0:00:02.050,0:00:03.079
(Half bell)

0:00:09.562,0:00:18.374
(Bell)

0:00:31.413,0:00:33.218
(FRENCH)[br]I would like to say

0:00:33.356,0:00:37.673
that certain people were not ok[br]to play a game called 'Werewolves'.

0:00:39.504,0:00:44.132
There are adults who say[br]that it is a bad game.

0:00:44.215,0:00:48.180
You should not play it here,[br]because you play with death.

0:00:48.906,0:00:50.285
You cannot do that.

0:00:50.584,0:00:55.741
And other people say it is very good,[br]because it's a game and you play together.

0:00:57.067,0:01:00.385
So the question is: Is it good or not?

0:01:01.090,0:01:05.154
What teaching can you[br]give on this argument?

0:01:09.758,0:01:11.136
(ENGLISH)[br]Dear Thay,

0:01:11.136,0:01:14.222
our friend is saying[br]that there is a certain game.

0:01:14.986,0:01:17.502
Some of the young people[br]like to play it.

0:01:17.512,0:01:20.398
It is called 'Loups-Garous',[br]'Werewolves.'

0:01:22.553,0:01:26.750
Some of the adults said that[br]they should not play this game,

0:01:27.515,0:01:30.089
because it has something[br]to do with death.

0:01:30.661,0:01:34.437
And other people say that[br]it can be a good game to play.

0:01:35.092,0:01:38.193
So how can they resolve this question?

0:01:38.558,0:01:44.164
And what kind of teaching can be helpful[br]to make them understand about this?

0:01:46.681,0:01:48.559
Do you want to say[br]more about the game?

0:01:50.367,0:01:56.504
(Mumbling)

0:02:04.106,0:02:05.841
It is just a simple game.

0:02:05.841,0:02:12.484
You have to choose at the end of a round[br]whom you want to kill.

0:02:15.045,0:02:18.385
There are some[br]special characters like witches.

0:02:20.313,0:02:24.596
And there is a vote and[br]that vote decides who is a werewolf.

0:02:25.381,0:02:29.544
So you have to keep the people[br]and hopefully kill the werewolf.

0:02:29.698,0:02:33.242
So that is why some people[br]who have children say

0:02:33.242,0:02:36.956
they have to kill, to choose[br]whom they want to kill.

0:02:36.956,0:02:39.151
And you have to defend yourself saying:

0:02:39.151,0:02:41.433
"I am not the werewolf.[br]Please don't kill me!"

0:02:41.433,0:02:43.837
And all the children[br]together have to say:

0:02:43.837,0:02:46.779
"I think this one is the werewolf.[br]We should kill him."

0:02:46.779,0:02:48.862
But maybe he is innocent.

0:02:48.868,0:02:50.742
And the object of this game is that

0:02:50.742,0:02:54.058
the werewolves win when[br]they kill all the normal people.

0:02:54.058,0:02:58.592
Or the normal people win[br]when they kill all the werewolves.

0:03:03.916,0:03:07.912
Sister Hai Nghiem, can you[br]help answer that question for Thay?

0:03:07.914,0:03:11.547
(Crowd laughs)

0:03:12.945,0:03:14.784
Maybe Thay Phap Luu also.

0:03:26.794,0:03:29.403
Do you kill or pretend to kill?

0:03:32.891,0:03:35.109
Do you really want to kill?

0:03:40.790,0:03:43.299
Microphone for sister Hai Nghiem.

0:04:06.458,0:04:08.215
Dear Thay, dear Sangha

0:04:12.007,0:04:15.051
I have played this game[br]in the past (laughs).

0:04:17.506,0:04:22.283
So I feel I know the spirit[br]of the game a little bit.

0:04:38.326,0:04:44.441
What is inspiring for me when I play[br]this game for children or young people...

0:04:48.867,0:04:50.563
is that you play roles.

0:04:54.087,0:04:59.027
Either we are an innocent villager,[br]or we are a werewolf,

0:04:59.446,0:05:02.437
or we are a witch[br]or we are a little girl.

0:05:07.481,0:05:11.792
Obviously in these roles[br]there is the good and the evil.

0:05:16.080,0:05:19.503
The innocent people,[br]they represent the good.

0:05:19.864,0:05:22.086
They want to save their lives.

0:05:24.697,0:05:28.591
The werewolves in this game[br]represent the evil.

0:05:29.173,0:05:31.473
They want to make victims.

0:05:36.459,0:05:42.233
There are also some roles in this game where[br]people actually save other people's lives

0:05:42.970,0:05:44.593
or you can...

0:05:48.452,0:05:53.947
or you can act in such a way that will[br]kill more people at the same time.

0:05:59.517,0:06:04.438
Of course you pretend this,[br]you don't have to actually make victims.

0:06:05.333,0:06:07.326
It is just a way of speaking.

0:06:07.657,0:06:10.342
But some people get[br]animated by the game.

0:06:12.711,0:06:15.583
In this game there[br]has to be a lot of talking

0:06:15.673,0:06:18.572
to convince the others that you[br]are not a werewolf

0:06:18.572,0:06:20.681
and you should not be killed.

0:06:25.693,0:06:29.091
Sometimes you are a werewolf[br]and people want to kill you.

0:06:29.091,0:06:33.557
Then you lie, because you say:[br]"No no, I am not a werewolf."

0:06:38.284,0:06:39.463
So...

0:06:40.659,0:06:45.512
I think that sometimes[br]you sort of play with fire in this game:

0:06:47.654,0:06:49.107
You lie or...

0:06:51.525,0:06:54.511
or you try to kill someone[br]that is innocent.

0:07:03.879,0:07:09.114
I think that something we can learn[br]from a game like this is that...

0:07:14.045,0:07:18.279
that we can have roles together[br]when we are in a community,

0:07:19.092,0:07:20.787
but it does not have to...

0:07:23.191,0:07:27.509
it does not have to[br]become...so violent.

0:07:30.176,0:07:35.720
Maybe the children could think of[br]a game which is similar to 'Werewolves',

0:07:35.720,0:07:39.470
where you have to discuss together[br]and you also have roles,

0:07:39.496,0:07:41.926
but maybe you won't[br]have to kill people.

0:07:41.926,0:07:44.383
Maybe instead of killing...

0:07:47.084,0:07:48.797
we can make projects or...

0:07:53.676,0:07:56.782
we can gain some wisdom together

0:07:59.690,0:08:05.345
or save the...weaker, the needy.

0:08:11.411,0:08:14.214
I hope that Thay will[br]contribute something more.

0:08:14.214,0:08:16.588
(Crowd laughs)

0:08:21.514,0:08:26.230
I think the children can sit down[br]and discuss about this

0:08:27.066,0:08:28.835
and come to a conclusion.

0:08:32.004,0:08:32.986
If a...

0:08:34.779,0:08:41.242
If a game is not approved by[br]a number of people,

0:08:41.690,0:08:46.983
then we can change the way of playing[br]so that everyone can accept it.

0:08:49.562,0:08:55.762
You know, I came from a country where[br]killing took place every day, every night

0:08:55.768,0:08:57.273
and many people died.

0:08:58.510,0:09:00.964
One side was the communist.

0:09:01.797,0:09:04.416
And one side was the anticommunist.

0:09:07.781,0:09:11.084
And they kill each other[br]every day, every night,

0:09:11.557,0:09:14.894
because they think[br]of the other side as evil.

0:09:17.977,0:09:21.036
And the suffering went on[br]for many, many years.

0:09:21.848,0:09:25.333
That is a game,[br]a horrible game.

0:09:28.909,0:09:33.246
So our thinking about[br]good and evil is very important.

0:09:36.066,0:09:38.508
Do not...

0:09:39.003,0:09:41.777
Do not try to say: "This is evil!

0:09:45.009,0:09:48.286
And if something[br]is evil we have to kill it."

0:09:49.590,0:09:51.161
Do not think like that.

0:09:56.728,0:09:58.937
Suppose someone is sick.

0:10:00.225,0:10:08.103
He has a kind of virus or bacteria[br]that makes him very sick.

0:10:16.219,0:10:17.588
And we want to...

0:10:20.781,0:10:22.700
We want to help him or her.

0:10:27.106,0:10:34.551
We have to kill the disease, the sickness[br]in him or in her and not kill her, right?

0:10:38.684,0:10:47.204
You have to kill the virus, the bacteria[br]and not the person, right?

0:10:49.001,0:10:54.032
So when someone is violent[br]because someone is injust,

0:10:56.226,0:10:58.966
when someone is a criminal,

0:11:01.842,0:11:07.498
we should not try to kill him or her,[br]but we try to kill the violence,

0:11:11.060,0:11:13.078
the anger in him or in her.

0:11:15.149,0:11:16.520
Do not kill.

0:11:17.048,0:11:20.595
That is why during the war[br]in Vietnam Thay wrote a song.

0:11:21.644,0:11:24.205
And he asked the young people[br]to sing it on the street.

0:11:24.596,0:11:26.372
"Our enemies are not men.

0:11:26.665,0:11:29.804
If we kill men, with whom shall we live?"

0:11:31.915,0:11:33.888
It became a folk song.

0:11:38.410,0:11:42.424
That is why our principle is no killing.

0:11:42.598,0:11:50.465
We do not kill any people, any person,[br]even if he is a terrorist or a criminal.

0:11:52.020,0:11:57.140
We want to kill the wrong perception,

0:11:58.243,0:11:59.467
and...

0:12:00.418,0:12:05.072
and the ignorance, the hate,[br]the fear, the violence in him or in her.

0:12:05.072,0:12:07.776
We don't want to kill him or her.

0:12:09.097,0:12:12.142
That is why you have[br]to create a kind of game

0:12:12.142,0:12:16.888
where we don't kill the person[br]but we kill the evil in that person.

0:12:17.611,0:12:21.403
That evil is violence, anger and hate.

0:12:22.301,0:12:31.451
But you have to be very skillful to[br]kill the violence, the hate in a person.

0:12:32.679,0:12:39.872
And with the practice of[br]mindful talking, mindful listening

0:12:40.604,0:12:44.627
you can help a person remove[br]anger and violence in him or in her.

0:12:45.532,0:12:47.583
You cannot do that with guns.

0:12:52.572,0:12:57.446
That is the first thing we have to learn:[br]never kill a man, a woman.

0:12:58.340,0:13:01.035
Only kill the evil in him or in her.

0:13:02.201,0:13:04.807
But you do not need weapons[br]in order to kill.

0:13:06.288,0:13:10.152
You need the practice[br]of compassion of listening.

0:13:11.553,0:13:16.932
That is the first part of the answer.[br]The second part of the answer is deeper.

0:13:17.689,0:13:21.063
Because you know that[br]nothing is born and nothing dies

0:13:21.063,0:13:24.243
that is why you cannot even kill anger.

0:13:25.112,0:13:27.914
You transform anger into something else.

0:13:29.868,0:13:33.972
You cannot kill a cloud,[br]you can help a cloud to become rain.

0:13:35.286,0:13:38.935
So there is a way[br]to transform anger and violence

0:13:39.519,0:13:42.224
into something else[br]that is more pleasant,

0:13:42.227,0:13:47.002
like compassion, understanding[br]and reconciliation.

0:13:47.513,0:13:50.864
And that you can do[br]with the practice of meditation.

0:13:50.864,0:13:52.821
That is what we learn here.

0:13:56.403,0:13:58.342
We do not even kill...

0:14:01.141,0:14:04.801
We do not even want to kill[br]anger or hate

0:14:05.648,0:14:08.046
because we know that nothing dies.

0:14:08.169,0:14:12.433
But we know we can transform[br]anger and hate into something positive

0:14:12.433,0:14:14.332
like understanding and love.

0:14:14.924,0:14:20.889
And in Plum Village we learn[br]how to transform anger into compassion.

0:14:23.436,0:14:27.179
We learn how to transform[br]violence into gentleness.

0:14:30.914,0:14:33.501
And the children can learn.

0:14:34.095,0:14:37.361
And when they go[br]back to school, this September,

0:14:37.509,0:14:39.596
they know how to deal with

0:14:42.874,0:14:46.762
the children who are violent[br]and have a lot of anger in them.

0:14:47.606,0:14:50.528
We don't want to punish them or hit them.

0:14:50.528,0:14:55.765
But we want to help them to be[br]less violent, less angry.

0:14:57.089,0:14:59.752
And you can learn that in Plum Village.

0:15:00.083,0:15:03.961
And you can help[br]your fellow students in the class.

0:15:07.173,0:15:12.755
Ask your mentors[br]here in Plum Village how to do that.

0:15:18.145,0:15:22.779
And create a kind of game[br]that can help us to learn.

0:15:25.906,0:15:29.830
This person, this guy,[br]is supposed to be evil.

0:15:31.167,0:15:34.177
And people say that we have to kill him.

0:15:34.188,0:15:35.623
Can we kill a person?

0:15:37.721,0:15:38.566
No!

0:15:39.703,0:15:46.497
We have to help him or her[br]not to be violent, not to be angry.

0:15:48.034,0:15:49.035
But how?

0:15:49.688,0:15:52.243
So we can create many kinds of games.

0:15:52.243,0:15:55.338
There are plenty of games,[br]beautiful games.

0:15:55.925,0:16:02.398
Why don't we spend our time playing[br]in such a way that we can learn more.

0:16:04.310,0:16:05.487
Thank you!

0:16:07.520,0:16:09.015
(Half bell)

0:16:12.477,0:16:21.580
(Bell)