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Dear Sangha,
today is the 12th of June, 1998

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and we are on our last day
of the 21-Day Retreat.

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I have offered you,
I have transmitted to you...

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the ways, the practices...

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that will allow us
to cross to the Other Shore.

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We don't want to stay 
on the shore of anger.

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We want to cross
over to the Other Shore,

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the shore of well-being,
non-anger, joy.

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Don't want to stay
on the shore of jealousy.

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We have to cross over 
to the shore of equanimity

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and love.

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The teaching...

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the teaching of crossing
over to the Other Shore

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is a kind of teaching that
we can practice in our daily life.

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the Six Paramitas.

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We can cross to the Other Shore
anytime we want

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because we have been given
the way to do it.

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Dana paramita...

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is the practice of giving.

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Just give, and then...

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suddenly you find yourself
on the Other Shore.

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Suppose you are angry at someone

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and you suffer very much
because of that someone,

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think of Dana paramita...

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think of giving him or her
a present --

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what I can offer him or her

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in order to make him or her
happy right now.

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If you can practice giving,
your anger will be gone right away

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and suddenly you find yourself
on the Other Shore,

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the shore of non-anger
and well-being.

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It's strange...

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how could this practice be
such an easy thing to do?

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And yet,

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deep in your heart,
deep in your mind,

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you know that you have
the seed of generosity.

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You have the willingness
of making that person happy.

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It has been always there.

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That willingness
to make him or her happy.

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And now,
you are angry at him.

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And you are doing the opposite:

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you are offering non-joy...

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and non-peace.

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So go back and touch
the seed of your love.

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Isn't it true that
in the beginning of your relationship...

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you have made that deep commitment
to make him or her happy?

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And now you are doing
something opposite.

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Go back to your original mind,

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touch the seed of love in you
and decide...

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to do what you originally
wanted to do:

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make him or her happy.

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What can I give him in this moment
for him to be happy?

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You don't have to go to the store
and buy something.

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You have many things
you can give right now --

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a smile,
a loving look.

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Are you capable of giving?

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Can you give your joy,
your stability, your freedom?

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You can take one in-breath
and know that you are alive...

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and get the enlightenment that
your beloved is still alive in front of you.

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And with that insight,
you can very well smile.

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And your anger will be gone,

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and that smile, that joy,

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that capacity to cherish your presence
and his or her presence...

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is a big gift.

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And suddenly you find yourself
on the Other Shore.

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You don't need to practice
10 years to do that.

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If you know how to practice...

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breathing in and breathing out
with mindfulness and solidity,

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just one in-breath and out-breath 
can transform the situation,

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and you allow your mind of love,
your seed of love to manifest.

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And that is the gift
we call "Dana paramita":

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the kind of giving that can bring
you and him over to the Other Shore,

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the shore well-being.
Please try.

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You have many items
that you can use as a gift

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available in the here and now.

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You are not as poor
as you might have imagined.

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Make yourself fully present
in the here and now...

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and you'll be able
to touch many items...

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that are available
for you to make into a gift,

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and give it to the person
in front of you.

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If you can do that, the gift will 
go to you at the same time because...

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because the fruit of the practice
will be instantaneous.

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What else can you give?

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You give your freedom --

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freedom from anger,

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freedom from sorrow,

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freedom from forgetfulness,

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freedom from the past,
freedom from the future.

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You are capable of being a free person
in the here and the now.

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That is the greatest gift.

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"Darling, I offer you my freedom."

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And we can share that freedom.

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Freedom makes happiness possible.

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All of us know
that when we are not free,

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when we are bound to our anger,
to our afflictions, to our worries,

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happiness is not possible.

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We have learned
the art of letting go.

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We have learned the art
of releasing our cows.

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We have learned many ways
of reclaiming our liberty.

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It is in that position
of a free person

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that you can make the best gift
to the person in front of you.

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That person might be your partner,
your son, your daughter, your friend...

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and even your enemy.

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You can make an enemy into a friend
by the practice of giving.

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You may have not tried,

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but it is very effective.

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The Buddha said,
when you get angry at someone,

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even after you have tried many ways
and yet anger is still there,

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then try this:

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give him a present.

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That was suggested
by the Buddha himself.

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I would like to recommend this:

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make a present ready.

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When you are not angry at him or her,
prepare present ready.

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A love letter,

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a gift you may make by yourself or
you might even buy in the supermarket...

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but wrap it, present it
in loving kindness, with all your heart.

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that is your practice.

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And preparing this gift
to him or to her,

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my heart is full of love.

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Every movement I do is...

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is motivated by love,

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and motivated by
making him or her happy

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so I am preparing this gift,
but I know...

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in the future, in 3 days or maybe 
one week or two I may be angry at him.

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And I am determined at that moment
I will send him this gift,

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I will bring it out to his desk.

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Or I will mail to him
through the post office.

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So you are doing that

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being aware that your love for him
may be impermanent.

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And one day this gift
that you are preparing might be...

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a means to restore your love.

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And when you get angry at him or her,
go to the post office and mail it.

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And after doing that
you'll feel much better.

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You have not tried?
Go ahead and try.

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It's very effective.

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And we have several other ways...

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to practice Dana paramita,
the practice of giving.

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When we receive the Five Mindfulness
Trainings and live according to them,

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we protect ourselves and our loved ones.
That is also a gift.

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a precious gift that can bring us
over to the Other Shore,

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the shore of safety,
the shore of well-being.

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Giving in the teaching of Buddhism
is a very deep practice.

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And you don't need to be rich
to practice giving.

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You are a lot richer
than you might have thought.

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You can make one person
extremely happy.

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You can make many, many people
extremely happy

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if you know how to practice
Dana paramita.

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You need only
to go back to yourself,

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practice mindful breathing
and recognize...

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that you have
a treasure of happiness,

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a treasure of elements that
can be used to make people happy.

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You can make 10 people, 100 people,
1000 people happy.

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If you learn how to use your time,
your energy, your smile,

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then you can make people happy.

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And when you make people happy,
you are happy yourself.

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You have been offered...

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the teaching
on the emptiness of giving.

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You give with the spirit
of non-discrimination.

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You give without conditions.

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That form of giving is
the highest form of giving.

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You give as a bodhisattva.

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And the outcome will be tremendous.

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The happiness will be huge.

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Please learn more
about the practice of giving.

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The more we give,
the happier we become.

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And we make so many people
happy around us.

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The teaching on giving
in Buddhism is wonderful.

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Even if you don't have any money
in your bank account,

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you can still practice
as a bodhisattva...

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giving a lot of things,
a lot of happiness every day.