with 
a kind of spiritual life.

220
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Most of our year, we schedule it

221
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towards means of making a living, working,

222
00:17:09,551 --> 00:17:15,779
even going on vacation,
it's a kind of work, it's busy

223
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and you don't even find relief
or relaxation from that.

224
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I see this in families, even in vacation.

225
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So, coming to Plum Village,

226
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you're able to touch something different,
a different order,

227
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a different way of organizing.

228
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This is something that Thay envisioned
for Plum Village,

229
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a refuge for people,
to come and to renew themselves.

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First he envisioned it 
for the social workers

231
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that were helping him 
during the time of war.

232
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He envisioned a place he called
not Plum Village, but "Persimmon Village".

233
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He knew that you needed to come back
and to take care of your spirit

234
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The church used to do that,
and the temples used to do that,

235
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and we need to renew this,

236
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so that it becomes a place 
where people can find peace,

237
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find compassion,

238
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so that they can take care 
of their suffering

239
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This dimension in us,

240
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because we've become too, 
kind of, religious

241
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even in the Buddhist temple.

242
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I grew up, young, in my youth,
I went to the temple,

243
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but it was just like Sunday temple,

244
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like Sunday church,

245
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you go,
you do your thing,

246
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and then, you know,

247
00:19:05,951 --> 00:19:07,786
you're a good Buddhist,

248
00:19:09,102 --> 00:19:12,769
and then you go eat 
in a restaurant

249
00:19:13,958 --> 00:19:16,439
I only went because my parents said

250
00:19:16,537 --> 00:19:18,658
"I'll take you to a restaurant afterwards"

251
00:19:21,831 --> 00:19:24,561
And we ate beef stew, you know.

252
00:19:27,116 --> 00:19:31,608
So that's for me, 
as a young man I didn't understand

253
00:19:36,017 --> 00:19:39,227
what the temple was helping because..

254
00:19:39,252 --> 00:19:42,862
it was not helping my mother,
it was not helping my father get along.

255
00:19:44,317 --> 00:19:49,755
It was not helping them 
touch a deeper cause,

256
00:19:49,896 --> 00:19:51,394
a deeper meaning in their life,

257
00:19:51,764 --> 00:19:54,179
and how to actually deal 
with each other, too.

258
00:19:56,581 --> 00:20:00,699
So the role of a spiritual guide,
a spiritual community

259
00:20:00,987 --> 00:20:03,938
has lost its place in our society.

260
00:20:06,819 --> 00:20:09,002
Now we have therapists,

261
00:20:10,658 --> 00:20:13,161
we have practice centers.

262
00:20:13,455 --> 00:20:16,163
Luckily, now we're beginning 
to have practice centers.

263
00:20:17,041 --> 00:20:20,696
I don't know much about the Jewish
or the Christian tradition,

264
00:20:20,696 --> 00:20:23,881
whether they have practice centers,
I imagine they do,

265
00:20:25,766 --> 00:20:30,302
but at least I'm aware of places 
where people can go and retreat,

266
00:20:31,776 --> 00:20:35,627
and find their spirit, their heart again,

267
00:20:36,637 --> 00:20:38,718
renew themselves.

268
00:20:39,014 --> 00:20:40,706
Renew their spirit.

269
00:20:48,258 --> 00:20:51,419
So the way we have divided

270
00:20:52,927 --> 00:20:57,009
the spiritual practice
and our other pursuits,

271
00:20:58,077 --> 00:20:59,531
is a kind of tragedy.

272
00:20:59,968 --> 00:21:02,768
You hear the word 'secular',
secularizing things,

273
00:21:03,946 --> 00:21:05,729
or separating things,

274
00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:11,236
and we have to look at this

275
00:21:12,566 --> 00:21:17,082
We have to find a way 
to touch a deeper spirituality

276
00:21:17,096 --> 00:21:18,913
that is not religious.

277
00:21:21,081 --> 00:21:24,964
I think you know what I mean
if you read some of Thay's books.

278
00:21:25,779 --> 00:21:27,731
And this is Thay's whole life,

279
00:21:28,348 --> 00:21:31,868
trying to extract 
from the Buddhist teaching

280
00:21:33,419 --> 00:21:39,149
and bring out the practices
and the teachings that can help people.

281
00:21:40,350 --> 00:21:43,398
No matter what background you come from.

282
00:21:45,323 --> 00:21:49,488
And when I found Thay,
he helped me find my heart,

283
00:21:50,355 --> 00:21:52,733
my spirit,
find my roots,

284
00:21:54,465 --> 00:21:59,160
and I would say, 
Thay saved me from being lost,

285
00:22:00,824 --> 00:22:04,262
being a "hungry ghost", they call it,

286
00:22:05,107 --> 00:22:07,114
always looking for things,

287
00:22:07,493 --> 00:22:09,978
sensual pleasure, looking for fame,

288
00:22:10,334 --> 00:22:16,251
looking for things, cds,
computers, laptops, gadgets...,

289
00:22:17,828 --> 00:22:21,066
partnerships, relationships,

290
00:22:22,566 --> 00:22:23,416
praise,

291
00:22:23,606 --> 00:22:28,387
these things don't fill the heart 
of a hungry ghost.

292
00:22:30,924 --> 00:22:36,442
So when I found Thay's teachings,
he taught me the practice of coming back,

293
00:22:36,442 --> 00:22:38,668
and touching our suffering.

294
00:22:38,955 --> 00:22:41,674
Breathing,
being with our suffering.

295
00:22:43,413 --> 00:22:49,575
He's the one that helped me stop,
recognize and accept my suffering.

296
00:22:51,844 --> 00:22:54,036
I remember crying,

297
00:22:54,045 --> 00:22:57,379
many of you probably remember 
yourself crying, too

298
00:22:57,379 --> 00:22:59,808
and don't know why, 
but it just keeps coming

299
00:23:01,119 --> 00:23:03,399
As a young man, 
it was the first time I cried

300
00:23:03,494 --> 00:23:06,134
because I hold it too long, you know..?

301
00:23:08,989 --> 00:23:13,204
I think it's something 
many of us have touched

302
00:23:17,747 --> 00:23:21,055
I think many of you here,
you've touched that.

303
00:23:21,747 --> 00:23:23,547
This is something wonderful.

304
00:23:30,097 --> 00:23:34,885
In the theme of renewal,
we also need to renew our practice.

305
00:23:36,807 --> 00:23:41,233
So now that we're here and have come 
to the Sangha, to the Dharma,

306
00:23:41,615 --> 00:23:45,627
to the practice, through a Youtube-video,
a book or something,

307
00:23:46,426 --> 00:23:48,678
we have touched a little bit 
of the practice

308
00:23:49,714 --> 00:23:51,497
But we need to continue,

309
00:23:52,891 --> 00:23:54,889
this is very important,

310
00:23:56,002 --> 00:23:58,979
because everything is impermanent,

311
00:23:59,049 --> 00:24:01,037
your practice is impermanent.

312
00:24:03,350 --> 00:24:06,758
We have many new monks and nuns,
just ordained,

313
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,865
you look into their faces,
they're very bright,

314
00:24:10,885 --> 00:24:12,595
they're like a new flower.

315
00:24:13,431 --> 00:24:15,363
They're just - open.

316
00:24:16,283 --> 00:24:19,903
Hasn't fully bloomed and is ready to wilt,
but is just...

317
00:24:21,491 --> 00:24:23,774
that is the beginner's mind.

318
00:24:24,809 --> 00:24:29,188
That is the mind of love,
that is the mind of freshness.

319
00:24:30,170 --> 00:24:33,129
And as a practitioner,
when you've first read that book,

320
00:24:33,206 --> 00:24:35,583
or that chapter, 
or you saw that video,

321
00:24:38,515 --> 00:24:41,316
it's that kind of ..,,
very invigoring,

322
00:24:41,522 --> 00:24:43,254
very fresh and it gives you, "wow",

323
00:24:44,996 --> 00:24:47,140
Or when you've found relief 
from your suffering

324
00:24:48,122 --> 00:24:51,966
it lightens your shoulder 
and you feel more open to your loved ones

325
00:24:52,441 --> 00:24:54,129
to your father, to your mother,

326
00:24:56,484 --> 00:25:00,392
that is the beginner's mind,
that's the mind of love.

327
00:25:02,125 --> 00:25:04,641
And that also is impermanent

328
00:25:06,393 --> 00:25:11,299
So the practice is to learn from nature
and learn how to renew it

329
00:25:15,476 --> 00:25:21,021
So, the breathing is one way
we can renew our practice

330
00:25:22,383 --> 00:25:23,722
We take a breath.

331
00:25:25,797 --> 00:25:30,525
You see, in the very moment
we can refresh

332
00:25:30,742 --> 00:25:34,967
Let's just take one breath right now
in mindfulness

333
00:25:36,989 --> 00:25:39,540
and you see the effect on your mind.

334
00:25:41,433 --> 00:25:43,006
One deep breath,

335
00:25:44,693 --> 00:25:46,593
we take a moment,

336
00:26:18,106 --> 00:26:22,154
So, when we come to the monastery,
we learn a practice

337
00:26:22,189 --> 00:26:24,739
and we learn how to renew
our practice.

338
00:26:28,272 --> 00:26:33,675
Walking meditation is another way
for us to renew our practice,

339
00:26:36,198 --> 00:26:37,540
how to....

340
00:26:38,618 --> 00:26:44,439
as we practice, as the years go by, 
you need to refresh it,

341
00:26:46,429 --> 00:26:50,400
and you have to find ways 
to make it fresh again,

342
00:26:51,556 --> 00:26:55,174
very important,
we say "make it novel,"

343
00:26:55,405 --> 00:26:57,362
Thay is the master,

344
00:26:57,693 --> 00:27:02,833
he'd always surprise the monks
by changing a little bit of this or that.

345
00:27:03,963 --> 00:27:06,270
So we need to remember that.

346
00:27:06,826 --> 00:27:09,736
So if you already have 
some sitting practice,

347
00:27:09,743 --> 00:27:13,974
don't do it just out of routine.

348
00:27:14,155 --> 00:27:18,155
When you sit, have clear intentions,
sit, and bring freshness,

349
00:27:19,093 --> 00:27:21,780
bring the mind of a beginner again.

350
00:27:22,731 --> 00:27:25,141
We have to find ways like that,

351
00:27:25,263 --> 00:27:27,449
with breathing, with walking

352
00:27:30,685 --> 00:27:36,216
and our body, we need to find ways
to renew our body,

353
00:27:37,235 --> 00:27:40,780
to pay attention to the rhythms
of our body,

354
00:27:41,302 --> 00:27:43,342
so mindfulness, aware of your body,

355
00:27:43,581 --> 00:27:45,784
when you're sitting or meditating,

356
00:27:46,124 --> 00:27:49,562
but also, aware of the rhythms of it,

357
00:27:51,288 --> 00:27:55,932
when it's in stress,
when is it in stress?

358
00:27:56,835 --> 00:27:59,563
when are you rushing?

359
00:28:00,265 --> 00:28:02,629
Our society has trained us so,

360
00:28:03,594 --> 00:28:07,000
that we've become disconnected 
from our body.

361
00:28:10,502 --> 00:28:12,701
Some of you, who stay here long,

362
00:28:13,090 --> 00:28:16,775
you see, you can tell newcomers
to Plum Village,

363
00:28:17,717 --> 00:28:19,539
just by the way they move.

364
00:28:21,778 --> 00:28:23,255
The way they open the door,

365
00:28:23,632 --> 00:28:26,112
the way they put the cup down 
in the tearoom,

366
00:28:29,055 --> 00:28:33,742
or the way they actually plug in
their headphones,

367
00:28:40,371 --> 00:28:43,971
because we have an energy in our body.

368
00:28:45,060 --> 00:28:47,198
So learning how to be in your body,

369
00:28:52,786 --> 00:28:57,034
when you're working on your computer,
when you're walking,

370
00:28:59,377 --> 00:29:01,388
when you're making a cup of tea,

371
00:29:03,585 --> 00:29:08,142
be aware, are you relaxed?
Are you tight?

372
00:29:11,359 --> 00:29:12,989
Another way of looking at it,

373
00:29:13,015 --> 00:29:15,397
are you spending more energy 
than you need to?

374
00:29:16,710 --> 00:29:20,916
That question right there 
has guided my practice.

375
00:29:22,159 --> 00:29:24,696
Now, when I'm washing something,

376
00:29:24,696 --> 00:29:27,393
I mean, do you need 
to use all that energy?

377
00:29:29,630 --> 00:29:31,745
Do you know what I'm talking about?

378
00:29:34,292 --> 00:29:37,382
One I love to share is, 
when you brush your teeth.

379
00:29:39,821 --> 00:29:42,371
I mean, there's only a few teeth,
and they're so small.

380
00:29:43,833 --> 00:29:47,814
And your brush is this small,
but you use enough energy

381
00:29:47,892 --> 00:29:50,074
to drive a crane, you know?

382
00:29:51,617 --> 00:29:55,514
So ask yourself, am I using 
more energy than I need to?

383
00:29:56,649 --> 00:29:58,687
I hear some people walk...

384
00:29:59,344 --> 00:30:01,302
listen to their footsteps.

385
00:30:01,907 --> 00:30:03,830
Do you need to use that much energy?

386
00:30:04,834 --> 00:30:07,696
[crugh, crugh, crugh, crugh, crugh, crugh]

387
00:30:09,659 --> 00:30:11,464
sorry, I have special effects!

388
00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:21,210
I say this, because 
I've wasted a lot of energy,

389
00:30:22,750 --> 00:30:25,434
Especially walking, and...

390
00:30:27,437 --> 00:30:29,806
and you get a back ache 
and you get bone problems

391
00:30:29,844 --> 00:30:32,035
because of your posture 
and the way you walk.

392
00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:38,423
So the practice of mindfulness
can help us be aware of our body

393
00:30:38,543 --> 00:30:41,203
and when it moves,
ask yourself:

394
00:30:42,801 --> 00:30:45,597
"Do I need to use all this energy?"

395
00:30:48,381 --> 00:30:52,447
That's a wonderful way of guiding it,
because we love to be efficient,

396
00:30:52,966 --> 00:30:57,589
so I'm making it so that
you have more motivation

397
00:30:58,191 --> 00:30:59,907
You don't want to waste energy,

398
00:30:59,919 --> 00:31:01,855
especially when you're a teacher, right?

399
00:31:01,956 --> 00:31:05,289
You know, when you're correcting something
you don't have to go <i>phuit</i>

400
00:31:06,819 --> 00:31:11,520
You just use 10%,
you don't have to use 80%!

401
00:31:13,689 --> 00:31:17,970
So I'm watering, 
I'm challenging your efficiency

402
00:31:18,809 --> 00:31:20,743
Humans love to be efficient

403
00:31:23,607 --> 00:31:26,767
Mindfulness helps us not to waste energy.

404
00:31:29,503 --> 00:31:31,432
So, slowing down helps.

405
00:31:32,159 --> 00:31:35,365
Slowing down is not 
the perfect and right way

406
00:31:35,767 --> 00:31:37,637
but slowing down helps.

407
00:31:38,208 --> 00:31:41,909
Because our society has pushed us
and we run

408
00:31:43,924 --> 00:31:46,742
Not just with our body but with our minds.

409
00:31:46,915 --> 00:31:48,936
So when we come here and we walk,

410
00:31:49,438 --> 00:31:52,477
when we do something,
just slow it down first.

411
00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:57,065
And when you begin to have 
more awareness and concentration,

412
00:31:57,377 --> 00:31:59,657
then you do fast, slow,

413
00:32:00,564 --> 00:32:02,563
you don't waste energy.

414
00:32:03,940 --> 00:32:05,770
So this is another way of saying,

415
00:32:05,839 --> 00:32:07,269
just relax!

416
00:32:09,432 --> 00:32:11,448
You don't need to try so hard.

417
00:32:12,550 --> 00:32:15,079
So this is a body-practice

418
00:32:26,145 --> 00:32:28,262
One thing we also need to,

419
00:32:28,528 --> 00:32:31,757
these are habits we need to relook at

420
00:32:33,604 --> 00:32:37,716
One practice I like to look at
is my habits.

421
00:32:39,889 --> 00:32:42,140
We are, they say, creatures of habits.

422
00:32:42,977 --> 00:32:44,804
That's great, because it's true.

423
00:32:45,951 --> 00:32:48,572
So we have to look at
what kind of habits do we have?

424
00:32:50,246 --> 00:32:52,640
and when we look at other people's habits,

425
00:32:53,361 --> 00:32:55,252
we begin to see mine too.

426
00:32:57,118 --> 00:33:00,699
So we have a habit of 
non-stop thinking,

427
00:33:00,699 --> 00:33:03,709
Thay would say NST,
Non-Stop Thinking.

428
00:33:03,709 --> 00:33:06,207
Thay made a radio show out of it.

429
00:33:07,530 --> 00:33:10,316
He said:"Turn off your NST radio",

430
00:33:13,263 --> 00:33:17,485
it is constantly emitting radio-waves,
thinking.

431
00:33:19,038 --> 00:33:20,893
So when we come to the practice center,

432
00:33:21,548 --> 00:33:25,316
the practice helps us 
to just rest our thinking.

433
00:33:26,590 --> 00:33:29,760
This is another area 
where we waste a lot of our energy.

434
00:33:31,588 --> 00:33:34,628
Thinking is ok, but there's a time for it

435
00:33:35,090 --> 00:33:37,636
and there's a time to just be..

436
00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:44,919
so we're so much trained 
to always be thinking about something,

437
00:33:46,908 --> 00:33:49,556
so when we meditate, when we walk,
when we sit,

438
00:33:49,736 --> 00:33:51,870
when we enjoy a cup of tea,

439
00:33:52,274 --> 00:33:55,427
just be present with it 
and don't think about it.

440
00:33:56,488 --> 00:33:59,758
You know, "where is this from,
what kind of, oh, you know like,

441
00:34:00,081 --> 00:34:04,421
what kind of ingredients,
is this bio, it comes from where?

442
00:34:10,673 --> 00:34:14,168
It's nice to be aware, but sometimes
that's just a habit.

443
00:34:14,401 --> 00:34:17,111
You know, everything you look at,
you have to know exactly

444
00:34:17,355 --> 00:34:20,796
where everything is, and you have to,
to constantly...

445
00:34:20,898 --> 00:34:22,818
that's a habit that we have.

446
00:34:24,081 --> 00:34:25,592
It's useful sometimes,

447
00:34:25,637 --> 00:34:28,444
but most of the time 
it wastes a lot of energy.

448
00:34:30,552 --> 00:34:36,068
So renewing, reviving that habit.

449
00:34:39,256 --> 00:34:41,685
Being aware of these habits.

450
00:34:43,450 --> 00:34:45,973
We have a habit of reacting

451
00:34:48,220 --> 00:34:52,413
The practice, 
mindfulness can help us react

452
00:34:54,424 --> 00:34:57,489
Someone drops something
in the dining-hall,

453
00:34:57,630 --> 00:34:58,952
maybe tonight,

454
00:35:00,028 --> 00:35:01,581
follow your breathing

455
00:35:05,724 --> 00:35:07,383
and then you can see your thinking mind

456
00:35:07,695 --> 00:35:10,606
"ah, I'm gonna find out who, what family,
who is that?"

457
00:35:17,862 --> 00:35:21,630
But what happens when you close your eyes
and you follow your breathing...

458
00:35:23,304 --> 00:35:25,728
you're free from having to think.

459
00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:29,542
And so, you know, 
"oh, it's that woman again, jeez"

460
00:35:32,581 --> 00:35:36,186
you see? waste of energy. 
React!

461
00:35:36,646 --> 00:35:41,802
This is a good place to train to react
because you get all kinds of people here.

462
00:35:42,825 --> 00:35:44,674
And they come from different cultures,

463
00:35:44,750 --> 00:35:46,629
and they have a different approach,

464
00:35:46,713 --> 00:35:50,084
so this is the U.N. of Mindfulness.

465
00:35:51,847 --> 00:35:53,356
This is a very...

466
00:35:54,652 --> 00:35:57,719
"you might like to do it that way,
but watch out!"

467
00:35:59,443 --> 00:36:01,228
So, when you hear the bell,

468
00:36:01,608 --> 00:36:04,039
it helps us stop and follow our breathing

469
00:36:05,323 --> 00:36:08,087
It's to help us train to not react.

470
00:36:10,188 --> 00:36:12,759
Come back, 
enjoy the freedom

471
00:36:13,723 --> 00:36:15,402
of not having to look..

472
00:36:18,403 --> 00:36:19,671
wow!

473
00:36:21,672 --> 00:36:24,214
That is a freedom that you have

474
00:36:25,312 --> 00:36:27,173
we don't have to react

475
00:36:31,255 --> 00:36:35,027
We hear a sound,
we don't have to think

476
00:36:37,549 --> 00:36:39,521
that is a freedom.

477
00:36:41,797 --> 00:36:43,757
This is something that can be trained,

478
00:36:44,110 --> 00:36:47,118
that can be your tool.

479
00:36:49,093 --> 00:36:52,445
And as teachers, you need to train this.

480
00:36:53,078 --> 00:36:56,126
You need to come to a monastery
many, many times,

481
00:36:57,774 --> 00:37:00,400
or train at home with friends,

482
00:37:00,891 --> 00:37:03,440
because as a teacher 
you're under a lot of stress,

483
00:37:03,774 --> 00:37:06,413
not just as teachers, but as human beings

484
00:37:07,201 --> 00:37:11,568
whether you're a mother or a father,
any field you're in

485
00:37:12,732 --> 00:37:15,763
I want to have a meditation one day,

486
00:37:16,206 --> 00:37:20,757
to have people gather around a table,
in a circle,

487
00:37:21,086 --> 00:37:23,624
and then you have a cup of orange juice,

488
00:37:24,607 --> 00:37:26,660
and everyone looking 
at the cup of orange juice,

489
00:37:26,907 --> 00:37:29,059
and the table has to be really clean,

490
00:37:30,488 --> 00:37:33,042
and then I knock the orange cup over.

491
00:37:34,390 --> 00:37:36,163
And everyone just breathes...

492
00:37:40,111 --> 00:37:42,076
Wouldn't that be a great meditation?

493
00:37:42,140 --> 00:37:44,051
a kind of new, guided meditation?

494
00:37:51,058 --> 00:37:53,584
Because I learned that here, actually.

495
00:37:54,306 --> 00:37:57,898
I've never been to a place where 
when someone drops a bowl of food,

496
00:37:58,888 --> 00:38:02,922
and the monks say 
"Voilà! A flower!"

497
00:38:03,158 --> 00:38:07,344
First time I see that, I was like,
"What is wrong with this monk?"

498
00:38:09,572 --> 00:38:13,037
I was like, "Oh, they're just pretending,
they're really angry inside",

499
00:38:14,882 --> 00:38:17,640
but you see, it's true, 
many people have this habit here,

500
00:38:17,724 --> 00:38:20,009
they celebrate when something goes wrong

501
00:38:22,563 --> 00:38:26,076
and so I want to make it 
become a guided meditation.

502
00:38:27,775 --> 00:38:29,702
When something goes wrong,

503
00:38:32,037 --> 00:38:34,114
this is our society,

504
00:38:35,943 --> 00:38:38,282
they train us to react.

505
00:38:38,877 --> 00:38:41,818
You know, if you drive,
you're getting trained

506
00:38:42,616 --> 00:38:45,113
to be reactive, and to be judgmental,

507
00:38:46,013 --> 00:38:47,542
and to fight.

508
00:38:50,433 --> 00:38:52,900
I grew up in Los Angeles,
I know all about that.

509
00:38:55,270 --> 00:38:59,952
I had to make a game out of surviving
without being mean

510
00:39:01,291 --> 00:39:04,234
because the freeway makes you 
become really mean.

511
00:39:06,370 --> 00:39:08,342
See how our society is great,

512
00:39:08,993 --> 00:39:12,527
it's better than the rat-experiment,
that's terrible.

513
00:39:14,471 --> 00:39:17,078
Sorry, I'm an architect, 
I get to say that,

514
00:39:17,427 --> 00:39:19,565
I designed cities!

515
00:39:25,495 --> 00:39:28,027
Aware of this, we are very fortunate

516
00:39:28,529 --> 00:39:31,120
we have an opportunity.

517
00:39:36,432 --> 00:39:37,850
Routines, habits,

518
00:39:39,215 --> 00:39:41,854
routines, be careful of your routines,

519
00:39:44,628 --> 00:39:47,189
the clocks, the watches,

520
00:39:47,476 --> 00:39:53,128
calendars, the new, flick, touches,

521
00:39:54,714 --> 00:39:56,339
smart phones.

522
00:39:58,901 --> 00:40:01,282
They are taking over your life,

523
00:40:01,774 --> 00:40:03,613
and I just got one, so...

524
00:40:10,283 --> 00:40:16,257
I confess, the Sangha trusts me enough now
to see how I do that

525
00:40:17,775 --> 00:40:19,948
It stays right next to my bed

526
00:40:20,461 --> 00:40:23,029
and I'm learning 
to become friends with it.

527
00:40:24,546 --> 00:40:27,505
But I see, it's slowly thinking 
"come on...

528
00:40:29,575 --> 00:40:30,985
..come on!"

529
00:40:33,117 --> 00:40:34,291
It's great

530
00:40:36,738 --> 00:40:39,087
But you know 
what I'm talking about, right?

531
00:40:39,693 --> 00:40:42,443
yeah, okay, 
so I don't need to talk about that

532
00:40:46,010 --> 00:40:51,044
We're so organized, we're so efficient,
this is gonna be a good year

533
00:40:56,902 --> 00:41:00,597
(speaks Vietnamese)

534
00:41:03,807 --> 00:41:06,807
I'm just seeing what time I have to cook

535
00:41:12,550 --> 00:41:14,820
Another area we need to renew

536
00:41:15,512 --> 00:41:18,829
and to revisit and to reflect 
is our stories,

537
00:41:20,239 --> 00:41:21,463
very important.

538
00:41:22,805 --> 00:41:25,070
The stories we tell our children,

539
00:41:25,509 --> 00:41:28,108
the stories we tell our students,

540
00:41:28,184 --> 00:41:30,305
the stories we tell ourselves.

541
00:41:32,508 --> 00:41:37,380
We are creatures of habits, 
but we are also creatures of stories.

542
00:41:38,208 --> 00:41:42,275
We love "Who are you?"
and we tell a story.

543
00:41:44,951 --> 00:41:47,289
Be careful of our stories

544
00:41:51,639 --> 00:41:53,656
I grew up and

545
00:41:54,792 --> 00:41:56,924
I had a story I told about my family

546
00:41:57,372 --> 00:41:59,761
and my father and my mother,

547
00:42:01,126 --> 00:42:05,524
and my place in America,
American society,

548
00:42:06,161 --> 00:42:08,930
that caused me a lot of suffering
as a young man

549
00:42:10,340 --> 00:42:14,067
and I didn't know how to tell 
a different story.

550
00:42:17,097 --> 00:42:20,647
So the practice of meditation,
sitting down,

551
00:42:22,220 --> 00:42:25,698
and breathing, and just clearing our mind,

552
00:42:27,484 --> 00:42:30,254
we begin to hear that story.

553
00:42:31,659 --> 00:42:34,476
You begin to hear it again and again,

554
00:42:36,739 --> 00:42:40,281
and you touch that suffering.

555
00:42:42,536 --> 00:42:45,450
And you begin to understand 
where it comes from

556
00:42:47,033 --> 00:42:49,545
It comes because we won't let go,

557
00:42:51,326 --> 00:42:53,430
We won't let go of that story.

558
00:42:56,405 --> 00:42:59,251
We cause a lot of suffering 
to those we love,

559
00:43:02,445 --> 00:43:08,264
so we need to relook at 
how we can tell a different story

560
00:43:10,751 --> 00:43:12,909
a story that can open our heart,

561
00:43:14,156 --> 00:43:15,857
that can accept.

562
00:43:20,321 --> 00:43:22,105
I think, maybe you are here

563
00:43:22,548 --> 00:43:25,578
because you want to find 
a new story for your life.

564
00:43:26,490 --> 00:43:29,121
Yes, things have happened in the past,

565
00:43:29,698 --> 00:43:32,816
yes, they might be like that,

566
00:43:34,645 --> 00:43:38,161
but when we can stop and 
see the other person

567
00:43:39,196 --> 00:43:41,917
as someone who also suffers,

568
00:43:44,108 --> 00:43:47,847
we can begin to tell a different story
about them.

569
00:43:50,142 --> 00:43:53,069
Nobody wants to make another person suffer

570
00:43:54,707 --> 00:43:59,313
It's only because they suffer,
that they cause others to suffer.

571
00:44:02,287 --> 00:44:04,816
And when we can retell a story like that,

572
00:44:05,961 --> 00:44:08,009
the way we look at our past

573
00:44:08,571 --> 00:44:09,929
changes.

574
00:44:11,624 --> 00:44:15,889
This is the beauty I found 
in Thay's teaching.

575
00:44:17,735 --> 00:44:20,762
You think the past cannot be changed?

576
00:44:22,759 --> 00:44:24,966
The past, we make up.

577
00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:27,030
You know your history books?

578
00:44:27,742 --> 00:44:29,649
It's all made up.

579
00:44:34,832 --> 00:44:40,758
So, find a way in the present moment

580
00:44:42,020 --> 00:44:44,634
to look at suffering,

581
00:44:45,471 --> 00:44:47,595
and to understand the root of it.

582
00:44:48,211 --> 00:44:50,967
That will free you from that story.

583
00:44:51,551 --> 00:44:55,647
This is something that helped me
become happier,

584
00:44:57,697 --> 00:45:02,298
less judgmental,
more kind,

585
00:45:03,888 --> 00:45:07,722
and more accepting of people
who are suffering.

586
00:45:09,757 --> 00:45:14,033
These are personal stories
with your loved ones,

587
00:45:15,579 --> 00:45:19,275
but they can also be stories
with other people.

588
00:45:22,152 --> 00:45:26,968
This is very important for people
who are in education,

589
00:45:27,798 --> 00:45:30,799
in media, 
especially media now.

590
00:45:31,684 --> 00:45:36,480
Those of you who are in media,
please tell a different story.

591
00:45:37,795 --> 00:45:41,723
Stop watering the seed of discrimination,

592
00:45:42,093 --> 00:45:46,601
hatred, 
other, us.

593
00:45:48,103 --> 00:45:51,149
You can write what happened,
but write in a way

594
00:45:51,424 --> 00:45:55,292
that waters the seed of understanding,
of compassion in people.

595
00:45:58,862 --> 00:46:04,382
Yes, there was terror,
there was injustice,

596
00:46:06,785 --> 00:46:10,938
but write that in a way that can open up

597
00:46:11,285 --> 00:46:14,710
and try to bring people together.

598
00:46:15,890 --> 00:46:20,753
Encourage them to look more deeply,
to listen more deeply.

599
00:46:23,396 --> 00:46:26,987
The news now is quite toxic,

600
00:46:27,111 --> 00:46:30,780
so we need to be very careful 
when we open our internet.

601
00:46:33,019 --> 00:46:37,110
It could be something all around the world
that has nothing to do with us,

602
00:46:37,575 --> 00:46:44,043
but this morning it makes us frown,
hate, fear,

603
00:46:46,258 --> 00:46:48,489
and we move through our day like that

604
00:46:49,351 --> 00:46:53,545
So this is an area, media,
and in school as well.

605
00:46:55,232 --> 00:47:00,856
This is Thay's vision for relooking
at education and its purpose.

606
00:47:02,844 --> 00:47:06,922
You look at that textbook, 
the history books, it's all about war

607
00:47:08,183 --> 00:47:11,452
about competition, 
and this group and...

608
00:47:12,070 --> 00:47:15,389
we need to revisit,
we need to retell

609
00:47:15,692 --> 00:47:17,289
and teach different things:

610
00:47:17,331 --> 00:47:21,738
our relationship to Mother Earth,
to other cultures,

611
00:47:22,654 --> 00:47:24,255
we need to celebrate.

612
00:47:26,355 --> 00:47:29,533
We need to tell a different story
about our nation.

613
00:47:30,269 --> 00:47:32,317
Let's get rid of that!

614
00:47:33,081 --> 00:47:35,966
I know it helps to have things organized,

615
00:47:38,277 --> 00:47:42,686
but because we tell ourselves 
we are from here, this group,

616
00:47:42,735 --> 00:47:44,172
from this nation,

617
00:47:44,858 --> 00:47:48,950
we're causing a lot of suffering.

618
00:47:51,898 --> 00:47:58,359
So this is something for the New Year
and for the time to come.

619
00:47:59,528 --> 00:48:03,743
If you're in that position, 
of affecting other people,

620
00:48:04,349 --> 00:48:05,831
tell a different story.

621
00:48:05,894 --> 00:48:08,997
Even on a subway.
Something happened?

622
00:48:10,451 --> 00:48:14,763
You can, by the way you describe 
these people around you,

623
00:48:16,075 --> 00:48:18,328
it can water the seed of understanding,

624
00:48:19,183 --> 00:48:21,228
and water the seed of kindness.

625
00:48:22,525 --> 00:48:24,182
So don't add to it,

626
00:48:24,787 --> 00:48:30,379
don't add to the separation
and discrimination,

627
00:48:32,785 --> 00:48:33,890
the fear.

628
00:48:35,386 --> 00:48:39,777
As a practitioner, this is our mission.

629
00:48:40,974 --> 00:48:42,393
We need to become..

630
00:48:44,410 --> 00:48:46,217
a different kind of storyteller.

631
00:48:47,325 --> 00:48:51,296
For ourselves, and for those
we come in contact with.

632
00:48:52,821 --> 00:48:59,523
There's is a Bodhisattva 
who is, what he does,

633
00:49:01,899 --> 00:49:04,229
goes around thanking people.

634
00:49:04,530 --> 00:49:06,789
Thank you, you know, 
you are very beautiful,

635
00:49:07,315 --> 00:49:09,652
you are a Buddha, you know that?

636
00:49:10,166 --> 00:49:12,127
You're the most wonderful person.

637
00:49:14,018 --> 00:49:15,655
And people don't accept it.

638
00:49:16,410 --> 00:49:19,289
They say "what are you talking about?
Get out of here! Are you crazy?"

639
00:49:22,125 --> 00:49:26,647
So we need that kind of Bodhisattva
in the world.

640
00:49:27,305 --> 00:49:33,775
Please tell people that they're ok,
they're accepted, just as they are.

641
00:49:35,386 --> 00:49:37,664
Tell them to accept themselves.

642
00:49:39,012 --> 00:49:41,813
This is our work as practitioners.

643
00:49:42,170 --> 00:49:45,847
When we practice, we find healing
for ourselves.

644
00:49:48,012 --> 00:49:52,773
When we waste less energy,
thinking and trying too hard

645
00:49:52,994 --> 00:49:54,840
and we have energy,

646
00:49:55,935 --> 00:49:58,374
we can be a refuge for others,

647
00:49:58,992 --> 00:50:00,575
our loved ones, our friends.

648
00:50:07,546 --> 00:50:10,134
As a society, we also need to renew

649
00:50:11,991 --> 00:50:16,903
and reflect, and change a little bit
our purpose, our dreams,

650
00:50:17,917 --> 00:50:21,369
this is the root of a lot of problems.

651
00:50:27,220 --> 00:50:29,015
Our family, we....

652
00:50:33,046 --> 00:50:37,342
we had to leave Vietnam
because of war,

653
00:50:38,544 --> 00:50:40,571
because of ideology,

654
00:50:41,030 --> 00:50:43,852
communists,
democracy,

655
00:50:47,816 --> 00:50:50,431
In a way I like to describe 
my family like this:

656
00:50:50,680 --> 00:50:53,860
my father, he is Chinese, 
he had to escape China

657
00:50:54,900 --> 00:50:57,847
because of war, revolution,

658
00:50:59,824 --> 00:51:03,020
and then he had to escape Vietnam,

659
00:51:05,350 --> 00:51:07,380
another war,

660
00:51:08,548 --> 00:51:10,158
and then he came to America

661
00:51:11,236 --> 00:51:14,460
and now I continue, 
I escaped to France.

662
00:51:18,103 --> 00:51:20,062
But it's a different kind of war.

663
00:51:21,648 --> 00:51:24,113
Politically speaking, it's kind of funny,

664
00:51:24,113 --> 00:51:26,201
because my dad escaped China 
for communists,

665
00:51:26,360 --> 00:51:29,499
and then another communist system,

666
00:51:29,741 --> 00:51:32,105
so a lot of ideas, you know.

667
00:51:34,074 --> 00:51:39,003
But in America, my family came
and we were very poor,

668
00:51:39,807 --> 00:51:43,319
they didn't have anything.
We had to leave everything behind.

669
00:51:44,897 --> 00:51:48,026
And I remember, growing up in America,

670
00:51:48,289 --> 00:51:51,758
there's the American Dream.

671
00:51:54,500 --> 00:51:57,968
"Leave it to Beaver", I grew up with
this black&white show.

672
00:51:58,698 --> 00:52:01,218
"Leave it to Beaver", 
and there's all these shows,

673
00:52:01,241 --> 00:52:06,556
that shows you family,
and it's like, it's great,

674
00:52:09,680 --> 00:52:11,787
happy, happy family

675
00:52:11,836 --> 00:52:13,716
you have everything.

676
00:52:14,356 --> 00:52:19,629
And then, as I grew up,
I learned the dream of having a house,

677
00:52:20,048 --> 00:52:24,321
a garage, actually two garages,
and a car.

678
00:52:27,781 --> 00:52:31,833
So these kind of dreams,
these kind of desires,

679
00:52:33,251 --> 00:52:38,143
we have to relook at them,
because our planet needs it,

680
00:52:39,173 --> 00:52:44,483
and other countries need for us
to renew our dream.

681
00:52:45,396 --> 00:52:51,120
It's not gonna work, sorry,
for us to have everything,

682
00:52:51,700 --> 00:52:54,480
and for everyone to have what we have,

683
00:52:54,836 --> 00:52:56,000
it's not gonna work.

684
00:52:56,329 --> 00:52:58,978
It's already hitting a limit.

685
00:53:01,033 --> 00:53:04,281
Having many things, 
and being able to buy many things,

686
00:53:04,774 --> 00:53:08,276
having a bank account,
retirement plan,

687
00:53:09,782 --> 00:53:15,150
and all these things that, 
as a monk, we have left,

688
00:53:16,669 --> 00:53:18,946
this is something we need to look at.

689
00:53:19,449 --> 00:53:22,977
And it's difficult, I know that
some of the things I'm bringing up,

690
00:53:23,314 --> 00:53:26,513
is hard, because you live in a society,
you have a family,

691
00:53:26,705 --> 00:53:28,055
you have to pay your bills,

692
00:53:29,354 --> 00:53:31,652
but I just invite you to look again,

693
00:53:32,989 --> 00:53:36,588
minimizing or moderating
a little bit

694
00:53:36,832 --> 00:53:39,422
of the material things we have.

695
00:53:39,655 --> 00:53:42,065
And Christmas is a great time 
to look at that,

696
00:53:42,467 --> 00:53:46,759
Christmas and holiday, 
they always have sales

697
00:53:47,635 --> 00:53:50,785
I told Dah Young, 
don't we have some sales in the books?

698
00:53:51,490 --> 00:53:53,168
You know, a "buy one, get one free"?

699
00:53:54,677 --> 00:53:56,500
And he said "No, we don't have that".

700
00:53:59,376 --> 00:54:01,760
It was just my habit from Los Angeles,

701
00:54:01,983 --> 00:54:03,770
when it's holiday, it's about buying,

702
00:54:03,970 --> 00:54:09,311
it's not about coming in touch 
with spiritual practice.

703
00:54:11,475 --> 00:54:15,490
So our culture of buying,
a culture of having many things,

704
00:54:16,797 --> 00:54:19,967
buying things and they're no longer useful

705
00:54:20,149 --> 00:54:21,813
or there's a new model

706
00:54:24,469 --> 00:54:28,257
Like, "there's a new model of this",
a new car,

707
00:54:30,947 --> 00:54:33,760
it doesn't work, 
it's not working.

708
00:54:35,712 --> 00:54:41,086
So if you're a businessperson,
please help us with this aspect.

709
00:54:43,084 --> 00:54:50,335
And also, money. Our culture is so linked
with the value of things, money.

710
00:54:53,254 --> 00:54:57,907
We put prices on things, 
and when we work, we get money,

711
00:54:57,969 --> 00:55:00,240
therefore we buy something,
then it's ours.

712
00:55:01,068 --> 00:55:06,218
Somehow this is not filling 
the spiritual dimension,

713
00:55:06,298 --> 00:55:10,410
the spiritual dimension of your heart.

714
00:55:11,860 --> 00:55:16,726
This I share with you, having grown up
in the city and having worked,

715
00:55:17,902 --> 00:55:20,402
and this is one of my sufferings:

716
00:55:21,945 --> 00:55:25,482
getting a lot of things, 
but really still feeling empty.

717
00:55:26,008 --> 00:55:29,142
In fact there's a relationship between
the more things you have,

718
00:55:30,269 --> 00:55:33,148
the more depression you'll get.

719
00:55:34,847 --> 00:55:36,518
That's weird, isn't it?

720
00:55:38,730 --> 00:55:41,671
Just think about it, having t-shirts.

721
00:55:42,082 --> 00:55:46,254
Have you had two t-shirts?
Or do you have two shoes?

722
00:55:47,960 --> 00:55:49,711
Or do you have one shoe?

723
00:55:50,841 --> 00:55:54,458
You're so happy. 
And you do everything to...

724
00:55:56,021 --> 00:55:58,525
and you get another shoe,
and another shoe.

725
00:55:58,575 --> 00:56:00,657
Or another t-shirt, you get ten t-shirts,

726
00:56:01,824 --> 00:56:03,701
do you ever feel that?

727
00:56:03,989 --> 00:56:07,310
I had this experience, you...
just another shirt

728
00:56:09,661 --> 00:56:14,678
So there is a relationship,
this is just a very minor exemple,

729
00:56:15,544 --> 00:56:18,408
but you have to expand that.
This is our culture.

730
00:56:20,202 --> 00:56:22,368
Our materialistic culture.

731
00:56:22,705 --> 00:56:25,845
This is something we have to revisit.

732
00:56:30,182 --> 00:56:35,291
Wearing something out.
Or using something to its end.

733
00:56:36,792 --> 00:56:40,838
And valueing it for helping you,
so something very...

734
00:56:45,290 --> 00:56:48,839
That relationship you can look at.

735
00:56:50,461 --> 00:56:53,422
But I know that culture 
is very hard to resist.

736
00:56:58,510 --> 00:57:03,454
Sometimes it helps us to have new things,

737
00:57:04,206 --> 00:57:10,599
so I want to say, don't become an ascetic
and become asteer and so on,

738
00:57:11,126 --> 00:57:17,358
but relook at it, in your life,
and see how that is playing out,

739
00:57:17,844 --> 00:57:19,230
it could be just habit.

740
00:57:19,880 --> 00:57:24,053
You're used to it, and society says it,
so you do it.

741
00:57:25,373 --> 00:57:29,105
A lot of advertisement,
they stimulate us to do these things.

742
00:57:30,592 --> 00:57:35,921
So this dream of having 
material possessions,

743
00:57:37,999 --> 00:57:40,500
I think we have to teach young people

744
00:57:40,996 --> 00:57:46,369
to find different ways 
to satisfy their lives.

745
00:58:29,424 --> 00:58:34,345
Another area we can look at to renew

746
00:58:36,304 --> 00:58:37,892
is our way of living.

747
00:58:39,088 --> 00:58:43,176
Our society is very isolating.

748
00:58:44,510 --> 00:58:48,550
I just met someone 
whose son is in one country,

749
00:58:49,198 --> 00:58:51,446
and whose daughter is
in another country,

750
00:58:51,749 --> 00:58:54,250
and, as a grandmother,
she has to fly around now.

751
00:58:56,286 --> 00:59:01,298
We no longer live close,
we no longer live with support

752
00:59:04,396 --> 00:59:09,656
I think Thay's vision is
to restructure a little bit

753
00:59:10,260 --> 00:59:12,524
our family, our community,

754
00:59:12,829 --> 00:59:15,220
so even if you don't live 
with your loved ones,

755
00:59:15,821 --> 00:59:18,578
you can find like-minded groups.

756
00:59:18,908 --> 00:59:22,546
Join a community,
a spiritual community to find support.

757
00:59:24,111 --> 00:59:30,525
This is something that can help us
stay on the path, stay sane,

758
00:59:31,985 --> 00:59:32,805
stay..

759
00:59:34,294 --> 00:59:35,921
stay free.

760
00:59:38,191 --> 00:59:42,427
It's Thay's vision to have 
a practice community

761
00:59:43,339 --> 00:59:48,802
in every city. It's his life's work,
he built Plum Village,

762
00:59:50,030 --> 00:59:53,472
and this is a model for a role center,

763
00:59:55,971 --> 00:59:59,949
and because of Thay's virtue and practice
and compassion in his life,

764
01:00:01,462 --> 01:00:03,747
we've come and gathered here,

765
01:00:05,356 --> 01:00:10,204
and Thay now encourages us 
to build a sangha,

766
01:00:10,660 --> 01:00:14,148
to build a community 
wherever we go back to.

767
01:00:16,531 --> 01:00:20,476
So our practice is no longer
just for ourselves.

768
01:00:21,281 --> 01:00:23,269
Coming together, we support each other

769
01:00:23,556 --> 01:00:27,455
and that community becomes 
a support group for others

770
01:00:28,214 --> 01:00:29,552
in the city.

771
01:00:30,826 --> 01:00:33,684
And I think, this is a way forward for us,

772
01:00:34,318 --> 01:00:36,467
to come together.

773
01:00:42,588 --> 01:00:48,115
How many of you are therapists?
Mental therapists, or

774
01:00:49,396 --> 01:00:53,552
psychotherapists?
Other therapists?

775
01:00:54,281 --> 01:00:55,932
Yoga-instructors?

776
01:00:56,725 --> 01:00:59,170
Wonderful.
So that's the body.

777
01:01:00,263 --> 01:01:02,673
How many of you are 
fitness-trainers?

778
01:01:03,417 --> 01:01:05,596
You? Wonderful.

779
01:01:07,987 --> 01:01:10,632
There's also... Now they
have leadership trainings, right?

780
01:01:11,205 --> 01:01:13,408
How many of you are 
in leadership training?

781
01:01:13,791 --> 01:01:16,387
You can admit it, come on.
One, allright.

782
01:01:17,068 --> 01:01:20,571
Wonderful.
How to succeed, yes.

783
01:01:21,797 --> 01:01:24,660
We need that, we need good leaders.

784
01:01:27,766 --> 01:01:30,820
I see more and more,
we need more therapists...

785
01:01:31,231 --> 01:01:34,865
we need more yoga-instructors,
we need more...

786
01:01:36,149 --> 01:01:37,556
places...

787
01:01:41,055 --> 01:01:42,192
and so

788
01:01:42,461 --> 01:01:49,746
The vision here is you can create
a community to play that role.

789
01:01:51,589 --> 01:01:53,624
To become the therapist.

790
01:01:57,634 --> 01:02:02,835
We had a psychiatrist come here,
make a presentation about what he does

791
01:02:04,369 --> 01:02:05,823
and he divided up:

792
01:02:06,572 --> 01:02:11,325
he said, behavior therapy, that has to do
with your behavior, your habits,

793
01:02:11,818 --> 01:02:16,072
and then, cognitive therapy, about the way
your mind thinks,

794
01:02:17,372 --> 01:02:19,609
and the new thing now is

795
01:02:20,253 --> 01:02:24,531
mindfulness based therapy.

796
01:02:26,206 --> 01:02:29,866
Mindfulness based cognitive therapy.

797
01:02:30,665 --> 01:02:33,501
That's great. 
Some of you are in that program?

798
01:02:34,429 --> 01:02:35,440
Anyone?

799
01:02:37,986 --> 01:02:41,005
I think, Thay would add one to that,

800
01:02:41,495 --> 01:02:44,113
that's community based therapy.

801
01:02:46,218 --> 01:02:47,935
Do you see the vision?

802
01:02:48,584 --> 01:02:51,289
It's not just the psychiatrist 
sitting there, saying:

803
01:02:51,494 --> 01:02:57,648
"Ok, tell me your story.
Yes, all of it, don't hide anything",

804
01:03:00,291 --> 01:03:02,002
one on one, right?

805
01:03:02,230 --> 01:03:06,230
Sorry, I've never been to a..
I don't mean to a...

806
01:03:06,723 --> 01:03:10,913
I hope it's not offending,
and I don't know the image now,

807
01:03:11,614 --> 01:03:13,913
how they do it, but it's one on one right,

808
01:03:14,744 --> 01:03:19,199
and it's private, closed door
and it's <i>confidential</i>

809
01:03:22,058 --> 01:03:26,204
In community based therapy,
there's no confidentiality.

810
01:03:28,295 --> 01:03:32,172
You sit here, you cry?
Everyone knows you're suffering!

811
01:03:41,963 --> 01:03:43,576
Thank you for laughing.

812
01:03:48,846 --> 01:03:52,746
I have to apologize, sometimes
I hope I'm not offending anyone.

813
01:03:53,971 --> 01:03:59,013
I have a side in me that likes to poke
fun at things, that's my habit.

814
01:04:02,560 --> 01:04:06,292
But community based therapy 
is wonderful,

815
01:04:07,356 --> 01:04:09,326
this is what I'm learning here,

816
01:04:10,694 --> 01:04:15,478
and this is the power of 
the collective healing,

817
01:04:16,352 --> 01:04:18,921
even without discussion.

818
01:04:19,715 --> 01:04:22,033
I don't need to know your history.

819
01:04:24,032 --> 01:04:26,311
The community doesn't need to know.

820
01:04:27,965 --> 01:04:31,296
But because you're here,
you practise within the community,

821
01:04:32,058 --> 01:04:34,345
the energy,
the collective energy

822
01:04:35,961 --> 01:04:37,531
is very powerful

823
01:04:37,837 --> 01:04:39,673
And you will become your therapist.

824
01:04:40,819 --> 01:04:42,729
That is the miracle.

825
01:04:44,456 --> 01:04:46,148
The practise of mindfulness

826
01:04:46,334 --> 01:04:48,391
can help you become your own therapist.

827
01:04:51,562 --> 01:04:53,271
You begin to understand yourself,

828
01:04:53,498 --> 01:04:55,518
you begin to have insight about yourself,

829
01:04:55,839 --> 01:04:58,104
that YOU light up.

830
01:05:00,056 --> 01:05:03,549
This is the power of the sangha.

831
01:05:06,015 --> 01:05:10,367
Being in the sangha, I've learned 
many things about others,

832
01:05:10,862 --> 01:05:12,790
but a lot, I learned more about myself.

833
01:05:15,208 --> 01:05:19,102
And you can ask all the one year-
long termers here if it's true.

834
01:05:24,056 --> 01:05:29,125
Cause here, after a week you're still,
"Plum Village is great, you know,

835
01:05:29,844 --> 01:05:31,377
it's heaven", yeah?

836
01:05:33,719 --> 01:05:36,663
Oh-oh, some of you know what I mean, yeah?

837
01:05:38,431 --> 01:05:42,674
You stay for a month, "now we move you
to a room with four people,

838
01:05:42,918 --> 01:05:44,139
ten people", wow.

839
01:05:46,162 --> 01:05:48,198
Now the practise really begins.

840
01:05:49,068 --> 01:05:51,695
Therapy. The therapy begins.

841
01:05:54,735 --> 01:05:56,772
It's nice. You come here for a week
and you go home

842
01:05:56,953 --> 01:06:00,208
and you have such a beautiful memory
of Plum Village, oh!

843
01:06:01,732 --> 01:06:03,810
So you see where I'm talking
about therapy now?

844
01:06:04,145 --> 01:06:05,927
Community based therapy, yes.

845
01:06:08,762 --> 01:06:12,796
But there's a reward to that suffering.

846
01:06:14,456 --> 01:06:17,292
Living in a community,
being together,

847
01:06:18,517 --> 01:06:21,167
your suffering,
seeing other people suffer,

848
01:06:22,039 --> 01:06:23,359
seeing their breakthrough,

849
01:06:24,661 --> 01:06:27,398
feeling an opening 
in another person,

850
01:06:28,486 --> 01:06:32,003
wow! You benefit from that.

851
01:06:33,944 --> 01:06:36,960
You know, when you see someone,
as monks and nuns,

852
01:06:38,050 --> 01:06:40,617
we love it when a practitioner
kind of like --

853
01:06:43,113 --> 01:06:44,728
they are free, you know?

854
01:06:45,024 --> 01:06:46,542
All of a sudden, 
you can see it,

855
01:06:47,069 --> 01:06:49,799
in the way they walk,
the way they say hi to you,

856
01:06:50,569 --> 01:06:52,179
something they let go of.

857
01:06:53,815 --> 01:06:56,255
It's a knot, you know,
we call it 'internal knots'

858
01:06:57,387 --> 01:06:59,163
You come here, 
and you're carrying a knot?

859
01:07:00,357 --> 01:07:01,719
We can smell it.

860
01:07:03,628 --> 01:07:06,792
Yeah. Of course, we're compassionate,
yes, sure,

861
01:07:14,816 --> 01:07:18,443
but we give you space, 
we give you time

862
01:07:20,242 --> 01:07:22,232
but it is because we've been through that

863
01:07:22,840 --> 01:07:24,507
and it needs time, it needs space

864
01:07:25,349 --> 01:07:28,971
and this is the beauty of doing it 
as a community.

865
01:07:30,167 --> 01:07:33,085
It's a miracle we cannot...
Just like the chanting.

866
01:07:35,023 --> 01:07:37,235
Chanting has nothing to do with thinking,

867
01:07:37,601 --> 01:07:40,619
storytelling or analyzing your history.

868
01:07:41,688 --> 01:07:42,740
It's energy.

869
01:07:44,040 --> 01:07:48,086
And this is the power 
of the true mindfulness

870
01:07:49,029 --> 01:07:53,324
It's not about 
psycho-analyzing you to death,

871
01:07:53,945 --> 01:07:57,230
it is for you to..

872
01:07:59,516 --> 01:08:03,357
so the basic practise of breathing,
walking, eating,

873
01:08:04,278 --> 01:08:06,580
laying down, opening the door,

874
01:08:08,255 --> 01:08:11,022
listening, being present,

875
01:08:11,813 --> 01:08:13,379
not reacting

876
01:08:13,874 --> 01:08:16,143
These are all opportunities for you to ...

877
01:08:17,886 --> 01:08:19,406
have an insight.

878
01:08:20,250 --> 01:08:22,243
When you wait in line, later tonight,

879
01:08:23,935 --> 01:08:25,393
it's an opportunity

880
01:08:26,413 --> 01:08:27,825
to be in a crowd,

881
01:08:28,677 --> 01:08:30,387
to be where there's a lot of people

882
01:08:31,275 --> 01:08:32,692
and feel safe.

883
01:08:33,223 --> 01:08:34,763
You feel, this is your family

884
01:08:34,959 --> 01:08:38,119
Everyone who comes here? 
They have a little of suffering.

885
01:08:42,572 --> 01:08:45,213
But they're learning to be with it.

886
01:08:46,620 --> 01:08:48,363
So with your awareness,

887
01:08:49,778 --> 01:08:51,933
slowly, your fear, your anxiety,

888
01:08:53,204 --> 01:08:55,286
slowly, it melts.

889
01:08:57,128 --> 01:08:58,480
It can fall off

890
01:09:00,171 --> 01:09:06,660
This is the power of
community based therapy.

891
01:09:08,753 --> 01:09:10,713
So when we are aware of our steps,

892
01:09:13,728 --> 01:09:16,163
and people walking by, rushing,

893
01:09:17,398 --> 01:09:20,502
and we can walk and be free,

894
01:09:23,004 --> 01:09:25,159
and something happens.

895
01:09:26,506 --> 01:09:28,442
This is a very healing energy.

896
01:09:29,894 --> 01:09:31,564
Nobody gave it to you.

897
01:09:33,017 --> 01:09:34,727
You generate it yourself,

898
01:09:36,150 --> 01:09:38,526
and this is what we can train


899
01:09:39,063 --> 01:09:41,957
to do, to practise.

900
01:09:47,480 --> 01:09:49,834
So, as a society,

901
01:09:52,154 --> 01:09:54,774
we stress so much on competition.

902
01:09:56,274 --> 01:09:57,835
On competing.

903
01:10:01,168 --> 01:10:04,221
We're always comparing, 
even when we're little, in school,

904
01:10:04,576 --> 01:10:07,617
A, A+, B, C,
D...

905
01:10:10,002 --> 01:10:12,344
we're already trained, right?

906
01:10:12,831 --> 01:10:18,470
In society, "how much do you make?
Oh.., oh...

907
01:10:24,270 --> 01:10:27,912
We look at your badge,
"PHD, oh! Wow!"

908
01:10:30,031 --> 01:10:32,177
We train like that, very...

909
01:10:33,976 --> 01:10:36,546
well, I trained like that, sorry

910
01:10:41,200 --> 01:10:44,224
So when we come together,
we learn a different way

911
01:10:44,947 --> 01:10:48,040
of working together,
cooperating,

912
01:10:51,104 --> 01:10:53,144
And helping another person

913
01:10:55,204 --> 01:10:57,294
is something wonderful.

914
01:10:57,864 --> 01:11:01,814
I know of a woman that came one time
to our monastery

915
01:11:02,961 --> 01:11:03,927
in Deer Park

916
01:11:05,875 --> 01:11:09,209
and in Dharma sharing, she said:

917
01:11:11,195 --> 01:11:15,224
"My great happiness, I have to say,
it's nothing much and please don't laugh..

918
01:11:16,235 --> 01:11:19,612
is when I was peeling the carrots
for the community,

919
01:11:21,000 --> 01:11:23,928
I realized I've never done anything

920
01:11:24,179 --> 01:11:25,383
for anyone

921
01:11:26,029 --> 01:11:28,001
without wanting recognition.

922
01:11:29,048 --> 01:11:32,515
And here I am, peeling a carrot,
and I don't know who's gonna eat it,

923
01:11:33,027 --> 01:11:34,335
but they're gonna be happy,

924
01:11:34,656 --> 01:11:36,842
and I'm so happy 
to peel the carrots for them."

925
01:11:39,153 --> 01:11:41,518
And I was so, like, "really?"

926
01:11:43,575 --> 01:11:46,973
But she got her enlightenment
from peeling a carrot,

927
01:11:49,307 --> 01:11:51,910
because for the first time in her life
she did something,

928
01:11:53,004 --> 01:11:55,277
she shared that in her family life

929
01:11:56,239 --> 01:11:58,151
you always get a reward for something,

930
01:11:58,795 --> 01:12:00,534
and you have to be recognized.

931
01:12:01,041 --> 01:12:02,993
And when you do something,
everyone should know.

932
01:12:04,640 --> 01:12:07,418
It was something like that,
she was describing her childhood.

933
01:12:08,502 --> 01:12:11,599
So we're so trained 
to, like, do something, and then

934
01:12:12,136 --> 01:12:13,579
"you guys see what I just did??"

935
01:12:16,074 --> 01:12:18,876
In community,
nobody cares.

936
01:12:27,203 --> 01:12:30,372
They do, 
but if you care about it too much,

937
01:12:31,419 --> 01:12:32,737
you have to be careful.

938
01:12:33,817 --> 01:12:35,262
This is my training here,

939
01:12:35,917 --> 01:12:38,532
I washed the pots,
I shared this before,

940
01:12:38,725 --> 01:12:42,259
I was like, "you see, brother,
how much I cleaned the pots?

941
01:12:42,315 --> 01:12:44,004
They're all clean, you know?"

942
01:12:44,211 --> 01:12:46,545
And he was like, 
"oh, you're wasting your energy,

943
01:12:46,633 --> 01:12:48,116
why do you do that?"

944
01:12:49,613 --> 01:12:51,922
And I was very angry for
a week or two.

945
01:12:53,646 --> 01:12:56,171
So, not all monks and nuns 
are like that, actually,

946
01:12:56,517 --> 01:12:58,833
they're much more compassionate.

947
01:13:00,810 --> 01:13:02,772
But when we practise in a community,

948
01:13:02,954 --> 01:13:08,081
we get an opportunity to be kind
for kindness-sick.

949
01:13:10,065 --> 01:13:12,596
People share this all the time
when they come here.

950
01:13:13,255 --> 01:13:14,606
They do little things,

951
01:13:15,494 --> 01:13:18,821
like, someone went 
and collected all the cups,

952
01:13:21,001 --> 01:13:22,571
and put them back,
and he shared,

953
01:13:23,723 --> 01:13:25,384
at the end of our gathering here,

954
01:13:27,097 --> 01:13:30,459
how much happiness that was 
for him to just do that.

955
01:13:32,291 --> 01:13:34,624
So in the community

956
01:13:36,700 --> 01:13:38,958
we learn again our habits.

957
01:13:40,947 --> 01:13:43,277
We learn to train new ways of looking.

958
01:13:46,633 --> 01:13:49,256
But it's not all success,

959
01:13:50,290 --> 01:13:51,996
there's also challenges,

960
01:13:53,575 --> 01:13:59,208
this is where transformation
for the healing is possible.

961
01:14:01,265 --> 01:14:04,440
From the community,
we also learn to exchange

962
01:14:04,949 --> 01:14:07,384
and harmonize ideas, views.

963
01:14:08,377 --> 01:14:10,088
So we learn to live

964
01:14:11,619 --> 01:14:12,952
in harmony.

965
01:14:13,829 --> 01:14:15,870
Even with different viewpoints,

966
01:14:17,037 --> 01:14:20,016
and this is what's wonderful
about sangha.

967
01:14:22,742 --> 01:14:26,247
Because the spiritual practise
helps us to let go.

968
01:14:29,041 --> 01:14:32,172
Because we see those who don't let go,

969
01:14:32,268 --> 01:14:36,480
and we see ourselves 
when we don't let go of our viewpoints,

970
01:14:38,427 --> 01:14:40,743
the suffering we cause to other people,

971
01:14:40,836 --> 01:14:43,014
and the suffering we cause to ourselves.

972
01:14:45,343 --> 01:14:47,373
Taking refuge in the community,

973
01:14:47,584 --> 01:14:50,363
we need to renew it 
over and over again.

974
01:14:52,380 --> 01:14:54,332
Not just every New Year,

975
01:14:57,127 --> 01:14:59,212
but every day, every week.

976
01:14:59,477 --> 01:15:02,598
Every moment 
is an opportunity for us

977
01:15:05,131 --> 01:15:07,268
so making the practise...

978
01:15:07,547 --> 01:15:09,694
you know, when we first came here,
"wow!"

979
01:15:10,810 --> 01:15:12,188
Some of us who stay here long,

980
01:15:15,134 --> 01:15:16,421
they can deteriorate

981
01:15:17,030 --> 01:15:20,733
and I speak this for those of us
who stay here long:

982
01:15:22,721 --> 01:15:27,086
please find ways
to renew your practise,

983
01:15:28,466 --> 01:15:31,044
to renew your refuge in the community.

984
01:15:38,489 --> 01:15:41,763
And the renewal,
and what is an obstacle,

985
01:15:42,817 --> 01:15:46,066
I recognize this 
because we hold on to something.

986
01:15:46,829 --> 01:15:49,455
It's permanent, 
but we don't let it flow.

987
01:15:51,116 --> 01:15:54,683
You know, our mind is composed
of our feelings, our perceptions,

988
01:15:55,322 --> 01:15:57,756
our thoughts and ideas,

989
01:15:59,674 --> 01:16:02,406
and many times when we don't let it flow,

990
01:16:03,198 --> 01:16:06,982
we cannot renew,
it's because we hold on to it.

991
01:16:08,141 --> 01:16:09,749
Again that internal knot.

992
01:16:12,828 --> 01:16:15,783
This is very important in our practise.

993
01:16:18,781 --> 01:16:20,411
In Plum Village here,

994
01:16:24,195 --> 01:16:27,307
we have many opportunities

995
01:16:29,125 --> 01:16:32,371
for you to come and take refuge
for a week.

996
01:16:34,004 --> 01:16:38,093
We also make opportunities 
for young people to stay here long term

997
01:16:39,919 --> 01:16:43,689
It's so that they can touch 
something deeper and deeper

998
01:16:44,225 --> 01:16:47,725
beyond just the one week 
honeymoon-mindfulness.

999
01:16:49,742 --> 01:16:51,627
There's also a mature mindfulness,

1000
01:16:52,435 --> 01:16:55,560
and you in relationships,
you know what I mean, you know.

1001
01:16:56,109 --> 01:16:59,003
After the honeymoon,
there is the maturity,

1002
01:17:00,913 --> 01:17:02,505
the ripening, right?

1003
01:17:02,816 --> 01:17:05,345
The challenges, the suffering,
and overcoming it.

1004
01:17:06,227 --> 01:17:07,819
It's the same with a community.

1005
01:17:09,407 --> 01:17:12,842
We have to find ways to refresh
our way of looking at each other

1006
01:17:14,843 --> 01:17:16,420
refresh our practise.

1007
01:17:22,220 --> 01:17:24,596
So I'll end here with this

1008
01:17:25,563 --> 01:17:29,474
encouraging us all 
to go home and

1009
01:17:29,968 --> 01:17:31,915
build community.

1010
01:17:34,330 --> 01:17:39,090
A community that has a spiritual practise
as the base.

1011
01:17:41,060 --> 01:17:45,034
There's a lot of intentional communities
and good causes,

1012
01:17:46,026 --> 01:17:47,935
that come together for good causes,

1013
01:17:48,631 --> 01:17:52,361
but without a spiritual practise
as a foundation,

1014
01:17:54,363 --> 01:17:55,590
it's very difficult.

1015
01:17:56,215 --> 01:17:58,617
And when I say spiritual foundation,
it's not religious.

1016
01:18:00,814 --> 01:18:03,479
Spirituality here
is the mindfulness practise

1017
01:18:04,487 --> 01:18:08,328
of coming back to oneself
and touching our suffering.

1018
01:18:09,856 --> 01:18:11,701
recognizing the suffering in others,

1019
01:18:12,698 --> 01:18:15,018
practise of letting go of our ideas,

1020
01:18:16,630 --> 01:18:19,255
letting go of our ego, our self.

1021
01:18:20,168 --> 01:18:24,694
Spirituality is not like, you know...
Buddha, or God,

1022
01:18:25,035 --> 01:18:29,401
spirituality here is the virtuous practise

1023
01:18:30,984 --> 01:18:33,093
patience, kindness,

1024
01:18:33,547 --> 01:18:35,410
especially, letting go.

1025
01:18:38,350 --> 01:18:45,438
This is one of the precious stages
of the practise,

1026
01:18:45,660 --> 01:18:47,450
the letting go.

1027
01:18:48,576 --> 01:18:52,219
Even the most important, because....

1028
01:18:53,878 --> 01:18:55,161
and it frees you.

1029
01:18:59,123 --> 01:19:02,190
There are many sanghas around the world,

1030
01:19:02,839 --> 01:19:05,263
and there's also Wake Up community,

1031
01:19:05,951 --> 01:19:07,974
for young people to take refuge in.

1032
01:19:09,641 --> 01:19:15,159
We encourage the teachers to find ways
to build community in your own school.

1033
01:19:16,318 --> 01:19:18,847
And you don't have to call it by any name.

1034
01:19:20,659 --> 01:19:24,982
If you come more and more often
to our center,

1035
01:19:25,282 --> 01:19:27,425
you begin to see what is the essence,

1036
01:19:30,116 --> 01:19:32,020
"what are they doing here?"

1037
01:19:32,853 --> 01:19:35,335
Mindfulness practise, stopping,

1038
01:19:35,707 --> 01:19:37,222
coming back to one's self,

1039
01:19:39,053 --> 01:19:40,860
brotherhood and sisterhood,

1040
01:19:42,095 --> 01:19:44,072
you recognize schedules,

1041
01:19:45,568 --> 01:19:48,455
and also very important is 
the mindfulness training

1042
01:19:49,511 --> 01:19:52,672
Mindfulness training,
a kind of a guideline

1043
01:19:53,530 --> 01:19:55,487
to guide the community.

1044
01:19:59,098 --> 01:20:04,124
These are ethical guidelines
to keep us balanced.

1045
01:20:07,841 --> 01:20:11,656
with the way the society encourages us.

1046
01:20:12,072 --> 01:20:13,654
It's a kind of balance,

1047
01:20:15,010 --> 01:20:16,186
to protect life,

1048
01:20:20,910 --> 01:20:24,257
to help us touch true happiness,
true love.

1049
01:20:30,089 --> 01:20:34,933
I just want a plug-in there for us
to those out there who can help us,

1050
01:20:36,474 --> 01:20:38,871
I think for the next level
of sangha building,

1051
01:20:39,793 --> 01:20:41,861
how many of you belong to a Sangha?

1052
01:20:44,405 --> 01:20:45,507
Wonderful.

1053
01:20:47,682 --> 01:20:52,019
I just want to encourage you 
to continue that,

1054
01:20:54,928 --> 01:21:01,386
and Thay envisioned a sangha 
as a mindfulness practice center

1055
01:21:02,686 --> 01:21:07,981
that is not 'buddhist'-framed,

1056
01:21:10,629 --> 01:21:12,650
more universal

1057
01:21:14,560 --> 01:21:18,527
and to create that place 
in an urban environment.

1058
01:21:19,282 --> 01:21:21,863
This is something I just want to share,

1059
01:21:24,282 --> 01:21:29,873
to share kind of my wish,
a little bit, a desire


1060
01:21:30,389 --> 01:21:35,148
to have in every city,
an urban practice center.

1061
01:21:35,787 --> 01:21:37,879
So young people can take refuge.

1062
01:21:38,085 --> 01:21:42,595
Because not everyone can afford
to go out,

1063
01:21:44,510 --> 01:21:51,058
and having a place for regular meetings,
regular gatherings,

1064
01:21:52,426 --> 01:21:56,512
right in the city, accessible 
for the young people and for everyone

1065
01:22:01,339 --> 01:22:05,214
and how to make it 
so a sangha becomes your right livelihood.

1066
01:22:08,263 --> 01:22:12,649
How do you say, make it so
you don't have to hold another job.

1067
01:22:13,027 --> 01:22:17,723
What if sangha, and running the sangha,
and organizing the sangha

1068
01:22:18,920 --> 01:22:20,385
is your life?

1069
01:22:23,449 --> 01:22:26,264
You don't have to work a job 
that you don't like

1070
01:22:27,666 --> 01:22:30,033
so if you're a yoga-instructor,

1071
01:22:32,838 --> 01:22:35,240
a health-something therapist,

1072
01:22:35,634 --> 01:22:38,810
get together and make it 
become a center.

1073
01:22:41,268 --> 01:22:44,221
And then financially sustainable as well.

1074
01:22:45,272 --> 01:22:46,910
With simple living of course,

1075
01:22:47,442 --> 01:22:51,318
you don't want to be driving Lexus
and having...

1076
01:22:52,339 --> 01:22:54,852
just living a simple life.

1077
01:22:55,426 --> 01:22:58,268
And if you like to live in the urban city,
great.

1078
01:23:00,452 --> 01:23:03,985
So the vision is, having a center there,

1079
01:23:04,476 --> 01:23:08,381
and it's a full-time sangha community
living there.

1080
01:23:09,862 --> 01:23:12,689
Like ten people running the place,

1081
01:23:13,543 --> 01:23:17,250
having places for the young people 
to take refuge in.

1082
01:23:18,440 --> 01:23:21,940
Every weekend, free,
anyone can come,

1083
01:23:22,703 --> 01:23:24,640
offering workshop, meditation,

1084
01:23:26,231 --> 01:23:30,045
so we're gonna put out of business
all the therapists,

1085
01:23:30,643 --> 01:23:33,055
community based therapists, yeah?

1086
01:23:33,640 --> 01:23:35,668
In fact, all the therapists should do this

1087
01:23:37,715 --> 01:23:40,053
because people are wasting too much,

1088
01:23:42,238 --> 01:23:45,168
it costs a lot, right, to get therapy,

1089
01:23:45,904 --> 01:23:48,208
I hear people pay lots of money
to go to therapy

1090
01:23:49,650 --> 01:23:53,188
so we have a sangha, 
and we have workshops,

1091
01:23:54,556 --> 01:23:56,081
wouldn't that be wonderful?

1092
01:23:57,302 --> 01:24:01,966
That's Thay's vision for the MPC,
the Mindfulness Practice Center.

1093
01:24:03,809 --> 01:24:08,842
Because some of us, I mean, 
I might go to temples now,

1094
01:24:10,165 --> 01:24:13,078
but I wouldn't have gone to a temple
as a young person.

1095
01:24:14,142 --> 01:24:16,547
And maybe some of us 
might not go to churches,

1096
01:24:17,410 --> 01:24:23,173
so I encourage for us to find this,

1097
01:24:23,681 --> 01:24:26,179
because this is 
what will bring balance back,

1098
01:24:27,324 --> 01:24:29,006
to have a spiritual dimension,

1099
01:24:29,325 --> 01:24:33,570
to have a way to keep us reminded

1100
01:24:34,139 --> 01:24:37,801
of what life, what our heart is about.

1101
01:24:40,445 --> 01:24:46,740
Those of you who are efficient,
intelligent, skillful,

1102
01:24:48,520 --> 01:24:51,574
please, 
I send that out there,

1103
01:24:52,374 --> 01:24:56,116
and hopefully some of you 
can have the condition

1104
01:24:57,176 --> 01:25:02,555
and the fortune to help build
a mindfulness practice center

1105
01:25:03,605 --> 01:25:08,544
and make it viable, 
for your people to do it full-time.

1106
01:25:10,267 --> 01:25:14,386
so they don't have to waste their lives
working for a --- you know, something,

1107
01:25:15,400 --> 01:25:17,909
and that could be very community serviced,

1108
01:25:18,230 --> 01:25:20,369
that can help support the community

1109
01:25:20,835 --> 01:25:23,186
go to troubled youth-centers.

1110
01:25:24,232 --> 01:25:26,374
It could become a community service.

1111
01:25:28,164 --> 01:25:31,001
So as teachers as well, 
you can do that in the school.

1112
01:25:31,588 --> 01:25:33,044
After school-activities,

1113
01:25:33,684 --> 01:25:38,431
create a place for the children, 
for the students, for their parents,

1114
01:25:39,595 --> 01:25:41,262
after-school activities,

1115
01:25:43,406 --> 01:25:50,568
so please continue 
Thay's volition, his deep desire,

1116
01:25:51,223 --> 01:25:53,104
to find, where's the balance.

1117
01:25:54,438 --> 01:25:59,259
Some of the difficulties, 
the social ills I see,

1118
01:26:00,885 --> 01:26:05,183
many young people now are depressed,
have mental disorder,

1119
01:26:07,429 --> 01:26:10,101
the suicide rates, you hear, 
keep increasing,

1120
01:26:11,754 --> 01:26:13,225
so we need...

1121
01:26:14,445 --> 01:26:17,684
we don't need a big bank account,
you know.

1122
01:26:18,312 --> 01:26:22,487
Just use that, to help change our world.

1123
01:26:25,016 --> 01:26:27,111
You cannot take it with you

1124
01:26:27,935 --> 01:26:30,798
so please help the young people,
the Wake Up-group,

1125
01:26:31,579 --> 01:26:34,414
who want to find a different way.

1126
01:26:36,803 --> 01:26:42,957
We have the Happy Farm-initiative,
and many young people are coming

1127
01:26:43,684 --> 01:26:47,280
and working with their hands,
and finding healing.

1128
01:26:47,573 --> 01:26:49,085
They stay for one year,

1129
01:26:49,489 --> 01:26:51,751
and we like to make this 
available in the city,

1130
01:26:53,221 --> 01:26:55,309
have a lot become a garden

1131
01:26:57,878 --> 01:27:01,682
And I'm sure you have many other visions.

1132
01:27:02,855 --> 01:27:08,220
Please go back to your sangha 
and discuss with your sangha

1133
01:27:08,818 --> 01:27:12,155
how to open up 
so that more young people,

1134
01:27:12,433 --> 01:27:14,596
more people suffering,
can take refuge.

1135
01:27:16,210 --> 01:27:20,201
This is, everyone knows,
this is Thay's deepest wish.

1136
01:27:22,142 --> 01:27:25,720
Thank you for coming,
for listening.