WEBVTT

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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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and to heal, we also 
have to learn to be still.

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So we can learn from the animals.

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The animals, when they are hurt
they know how to rest.

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They don't have medication like we do,

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but they know how to rest.

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We have medication, but sometimes 
we don't know how to be still.

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So going out and having 
the boundary, is a practice,

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it's something to help us, 
it's a helping hand

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so that we don't have the urge.

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Sometimes our habit is the urge
to always go out,

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never feeling still,
stillness.

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And to go deeper into this practice,

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going out here, is also in here.

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So for many of the winter retreats,
our teacher always encouraged us

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to take a break from social media.

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That's also very important and 
maybe a bit difficult practice.

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Being online is a necessity,
but there should be a limit

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and there should be a practice to it.

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So going out here is not just 
physically, but also mentally.

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So that is also the practice 
of the winter retreat,

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and the spirit of the winter retreat.

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Learning to be with oneself,

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learning to be with this community.

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To rest is such an important practice
and it sounds so simple, resting.

00:22:35.510 --> 00:22:37.273
I think we all need this,

00:22:38.660 --> 00:22:45.404
but at the same time it's so hard 
because there is so much to do

00:22:46.351 --> 00:22:49.529
there's so much we want to learn,

00:22:49.749 --> 00:22:53.200
there's so much we want to achieve.

00:22:54.994 --> 00:22:56.513
But the question always comes,

00:22:56.513 --> 00:23:00.831
how much are we sacrificing 
in order to reach those achievements?

00:23:03.099 --> 00:23:08.197
Even as a monastic, there's so much to do.

00:23:10.313 --> 00:23:11.964
I'm the abbot of Upper Hamlet

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.

00:23:22.881 --> 00:23:24.788
and it's my koan this winter retreat,

00:23:25.354 --> 00:23:27.568
how do I rest? How to rest?

00:23:28.717 --> 00:23:33.668
How to rest more and 
how to be more present for the community,

00:23:34.981 --> 00:23:37.735
it's my ongoing koan, my ongoing practice

00:23:38.753 --> 00:23:42.140
because there is 
a restlessness that I have.

00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:47.463
I feel that moments 
where I'm not doing something,

00:23:48.138 --> 00:23:52.463
it's a moment that I
should be doing something, right?

00:23:52.596 --> 00:23:58.196
I think I'm not the only one 
that had this feeling.

00:24:01.663 --> 00:24:04.896
So learning to rest is a necessity

00:24:04.983 --> 00:24:07.846
because I always ask myself

00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:17.892
to do that, to finish something 
do I feel more achieved,

00:24:20.057 --> 00:24:21.835
or do I feel more connected?

00:24:23.507 --> 00:24:26.691
Sometimes I feel I achieve 
a lot of things for the community

00:24:27.552 --> 00:24:30.928
but I am distancing myself more
from the community.

00:24:31.989 --> 00:24:35.350
So there's one side, 
I'm achieving for the Sangha

00:24:36.463 --> 00:24:39.992
but at another side, I'm distancing 
myself from the community.

00:24:43.194 --> 00:24:45.485
So I have to revisit this

00:24:45.713 --> 00:24:53.102
and I have to see what are my
relationships with work, with service?

00:24:54.594 --> 00:25:01.163
Service is a very important aspect 
of a monastic or as a person

00:25:01.626 --> 00:25:06.436
we all want to feel that we are 
offering something back to society,

00:25:07.659 --> 00:25:15.242
but to what expense 
and how much of stability

00:25:15.482 --> 00:25:20.657
and of value, of peace 
and happiness that we have

00:25:21.392 --> 00:25:24.257
that is actually the real thing 
that I want to offer

00:25:24.677 --> 00:25:27.429
to my brothers and sisters
and to the community.

00:25:29.601 --> 00:25:33.562
That was my beginner's mind, but somehow,

00:25:35.907 --> 00:25:40.291
slowly it became more projects,
and projects, and projects.

00:25:42.934 --> 00:25:46.525
so for those of us 
who are in the community

00:25:48.599 --> 00:25:54.336
today I feel I have this opportunity 
to speak more to the internal family,

00:25:54.638 --> 00:25:56.741
because we're all
here for the three months

00:25:56.913 --> 00:26:01.350
and we're all of the monastics 
that are here at another residence,

00:26:03.831 --> 00:26:07.911
because all of us, 
we go through the same thing

00:26:08.820 --> 00:26:14.301
we all go through the sense 
and the feeling of doing too much,

00:26:16.111 --> 00:26:18.378
not having enough time to rest,

00:26:19.339 --> 00:26:23.878
not having enough time to be 
in touch with our real aspiration.

00:26:25.914 --> 00:26:30.236
Yes, my real aspiration was, 
I think it was to be enlightened,

00:26:30.896 --> 00:26:34.704
and I shouldn't forget that, right?

00:26:35.646 --> 00:26:39.484
And I think each and every one of us 
has to come back to it,

00:26:42.040 --> 00:26:44.538
and not be carried away by the projects.

00:26:45.052 --> 00:26:49.493
The projects are there,
it's always gonna be there,

00:26:51.948 --> 00:26:58.114
but at the same time we have 
to revisit our beginner's mind,

00:26:59.161 --> 00:27:01.239
our bodhicitta from the beginning.

00:27:04.655 --> 00:27:06.606
And when we are not in touch with that

00:27:07.443 --> 00:27:15.114
then it's very easy to take a detour.

00:27:16.757 --> 00:27:20.367
And this detour, 
how long it goes depends on us.

00:27:21.873 --> 00:27:28.335
It depends on our capacity to be 
with the in-breath and out-breath,

00:27:28.619 --> 00:27:29.889
recognizing again,

00:27:32.091 --> 00:27:36.650
what is our aspiration? 
What was it that brought us here?

00:27:43.712 --> 00:27:51.772
So I know that to be restful 
and to heal, and to be there,

00:27:52.943 --> 00:27:57.487
means, I have to be true 
and I have to honor my aspiration,

00:27:58.764 --> 00:28:00.377
I have to honor my goals.

00:28:09.940 --> 00:28:12.627
And that means, having to retrain oneself

00:28:13.686 --> 00:28:15.365
re-disciplining oneself.

00:28:19.750 --> 00:28:23.208
The monastic culture in the 
tradition in the monastery,

00:28:25.294 --> 00:28:29.891
there is a discipline,
and this discipline is not to...

00:28:32.330 --> 00:28:40.138
the discipline here is not, 
if you do something wrong, you get a stick

00:28:41.208 --> 00:28:42.851
or you're gonna get scolded,

00:28:43.736 --> 00:28:51.634
but the discipline here is a discipline
to enhance our beginner's mind,

00:28:52.324 --> 00:28:53.554
our aspiration,

00:28:54.162 --> 00:28:55.821
because we have habits.

00:28:56.808 --> 00:29:03.279
All of us have habits and 
if we don't have a discipline

00:29:03.478 --> 00:29:05.495
if we don't have a training

00:29:08.260 --> 00:29:11.900
then it's too easy 
to fall back into our habits.

00:29:14.189 --> 00:29:15.880
Just like when you exercise, right?

00:29:16.700 --> 00:29:23.937
the exercising to build the body 
doesn't mean just a physical activity

00:29:24.504 --> 00:29:30.090
but it also means our diets,
what we eat, what we intake.

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.

00:29:39.763 --> 00:29:44.886
So our guideline, the spine 
of the community is the schedule,

00:29:45.957 --> 00:29:47.174
the community schedule.

00:29:48.603 --> 00:29:53.189
And the community schedule 
is what unites all of us,

00:29:53.602 --> 00:29:58.632
and what collects 
the energy of the community,

00:29:58.824 --> 00:30:02.184
collects every individual presence,

00:30:02.767 --> 00:30:04.430
and when everybody is there,

00:30:05.455 --> 00:30:11.438
you just are embraced by this powerful 
collective energy of mindfulness,

00:30:11.875 --> 00:30:13.240
energy of presence.

00:30:14.134 --> 00:30:15.212
Just like yesterday,

00:30:16.020 --> 00:30:18.289
I don't know how you felt,
but in the ceremony,

00:30:19.169 --> 00:30:21.859
when the community chanted together,

00:30:23.718 --> 00:30:26.320
I ride the wave of the
Sangha at that moment,

00:30:26.473 --> 00:30:29.271
I said wow, this is awesome!

00:30:31.163 --> 00:30:34.033
You have to be able 
to recognize those moments,

00:30:34.906 --> 00:30:36.993
to ride the wave of the Sangha

00:30:37.942 --> 00:30:41.230
because the energy of the
Sangha are waves that come,

00:30:42.115 --> 00:30:44.841
and if you have a surfboard,
you can go very far.

00:30:47.412 --> 00:30:50.953
and sometimes you may 
drown a little bit, right?

00:30:51.125 --> 00:30:53.720
Suffering comes from time
to time, that's okay,

00:30:55.169 --> 00:30:57.150
but there are other safeguards,

00:30:57.370 --> 00:31:01.404
there are other surfboards
that are always riding these waves

00:31:02.940 --> 00:31:08.438
and having the capacity,
having the realization

00:31:09.333 --> 00:31:12.589
to take refuge into our
brothers and sisters,

00:31:12.694 --> 00:31:14.939
our friends or practitioners,

00:31:15.745 --> 00:31:21.510
it's at the same time
as essential as practicing for oneself.

00:31:23.365 --> 00:31:29.157
So the wave of the Sangha is there, 
the surfboards of the sanghas are there,

00:31:30.578 --> 00:31:34.117
and we sometimes have 
to learn to open our hearts.

00:31:34.875 --> 00:31:36.445
Open ourselves a little bit.

00:31:37.192 --> 00:31:40.193
It doesn't mean you have to show us
everything at the beginning,

00:31:40.696 --> 00:31:43.415
you know, you can 
take it step by step.

00:31:43.737 --> 00:31:47.194
Sometimes we have 
to see also what is inside of us,

00:31:48.260 --> 00:31:51.365
what is going inside 
and how much to bring out,

00:31:52.289 --> 00:31:54.708
because everything has 
to come with moderation

00:31:56.670 --> 00:31:59.145
Plum Village is not a transformation box.

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.

00:32:06.594 --> 00:32:10.802
You come in one end and then 
you come out as a different form.

00:32:12.891 --> 00:32:18.014
That means that you 
don't have the capacity

00:32:18.893 --> 00:32:22.126
to see the mud that's also there,

00:32:24.646 --> 00:32:29.267
and then we set our goals too high, 
and we set our own expectation

00:32:29.490 --> 00:32:33.924
or we set the expectation 
of the community too high.

00:32:36.060 --> 00:32:39.389
I love the way Thay shared, 
that the community is an organism,

00:32:40.251 --> 00:32:45.805
it's a living body, and each and 
every one of us is a member,

00:32:47.228 --> 00:32:49.060
is a cell in this body.

00:32:50.405 --> 00:32:53.923
And when the cells are in harmony, 
then the body is healthy

00:32:54.614 --> 00:32:56.193
and it works, it's strong.

00:32:57.803 --> 00:33:04.131
But sometimes there are some parts 
of the body that aren't working so well,

00:33:05.116 --> 00:33:06.858
but it doesn't mean the body dies.

00:33:08.187 --> 00:33:10.453
But the other parts would take care,

00:33:12.328 --> 00:33:16.240
take care of the place that is injured,
the place that needs healing.

00:33:17.701 --> 00:33:22.109
So we have to also see ourselves
as a cell in this body.

00:33:24.134 --> 00:33:27.333
So the moments when we serve 
and we support the community,

00:33:28.951 --> 00:33:31.987
like the cooking, the washing up, 
the raking of the leaves,

00:33:33.599 --> 00:33:36.905
all of that is caring for this body

00:33:37.712 --> 00:33:40.091
and then when we come 
to the sitting meditation,

00:33:40.895 --> 00:33:44.036
we come to the walking meditation,
we come to the meals,

00:33:45.124 --> 00:33:47.790
those are also caring for the body.

00:33:49.387 --> 00:33:56.607
When there is unison, the Harmony brings 
about the strength of the collectiveness,

00:33:57.384 --> 00:34:00.892
and the collectiveness here, 
in the body of the community.

00:34:02.621 --> 00:34:04.839
So let us all breathe together

00:34:05.362 --> 00:34:07.271
as we listen to a sound of the bell,

00:34:08.055 --> 00:34:14.645
to harmonize the collective energy of
everyone that is here in this hall.

00:34:22.460 --> 00:34:28.568
[gong sounds]

00:35:14.490 --> 00:35:19.501
Sometimes it's good to have 
a refresh button in ourselves,

00:35:20.674 --> 00:35:23.705
in what is going on
inside of our life with our life,

00:35:25.334 --> 00:35:28.368
and sometimes there needs 
to be a new opportunity,

00:35:29.172 --> 00:35:35.820
a new condition in order for us to feel 
that we have the opportunity to refresh.

00:35:37.017 --> 00:35:39.658
Just like a computer has 
the button to reboot,

00:35:40.916 --> 00:35:42.755
sometimes we also need that.

00:35:44.580 --> 00:35:50.821
So the winter retreat is an opportunity
to press that reboot button,

00:35:52.422 --> 00:35:57.099
whether you are a monastic or you're a
lay, it's all the same,

00:35:57.422 --> 00:36:03.010
we have this opportunity to refresh
and to reboot ourselves.

00:36:06.827 --> 00:36:11.437
It's like the changing of the season,
it's a new season, a new beginning,

00:36:12.881 --> 00:36:20.327
and in a new beginning, you feel like
everything is possible, right?

00:36:20.782 --> 00:36:25.196
A lot of us come here, I think, 
we have goals, we have an aspiration

00:36:26.258 --> 00:36:30.493
I think for ourselves, too, 
the monks and the nuns in the community

00:36:31.284 --> 00:36:34.210
we should also have the goals 
and aspiration,

00:36:34.674 --> 00:36:37.627
even though this is home, 
but it's a new season

00:36:38.871 --> 00:36:48.026
and every season we want to feel and 
see that we can enrich our life more,

00:36:49.076 --> 00:36:51.778
and we can enrich our Dharma body more.

00:36:54.358 --> 00:37:02.605
So we need certain moments in our life
that contain momentum to push ourselves.

00:37:05.726 --> 00:37:15.340
For myself, every winter retreat is 
a time to revisit my aspiration.

00:37:17.468 --> 00:37:23.752
just like I shared, just to come back 
to my bodhichitta, my beginner's mind.

00:37:24.688 --> 00:37:28.884
Come back, ask yourself, 
what is it again that made me a monk?

00:37:29.671 --> 00:37:32.247
What is it again that made me a nun?

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?

00:37:41.928 --> 00:37:45.736
And when you are in touch with that, 
and you can answer that,

00:37:48.058 --> 00:37:52.052
then you can see, ah, 
first of all I want to be here,

00:37:53.700 --> 00:37:56.984
and when you want to be here,
that's a source of energy.

00:38:00.589 --> 00:38:03.498
I hope nobody forced you to be here

00:38:07.191 --> 00:38:14.203
because when you see that you want to
be here, then your attitude also changes.

00:38:16.200 --> 00:38:20.712
Your attitude towards
living in the community,

00:38:21.565 --> 00:38:26.760
your attitude towards the activities, 
your attitude to the practice.

00:38:31.865 --> 00:38:39.884
I've been a monk for 15 years now, 
and yes, sometimes it gets boring.

00:38:41.440 --> 00:38:43.874
And sometimes I take it for granted.

00:38:44.979 --> 00:38:48.299
I'm like, oh man, 
I gotta go and sit again!

00:38:53.073 --> 00:38:57.803
you know, oh man, I got to line up
and eat, have cold food...

00:39:02.038 --> 00:39:05.131
and then sometimes you're in line, 
you hear the scraping sounds,

00:39:05.131 --> 00:39:07.841
oh man, the cooking team 
didn't cook enough food again...

00:39:09.430 --> 00:39:10.634
you know?

00:39:14.826 --> 00:39:17.613
so there are moments like
that you know we all go through,

00:39:18.734 --> 00:39:24.671
and there are moments sometimes that if we
are not careful, then it carries us away,

00:39:24.870 --> 00:39:26.486
that carries us very far away.

00:39:28.791 --> 00:39:32.691
So the winter retreat for me 
is always this rebutton

00:39:33.295 --> 00:39:38.304
this button to click, to restart, refresh.

00:39:41.054 --> 00:39:42.745
And we all know, for the monastics,

00:39:43.406 --> 00:39:46.924
at the end of the winter retreat,
we all get this report card, right?

00:39:47.656 --> 00:39:49.753
we all get this shining light letter,

00:39:50.622 --> 00:39:56.215
that tells us the things that we
have enriched ourselves in,

00:39:56.447 --> 00:40:01.096
and things that we need to put 
more energy into transforming,

00:40:01.465 --> 00:40:03.143
or put more energy into
training.

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?

00:40:11.398 --> 00:40:16.024
Why do I have to wait until the 
closing ceremony to receive that letter?

00:40:18.620 --> 00:40:22.845
Why don't I see that 
right now, right here?

00:40:23.718 --> 00:40:29.124
This is a new opportunity. 
This is a new start to refresh oneself.

00:40:31.431 --> 00:40:35.080
And it's funny, like, 
as a monk, I live in this community,

00:40:36.189 --> 00:40:39.381
and I would say, 
I have all the best conditions 


00:40:39.836 --> 00:40:42.867
to enrich my life 
in the practice of mindfulness,

00:40:43.415 --> 00:40:48.358
in the practice of sitting,
of walking or studying.

00:40:50.298 --> 00:40:53.538
But sometimes, when I go on a home visit

00:40:54.452 --> 00:40:58.461
and I say, okay, I'm gonna make 
the best out of this, I'm gonna...

00:40:58.807 --> 00:41:02.928
every day I'm gonna wake up 
at five o'clock, drink tea,

00:41:03.442 --> 00:41:06.483
there's no schedule, 
I can do whatever I like

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,

00:41:10.524 --> 00:41:18.251
so but then I ask myself, 
but why can't I do that in this community?

00:41:20.021 --> 00:41:24.778
Why can't I do this in this 
environment, where this is home?

00:41:27.244 --> 00:41:28.512
This is my field!

00:41:29.091 --> 00:41:36.167
This is my field where I have planted 
all these seeds that I want to harvest.

00:41:38.224 --> 00:41:40.447
and I just see, it's just a state of mind.

00:41:40.700 --> 00:41:42.151
The mind is a painter, right?

00:41:43.041 --> 00:41:47.678
So sometimes we have to mentally
tell ourselves, this is a new beginning.

00:41:49.004 --> 00:41:50.632
We have to refresh that button.

00:41:51.692 --> 00:41:55.769
We have to refresh our aspiration,
we have to refresh our practice.

00:41:57.874 --> 00:42:01.202
And each and every one of us 
has now 89 days to do that,

00:42:02.373 --> 00:42:04.242
and when you look at it, that's a lot.

00:42:05.356 --> 00:42:09.072
That's a lot of days, 
a lot of opportunities.

00:42:14.488 --> 00:42:24.575
and what I've learned to do is, 
I have to learn to break down.

00:42:25.879 --> 00:42:28.684
I break down my aspiration,
I got to break down my goals.

00:42:30.491 --> 00:42:36.540
So like I said, we may sometimes carry
a very high expectation for oneself,

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%.

00:42:43.231 --> 00:42:50.059
Then you start to lose motivation 
and then you lose your energy

00:42:50.236 --> 00:42:54.799
of wanting to arrive 
at the goals that you set.

00:42:55.945 --> 00:42:59.410
So as a practitioner, you have 
to learn to break it down,

00:42:59.596 --> 00:43:02.838
we have to learn to break our
aspiration down, break our goals down.

00:43:05.318 --> 00:43:09.242
Don't just try to be 
a fully enlightened Buddha.

00:43:10.684 --> 00:43:15.451
See and value the part time
Buddha that we can become.

00:43:18.065 --> 00:43:19.882
So we have to take the baby steps.

00:43:21.645 --> 00:43:26.841
For example, Thay gave us many 
homeworks throughout the years.

00:43:27.657 --> 00:43:32.528
I remember one year, Thay printed out
for each and every one of us

00:43:33.051 --> 00:43:37.080
it's like a business card 
and it said, 100% .

00:43:39.778 --> 00:43:43.788
and anything we do, we have to see, 
I want to do it 100%.

00:43:45.873 --> 00:43:47.636
So you got to break down your day.

00:43:49.682 --> 00:43:54.214
Today, our aspiration is to be
mindful throughout the day.

00:43:55.110 --> 00:43:59.267
That's the aspiration. 
Reality? Not so much.

00:44:00.439 --> 00:44:03.705
So we have to be real 
and we have to choose.

00:44:04.558 --> 00:44:07.258
All right, today, 
every time I open the door,

00:44:07.381 --> 00:44:09.171
I'm gonna close the door mindfully.

00:44:11.700 --> 00:44:13.449
Make that a practice.

00:44:14.330 --> 00:44:18.232
And the next week, choose something else.

00:44:19.455 --> 00:44:25.668
The moment I see the brother, 
the sister I don't like, I will smile.

00:44:27.470 --> 00:44:30.306
I don't need them to smile back
but I will smile to them.

00:44:32.646 --> 00:44:38.577
That's a very difficult practice, 
but that's our aspiration right?

00:44:39.491 --> 00:44:43.331
To grow compassion, 
and to grow understanding.

00:44:46.069 --> 00:44:51.811
Another aspiration,
every moment I come into the hall

00:44:53.638 --> 00:44:56.983
I don't wait until I sit in the hall 
to practice sitting,

00:44:57.710 --> 00:45:00.362
but the moment I'm in the hall, 
the first step I take,

00:45:00.832 --> 00:45:02.688
that should be a step of mindfulness.

00:45:04.419 --> 00:45:14.454
so, be skillful, be creative, and 
make these small aspirations into reality.

00:45:15.636 --> 00:45:18.321
Make these small goals into reality.

00:45:19.869 --> 00:45:23.764
and when you can taste 
the fruit of those practices,

00:45:24.131 --> 00:45:26.233
and you can see those achievements,

00:45:26.947 --> 00:45:30.532
then you see, ah, 
I have the capacity to do this.

00:45:33.059 --> 00:45:37.643
Not only Thay can do this, not only 
my elder brothers and sisters can do it,

00:45:38.431 --> 00:45:40.035
but I can do it, too,

00:45:41.004 --> 00:45:46.008
and when you can taste and you can 
feel and you can recognize

00:45:46.557 --> 00:45:51.323
those fruits of practice,
that gives you so much more motivation.

00:45:51.826 --> 00:45:53.728
It gives you more aspiration,

00:45:55.779 --> 00:46:00.025
like when you help somebody,
you get back so much,

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,

00:46:08.046 --> 00:46:09.702
it gives back to you so much.

00:46:10.275 --> 00:46:14.045
And at the same time, it gives 
to the community just the same,

00:46:15.011 --> 00:46:18.302
to the collective practice and
collective energy of the Sangha.

00:46:29.458 --> 00:47:16.507
[gong sounds]

00:47:18.056 --> 00:47:20.707
So take this opportunity 
to rekindle our fire.

00:47:22.299 --> 00:47:26.381
We all have a very strong fire 
at the beginning,

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,

00:47:38.794 --> 00:47:40.181
we need to relight that fire,

00:47:40.951 --> 00:47:42.382
we need to enhance it again.

00:47:44.252 --> 00:47:46.947
Because with that, it gives warmth within,

00:47:47.716 --> 00:47:50.698
and it gives warmth 
to our aspiration and our goals,

00:47:51.193 --> 00:47:52.581
and it gives purpose.

00:47:54.725 --> 00:47:57.563
A feeling that we have a purpose.

00:48:00.255 --> 00:48:04.959
It's so important because 
the purpose brings connection,

00:48:06.661 --> 00:48:11.366
and connection is something that is 
very important in community life.

00:48:15.559 --> 00:48:17.823
For some of you 
who are here for three months,

00:48:18.084 --> 00:48:22.917
this may be the first time you're living 
in a room with eight people together.

00:48:24.483 --> 00:48:30.463
You're sharing the space 
and this practice is very deep,

00:48:31.696 --> 00:48:33.378
it's a practice of no self.

00:48:34.720 --> 00:48:37.203
You see, their well-being 
is your well-being.

00:48:37.826 --> 00:48:39.985
And your well-being is their well-being.

00:48:41.216 --> 00:48:43.705
Their happiness is your happiness.

00:48:45.600 --> 00:48:48.037
Your happiness is their happiness.

00:48:49.219 --> 00:48:56.688
And you get to learn, you get 
to see somebody else's transformation,

00:48:56.932 --> 00:48:58.373
and somebody else's practice.

00:49:00.764 --> 00:49:03.938
And this is something
that is very meaningful.

00:49:05.200 --> 00:49:06.771
It's something you will remember,

00:49:07.882 --> 00:49:12.163
because it will also touch you.

00:49:13.605 --> 00:49:16.734
Touch the roots that you have
planted in this community,

00:49:18.727 --> 00:49:22.029
and for monastics 
we also have the opportunity,

00:49:22.333 --> 00:49:26.472
every winter retreat we get new roommates.

00:49:27.656 --> 00:49:31.539
We change rooms and we get new roommates.

00:49:32.553 --> 00:49:36.292
And this is also 
an opportunity for us to learn,

00:49:37.961 --> 00:49:44.646
to really learn to be open 
to our new brothers,

00:49:44.777 --> 00:49:46.381
our new sisters in a room,

00:49:47.300 --> 00:49:52.035
and also the practice of no self,
seeing them in you and you in them,

00:49:54.667 --> 00:49:56.949
and the support that you can offer,

00:49:58.109 --> 00:50:01.067
it's not just for them,
but it's for you too.

00:50:03.816 --> 00:50:08.932
and one of the things that I have
learned when living with somebody

00:50:09.697 --> 00:50:15.008
is that their transformation 
sometimes is your transformation.

00:50:15.949 --> 00:50:21.124
Sometimes they transform something 
and it moves inside of you, too.

00:50:21.364 --> 00:50:23.884
and you kind of thank them, 
thank you for practicing

00:50:24.417 --> 00:50:25.884
now I don't have to do that.

00:50:26.475 --> 00:50:29.402
But at the same time, 
the things that you are practicing


00:50:29.785 --> 00:50:33.186
and that you are transforming, enhancing,
also affects them.

00:50:34.386 --> 00:50:41.626
And in our practice, that's called the
interbeing, interconnectedness.

00:50:44.047 --> 00:50:51.067
In the community, 
taking refuge is a practice.

00:50:53.041 --> 00:50:56.005
Refuge here is not just a shelter,

00:50:57.595 --> 00:51:02.807
but also, sometimes we have to learn 
to surrender ourselves to the community,

00:51:05.496 --> 00:51:10.680
and sometimes we have to learn
to borrow the energy of the Sangha.

00:51:13.748 --> 00:51:16.729
Sometimes, our teacher would say,

00:51:17.786 --> 00:51:21.004
when you're feeling down, and you feel 
like you want to be alone,

00:51:22.223 --> 00:51:25.771
that's actually a time when you 
need to be with the Sangha,


00:51:26.935 --> 00:51:31.812
to borrow and to take the collective
energy of the community.

00:51:33.419 --> 00:51:36.454
Sometimes when you're feeling down, 
if you're feeling weak,

00:51:37.202 --> 00:51:40.813
oh yeah, maybe I'll skip 
sitting meditation today,

00:51:42.413 --> 00:51:45.678
the community will understand, 
I'm feeling down, I'm feeling weak.

00:51:46.090 --> 00:51:51.782
They'll say I need space, but actually,
if you go, and you sit,

00:51:53.531 --> 00:51:56.621
and then you take in 
the collective energy of the community,

00:51:57.229 --> 00:52:02.390
that may be actually what you really
need, that energy of the community,

00:52:02.524 --> 00:52:03.948
this collectiveness.

00:52:04.825 --> 00:52:13.398
So the community is there, 
and we all will be challenged at times,

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?

00:52:17.957 --> 00:52:21.046
and sometimes this yoyo, 
this back and forth, back and forth,

00:52:21.195 --> 00:52:24.706
sometimes you just gotta learn 
to let go, I just go, I just flow.

00:52:27.023 --> 00:52:32.132
That's part of our training in the 
monastic community and the Zen tradition

00:52:33.315 --> 00:52:36.998
so sometimes we have to see 
not just our own needs,

00:52:38.203 --> 00:52:40.761
we'll have to see the collectiveness.

00:52:42.022 --> 00:52:46.391
that sometimes are our own thinking is
what's distancing ourselves more and more,

00:52:47.277 --> 00:52:52.076
but when you learn 
to be embraced and to surrender

00:52:52.875 --> 00:52:56.014
that can enrich yourself much more.

00:52:57.625 --> 00:53:03.266
So that is something I think each and 
every one of us will be challenged with

00:53:03.750 --> 00:53:06.075
throughout this winter
retreat from time to time.

00:53:06.996 --> 00:53:13.458
and just remember, sometimes 
learning to let go is what is needed.

00:53:14.851 --> 00:53:18.719
Let go, just go for it,
why not? Give it a try.

00:53:20.503 --> 00:53:24.412
Just like the courage why not? 
I'm here for three months, you know?

00:53:29.210 --> 00:53:36.274
So all of these moments that we have 
here together, will later become a past.

00:53:38.567 --> 00:53:42.637
and so every moment is a precious moment

00:53:43.135 --> 00:53:45.749
and there's a moment for you 
to draw and to paint.

00:53:47.209 --> 00:53:54.460
The practice, the Sangha, are the paint,
they are the brushes that we give to you

00:53:55.762 --> 00:53:58.665
and each and every one of us 
will paint our own picture,

00:53:59.387 --> 00:54:02.520
and we'll paint our own foundation 
in this winter retreat.

00:54:04.589 --> 00:54:10.849
I hope we make use of the paint 
and of the brush and of the paper

00:54:11.651 --> 00:54:14.378
that the community is offering for us,

00:54:15.462 --> 00:54:17.564
so that in the future when we look back,

00:54:18.788 --> 00:54:21.968
like, wow, those three 
months were really rich,

00:54:23.198 --> 00:54:26.127
those three months 
really enhanced my life.

00:54:28.048 --> 00:54:32.732
And as for a monk or a nun, wow, those 
three months being with the community,

00:54:34.133 --> 00:54:38.425
the collectiveness, really helped me
develop, really helped me grow.

00:54:39.928 --> 00:54:45.731
So every moment that we have,
eighty nine more days,

00:54:46.423 --> 00:54:47.998
they're all opportunities .

00:54:50.958 --> 00:54:53.168
So you become the painter now

00:54:54.719 --> 00:55:01.066
and you have to paint this picture that 
for the future can become a foundation,

00:55:01.413 --> 00:55:03.402
and that can become a beautiful past.

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,

00:55:15.465 --> 00:55:17.718
but wrote to Thay and the community,

00:55:18.884 --> 00:55:28.266
and our friends shared that a few years 
ago, he was training to do the marathon,

00:55:29.424 --> 00:55:35.426
but he fell into an accident 
which fractured his spine,

00:55:37.334 --> 00:55:41.625
and through the healing, 
there was some obstacle,

00:55:42.378 --> 00:55:46.751
where now he cannot move a lot
and cannot go very far.

00:55:48.694 --> 00:55:57.064
And through that pain and through 
that suffering, he found Plum Village.

00:55:58.608 --> 00:56:00.559
And guess what? Through YouTube.

00:56:03.142 --> 00:56:06.685
And from YouTube he expanded to books,

00:56:07.559 --> 00:56:12.098
and then following Thay's Facebook page
and following Plum Village Facebook page,

00:56:12.836 --> 00:56:15.867
and I didn't know this, 
but apparently there are people

00:56:16.983 --> 00:56:20.758
who do also follow our winter 
retreat through Facebook.

00:56:22.075 --> 00:56:28.898
So they also apply the same principle 
of the schedule in their daily life,

00:56:30.616 --> 00:56:35.447
and they follow the Dharma talks that are
offered throughout the winter retreat,

00:56:36.974 --> 00:56:41.651
and our friend shared that he has done
two winter retreats with the community

00:56:42.594 --> 00:56:46.557
via Facebook...
I was like... wow!

00:56:48.662 --> 00:56:52.386
and here we are physically in Plum Village

00:56:53.348 --> 00:57:00.356
here we are physically with a community,
monks, nuns, lay men, lay women

00:57:01.415 --> 00:57:03.241
how rich and how lucky we are!

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.

00:57:09.670 --> 00:57:15.442
This is such a rich and 
such an important moment for me.

00:57:17.164 --> 00:57:21.613
So I wish everyone a very happy
and successful winter retreat.

00:57:24.138 --> 00:57:26.176
So let us be there for each other,

00:57:26.480 --> 00:57:31.258
let us enjoy the practice 
and let us enrich our lives,

00:57:31.825 --> 00:57:34.632
so that we can also enrich society

00:57:35.575 --> 00:57:40.213
that very much needs the 
collective energy that we cultivate here.

00:57:41.407 --> 00:57:43.109
Thank you,
brothers and sisters