(Half bell)
(Bell)
Dear Thay, dear Sangha,
my name is Julie and I am from here in San Diego.
Two years ago, I received the Five Mindfulness Trainings
and since then I have been studying for the Fourteen trainings informally.
One thing that has been holding me back
is because I have suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.
And over the past few years, this practice has brought me a lot of peace
and help me live in the present moment.
The one that has been holding me back from taking the Fourteen Mindfulness Training
is that I feel I need to get completely past it.
And one of the things I am still struggling with is nightmares.
If you hear it, beautiful dear friends, I have nightmares and fears in the evening.
So, my question is, is there a practice or something I can do to help
with staying mindful even when we get up from nightmares
so that I can continue the experience of peace?
Every time you wake up from nightmare, you feel so happy.
(Laughter)
And that happiness cannot be without nightmare.
(Laughter)
And if you know how to cherish every moment in our daily life,
not only we enjoy our daily life but we are awake
but we are indirectly reduce the amount of nightmare during the night.
Because I myself have nightmare from time to time.
Because our consciousness carries within itself
the collective consciousness of society.
My generation has gone through two wars -
one with the French and one with the Americans.
And there was a lot of death, destruction, despair
and with the practice, you can reduce slowly and heal
but you cannot heal completely.
And the suffering can also play a positive role,
provided you look like yesterday.
Yesterday I was sitting on the mountain
and saw a young American sitting meditation up there, I felt so wonderful,
it's completely different with the time when young Americans went there,
killed and get killed.
So we are able to do this today,
young Americans and young Vietnamese are sitting together,
producing compassion and joy.
It is very beautiful, it's exactly the opposite of what we had during the '60s.
And that is when the healing process continues
so that the nightmare can still be helpful for us
to treasure, to appreciate what we are able to have today.
Each moment can be a moment of happiness.
(Half bell)
(Bell)