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[gong sounds]

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Good morning, dear respected Thay,
dear noble Sangha,

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today is November the 16th
in the year 2017

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and today I have the great opportunity

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to offer the first Dharma talk
of the winter retreat.

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Looking at the community,
I see a very big family.

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For any of you who is here
for the first time at our winter retreat,

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welcome to the Plum Village family,

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welcome to the spiritual family.

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I hope that during your time with us,

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you will arrive and 
feel at home at every moment.

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When you walk you'll see that you're not
walking in a foreign place

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but you feel that this is your home too.

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In our tradition the winter retreat has 
a very important aspect for us monastics

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but also for all those who aspire to live

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and to put into practice 
the life of mindfulness.

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In this tradition that carries
the spirit of calming, of being at home,

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learning to still oneself in mind and body

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and also to enrich and deepen
our practice, our aspirations,

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and at the same time, learn to live 
in harmony with the community.

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Today I would like
to break it down one by one

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with the practices that I have used
throughout my years in these retreats.

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As a monk, I never knew
that we would travel so much.

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The idea was, you go and shave your head,
you wear a robe and you sit all day

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but actually it's quite opposite.

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The more you learn 
and the more you practice,

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you actually see that what you have,
you don't want to be selfish about it

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you want to be able 
to share it with other people.

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So, in this tradition we have 
the culture of opening our doors

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to welcome the many people 
to come and learn and practice with us

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and at the same time as a monastic,

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we have the opportunity to travel 
to different places around the world

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to be in touch with different cultures,

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to be in touch with different environments

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and in order to share what we 
have invested our self into,

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to touch the wonderful 
seeds in other people.

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So actually, as a monk 
we also travel so much

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and travelling has its benefits,

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we get to expand our horizons

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we get to see and learn
new things to enrich our life

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but at the same time, learning to be home 
and learning to be still is as important.

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Going home,

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what is important is to be 
in touch with ourselves

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with the real how, who we are 
how we are doing

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we have to always come 
back to that question

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because mindfulness is the ability

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to know what is going on
inside of us and around us

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it's easier sometimes to take care of 
somebody else than to take care of oneself

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so here we need to learn

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and we need to really put our energy 
in caring for ourselves

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in order to fuel ourselves 
with the practice,

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with the energy of mindfulness

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so that we have something
that we can offer throughout the year.

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I see that our roots are very important.

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All of us, we have roots that we have to 
be in touch with and have to connect to.

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And as a monastic, as a practitioner

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the roots of our spiritual family

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is something that we always 
have to be in touch with

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and as a lay member we can also 
be in touch with those spiritual roots

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they're coming from our ancestors

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coming from our culture

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it is deep down inside

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the feeling of wanting 
to be able to touch peace

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the ability to be in touch with happiness

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the ability to make one mindful in-breath

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those are all spiritual elements 
that are deep down inside of us.

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And we have this very special opportunity

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every day, to enrich it,

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every day to deepen it,

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every day to cultivate it.

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These roots are what connects
all of us in this room

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we all have aspiration

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but how can we live in harmony
and how can we be happy together?

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It's because deep down inside
we all do have a same aspiration

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and when we are in touch with that,
we can feel the connection,

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we can feel the interbeing of one another.

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Me and my brown brothers,
my brown sisters,

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me, brown eyes in the robe, 
the brown family,

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we have to see that,
we have to see those roots

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that connect all of us.

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There's always a void 
that comes from time to time

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the feeling of loneliness,

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a feeling of separation is there,

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but when you can make an in-breath,

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or you can connect to your brothers' 
or your sisters' energy of practice,

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then, somehow you feel embraced 
by their presence,

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you feel embraced by their practice.

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That connection is one of the values

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and one of the treasures 
of being in a community,

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and as a member of this community 
we also have the responsibility

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to offer that to our brothers and sisters,

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to offer that to our community.

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So, just like the practice 
of mindful breathing,

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the first exercise is to identify 
the in-breath and the out-breath.

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Very basic but very crucial.

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When you have the capacity to recognize

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and to identify just the in-breath 
and the out-breath

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then that means you will have the capacity

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to identify your suffering
and your happiness.

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The things that are going on
happening inside.

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So if you cannot identify 
your in-breath and your out-breath

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at any moment that you need,
then there's some training to do.

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If we cannot identify our 
in-breath and out-breath,

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then how can we recognize
what is going on inside of us?

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That's why the basic,
fundamental practice is very crucial.

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It lays our foundation,

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for us to go deeper 
into other elements in our practice.

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So at any moment in the day 
in the retreat you feel lost,

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you know there is a friend with you,

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and that is your breath.

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The breath is always with you, 
no matter what.

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As long as you are alive, 
that breath is with you.

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So identifying and 
being one with the breath,

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it's a discipline and 
it's an important practice

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because that is what is the beginning
of the practice of awareness.

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The beginning of mindfulness,

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just one in-breath and one out-breath.

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And when we follow along 
with the second practice,

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if we follow our in-breath
from the beginning to the end

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and we follow our out-breath 
from the beginning to the end,

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when we're able to practice in that way,

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we give rise, and there is 
a concentration that is born within us.

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And when you are concentrated like that,
you give your mind a break,

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a break from running 
from thought to thought,

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from this to that,

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but concentrated with just one 
in-breath and one out-breath

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and that develops the concentration 
which helps still the mind.

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And at the same time,
when the mind is still,

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then the body will also follow.

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Sometimes the mind is too active.

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Then we pay attention to the body,

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that's what comes at third practice.

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As you breathe in,
you become aware of your body

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as your body is a physical presence.

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It's sometimes easier to be aware 
of the physical presence.

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Sometimes the mind is harder to grasp,
it's harder to follow

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but the body is something you can feel.

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The tension, the pain or the relaxation.

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A relaxation you can offer to your body.

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Aware of your body as you breathe in,

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and relaxing the body as you breathe out.

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You can feel it in your shoulders,
you can feel it in your neck

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your chest, your abdomen,
your whole body.

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And when we learn 
to be in touch with the body,

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we are one with the body,

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then we're also welcoming 
the mind home to the body.

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And the more we are able to recognize,
and be with the body and the mind

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then we are enhancing our presence 
in the here and the now.

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The practice is to be
in the here and the now,

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and that is the aspiration.

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But I don't think we can always 
be in the here and the now,

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not many of us are there yet.

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If you are, you are the Buddha

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and we'll be bowing to you.

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But most of us,
we are part time Buddha's, right?

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Like what Thay says, not full time, 
but we are part time.

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So the more we are in touch with the 
present moment, with our body and mind,

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the more we enhance our capacity of
being in the present moment,

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and we are nourishing more 
our Dharma body.

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Each and every one of us 
has our physical body

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that we care for by exercising

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by sleeping, by resting and by food,

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but when you start to practice 
and you are in this community

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there is a second body you give rise to

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and that manifests as you practice

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and that is the Dharma body.

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The Dharma body also needs food,

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and the food comes from the practice.

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You know, every morning when we do sitting
and we hear the morning chant,

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the Dharma body is bringing morning light.

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So each and every one of us 
has this fire within,

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this fire that glows.

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When you look...

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one of the reasons why I
became a monk...

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... was because I saw how
beautiful the monastics were

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they had this glow,
and many of you still do.

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They had this glow

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this glow that didn't
need words to express

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but they carry it
through just a way of being

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the way of walking,
the way of approaching me,

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the way of sharing.

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I will never forget 
my first encounter with a monk,

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a Plum Village monk.

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it was in 1996,
my first time to Plum Village.

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My father said, we were going to France

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so I thought, oh, Paris, Eiffel Tower,

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but the first stop
was Village des Pruniers.

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I had no idea what
we were getting ourselves into

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and I remember the monk picking us up
from Sainte-Foy-La-Grande.

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He was the first young monk 
that I've ever met in my life,

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and the way he greeted us,
kind of blew me away.

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Just the way he bowed.

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He joined his palms
and he bowed to us.

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And I was only nine

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and I somehow felt, oh my god!
A monk is respecting me,

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wow! this is weird, this is rare...

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and I was really in awe by his presence.

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And then the way he took our luggage,
the way he brought us to our room,

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he showed us where to serve our food.

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Just a very small detail
I carried in my heart

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I carry in my consciousness, too, now,

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it's something that changed my perspective
of Buddhism or of a monastic

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and that wasn't done by word,

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that wasn't done by a Dharma talk.

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That was done just by his presence,

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but that was done, and what 
I saw, was his Dharma body.

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His Dharma body that he has cultivated 
through many years of practice,

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and that has been
translated into his daily life.

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So each and every one of us

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we have this Dharma body that we are
cultivating and nourishing.

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And nourishing it is as important 
as nourishing our physical bodies

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and in this winter retreat,

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it really carries the essence 
of deepening the practice,

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of resting, of being at home.

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It's like a big reunion, 
a big family reunion

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for many of our brothers and sisters
from afar, coming home,

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and many of our lay friends,

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having the courage to come for 90 days,

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to let go of the outside

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to let go of the noise outside 
and cut ourselves off

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and to come and to rest.

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So it's something 
that is very, very valuable,

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these moments, that we have to recognize,

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just like the in-breath and out-breath,

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every day, we have to recognize.

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One of my younger brothers said, wow, 
today is day 89 of the winter retreat!

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I don't know if he's 
counting it down as in,

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I have to value 89 more days, or as,
oh man, I got 89 more days.

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well I leave it for that brother to see,

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but every day is an opportunity.

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Just like our gatha,

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<i>Waking up this morning,
24 brand-new hours</i>

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and we can say, waking up this morning
another day with the community

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how lucky we are!

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And being in the winter retreat 
is also the practice of not going out

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and not going out here,

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our teacher expanded it not to 
just physically go out of the boundaries

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that's why we have boundaries
in the winter retreat.

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It's to help our habits of running,
of wanting to go out.

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So to rest means to be still,

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00:20:38,142 --> 00:20:41,338
and to heal, we also 
have to learn to be still.

242
00:20:43,163 --> 00:20:45,322
So we can learn from the animals.

243
00:20:46,917 --> 00:20:49,499
The animals, when they are hurt
they know how to rest.

244
00:20:50,037 --> 00:20:52,001
They don't have medication like we do,

245
00:20:54,086 --> 00:20:55,337
but they know how to rest.

246
00:20:55,340 --> 00:20:58,411
We have medication, but sometimes 
we don't know how to be still.

247
00:21:00,638 --> 00:21:04,628
So going out and having 
the boundary, is a practice,

248
00:21:04,817 --> 00:21:10,724
it's something to help us, 
it's a helping hand

249
00:21:12,242 --> 00:21:14,120
so that we don't have the urge.

250
00:21:14,276 --> 00:21:16,668
Sometimes our habit is the urge
to always go out,

251
00:21:17,259 --> 00:21:21,019
never feeling still,
stillness.

252
00:21:23,203 --> 00:21:25,005
And to go deeper into this practice,

253
00:21:26,660 --> 00:21:29,471
going out here, is also in here.

254
00:21:31,332 --> 00:21:36,209
So for many of the winter retreats,
our teacher always encouraged us

255
00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:39,557
to take a break from social media.

256
00:21:41,065 --> 00:21:45,020
That's also very important and 
maybe a bit difficult practice.

257
00:21:46,651 --> 00:21:52,851
Being online is a necessity,
but there should be a limit

258
00:21:52,875 --> 00:21:54,923
and there should be a practice to it.

259
00:21:57,331 --> 00:22:02,077
So going out here is not just 
physically, but also mentally.

260
00:22:02,581 --> 00:22:05,437
So that is also the practice 
of the winter retreat,

261
00:22:05,675 --> 00:22:08,783
and the spirit of the winter retreat.

262
00:22:09,556 --> 00:22:12,183
Learning to be with oneself,

263
00:22:12,886 --> 00:22:16,081
learning to be with this community.

264
00:22:26,047 --> 00:22:34,273
To rest is such an important practice
and it sounds so simple, resting.

265
00:22:35,510 --> 00:22:37,273
I think we all need this,

266
00:22:38,660 --> 00:22:45,404
but at the same time it's so hard 
because there is so much to do

267
00:22:46,351 --> 00:22:49,529
there's so much we want to learn,

268
00:22:49,749 --> 00:22:53,200
there's so much we want to achieve.

269
00:22:54,994 --> 00:22:56,513
But the question always comes,

270
00:22:56,513 --> 00:23:00,831
how much are we sacrificing 
in order to reach those achievements?

271
00:23:03,099 --> 00:23:08,197
Even as a monastic, there's so much to do.

272
00:23:10,313 --> 00:23:11,964
I'm the abbot of Upper Hamlet

273
00:23:13,356 --> 00:23:19,351
and I see, the more I'm a monk, 
it seems like the more I'm busy.

274
00:23:22,881 --> 00:23:24,788
and it's my koan this winter retreat,

275
00:23:25,354 --> 00:23:27,568
how do I rest? How to rest?

276
00:23:28,717 --> 00:23:33,668
How to rest more and 
how to be more present for the community,

277
00:23:34,981 --> 00:23:37,735
it's my ongoing koan, my ongoing practice

278
00:23:38,753 --> 00:23:42,140
because there is 
a restlessness that I have.

279
00:23:43,799 --> 00:23:47,463
I feel that moments 
where I'm not doing something,

280
00:23:48,138 --> 00:23:52,463
it's a moment that I
should be doing something, right?

281
00:23:52,596 --> 00:23:58,196
I think I'm not the only one 
that had this feeling.

282
00:24:01,663 --> 00:24:04,896
So learning to rest is a necessity

283
00:24:04,983 --> 00:24:07,846
because I always ask myself

284
00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:17,892
to do that, to finish something 
do I feel more achieved,

285
00:24:20,057 --> 00:24:21,835
or do I feel more connected?

286
00:24:23,507 --> 00:24:26,691
Sometimes I feel I achieve 
a lot of things for the community

287
00:24:27,552 --> 00:24:30,928
but I am distancing myself more
from the community.

288
00:24:31,989 --> 00:24:35,350
So there's one side, 
I'm achieving for the Sangha

289
00:24:36,463 --> 00:24:39,992
but at another side, I'm distancing 
myself from the community.

290
00:24:43,194 --> 00:24:45,485
So I have to revisit this

291
00:24:45,713 --> 00:24:53,102
and I have to see what are my
relationships with work, with service?

292
00:24:54,594 --> 00:25:01,163
Service is a very important aspect 
of a monastic or as a person

293
00:25:01,626 --> 00:25:06,436
we all want to feel that we are 
offering something back to society,

294
00:25:07,659 --> 00:25:15,242
but to what expense 
and how much of stability

295
00:25:15,482 --> 00:25:20,657
and of value, of peace 
and happiness that we have

296
00:25:21,392 --> 00:25:24,257
that is actually the real thing 
that I want to offer

297
00:25:24,677 --> 00:25:27,429
to my brothers and sisters
and to the community.

298
00:25:29,601 --> 00:25:33,562
That was my beginner's mind, but somehow,

299
00:25:35,907 --> 00:25:40,291
slowly it became more projects,
and projects, and projects.

300
00:25:42,934 --> 00:25:46,525
so for those of us 
who are in the community

301
00:25:48,599 --> 00:25:54,336
today I feel I have this opportunity 
to speak more to the internal family,

302
00:25:54,638 --> 00:25:56,741
because we're all
here for the three months

303
00:25:56,913 --> 00:26:01,350
and we're all of the monastics 
that are here at another residence,

304
00:26:03,831 --> 00:26:07,911
because all of us, 
we go through the same thing

305
00:26:08,820 --> 00:26:14,301
we all go through the sense 
and the feeling of doing too much,

306
00:26:16,111 --> 00:26:18,378
not having enough time to rest,

307
00:26:19,339 --> 00:26:23,878
not having enough time to be 
in touch with our real aspiration.

308
00:26:25,914 --> 00:26:30,236
Yes, my real aspiration was, 
I think it was to be enlightened,

309
00:26:30,896 --> 00:26:34,704
and I shouldn't forget that, right?

310
00:26:35,646 --> 00:26:39,484
And I think each and every one of us 
has to come back to it,

311
00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:44,538
and not be carried away by the projects.

312
00:26:45,052 --> 00:26:49,493
The projects are there,
it's always gonna be there,

313
00:26:51,948 --> 00:26:58,114
but at the same time we have 
to revisit our beginner's mind,

314
00:26:59,161 --> 00:27:01,239
our bodhicitta from the beginning.

315
00:27:04,655 --> 00:27:06,606
And when we are not in touch with that

316
00:27:07,443 --> 00:27:15,114
then it's very easy to take a detour.

317
00:27:16,757 --> 00:27:20,367
And this detour, 
how long it goes depends on us.

318
00:27:21,873 --> 00:27:28,335
It depends on our capacity to be 
with the in-breath and out-breath,

319
00:27:28,619 --> 00:27:29,889
recognizing again,

320
00:27:32,091 --> 00:27:36,650
what is our aspiration? 
What was it that brought us here?

321
00:27:43,712 --> 00:27:51,772
So I know that to be restful 
and to heal, and to be there,

322
00:27:52,943 --> 00:27:57,487
means, I have to be true 
and I have to honor my aspiration,

323
00:27:58,764 --> 00:28:00,377
I have to honor my goals.

324
00:28:09,940 --> 00:28:12,627
And that means, having to retrain oneself

325
00:28:13,686 --> 00:28:15,365
re-disciplining oneself.

326
00:28:19,750 --> 00:28:23,208
The monastic culture in the 
tradition in the monastery,

327
00:28:25,294 --> 00:28:29,891
there is a discipline,
and this discipline is not to...

328
00:28:32,330 --> 00:28:40,138
the discipline here is not, 
if you do something wrong, you get a stick

329
00:28:41,208 --> 00:28:42,851
or you're gonna get scolded,

330
00:28:43,736 --> 00:28:51,634
but the discipline here is a discipline
to enhance our beginner's mind,

331
00:28:52,324 --> 00:28:53,554
our aspiration,

332
00:28:54,162 --> 00:28:55,821
because we have habits.

333
00:28:56,808 --> 00:29:03,279
All of us have habits and 
if we don't have a discipline

334
00:29:03,478 --> 00:29:05,495
if we don't have a training

335
00:29:08,260 --> 00:29:11,900
then it's too easy 
to fall back into our habits.

336
00:29:14,189 --> 00:29:15,880
Just like when you exercise, right?

337
00:29:16,700 --> 00:29:23,937
the exercising to build the body 
doesn't mean just a physical activity

338
00:29:24,504 --> 00:29:30,090
but it also means our diets,
what we eat, what we intake.

339
00:29:31,150 --> 00:29:36,623
So, in the community, in the schedule in 
this sangha it's the same, we have that.

340
00:29:39,763 --> 00:29:44,886
So our guideline, the spine 
of the community is the schedule,

341
00:29:45,957 --> 00:29:47,174
the community schedule.

342
00:29:48,603 --> 00:29:53,189
And the community schedule 
is what unites all of us,

343
00:29:53,602 --> 00:29:58,632
and what collects 
the energy of the community,

344
00:29:58,824 --> 00:30:02,184
collects every individual presence,

345
00:30:02,767 --> 00:30:04,430
and when everybody is there,

346
00:30:05,455 --> 00:30:11,438
you just are embraced by this powerful 
collective energy of mindfulness,

347
00:30:11,875 --> 00:30:13,240
energy of presence.

348
00:30:14,134 --> 00:30:15,212
Just like yesterday,

349
00:30:16,020 --> 00:30:18,289
I don't know how you felt,
but in the ceremony,

350
00:30:19,169 --> 00:30:21,859
when the community chanted together,

351
00:30:23,718 --> 00:30:26,320
I ride the wave of the
Sangha at that moment,

352
00:30:26,473 --> 00:30:29,271
I said wow, this is awesome!

353
00:30:31,163 --> 00:30:34,033
You have to be able 
to recognize those moments,

354
00:30:34,906 --> 00:30:36,993
to ride the wave of the Sangha

355
00:30:37,942 --> 00:30:41,230
because the energy of the
Sangha are waves that come,

356
00:30:42,115 --> 00:30:44,841
and if you have a surfboard,
you can go very far.

357
00:30:47,412 --> 00:30:50,953
and sometimes you may 
drown a little bit, right?

358
00:30:51,125 --> 00:30:53,720
Suffering comes from time
to time, that's okay,

359
00:30:55,169 --> 00:30:57,150
but there are other safeguards,

360
00:30:57,370 --> 00:31:01,404
there are other surfboards
that are always riding these waves

361
00:31:02,940 --> 00:31:08,438
and having the capacity,
having the realization

362
00:31:09,333 --> 00:31:12,589
to take refuge into our
brothers and sisters,

363
00:31:12,694 --> 00:31:14,939
our friends or practitioners,

364
00:31:15,745 --> 00:31:21,510
it's at the same time
as essential as practicing for oneself.

365
00:31:23,365 --> 00:31:29,157
So the wave of the Sangha is there, 
the surfboards of the sanghas are there,

366
00:31:30,578 --> 00:31:34,117
and we sometimes have 
to learn to open our hearts.

367
00:31:34,875 --> 00:31:36,445
Open ourselves a little bit.

368
00:31:37,192 --> 00:31:40,193
It doesn't mean you have to show us
everything at the beginning,

369
00:31:40,696 --> 00:31:43,415
you know, you can 
take it step by step.

370
00:31:43,737 --> 00:31:47,194
Sometimes we have 
to see also what is inside of us,

371
00:31:48,260 --> 00:31:51,365
what is going inside 
and how much to bring out,

372
00:31:52,289 --> 00:31:54,708
because everything has 
to come with moderation

373
00:31:56,670 --> 00:31:59,145
Plum Village is not a transformation box.

374
00:32:00,112 --> 00:32:06,173
Some people have the idea, you come to 
Plum Village and you go out as a flower.

375
00:32:06,594 --> 00:32:10,802
You come in one end and then 
you come out as a different form.

376
00:32:12,891 --> 00:32:18,014
That means that you 
don't have the capacity

377
00:32:18,893 --> 00:32:22,126
to see the mud that's also there,

378
00:32:24,646 --> 00:32:29,267
and then we set our goals too high, 
and we set our own expectation

379
00:32:29,490 --> 00:32:33,924
or we set the expectation 
of the community too high.

380
00:32:36,060 --> 00:32:39,389
I love the way Thay shared, 
that the community is an organism,

381
00:32:40,251 --> 00:32:45,805
it's a living body, and each and 
every one of us is a member,

382
00:32:47,228 --> 00:32:49,060
is a cell in this body.

383
00:32:50,405 --> 00:32:53,923
And when the cells are in harmony, 
then the body is healthy

384
00:32:54,614 --> 00:32:56,193
and it works, it's strong.

385
00:32:57,803 --> 00:33:04,131
But sometimes there are some parts 
of the body that aren't working so well,

386
00:33:05,116 --> 00:33:06,858
but it doesn't mean the body dies.

387
00:33:08,187 --> 00:33:10,453
But the other parts would take care,

388
00:33:12,328 --> 00:33:16,240
take care of the place that is injured,
the place that needs healing.

389
00:33:17,701 --> 00:33:22,109
So we have to also see ourselves
as a cell in this body.

390
00:33:24,134 --> 00:33:27,333
So the moments when we serve 
and we support the community,

391
00:33:28,951 --> 00:33:31,987
like the cooking, the washing up, 
the raking of the leaves,

392
00:33:33,599 --> 00:33:36,905
all of that is caring for this body

393
00:33:37,712 --> 00:33:40,091
and then when we come 
to the sitting meditation,

394
00:33:40,895 --> 00:33:44,036
we come to the walking meditation,
we come to the meals,

395
00:33:45,124 --> 00:33:47,790
those are also caring for the body.

396
00:33:49,387 --> 00:33:56,607
When there is unison, the Harmony brings 
about the strength of the collectiveness,

397
00:33:57,384 --> 00:34:00,892
and the collectiveness here, 
in the body of the community.

398
00:34:02,621 --> 00:34:04,839
So let us all breathe together

399
00:34:05,362 --> 00:34:07,271
as we listen to a sound of the bell,

400
00:34:08,055 --> 00:34:14,645
to harmonize the collective energy of
everyone that is here in this hall.

401
00:34:22,460 --> 00:34:28,568
[gong sounds]

402
00:35:14,490 --> 00:35:19,501
Sometimes it's good to have 
a refresh button in ourselves,

403
00:35:20,674 --> 00:35:23,705
in what is going on
inside of our life with our life,

404
00:35:25,334 --> 00:35:28,368
and sometimes there needs 
to be a new opportunity,

405
00:35:29,172 --> 00:35:35,820
a new condition in order for us to feel 
that we have the opportunity to refresh.

406
00:35:37,017 --> 00:35:39,658
Just like a computer has 
the button to reboot,

407
00:35:40,916 --> 00:35:42,755
sometimes we also need that.

408
00:35:44,580 --> 00:35:50,821
So the winter retreat is an opportunity
to press that reboot button,

409
00:35:52,422 --> 00:35:57,099
whether you are a monastic or you're a
lay, it's all the same,

410
00:35:57,422 --> 00:36:03,010
we have this opportunity to refresh
and to reboot ourselves.

411
00:36:06,827 --> 00:36:11,437
It's like the changing of the season,
it's a new season, a new beginning,

412
00:36:12,881 --> 00:36:20,327
and in a new beginning, you feel like
everything is possible, right?

413
00:36:20,782 --> 00:36:25,196
A lot of us come here, I think, 
we have goals, we have an aspiration

414
00:36:26,258 --> 00:36:30,493
I think for ourselves, too, 
the monks and the nuns in the community

415
00:36:31,284 --> 00:36:34,210
we should also have the goals 
and aspiration,

416
00:36:34,674 --> 00:36:37,627
even though this is home, 
but it's a new season

417
00:36:38,871 --> 00:36:48,026
and every season we want to feel and 
see that we can enrich our life more,

418
00:36:49,076 --> 00:36:51,778
and we can enrich our Dharma body more.

419
00:36:54,358 --> 00:37:02,605
So we need certain moments in our life
that contain momentum to push ourselves.

420
00:37:05,726 --> 00:37:15,340
For myself, every winter retreat is 
a time to revisit my aspiration.

421
00:37:17,468 --> 00:37:23,752
just like I shared, just to come back 
to my bodhichitta, my beginner's mind.

422
00:37:24,688 --> 00:37:28,884
Come back, ask yourself, 
what is it again that made me a monk?

423
00:37:29,671 --> 00:37:32,247
What is it again that made me a nun?

424
00:37:33,987 --> 00:37:40,437
and for our lay friends, what is it that 
made me come to Plum Village to practice?

425
00:37:41,928 --> 00:37:45,736
And when you are in touch with that, 
and you can answer that,

426
00:37:48,058 --> 00:37:52,052
then you can see, ah, 
first of all I want to be here,

427
00:37:53,700 --> 00:37:56,984
and when you want to be here,
that's a source of energy.

428
00:38:00,589 --> 00:38:03,498
I hope nobody forced you to be here

429
00:38:07,191 --> 00:38:14,203
because when you see that you want to
be here, then your attitude also changes.

430
00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:20,712
Your attitude towards
living in the community,

431
00:38:21,565 --> 00:38:26,760
your attitude towards the activities, 
your attitude to the practice.

432
00:38:31,865 --> 00:38:39,884
I've been a monk for 15 years now, 
and yes, sometimes it gets boring.

433
00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:43,874
And sometimes I take it for granted.

434
00:38:44,979 --> 00:38:48,299
I'm like, oh man, 
I gotta go and sit again!

435
00:38:53,073 --> 00:38:57,803
you know, oh man, I got to line up
and eat, have cold food...

436
00:39:02,038 --> 00:39:05,131
and then sometimes you're in line, 
you hear the scraping sounds,

437
00:39:05,131 --> 00:39:07,841
oh man, the cooking team 
didn't cook enough food again...

438
00:39:09,430 --> 00:39:10,634
you know?

439
00:39:14,826 --> 00:39:17,613
so there are moments like
that you know we all go through,

440
00:39:18,734 --> 00:39:24,671
and there are moments sometimes that if we
are not careful, then it carries us away,

441
00:39:24,870 --> 00:39:26,486
that carries us very far away.

442
00:39:28,791 --> 00:39:32,691
So the winter retreat for me 
is always this rebutton

443
00:39:33,295 --> 00:39:38,304
this button to click, to restart, refresh.

444
00:39:41,054 --> 00:39:42,745
And we all know, for the monastics,

445
00:39:43,406 --> 00:39:46,924
at the end of the winter retreat,
we all get this report card, right?

446
00:39:47,656 --> 00:39:49,753
we all get this shining light letter,

447
00:39:50,622 --> 00:39:56,215
that tells us the things that we
have enriched ourselves in,

448
00:39:56,447 --> 00:40:01,096
and things that we need to put 
more energy into transforming,

449
00:40:01,465 --> 00:40:03,143
or put more energy into
training.

450
00:40:04,327 --> 00:40:09,913
But for me it's like, why do I have 
to wait until the end of the retreat?

451
00:40:11,398 --> 00:40:16,024
Why do I have to wait until the 
closing ceremony to receive that letter?

452
00:40:18,620 --> 00:40:22,845
Why don't I see that 
right now, right here?

453
00:40:23,718 --> 00:40:29,124
This is a new opportunity. 
This is a new start to refresh oneself.

454
00:40:31,431 --> 00:40:35,080
And it's funny, like, 
as a monk, I live in this community,

455
00:40:36,189 --> 00:40:39,381
and I would say, 
I have all the best conditions 


456
00:40:39,836 --> 00:40:42,867
to enrich my life 
in the practice of mindfulness,

457
00:40:43,415 --> 00:40:48,358
in the practice of sitting,
of walking or studying.

458
00:40:50,298 --> 00:40:53,538
But sometimes, when I go on a home visit

459
00:40:54,452 --> 00:40:58,461
and I say, okay, I'm gonna make 
the best out of this, I'm gonna...

460
00:40:58,807 --> 00:41:02,928
every day I'm gonna wake up 
at five o'clock, drink tea,

461
00:41:03,442 --> 00:41:06,483
there's no schedule, 
I can do whatever I like

462
00:41:06,886 --> 00:41:09,869
I can sit as long as I want, 
I want to read as much as I want,

463
00:41:10,524 --> 00:41:18,251
so but then I ask myself, 
but why can't I do that in this community?

464
00:41:20,021 --> 00:41:24,778
Why can't I do this in this 
environment, where this is home?

465
00:41:27,244 --> 00:41:28,512
This is my field!

466
00:41:29,091 --> 00:41:36,167
This is my field where I have planted 
all these seeds that I want to harvest.

467
00:41:38,224 --> 00:41:40,447
and I just see, it's just a state of mind.

468
00:41:40,700 --> 00:41:42,151
The mind is a painter, right?

469
00:41:43,041 --> 00:41:47,678
So sometimes we have to mentally
tell ourselves, this is a new beginning.

470
00:41:49,004 --> 00:41:50,632
We have to refresh that button.

471
00:41:51,692 --> 00:41:55,769
We have to refresh our aspiration,
we have to refresh our practice.

472
00:41:57,874 --> 00:42:01,202
And each and every one of us 
has now 89 days to do that,

473
00:42:02,373 --> 00:42:04,242
and when you look at it, that's a lot.

474
00:42:05,356 --> 00:42:09,072
That's a lot of days, 
a lot of opportunities.

475
00:42:14,488 --> 00:42:24,575
and what I've learned to do is, 
I have to learn to break down.

476
00:42:25,879 --> 00:42:28,684
I break down my aspiration,
I got to break down my goals.

477
00:42:30,491 --> 00:42:36,540
So like I said, we may sometimes carry
a very high expectation for oneself,

478
00:42:37,651 --> 00:42:42,025
and then there's a moment you say, 
oh I'm not I'm not giving myself 100%.

479
00:42:43,231 --> 00:42:50,059
Then you start to lose motivation 
and then you lose your energy

480
00:42:50,236 --> 00:42:54,799
of wanting to arrive 
at the goals that you set.

481
00:42:55,945 --> 00:42:59,410
So as a practitioner, you have 
to learn to break it down,

482
00:42:59,596 --> 00:43:02,838
we have to learn to break our
aspiration down, break our goals down.

483
00:43:05,318 --> 00:43:09,242
Don't just try to be 
a fully enlightened Buddha.

484
00:43:10,684 --> 00:43:15,451
See and value the part time
Buddha that we can become.

485
00:43:18,065 --> 00:43:19,882
So we have to take the baby steps.

486
00:43:21,645 --> 00:43:26,841
For example, Thay gave us many 
homeworks throughout the years.

487
00:43:27,657 --> 00:43:32,528
I remember one year, Thay printed out
for each and every one of us

488
00:43:33,051 --> 00:43:37,080
it's like a business card 
and it said, 100% .

489
00:43:39,778 --> 00:43:43,788
and anything we do, we have to see, 
I want to do it 100%.

490
00:43:45,873 --> 00:43:47,636
So you got to break down your day.

491
00:43:49,682 --> 00:43:54,214
Today, our aspiration is to be
mindful throughout the day.

492
00:43:55,110 --> 00:43:59,267
That's the aspiration. 
Reality? Not so much.

493
00:44:00,439 --> 00:44:03,705
So we have to be real 
and we have to choose.

494
00:44:04,558 --> 00:44:07,258
All right, today, 
every time I open the door,

495
00:44:07,381 --> 00:44:09,171
I'm gonna close the door mindfully.

496
00:44:11,700 --> 00:44:13,449
Make that a practice.

497
00:44:14,330 --> 00:44:18,232
And the next week, choose something else.

498
00:44:19,455 --> 00:44:25,668
The moment I see the brother, 
the sister I don't like, I will smile.

499
00:44:27,470 --> 00:44:30,306
I don't need them to smile back
but I will smile to them.

500
00:44:32,646 --> 00:44:38,577
That's a very difficult practice, 
but that's our aspiration right?

501
00:44:39,491 --> 00:44:43,331
To grow compassion, 
and to grow understanding.

502
00:44:46,069 --> 00:44:51,811
Another aspiration,
every moment I come into the hall

503
00:44:53,638 --> 00:44:56,983
I don't wait until I sit in the hall 
to practice sitting,

504
00:44:57,710 --> 00:45:00,362
but the moment I'm in the hall, 
the first step I take,

505
00:45:00,832 --> 00:45:02,688
that should be a step of mindfulness.

506
00:45:04,419 --> 00:45:14,454
so, be skillful, be creative, and 
make these small aspirations into reality.

507
00:45:15,636 --> 00:45:18,321
Make these small goals into reality.

508
00:45:19,869 --> 00:45:23,764
and when you can taste 
the fruit of those practices,

509
00:45:24,131 --> 00:45:26,233
and you can see those achievements,

510
00:45:26,947 --> 00:45:30,532
then you see, ah, 
I have the capacity to do this.

511
00:45:33,059 --> 00:45:37,643
Not only Thay can do this, not only 
my elder brothers and sisters can do it,

512
00:45:38,431 --> 00:45:40,035
but I can do it, too,

513
00:45:41,004 --> 00:45:46,008
and when you can taste and you can 
feel and you can recognize

514
00:45:46,557 --> 00:45:51,323
those fruits of practice,
that gives you so much more motivation.

515
00:45:51,826 --> 00:45:53,728
It gives you more aspiration,

516
00:45:55,779 --> 00:46:00,025
like when you help somebody,
you get back so much,

517
00:46:01,686 --> 00:46:07,323
that's the same. When you can see 
the goals that you set and you can do it,

518
00:46:08,046 --> 00:46:09,702
it gives back to you so much.

519
00:46:10,275 --> 00:46:14,045
And at the same time, it gives 
to the community just the same,

520
00:46:15,011 --> 00:46:18,302
to the collective practice and
collective energy of the Sangha.

521
00:46:29,458 --> 00:47:16,507
[gong sounds]

522
00:47:18,056 --> 00:47:20,707
So take this opportunity 
to rekindle our fire.

523
00:47:22,299 --> 00:47:26,381
We all have a very strong fire 
at the beginning,

524
00:47:28,658 --> 00:47:38,541
and for some of us, the fire has dimmed 
down quite a bit and we need to rekindle,

525
00:47:38,794 --> 00:47:40,181
we need to relight that fire,

526
00:47:40,951 --> 00:47:42,382
we need to enhance it again.

527
00:47:44,252 --> 00:47:46,947
Because with that, it gives warmth within,

528
00:47:47,716 --> 00:47:50,698
and it gives warmth 
to our aspiration and our goals,

529
00:47:51,193 --> 00:47:52,581
and it gives purpose.

530
00:47:54,725 --> 00:47:57,563
A feeling that we have a purpose.

531
00:48:00,255 --> 00:48:04,959
It's so important because 
the purpose brings connection,

532
00:48:06,661 --> 00:48:11,366
and connection is something that is 
very important in community life.

533
00:48:15,559 --> 00:48:17,823
For some of you 
who are here for three months,

534
00:48:18,084 --> 00:48:22,917
this may be the first time you're living 
in a room with eight people together.

535
00:48:24,483 --> 00:48:30,463
You're sharing the space 
and this practice is very deep,

536
00:48:31,696 --> 00:48:33,378
it's a practice of no self.

537
00:48:34,720 --> 00:48:37,203
You see, their well-being 
is your well-being.

538
00:48:37,826 --> 00:48:39,985
And your well-being is their well-being.

539
00:48:41,216 --> 00:48:43,705
Their happiness is your happiness.

540
00:48:45,600 --> 00:48:48,037
Your happiness is their happiness.

541
00:48:49,219 --> 00:48:56,688
And you get to learn, you get 
to see somebody else's transformation,

542
00:48:56,932 --> 00:48:58,373
and somebody else's practice.

543
00:49:00,764 --> 00:49:03,938
And this is something
that is very meaningful.

544
00:49:05,200 --> 00:49:06,771
It's something you will remember,

545
00:49:07,882 --> 00:49:12,163
because it will also touch you.

546
00:49:13,605 --> 00:49:16,734
Touch the roots that you have
planted in this community,

547
00:49:18,727 --> 00:49:22,029
and for monastics 
we also have the opportunity,

548
00:49:22,333 --> 00:49:26,472
every winter retreat we get new roommates.

549
00:49:27,656 --> 00:49:31,539
We change rooms and we get new roommates.

550
00:49:32,553 --> 00:49:36,292
And this is also 
an opportunity for us to learn,

551
00:49:37,961 --> 00:49:44,646
to really learn to be open 
to our new brothers,

552
00:49:44,777 --> 00:49:46,381
our new sisters in a room,

553
00:49:47,300 --> 00:49:52,035
and also the practice of no self,
seeing them in you and you in them,

554
00:49:54,667 --> 00:49:56,949
and the support that you can offer,

555
00:49:58,109 --> 00:50:01,067
it's not just for them,
but it's for you too.

556
00:50:03,816 --> 00:50:08,932
and one of the things that I have
learned when living with somebody

557
00:50:09,697 --> 00:50:15,008
is that their transformation 
sometimes is your transformation.

558
00:50:15,949 --> 00:50:21,124
Sometimes they transform something 
and it moves inside of you, too.

559
00:50:21,364 --> 00:50:23,884
and you kind of thank them, 
thank you for practicing

560
00:50:24,417 --> 00:50:25,884
now I don't have to do that.

561
00:50:26,475 --> 00:50:29,402
But at the same time, 
the things that you are practicing


562
00:50:29,785 --> 00:50:33,186
and that you are transforming, enhancing,
also affects them.

563
00:50:34,386 --> 00:50:41,626
And in our practice, that's called the
interbeing, interconnectedness.

564
00:50:44,047 --> 00:50:51,067
In the community, 
taking refuge is a practice.

565
00:50:53,041 --> 00:50:56,005
Refuge here is not just a shelter,

566
00:50:57,595 --> 00:51:02,807
but also, sometimes we have to learn 
to surrender ourselves to the community,

567
00:51:05,496 --> 00:51:10,680
and sometimes we have to learn
to borrow the energy of the Sangha.

568
00:51:13,748 --> 00:51:16,729
Sometimes, our teacher would say,

569
00:51:17,786 --> 00:51:21,004
when you're feeling down, and you feel 
like you want to be alone,

570
00:51:22,223 --> 00:51:25,771
that's actually a time when you 
need to be with the Sangha,


571
00:51:26,935 --> 00:51:31,812
to borrow and to take the collective
energy of the community.

572
00:51:33,419 --> 00:51:36,454
Sometimes when you're feeling down, 
if you're feeling weak,

573
00:51:37,202 --> 00:51:40,813
oh yeah, maybe I'll skip 
sitting meditation today,

574
00:51:42,413 --> 00:51:45,678
the community will understand, 
I'm feeling down, I'm feeling weak.

575
00:51:46,090 --> 00:51:51,782
They'll say I need space, but actually,
if you go, and you sit,

576
00:51:53,531 --> 00:51:56,621
and then you take in 
the collective energy of the community,

577
00:51:57,229 --> 00:52:02,390
that may be actually what you really
need, that energy of the community,

578
00:52:02,524 --> 00:52:03,948
this collectiveness.

579
00:52:04,825 --> 00:52:13,398
So the community is there, 
and we all will be challenged at times,

580
00:52:13,562 --> 00:52:17,335
like, do I go with the community 
or do I not? Do I go, do I not?

581
00:52:17,957 --> 00:52:21,046
and sometimes this yoyo, 
this back and forth, back and forth,

582
00:52:21,195 --> 00:52:24,706
sometimes you just gotta learn 
to let go, I just go, I just flow.

583
00:52:27,023 --> 00:52:32,132
That's part of our training in the 
monastic community and the Zen tradition

584
00:52:33,315 --> 00:52:36,998
so sometimes we have to see 
not just our own needs,

585
00:52:38,203 --> 00:52:40,761
we'll have to see the collectiveness.

586
00:52:42,022 --> 00:52:46,391
that sometimes are our own thinking is
what's distancing ourselves more and more,

587
00:52:47,277 --> 00:52:52,076
but when you learn 
to be embraced and to surrender

588
00:52:52,875 --> 00:52:56,014
that can enrich yourself much more.

589
00:52:57,625 --> 00:53:03,266
So that is something I think each and 
every one of us will be challenged with

590
00:53:03,750 --> 00:53:06,075
throughout this winter
retreat from time to time.

591
00:53:06,996 --> 00:53:13,458
and just remember, sometimes 
learning to let go is what is needed.

592
00:53:14,851 --> 00:53:18,719
Let go, just go for it,
why not? Give it a try.

593
00:53:20,503 --> 00:53:24,412
Just like the courage why not? 
I'm here for three months, you know?

594
00:53:29,210 --> 00:53:36,274
So all of these moments that we have 
here together, will later become a past.

595
00:53:38,567 --> 00:53:42,637
and so every moment is a precious moment

596
00:53:43,135 --> 00:53:45,749
and there's a moment for you 
to draw and to paint.

597
00:53:47,209 --> 00:53:54,460
The practice, the Sangha, are the paint,
they are the brushes that we give to you

598
00:53:55,762 --> 00:53:58,665
and each and every one of us 
will paint our own picture,

599
00:53:59,387 --> 00:54:02,520
and we'll paint our own foundation 
in this winter retreat.

600
00:54:04,589 --> 00:54:10,849
I hope we make use of the paint 
and of the brush and of the paper

601
00:54:11,651 --> 00:54:14,378
that the community is offering for us,

602
00:54:15,462 --> 00:54:17,564
so that in the future when we look back,

603
00:54:18,788 --> 00:54:21,968
like, wow, those three 
months were really rich,

604
00:54:23,198 --> 00:54:26,127
those three months 
really enhanced my life.

605
00:54:28,048 --> 00:54:32,732
And as for a monk or a nun, wow, those 
three months being with the community,

606
00:54:34,133 --> 00:54:38,425
the collectiveness, really helped me
develop, really helped me grow.

607
00:54:39,928 --> 00:54:45,731
So every moment that we have,
eighty nine more days,

608
00:54:46,423 --> 00:54:47,998
they're all opportunities .

609
00:54:50,958 --> 00:54:53,168
So you become the painter now

610
00:54:54,719 --> 00:55:01,066
and you have to paint this picture that 
for the future can become a foundation,

611
00:55:01,413 --> 00:55:03,402
and that can become a beautiful past.

612
00:55:05,137 --> 00:55:14,650
A few days ago, I received a letter 
from a friend in England who I don't know,

613
00:55:15,465 --> 00:55:17,718
but wrote to Thay and the community,

614
00:55:18,884 --> 00:55:28,266
and our friends shared that a few years 
ago, he was training to do the marathon,

615
00:55:29,424 --> 00:55:35,426
but he fell into an accident 
which fractured his spine,

616
00:55:37,334 --> 00:55:41,625
and through the healing, 
there was some obstacle,

617
00:55:42,378 --> 00:55:46,751
where now he cannot move a lot
and cannot go very far.

618
00:55:48,694 --> 00:55:57,064
And through that pain and through 
that suffering, he found Plum Village.

619
00:55:58,608 --> 00:56:00,559
And guess what? Through YouTube.

620
00:56:03,142 --> 00:56:06,685
And from YouTube he expanded to books,

621
00:56:07,559 --> 00:56:12,098
and then following Thay's Facebook page
and following Plum Village Facebook page,

622
00:56:12,836 --> 00:56:15,867
and I didn't know this, 
but apparently there are people

623
00:56:16,983 --> 00:56:20,758
who do also follow our winter 
retreat through Facebook.

624
00:56:22,075 --> 00:56:28,898
So they also apply the same principle 
of the schedule in their daily life,

625
00:56:30,616 --> 00:56:35,447
and they follow the Dharma talks that are
offered throughout the winter retreat,

626
00:56:36,974 --> 00:56:41,651
and our friend shared that he has done
two winter retreats with the community

627
00:56:42,594 --> 00:56:46,557
via Facebook...
I was like... wow!

628
00:56:48,662 --> 00:56:52,386
and here we are physically in Plum Village

629
00:56:53,348 --> 00:57:00,356
here we are physically with a community,
monks, nuns, lay men, lay women

630
00:57:01,415 --> 00:57:03,241
how rich and how lucky we are!

631
00:57:04,036 --> 00:57:09,325
So after reading that letter I said okay, 
you know, I can't take this for granted.

632
00:57:09,670 --> 00:57:15,442
This is such a rich and 
such an important moment for me.

633
00:57:17,164 --> 00:57:21,613
So I wish everyone a very happy
and successful winter retreat.

634
00:57:24,138 --> 00:57:26,176
So let us be there for each other,

635
00:57:26,480 --> 00:57:31,258
let us enjoy the practice 
and let us enrich our lives,

636
00:57:31,825 --> 00:57:34,632
so that we can also enrich society

637
00:57:35,575 --> 00:57:40,213
that very much needs the 
collective energy that we cultivate here.

638
00:57:41,407 --> 00:57:43,109
Thank you,
brothers and sisters