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(Half bell)

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(Bell)

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Dear Thay,

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It seems this week we are practicing[br]on aspects of taking care of anger.

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This is a teenager who asks:

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Dear Thay, have you ever[br]been able to calm down

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and to help a person who is completely[br]enraged and exploding in anger.

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Thay has been able to deal[br]successfully with a number of people

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who get angry at Thay

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out of jealousy and wrong perceptions.

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And sometimes it takes a lot of time

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for a person to calm down and[br]to transform.

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Uh...

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These people exist also in the clergy

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and in...ordinary society.

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And Thay's way is very simple:

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Do not to respond to attack or to insult.

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Never reply to insult or attack,

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don't even try explain.

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A complete silence.

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He did not try to justify himself

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or do anything

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because doing so may cause[br]

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the other person to get angrier and so on.

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So breathe in and out and accept

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and do not reply... do not react.

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And then Thay can do even better

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because a few days later or[br]a few months later

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he can write a love letter[br]to him or to her.

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He has done that several times.

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Someone betrayed you,

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has caused you to suffer a lot

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and caused your community to suffer a lot.

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And yet you are able to write

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a nice letter to him, to her,

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to help him or her to suffer less

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Sometimes it takes time for

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that person to suffer less and

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to...stop being angry,

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but it always has effect.

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You know that in Vietnam we had

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a very beautiful community,

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a practice centre called 'Prajna'.

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There were about 400 young monastics

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living there and practicing.

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And they generated a lot of energy

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of harmony and brotherhood and...

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and peace.

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And so many young lay people came

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and practiced with us.

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It is up in the mountain area.

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And yet there were times when

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five thousand young people[br]came and participated

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in a retreat of 5 or 6 days

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and get transformation.

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It was quite a movement.

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People were very enthusiastic.

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But in a country like Vietnam

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that does not look safe for...

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those who rule the country.

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They are afraid of something[br]that is too strong.

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They are afraid that[br]they cannot control it.

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So there was an attempt to dismantle

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the practice centre.

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And our young monks and nuns

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tried to resist with compassion,

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nonviolence for more than[br]one year and a half.

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And finally we could no longer resist

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because they sent violent people to

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our centres.

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They destroy, they burn, they attack.

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They cut the electricity.

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They cut the water.

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They shout.

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They insult.

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They organised hundreds of people

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to come and insult us

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and to break and to destroy.

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And finally we had to...[br]evacuate the place

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and went to a temple

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in the area to take refuge.

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But they still continue to press

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until we have to leave that place.

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Many of these young monks and nuns

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are taking refuge in Thailand,

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Germany, France, America.

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And we were able to identify those who...

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who...

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who tried to destroy the place.

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Thay has sent words to them

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that we don't hate them

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because they...they may have been

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victims of wrong perceptions

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that can give rise to fear

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and anger.

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And...disciples of Thay in Vietnam

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have sent books of Thay to them[br]as a gift.

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It is possible to respond to violence[br]and anger with love.

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And that is the way we always...follow:

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to respond

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using compassion

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and understanding,

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to respond to violence, misunderstanding[br]and so on.

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During the time Thay...

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organised the School of Youth[br]for Social Service,

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we trained hundreds of young people,

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dedicated young people,

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monastic and lay,

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to go to the countryside[br]and organize to help victims

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of the war

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and poor people,

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to organize in terms...[br]of health...education...

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and economic development

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and to improve the quality of life

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in the countryside.

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And many of us were suppressed

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Many of us were killed during service.

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Because during the war

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we did not want to join

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one of the warring parties.

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We wanted to accept both sides.

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We wanted reconciliation and peace

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rather than to continue the war.

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That is why we were victims of

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suppression by both sides

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And we always respond with compassion.

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After they have killed a number of us

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we organized a funeral ceremony.

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And we declared:

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We do not hate those who have killed us

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because we know[br]they are victims of wrong...

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perceptions that have given rise to

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fear and suspicion.

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And we hope that they will look and

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understand us better.

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Our intention is not harm them,

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only to help the people in the country,

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victims of war, orphans

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and poor people.

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And...in the beginning the suppression

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the violence continues

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but later on,

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these actions of suppression began[br]to decrease.

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There is an effect.

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And that is what we have experienced

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in the decade that we practiced

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and served in Vietnam.

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I think the book written by [br]Sister Chan Kong,

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'Learning True Love'

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told a number of stories like that.

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You can read 'Learning True Love'.

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And also Sister Chan Kong wrote an

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an article printed in my novel,[br]'The Novice'.

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And you can read also

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the book 'the Novice'...

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to know a number of things like that.

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So using compassion, understanding

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to meet with violence and misunderstanding

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is a good practice

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that...can bring result

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if you are patient enough

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in the practice.

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And some of the people in the police

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came to our retreats in Thailand and

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even in Plum Village to practice.

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That is a victory for both:

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for us and for them.

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(half bell)

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(bell)