WEBVTT 00:01:03.460 --> 00:01:10.720 Dear Sangha, today is the 20th Nov. in the year 2008. 00:01:10.720 --> 00:01:19.330 We are in the Lower Hamlet, Plum Village, in the Assembly of Stars Meditation hall. 00:01:19.330 --> 00:01:22.981 Today, we will listen to the first Dharma Talk 00:01:22.981 --> 00:01:33.360 of the three months Winter Retreat 2008 – 2009. 00:01:33.360 --> 00:01:42.660 Yesterday, the Sangha assembled in the Still Waters Meditation Hall 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:48.640 in Upper Hamlet for the Face-to-Face ceremony to open the Rains’ retreat. 00:01:55.660 --> 00:02:03.500 I was informed that there are 52 lay practitioners 00:02:03.500 --> 00:02:11.160 joining the three months with the monastics. 00:02:17.220 --> 00:02:24.260 Usually, many lay friends are busy with their jobs 00:02:25.960 --> 00:02:34.020 and are rarely able to set aside three months to practice the Rains or Winter Retreat. 00:02:34.930 --> 00:02:40.680 And now in Plum Village there are 52 friends 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:45.428 who can follow the three months Rains retreat. 00:02:45.428 --> 00:02:48.460 That is an improvement. 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:55.800 We heard that in Germany, at the Intersein Practice Center in Hohenau ... 00:02:55.800 --> 00:03:02.900 there are also 50 lay friends practicing for the three months Rains retreat 00:03:02.900 --> 00:03:10.060 under the guidance of our lay Dharma Teachers, Karl and Helga. 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:19.986 In the Buddha's time, the Rains retreat was only for monastics. 00:03:20.260 --> 00:03:25.294 Now we have lay friends practicing with us during the Rains retreat. 00:03:25.294 --> 00:03:27.340 That is an improvement! 00:03:27.340 --> 00:03:31.570 We have done better than in the time of the Buddha. 00:03:31.570 --> 00:03:34.580 So the Buddha must be very happy about this. 00:03:36.190 --> 00:03:43.740 We should take the spirit of the Rains retreat seriously. 00:03:44.160 --> 00:03:49.360 We should not leave the boundaries of the Rains retreat. 00:03:52.360 --> 00:03:57.031 And we can practice in such a way 00:03:57.031 --> 00:04:04.589 that each moment of the Rains retreat 00:04:04.589 --> 00:04:07.940 becomes a moment of real practice. 00:04:09.130 --> 00:04:11.650 Practice to touch peace, to touch happiness, 00:04:11.650 --> 00:04:14.318 to transform the pain, the grief, 00:04:14.318 --> 00:04:18.380 the difficulties in our heart. 00:04:23.130 --> 00:04:29.880 Practicing with the Sangha is much easier than practicing alone, 00:04:30.430 --> 00:04:34.480 because in the Sangha there is collective energy. 00:04:35.500 --> 00:04:42.083 And if we know how to take refuge in that collective energy 00:04:42.083 --> 00:04:50.040 we can easily give rise to a more powerful energy of mindfulness and concentration, 00:04:52.580 --> 00:04:59.520 because all around us, there are people who are practicing, 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:03.160 both monastics and lay practitioners. 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:10.899 So while they practice mindful walking, standing, lying down or sitting, 00:05:12.440 --> 00:05:17.340 they generate the energy of mindfulness 00:05:20.300 --> 00:05:22.480 and concentration. 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:27.660 And those energies will support us and protect us, 00:05:27.660 --> 00:05:31.720 and help us to come back to our own mindfulness and concentration. 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:36.290 That is why the collective energy is very beneficial for us. 00:05:36.290 --> 00:05:40.100 When we gather in one place to practice dwelling peacefully —an cư— 00:05:40.100 --> 00:05:44.210 we can benefit from that collective energy. 00:05:47.300 --> 00:05:55.141 The venerable monks and nuns in Europe or America ... 00:05:55.141 --> 00:06:00.900 are all aware of the necessity of the three months retreat. 00:06:00.900 --> 00:06:06.220 They try their best 00:06:09.470 --> 00:06:14.711 but in some places even if the monastics gather in one place 00:06:14.711 --> 00:06:18.890 they are only able to practice together for a few weeks. 00:06:18.890 --> 00:06:20.400 It is such a pity. 00:06:20.400 --> 00:06:24.010 Because they have so much work to do 00:06:24.010 --> 00:06:28.740 they have lost the tradition of the three months Rains retreat. 00:06:28.740 --> 00:06:33.320 And it is a loss, a significant loss. 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:41.669 We are very happy that in Plum Village we've been able to keep the tradition of the three. months retreat. 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:49.008 And that is why yesterday in our Face-to-Face ceremony in Upper Hamlet, 00:06:49.020 --> 00:06:52.650 I shared before the Buddha and ancestors. 00:06:52.650 --> 00:06:55.291 I said: “Thank you, World Honored One, 00:06:55.291 --> 00:07:00.000 for having established the tradition of three months retreat. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.970 Thanks to that, I can stay put in the Sangha for three months. 00:07:02.970 --> 00:07:08.530 Otherwise, people from different countries would invite me to go here and there to teach. 00:07:08.530 --> 00:07:11.900 And so having this three months retreat is very good. 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:19.798 Thank you, World Honored One, for giving us a chance to not go anywhere for three months. 00:07:19.810 --> 00:07:23.575 And we will try our best to hold on to this tradition. 00:07:23.575 --> 00:07:27.680 At minimum, we'll have three months of not going anywhere. 00:07:31.700 --> 00:07:38.830 And I also said that the bhikshu sangha 00:07:38.830 --> 00:07:43.248 is a place of refuge for me, 00:07:43.248 --> 00:07:46.303 and a source of happiness for me. 00:07:47.410 --> 00:07:52.033 To have a place to take refuge in and to be happy for three months 00:07:52.033 --> 00:07:55.970 is a real blessing. 00:07:55.970 --> 00:08:00.923 So Thầy asks that the Sangha continue to be a refuge for Thầy 00:08:00.923 --> 00:08:05.220 and a source of joy for Thầy. 00:08:10.100 --> 00:08:14.220 So when we are aware that 00:08:14.580 --> 00:08:17.250 we are so lucky to practice for the three months, 00:08:17.250 --> 00:08:20.220 that awareness brings about a great deal of happiness. 00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:24.480 Because in our world, even within the Buddhist congregation, 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:29.040 many people cannot afford 00:08:30.460 --> 00:08:35.400 to stop and practice the three months retreat. 00:08:45.400 --> 00:08:49.851 This morning, 00:08:56.420 --> 00:08:57.890 while ... 00:09:03.580 --> 00:09:06.980 turning on the water to wash my face, 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:10.820 I felt ... 00:09:13.380 --> 00:09:22.640 the refreshing water flowing from the faucet on my fingertips, 00:09:24.500 --> 00:09:29.500 and I was aware that water comes from the high mountain sources, 00:09:30.260 --> 00:09:33.880 from deep sources in the Earth, 00:09:34.800 --> 00:09:37.980 and comes right into our bathroom. 00:09:38.680 --> 00:09:43.370 And because it is cold outside, the water from the faucet is also cold. 00:09:43.370 --> 00:09:49.540 When I scooped water to wet my two eyes, 00:09:50.250 --> 00:09:52.560 it felt very refreshing, 00:09:52.560 --> 00:09:54.560 like drops of Dharma nectar. 00:09:54.560 --> 00:10:01.360 And I felt the cold water made me fresher and more awake. 00:10:02.540 --> 00:10:06.220 And in that moment I was very happy. 00:10:08.400 --> 00:10:11.140 Just turning on the cold water, 00:10:11.140 --> 00:10:14.810 just allowing the cold water to run over two fingers 00:10:14.810 --> 00:10:20.920 and bringing it to our two eyes in mindfulness, 00:10:20.920 --> 00:10:24.940 that alone can make us very happy. 00:10:27.580 --> 00:10:31.863 And when we brush our teeth, 00:10:31.863 --> 00:10:34.060 we can be free. 00:10:34.690 --> 00:10:39.780 We take our time to brush our teeth, 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:45.000 we dwell peacefully in the present moment, 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:49.160 and we can be very happy in those few minutes. 00:10:52.880 --> 00:10:55.480 Happiness depends on us, 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:04.668 depends on whether we are mindful and concentrated. 00:11:06.800 --> 00:11:11.600 A moment ago, before the Dharma Talk, 00:11:12.330 --> 00:11:18.760 I heard the sound of the bell invited by sister Thi Nghiêm. 00:11:20.400 --> 00:11:25.920 Listening to the bell, I came back to the present moment, 00:11:25.920 --> 00:11:33.360 and I saw clearly outside, the bamboo grove on the left 00:11:35.220 --> 00:11:38.860 and the woods on the right. 00:11:41.370 --> 00:11:45.200 And I saw clearly that I'm here. 00:11:48.650 --> 00:11:54.320 The bell brings me back to my true home. 00:11:57.410 --> 00:12:04.940 Listen, listen. This wonderful sound of the bell brings me back to my true home. 00:12:08.050 --> 00:12:11.080 In Vietnam for a long time people have loved singing this song: 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:16.800 Home is the sweet star fruit tree, where I climbed and picked the fruits every day. 00:12:17.770 --> 00:12:20.300 Home is the path from school to home… 00:12:25.050 --> 00:12:27.900 Home is the kite flying in the blue sky... [part of a poem by Đỗ Trung Quan] 00:12:32.260 --> 00:12:34.780 In the spirit of our practice, 00:12:34.780 --> 00:12:38.800 home is different than that. 00:12:46.850 --> 00:12:51.340 Home is not just a memory 00:12:53.960 --> 00:12:57.260 that we carry with us. 00:13:00.530 --> 00:13:04.780 Because the bunch of sweet star fruits 00:13:06.620 --> 00:13:09.600 may only belong to the past. 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:13.920 The kite in the blue sky may only belong to the past. 00:13:16.380 --> 00:13:22.514 Of course, for many of us 00:13:22.514 --> 00:13:26.300 we've had happy moments in our childhood. 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:40.680 When we grow up, 00:13:41.820 --> 00:13:45.140 we are busy with the demands of life. 00:13:45.820 --> 00:13:50.320 That is why whenever we remember those childhood moments, 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:53.100 times when we were able to fly a kite ... 00:13:53.100 --> 00:13:58.220 or climb the starfruit tree and pick the fruits, 00:13:58.860 --> 00:14:02.300 or catch butterflies on the way to school. 00:14:03.920 --> 00:14:11.800 And perhaps in those moments of flying kites or chasing butterflies, 00:14:14.370 --> 00:14:16.240 we were truly happy, 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:21.650 but we may not have been aware that we were happy. 00:14:21.650 --> 00:14:23.700 To be happy is one thing, 00:14:23.700 --> 00:14:27.340 but to be aware that we are happy is another thing. 00:14:28.450 --> 00:14:31.520 To be fortunate is one thing, 00:14:31.520 --> 00:14:35.980 but to be aware that we are fortunate is another thing. 00:14:37.260 --> 00:14:40.220 To be aware here means to be mindful. 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:45.000 When we sing the song home is a bunch of sweet star fruits, 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:47.860 a kite flying in the blue sky, 00:14:50.880 --> 00:14:53.100 a little ferry boat, 00:14:54.363 --> 00:14:58.098 we are nostalgic, 00:14:58.098 --> 00:15:01.300 we remember the paradise of the past. 00:15:02.640 --> 00:15:07.580 And that is why such a home is a lost home, 00:15:08.180 --> 00:15:10.740 the home of our childhood. 00:15:13.690 --> 00:15:18.460 That home is only in our memory; it is not a reality in the present. 00:15:19.610 --> 00:15:22.860 Meanwhile, as a practitioner, 00:15:24.280 --> 00:15:27.980 our home is the present. 00:15:34.820 --> 00:15:39.085 The home of the past may have a banana tree, but there are no banana trees here. 00:15:39.097 --> 00:15:43.440 Here, there are oak trees, apple trees. 00:15:44.410 --> 00:15:50.240 So home is not just a banana tree or a banyan tree, 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:53.450 it can be an oak tree or an apple tree. 00:15:53.450 --> 00:15:57.160 That is why right in the present moment, 00:15:57.160 --> 00:16:01.860 on this land, we can be in contact with our true home. 00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:18.680 When we listen to the bell, we come back to our breathing, 00:16:20.680 --> 00:16:25.083 we see that we are truly present 00:16:25.083 --> 00:16:29.060 and the wonders of life are there all around us. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:36.300 The white clouds, the blue sky, the apple tree, the oak tree, 00:16:37.610 --> 00:16:40.386 friends who are practicing around us, 00:16:40.386 --> 00:16:43.780 all these things belong to home. 00:16:44.580 --> 00:16:48.440 All these things are there in the present moment, 00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:54.520 even though the sweet starfruits and the little ferryboat are not there. 00:16:58.410 --> 00:17:07.260 And so to practice is to touch our true home right in the present moment. 00:17:07.260 --> 00:17:10.000 Wherever we are we can be at ease, 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:13.040 wherever we are we can be at home. 00:17:13.040 --> 00:17:15.780 That true home is life itself. 00:17:20.290 --> 00:17:25.420 In the present moment, there are so many things that we do not cherish. 00:17:26.300 --> 00:17:29.074 Only when they are no longer there 00:17:29.074 --> 00:17:34.508 or when we are separated from them that we start to appreciate them. 00:17:35.530 --> 00:17:38.882 And if we only appreciate it after having parted with it, 00:17:38.894 --> 00:17:41.940 it already belongs to the past. 00:17:41.940 --> 00:17:44.580 It is the home of the past. 00:17:44.580 --> 00:17:50.610 For a practitioner, home must be in the present moment. 00:17:50.610 --> 00:17:54.840 That is what we mean by our true home. 00:17:55.600 --> 00:17:58.839 "Quê hương đích thực" means true home, 00:17:58.839 --> 00:18:01.660 not just nostalgia for the past. 00:18:02.900 --> 00:18:09.620 And so we should practice in such a way that the Sangha becomes our home. 00:18:09.770 --> 00:18:15.380 The Sangha is everywhere, the Sangha is our joy. 00:18:19.530 --> 00:18:22.584 Already at the start of the three months retreat, we see many 00:18:22.596 --> 00:18:25.980 brothers, sisters and lay friends from other places gather here, 00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:30.220 and we feel the joy of reuniting as a sangha. 00:18:30.220 --> 00:18:35.060 And we kick start our three months winter retreat with that joy. 00:18:38.040 --> 00:18:40.911 And so for the three months retreat 00:18:40.911 --> 00:18:47.008 we should find a way for our true home to be present right here right now. 00:18:52.650 --> 00:18:58.000 For this rains retreat Thầy has two new attendants, 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:02.240 brothers Đức Tạng and Pháp Thuyên. 00:19:03.730 --> 00:19:08.100 I heard that brother Đức Tạng can only stay in Plum Village for this winter. 00:19:08.100 --> 00:19:12.556 After, his master has asked him to go back to take care of their monastery, 00:19:12.556 --> 00:19:15.508 maybe to become an abbot. 00:19:16.600 --> 00:19:20.910 Thầy told him: “You should tell your master that 00:19:20.922 --> 00:19:25.080 you must graduate from Plum Village first, 00:19:25.080 --> 00:19:29.034 you must stay until you become a Dharma teacher in training 00:19:29.046 --> 00:19:32.500 and receive the lamp transmission before going back. 00:19:33.120 --> 00:19:36.280 You must write to your master." 00:19:52.840 --> 00:19:59.600 If we take refuge in the Sangha to practice, 00:20:01.180 --> 00:20:06.940 if we see the setting of the retreat as our home, 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:12.010 we will have a lot of happiness. 00:20:14.580 --> 00:20:21.220 The theme for the three months retreat this year is "The path of the Buddha." 00:20:25.770 --> 00:20:27.880 "The Path of the Buddha" 00:20:30.520 --> 00:20:33.620 The path that the Buddha has taken ... 00:20:34.650 --> 00:20:39.920 and the path that the Buddha has shown us. 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:58.340 The path that leads to happiness, 00:20:59.090 --> 00:21:03.800 the path that leads to the transformation of suffering. 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:22.880 The path of the Buddha or “Phật đạo”. 00:21:24.140 --> 00:21:26.570 The Path of the Buddha. 00:21:26.690 --> 00:21:29.750 We have had retreats with the themes “The Heart of the Buddha”, 00:21:29.750 --> 00:21:32.868 “The Eye of the Buddha”, 00:21:34.800 --> 00:21:37.720 “The Feet of the Buddha”, 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:41.440 now we have “the Path of the Buddha”. 00:21:56.700 --> 00:22:02.900 We have to ask, have we ever NOT learned about the path of the Buddha? 00:22:02.900 --> 00:22:06.730 It is not only this year that we learn about the path of the Buddha. 00:22:06.730 --> 00:22:10.535 Everything we've studied from the sutras, the vinaya, the abhidharma, 00:22:10.536 --> 00:22:17.608 are part of the Buddha's path, so why are we talking about the path of the Buddha this year? 00:22:21.580 --> 00:22:25.400 It is because there is a new need. 00:22:28.980 --> 00:22:39.170 It is because our world is moving into a new order called “globalization”. 00:22:40.290 --> 00:22:45.454 There is a new order called “ global order”. 00:23:02.040 --> 00:23:05.100 A new global order. 00:23:12.260 --> 00:23:19.060 It is because the economy is moving towards globalization. 00:23:19.060 --> 00:23:22.320 Politics is moving towards globalization. 00:23:24.300 --> 00:23:27.300 And education ... 00:23:32.930 --> 00:23:36.960 is also on the path of globalization. 00:23:38.440 --> 00:23:47.940 That is why ethics also needs to go on the path of globalization. 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:56.370 A global order requires a global ethics, 00:23:56.370 --> 00:24:03.260 an ethics that is accepted by the whole of humanty. 00:24:04.730 --> 00:24:16.560 Because up to now different cultures, different nations have their own ethics. 00:24:19.130 --> 00:24:27.600 And each set of ethics has its own values and criteria. 00:24:29.520 --> 00:24:35.228 So how can we move toward 00:24:35.228 --> 00:24:39.306 acknowledging the values that we hold in common, 00:24:39.306 --> 00:24:43.720 our common values, 00:24:46.280 --> 00:24:53.960 in order to establish a global ethics. 00:24:55.010 --> 00:25:10.080 That is why a new global order calls for a new global ethics. 00:25:10.080 --> 00:25:17.720 A new global order calls for a new global ethics. 00:25:25.160 --> 00:25:36.290 (repeat) 00:25:39.650 --> 00:25:44.580 As Buddhist practitioners, 00:25:45.370 --> 00:25:49.180 we have the responsibility to speak out ... 00:25:49.180 --> 00:25:58.320 about the Buddhist contribution to the new global ethics. 00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:06.001 What does Buddhism have to offer 00:26:06.013 --> 00:26:11.560 to contribute to the new global ethics? 00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:21.060 Of course, there are many different wisdom traditions in the world. 00:26:21.060 --> 00:26:29.770 And each tradition has their own insights, wisdom ... 00:26:29.770 --> 00:26:34.340 and experience of ethics and morality. 00:26:34.410 --> 00:26:39.060 Each religion or philosophy 00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:49.978 also has its own insights, wisdom and experience 00:26:49.978 --> 00:26:58.420 and each can contribute their part to a global ethic. 00:27:02.920 --> 00:27:06.420 So from a Buddhist standpoint, 00:27:06.420 --> 00:27:10.632 what gems do we have 00:27:10.632 --> 00:27:16.580 that can be a contribution to that new global ethic? 00:27:17.130 --> 00:27:22.780 That is the theme of this year’s winter retreat. 00:27:24.730 --> 00:27:27.200 The Path of the Buddha, 00:27:31.610 --> 00:27:38.810 the Buddhist contribution to a global ethic. 00:27:38.850 --> 00:27:59.800 the Buddhist contribution to a global ethic. 00:28:25.090 --> 00:28:29.963 That is why our theme for this year's Winter Retreat 00:28:29.975 --> 00:28:34.250 is the "Path of the Buddha" – 00:28:34.250 --> 00:28:39.210 Buddhist contribution to a global ethic. 00:28:50.980 --> 00:28:55.020 And we have three months to go deeply into these topics. 00:28:56.160 --> 00:29:01.840 Thầy's teachings and Dharma talks will be in Vietnamese ... 00:29:01.840 --> 00:29:06.820 and will be translated into English, French. 00:29:08.120 --> 00:29:13.200 Then next year, in the 21-Day Retreat, 00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:17.760 we will also use this theme but we will condense 00:29:17.772 --> 00:29:22.250 these teachings into the 21-Day Retreat setting. 00:29:22.250 --> 00:29:28.060 The 21-Day Retreat will be taught in English with the same theme: 00:29:28.920 --> 00:29:34.540 The Path of the Buddha - Buddhist contribution to a global ethic. 00:29:35.850 --> 00:29:39.529 We study now in Vietnamese and next year we study again 00:29:39.541 --> 00:29:43.100 in English with the compact version of 21-Day Retreat. 00:29:43.100 --> 00:29:47.000 We have as many as 90 days now - isn't that wonderful? 00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:49.370 And we can go deeply. 00:29:49.370 --> 00:29:53.964 In the past, we had a retreat with the theme, “The Heart of the Buddha” 00:29:53.964 --> 00:30:00.048 for more than 90 days, in Vietnamese. 00:30:00.060 --> 00:30:08.560 Then we condensed it into the 21-Day Retreat in English. 00:30:10.620 --> 00:30:17.100 So if we can master the content of the 90-Day Retreat, 00:30:17.100 --> 00:30:22.690 then when the 21-Day Retreat comes in June, 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:30.420 we can contribute a lot in Dharma sharing sessions by sharing ... 00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:35.040 and guiding newly arrived friends. 00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:39.743 Our way of study should not be the same way as one studies in universities. 00:30:39.755 --> 00:30:43.200 At universities you need to read many books and read them really fast ... 00:30:43.200 --> 00:30:46.800 because there are so many materials to read. 00:30:48.660 --> 00:30:55.340 Because at universities the emphasis is on knowledge, 00:30:58.120 --> 00:31:01.200 conceptual knowledge. 00:31:02.860 --> 00:31:08.730 Here ... the emphasis is more on looking deeply. 00:31:08.730 --> 00:31:14.010 If there are too many readings, there wouldn't be time for deep looking. 00:31:14.010 --> 00:31:18.440 You could read one page very quickly in a few minutes, 00:31:19.290 --> 00:31:23.093 but you only pick up a few ideas. 00:31:23.105 --> 00:31:27.260 You don't have a chance to contemplate these ideas. 00:31:27.260 --> 00:31:31.700 So our way of study is very different to that of universities. 00:31:33.040 --> 00:31:38.420 We read very little, but we contemplate a great deal. 00:31:38.420 --> 00:31:50.240 In this retreat you will be given some reading materials...but very few. 00:31:51.340 --> 00:32:05.520 First, there will be material from a parliament of the world's religions in Chicago. 00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:19.240 The Parliament of the World's Religions was convened in Chicago in 1993. 00:32:26.040 --> 00:32:39.610 That parliament of religions brought out a declaration - 00:32:45.370 --> 00:32:50.840 the "Declaration toward a global ethic". It's only 10 pages of reading. 00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:57.650 You read to reflect; read to look deeply; 00:32:59.650 --> 00:33:07.120 read to see the ways in which we can contribute to that global ethic. 00:33:08.780 --> 00:33:12.280 The material is in English. 00:33:12.280 --> 00:33:17.610 You might find the German online, so there is no need for translation. 00:33:17.610 --> 00:33:19.360 It may be in French, too. 00:33:19.360 --> 00:33:31.300 So I ask the brothers and sisters to download the English and French versions. 00:33:31.300 --> 00:33:33.850 I don't think it is in Vietnamese. 00:33:33.850 --> 00:33:38.040 We might need a Vietnamese translation. 00:33:45.940 --> 00:33:54.700 The German theologian Hans Küng summarized the meetings 00:33:54.700 --> 00:34:02.100 of world's religions from that parliament in this booklet - 00:34:10.300 --> 00:34:19.760 The Declaration of the Parliament of World's Religions Toward a Global Ethic. 00:34:23.780 --> 00:34:28.860 This is one material we will use to look deeply. 00:34:28.860 --> 00:34:34.517 While using the material, our seeds of insight and experience 00:34:34.529 --> 00:34:40.420 will be touched; they will sprout. 00:34:40.440 --> 00:34:50.380 And these sprouts will be our contribution toward a global ethic. 00:34:59.960 --> 00:35:03.480 Now I entrust this to Thầy Pháp Hữu: 00:35:04.820 --> 00:35:14.610 Please find a way to have it in English, French, German and Vietnamese. 00:35:14.610 --> 00:35:17.020 A copy for each of us. 00:35:30.610 --> 00:35:33.840 In Vietnamese there is the word “đạo đức”, 00:35:40.180 --> 00:35:42.960 and also the word “luân lý”. 00:35:45.610 --> 00:35:51.140 Often we translate “luân lý” as "morality". 00:36:01.420 --> 00:36:09.920 The word “đạo đức” can also be translated as "morality" or "ethic". 00:36:17.740 --> 00:36:40.465 The word “luân lý” is of Chinese origin: 倫理. 00:36:50.560 --> 00:36:52.120 “Luân lý” (倫理)... 00:36:55.520 --> 00:37:05.593 “Luân” means the way of conduct between people. 00:37:06.530 --> 00:37:11.720 How to conduct ourselves to not have suffering but to have happiness. 00:37:13.880 --> 00:37:16.460 A code of behavior. 00:37:17.060 --> 00:37:22.140 A way of behavior between humans 00:37:22.210 --> 00:37:26.215 to reduce the sufferings and difficulties, 00:37:26.227 --> 00:37:29.360 to be happy. 00:37:30.440 --> 00:37:32.060 We have the word “nhân luân”. 00:37:32.060 --> 00:37:35.490 “Nhân” means human - 00:37:35.490 --> 00:37:50.884 “nhân luân” (人倫) means human ethics. 00:37:56.050 --> 00:37:59.340 And “Lý” (理) means the principles, 00:38:00.130 --> 00:38:03.100 there are basic principles ... 00:38:17.900 --> 00:38:20.280 for actions and rules. 00:38:21.210 --> 00:38:35.320 These principles are the foundation for the rules, actions, conduct. 00:38:38.660 --> 00:38:40.280 “Luân lý” ... 00:38:42.280 --> 00:39:10.968 could be the abbreviation of “luân thường đạo lý”. 00:39:15.280 --> 00:39:20.733 “Luân thường đạo lý” (倫常道理) 00:39:25.020 --> 00:39:29.840 “Thường” (常) means "common", 00:39:38.290 --> 00:39:40.220 it means "in general", 00:39:45.180 --> 00:39:51.120 accepted by everyone, common for everyone. 00:39:59.810 --> 00:40:05.720 And it continues like that, not changing from time to time. 00:40:09.600 --> 00:40:13.289 “Luân thường” (倫常) 00:40:14.740 --> 00:40:22.020 is a principle of conduct between humans 00:40:22.850 --> 00:40:30.280 that is accepted by everyone and maintained throughout time. 00:40:31.040 --> 00:40:34.385 “Đạo” (道) is "path". 00:40:35.680 --> 00:40:39.640 "Lý” (理) is “lý trí” (reason) ... 00:40:40.970 --> 00:40:46.700 or “nguyên lý”, principles, or reasons. 00:40:47.570 --> 00:40:51.130 “Lý” (理) has at least two meanings: 00:40:51.130 --> 00:40:52.530 One is... 00:40:56.400 --> 00:41:00.410 “nguyên tắc", principles, "nguyên lý”. 00:41:00.940 --> 00:41:05.120 Two is “lý luận”, reasoning, 00:41:05.120 --> 00:41:09.600 because we need to use our wisdom to examine things. 00:41:10.300 --> 00:41:13.650 We cannot just use faith, but to use wisdom. 00:41:13.650 --> 00:41:18.176 “Luân lý đạo đức” (ethics, morality) must involve wisdom. 00:41:18.810 --> 00:41:24.450 “Trí tuệ”, la raison, reason - in order to contemplate, 00:41:24.450 --> 00:41:30.414 to examine and discover the basic principles, 00:41:30.426 --> 00:41:38.872 which form the foundation of our conduct. 00:41:39.240 --> 00:41:44.530 To be more correct, it should be called “luân thường đạo lý” - 00:41:45.600 --> 00:41:57.090 the basic principles that create a path forward. 00:42:00.370 --> 00:42:04.260 “Đạo” (道) is the path. 00:42:05.370 --> 00:42:16.500 A path that is manifested as the way human beings behave towards each other, 00:42:16.500 --> 00:42:21.640 and is accepted by everyone. That is “luân thường đạo lý” (倫常道理). 00:42:23.930 --> 00:42:30.680 It is morality in the sense of Eastern ethics. 00:42:34.090 --> 00:42:41.080 The guiding principles, the reasonings that lead to a path, 00:42:42.410 --> 00:42:52.970 manifested as the conduct between humans and are accepted by everyone. 00:42:52.970 --> 00:43:01.100 These are two meanings of ethics and morality of people in the East. 00:43:02.330 --> 00:43:15.853 And this word “đạo đức” (道德) 00:43:18.560 --> 00:43:22.380 can also be translated as "morality" or "ethics". 00:43:22.380 --> 00:43:25.780 It contains the the word “đạo” (道) - the path, 00:43:38.720 --> 00:43:45.280 and “đức” (德) - virtues or good qualities. 00:43:46.970 --> 00:43:50.290 Đức means virtues, les vertus, 00:43:51.980 --> 00:43:57.580 such as integrity, charity... 00:43:59.850 --> 00:44:03.810 The qualities that bring us happiness 00:44:03.810 --> 00:44:06.200 and do not bring suffering to others. 00:44:06.200 --> 00:44:09.970 These are virtues, virtuous conduct, 00:44:09.970 --> 00:44:11.970 a path, 00:44:14.810 --> 00:44:16.680 the virtues 00:44:21.660 --> 00:44:25.330 that can show us a path of conduct 00:44:25.330 --> 00:44:30.410 where we do not make ourselves or others suffer. 00:44:30.770 --> 00:44:37.100 Where we can be happy and help others be happy. That is called “đạo đức”. 00:44:37.920 --> 00:44:43.170 "Đạo" and "đức" - path and virtue, or the path of virtue. 00:44:43.210 --> 00:44:49.180 We can translate the word “đạo đức” as the path and the virtues, 00:44:50.130 --> 00:44:52.820 or as the virtues ... 00:44:57.920 --> 00:45:02.640 that show us the way to behave. 00:45:02.640 --> 00:45:05.778 The virtues that show us... 00:45:09.048 --> 00:45:12.669 the way to act, 00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:16.802 to behave. 00:45:18.480 --> 00:45:21.720 The virtues 00:45:23.530 --> 00:45:26.020 that shine the light for us, 00:45:26.020 --> 00:45:30.660 to show us the way to act 00:45:30.660 --> 00:45:36.610 so that we do not suffer, and do not make others suffer. 00:45:36.610 --> 00:45:41.080 For us to be happy and from there, bring happiness to others. 00:45:43.570 --> 00:45:51.650 That is the Eastern definition of “luân lý” (倫理) and “đạo đức” (道德). 00:46:27.730 --> 00:46:32.700 When the World Honored One was enlightened, “thành đạo”, 00:46:33.610 --> 00:46:37.740 he immediately thought of the path. 00:46:45.780 --> 00:46:48.840 We have the expression “thành đạo”, 00:47:05.153 --> 00:47:07.153 (成道) 00:47:12.370 --> 00:47:18.860 which can be called “realizing the way”, 00:47:20.940 --> 00:47:21.820 or ... 00:47:24.220 --> 00:47:26.730 “became enlightened”. 00:47:28.480 --> 00:47:33.010 The Tathagatha became enlightened under the bodhi tree. What does "became enlightened" mean? 00:47:33.010 --> 00:47:36.475 It means complete awakening. 00:47:36.487 --> 00:47:41.330 Awakened. Free. 00:47:44.440 --> 00:47:49.440 That is why “đạo” (道) here does not just mean "path". 00:47:49.440 --> 00:47:53.720 It also means "truth". 00:47:54.240 --> 00:47:58.340 "Thành đạo" is to see the truth. 00:47:59.880 --> 00:48:02.760 Realization of the truth. 00:48:09.600 --> 00:48:18.680 "Đạo" here is truth, reality, a great wisdom. 00:48:19.880 --> 00:48:24.930 A vision, a great insight that can free us. 00:48:24.940 --> 00:48:27.080 That is “đạo” (道). 00:48:30.640 --> 00:48:37.100 In the East, the first meaning of “đạo” is "path". 00:48:40.370 --> 00:48:47.180 Then it means the ultimate and deepest wisdom. 00:48:53.170 --> 00:48:57.740 We can say that "đạo" is the great wisdom, 00:48:57.740 --> 00:49:02.120 as well as the path to that great wisdom. 00:49:02.120 --> 00:49:07.170 “Đạo” is the great wisdom, freedom, awakening. 00:49:07.170 --> 00:49:11.420 “Đạo” is also the path leading to that great wisdom. 00:49:29.060 --> 00:49:31.260 We often translate ... 00:49:35.020 --> 00:49:41.860 “tông giáo” as "religion". 00:50:03.780 --> 00:50:08.960 But the word “tông giáo” (宗教) does not mean "religion". 00:50:11.970 --> 00:50:14.740 ”Tông” means "tradition". 00:50:16.040 --> 00:50:24.770 ”Tông” is "tradition". 00:50:26.170 --> 00:50:28.760 “Giáo” means "teachings". 00:50:32.690 --> 00:50:36.720 A tradition of teachings, of practices. 00:50:42.770 --> 00:50:52.330 Meanwhile, the word "religion" in Western literature relates to God, 00:50:54.330 --> 00:50:56.500 the creator, 00:50:57.520 --> 00:51:03.860 and faith in God, in the creator. 00:51:05.210 --> 00:51:08.900 But with the word “tông giáo”, 00:51:09.320 --> 00:51:17.660 there doesn't necessarily need to be a god or faith in a god. 00:51:17.660 --> 00:51:28.480 ”Tông giáo” is the "tradition of a teaching". 00:51:28.540 --> 00:51:38.810 “Giáo” (教) here means "to teach", "teaching". 00:51:45.620 --> 00:51:50.125 Sometimes we translate "religion" as “đạo”, like “đạo Bụt” (Buddhism), 00:51:50.137 --> 00:51:54.460 “đạo Chúa” (Theistic religions). 00:51:58.440 --> 00:52:03.800 The word "đạo" just means "path". 00:52:05.810 --> 00:52:11.460 It is not so correct to use “đạo” for "religion". 00:52:11.460 --> 00:52:19.690 Because in religion, there often has to be a creator, a god. 00:52:21.120 --> 00:52:28.650 But “đạo” may not refer to god or creator. 00:52:32.340 --> 00:52:36.868 That's why it is not so correct to translate religion as “tông giáo”, 00:52:36.880 --> 00:52:41.020 or as “đạo”. 00:52:42.820 --> 00:52:46.720 However, in "đạo Bụt" (Buddhism), 00:52:49.490 --> 00:52:53.020 the idea of a path is very clear. 00:52:53.820 --> 00:52:56.700 “Con đường” is "magga" ("path" in Pali). 00:53:04.140 --> 00:53:11.020 We are learning the path of the Buddha in this retreat. 00:53:11.960 --> 00:53:15.720 Buddha’s magga. Buddha magga. 00:53:29.671 --> 00:53:42.132 The first teaching that the Buddha offered to his five spiritual friends ... 00:53:43.780 --> 00:53:48.440 set the foundation for an ethic. 00:53:50.720 --> 00:53:56.300 In that teaching, called the "Discourse on Turning the Wheel of the Dharma", 00:53:58.000 --> 00:54:02.120 he taught about the Four Noble Truths, 00:54:02.120 --> 00:54:06.800 and the path of the Eight Right Practices. 00:54:10.300 --> 00:54:18.980 When we speak of Buddhist ethics or Buddhist morality, 00:54:18.980 --> 00:54:22.040 we should remember this sutra. 00:54:23.040 --> 00:54:27.500 After realizing the path, the Buddha wanted to share his insight. 00:54:35.480 --> 00:54:37.340 After enlightenment, 00:54:38.360 --> 00:54:43.960 he enjoyed his time, visiting the lotus pond, 00:54:44.620 --> 00:54:47.300 going to the forest and playing with the children. 00:54:47.300 --> 00:54:53.860 Maybe during those few weeks he was thinking of ... 00:54:53.860 --> 00:54:59.180 how to share the insights he had realized. 00:55:02.650 --> 00:55:05.850 He might have thought, “Whom should I share with?” 00:55:05.850 --> 00:55:09.040 And he thought of his five companions, 00:55:10.200 --> 00:55:15.880 the five friends including Kondana. 00:55:20.530 --> 00:55:25.900 From Deer Park in Sarnath ... 00:55:26.840 --> 00:55:34.200 he walked on foot, ah no, from Bodhgaya – 00:55:34.690 --> 00:55:38.880 the bodhi tree at Bodhgaya ... 00:55:40.210 --> 00:55:46.120 he walked on foot to Deer Park in search of his five old spiritual friends. 00:55:51.480 --> 00:55:57.700 He must have walked for at least two weeks before arriving. 00:56:00.270 --> 00:56:03.550 He walked on paths through the rice paddies. 00:56:03.550 --> 00:56:07.530 Searching. A teacher searching for his disciples. 00:56:07.530 --> 00:56:10.100 The first five disciples. 00:56:11.020 --> 00:56:15.440 On our recent tour in India, our sangha... 00:56:19.960 --> 00:56:27.600 went by bus from Sarnath or the old Deer Park ... 00:56:27.600 --> 00:56:33.520 where the World Honored One gave his first teaching to his five friends, 00:56:33.520 --> 00:56:35.640 to the Bodhi Tree. 00:56:37.710 --> 00:56:42.780 The trip was quite tiring, even though we sat properly on the bus. 00:56:44.320 --> 00:56:51.120 How long did it take us? Six hours on the bus. 00:56:52.400 --> 00:56:58.640 In the past, the Buddha had walked, step by step, in mindfulness 00:56:58.640 --> 00:57:04.140 from the foot of the Bodhi Tree to Deer park. 00:57:09.720 --> 00:57:16.360 He heard that his five friends were at Deer park; 00:57:16.360 --> 00:57:19.540 so he set out to find them. 00:57:19.560 --> 00:57:22.280 He wasn't certain if they were still there or not, but he kept on going. 00:57:22.280 --> 00:57:26.303 Fortunately for him and fortunately for the five friends, 00:57:26.315 --> 00:57:30.940 they were still there and the Buddha met them. 00:57:32.140 --> 00:57:37.246 He sat down and shared with them 00:57:37.258 --> 00:57:42.820 about the Four Truths and the path of Eight Right Practices. 00:57:43.900 --> 00:57:48.640 That is the content of the "Discourse on Turning the Wheel of the Dharma". 00:57:49.870 --> 00:57:58.840 This sutra could be the foundational material for Buddhist ethics. 00:58:00.960 --> 00:58:03.220 It is very practical. 00:58:04.670 --> 00:58:07.180 It is not philosophy. 00:58:08.060 --> 00:58:10.260 It is not science. 00:58:13.520 --> 00:58:17.620 It is teaching on ethics and morality. 00:58:21.080 --> 00:58:26.580 The Buddha spoke of human suffering and 00:58:27.900 --> 00:58:31.500 how to transform suffering. 00:58:38.080 --> 00:58:44.880 And he offered the methods of practice, 00:58:45.500 --> 00:58:49.940 a path to transform suffering. 00:58:50.520 --> 00:58:56.940 That is the essence of the Four Noble Truths or the four wondrous truths. 00:59:02.750 --> 00:59:05.040 "Tứ Diệu Đế" (四妙諦) 00:59:16.840 --> 00:59:21.840 are the four noble, wondrous truths. 00:59:23.120 --> 00:59:25.880 “Diệu” (妙) means "wondrous". 00:59:26.780 --> 00:59:31.920 It is sometimes translated as the "Four Holy Truths" (Tứ Thánh Đế, 四聖諦). 00:59:38.080 --> 01:00:02.040 "The four holy truths." 01:00:08.170 --> 01:00:12.080 And sometimes as the "Four Real Truths" (Tứ Chân Đế, 四真諦). 01:00:21.850 --> 01:00:23.770 “Chân” (真) means ... 01:00:27.500 --> 01:00:31.740 real, not fake, authentic. 01:00:32.360 --> 01:00:40.110 It is not fake, it is genuine. 01:00:52.080 --> 01:00:55.465 The words “Diệu” (wondrous), “Thánh” (holy), and “Chân” (real) 01:00:55.477 --> 01:00:59.200 are different translations of the word “Arya”. 01:01:01.440 --> 01:01:05.600 "Arya" means "noble" and "true". 01:01:08.600 --> 01:01:12.560 Catvari Arya Satyani 01:01:28.170 --> 01:01:35.660 "Catvari" is "four". "Arya" is "holy" or "noble". 01:01:36.940 --> 01:01:42.590 "Satya" is "truth". 01:02:00.890 --> 01:02:03.000 During our tour in India, 01:02:03.690 --> 01:02:08.780 I was invited to give a talk in the Indian Parliament 01:02:12.300 --> 01:02:15.740 on the topic of leadership. 01:02:15.870 --> 01:02:28.650 How to lead with non-fear and compassion? 01:02:31.160 --> 01:02:38.090 It was a teaching, a presentation about the path and 01:02:38.090 --> 01:02:43.760 the virtues essential to a political leader. 01:02:43.760 --> 01:02:48.600 Leading with courage and compassion. 01:02:52.990 --> 01:02:57.880 The person who wrote the letter of invitation was 01:03:11.040 --> 01:03:26.640 the President of the Indian Council for International Cultural Relations. 01:03:34.060 --> 01:03:38.400 He invited me to his house for tea. 01:03:39.440 --> 01:03:45.660 And invited me to go upstairs to visit the altar. 01:03:47.400 --> 01:03:51.240 He belonged to the Brahmana caste. 01:03:52.440 --> 01:04:01.440 In the old days, he was the crown prince of a Kashimiri kingdom. 01:04:03.640 --> 01:04:08.490 He could have become a king, but he chose the path of democracy 01:04:08.490 --> 01:04:16.160 and became a member of Congress - one of its most senior members. 01:04:21.470 --> 01:04:29.610 On his altar there was also a Buddha statue. 01:04:31.120 --> 01:04:36.330 He said, “Dear Thầy, I also recite the Three Refuges. 01:04:36.330 --> 01:04:43.880 I read: 'Buddham saranam gacchami, Dharmam saranam gacchami. 01:04:43.880 --> 01:04:53.020 But I don’t read Sangham saranam gacchami, there is no Sangha in India. 01:04:53.020 --> 01:04:58.400 So I read: Satyam saranam gacchami." 01:05:04.270 --> 01:05:07.170 That is - I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, 01:05:07.182 --> 01:05:09.710 and I take refuge in the Truth. 01:05:09.710 --> 01:05:18.540 Instead of "Sangham saranam gacchami", he read "Satyam ... 01:05:22.430 --> 01:05:24.620 saranam ... 01:05:26.670 --> 01:05:27.940 gacchami." 01:05:31.260 --> 01:05:35.160 I take refuge in the Truth. 01:05:37.420 --> 01:05:40.010 Sadly, there is no Sangha for him to take refuge in, 01:05:40.010 --> 01:05:43.820 so he had to take refuge in the Truth. 01:05:50.380 --> 01:05:53.700 Truth, “đế”, (諦), 01:06:05.400 --> 01:06:06.910 satyam. 01:06:14.330 --> 01:06:21.300 According to the Buddha's first teaching, 01:06:22.200 --> 01:06:29.740 the First Truth is that there are real sufferings in life. 01:06:36.030 --> 01:06:44.720 "Dukkha" - we translate it as "ill being". 01:06:48.120 --> 01:06:58.810 “Khổ đế” (苦諦) - the truth about suffering. 01:07:03.360 --> 01:07:13.460 Right from this First Truth, we can see that the Buddha was a very practical person. 01:07:17.160 --> 01:07:18.840 Practical. 01:07:22.320 --> 01:07:29.200 He did not spend time talking about the universe and all phenomena, 01:07:30.600 --> 01:07:35.940 about who created this world. 01:07:37.500 --> 01:07:47.200 He brought us back to the truth that there are sufferings in our heart and in society. 01:07:48.650 --> 01:07:50.520 It is a truth. 01:07:51.920 --> 01:07:55.120 It is the object of our attention. 01:07:57.950 --> 01:08:01.240 It is the work we have to do - 01:08:01.240 --> 01:08:06.620 to recognize the presence of suffering in order to resolve it. 01:08:09.760 --> 01:08:14.400 Ethics or morality (“đạo đức học”, “luân lý học”) is like that. 01:08:14.940 --> 01:08:23.960 Instead of casting our mind out to research the universe and the stars, 01:08:24.720 --> 01:08:32.700 we bring our mind home to re-examine our sufferings: 01:08:32.700 --> 01:08:36.720 the frustrations, the difficulties; to find a way to resolve them. 01:08:37.310 --> 01:08:43.240 Ethics and morality is to find a path. 01:08:43.240 --> 01:08:44.730 How to act, 01:08:44.730 --> 01:08:47.440 what we ought to do, 01:08:47.440 --> 01:08:49.680 what we ought to be. 01:08:50.320 --> 01:08:57.120 So philosophy here is the philosophy of action and not of theory. 01:09:04.190 --> 01:09:16.640 A few of the Buddha's disciples did not fully understand his intention. 01:09:18.270 --> 01:09:23.020 When they heard him teach that "suffering is a truth", 01:09:23.020 --> 01:09:27.920 they wanted to prove that suffering is a truth. 01:09:27.920 --> 01:09:32.510 They spent all their time to prove that everything is suffering. 01:09:32.510 --> 01:09:34.580 Being born is suffering. 01:09:35.680 --> 01:09:40.460 Ageing is suffering. Illness is suffering. Dying is suffering. 01:09:42.880 --> 01:09:44.730 Everything is just suffering! 01:09:44.730 --> 01:09:48.380 In order to prove the Buddha’s words. 01:09:49.400 --> 01:09:56.560 But the Buddha's purpose was not to say that everything is suffering. 01:09:58.030 --> 01:10:01.280 He just wanted to say that suffering is there, 01:10:01.280 --> 01:10:04.977 we need to take care of it, to transform it. 01:10:04.989 --> 01:10:08.860 Buddha did not say that everything is suffering, 01:10:14.890 --> 01:10:17.040 that there is no joy whatsoever. 01:10:24.400 --> 01:10:28.721 There are many people who follow that reasoning and say 01:10:28.733 --> 01:10:32.900 that there are three kinds of suffering. 01:10:35.000 --> 01:10:38.520 The first kind is the "suffering of suffering", 01:10:40.190 --> 01:10:42.857 which means the suffering itself is suffering. 01:10:42.869 --> 01:10:45.720 For example, toothache is a "suffering of suffering". 01:10:47.370 --> 01:10:51.740 Losing a loved one is a "suffering of suffering". 01:10:51.740 --> 01:10:55.370 It is true to say that a suffering itself is painful. 01:10:55.370 --> 01:10:58.580 Then there is the "suffering of formations". 01:11:05.920 --> 01:11:09.940 “Hành” here refers to phenomena. 01:11:20.140 --> 01:11:30.695 The word "hành" here is translated into English as "formation". 01:11:41.867 --> 01:11:48.581 "All formations are suffering." 01:11:53.630 --> 01:12:01.220 For example, having a toothache is suffering, 01:12:04.520 --> 01:12:08.300 but not having a toothache is also suffering, 01:12:08.300 --> 01:12:13.360 because our tooth is a formation. 01:12:14.810 --> 01:12:17.150 "Formation" in Sanskrit is 01:12:20.830 --> 01:12:22.220 "samskara". 01:12:42.800 --> 01:12:47.040 "Formation" is a technical term in Buddhism. 01:12:47.690 --> 01:12:53.220 All phenomena that gather due to conditions are formations. 01:12:53.560 --> 01:12:56.340 For example, this flower is a formation. 01:12:57.290 --> 01:13:05.240 In it are the seed, clouds, the sun, soil, fertilizer, the gardener... 01:13:05.240 --> 01:13:10.140 all of which are conditions that have brought about the flower. 01:13:10.140 --> 01:13:16.200 Anything that manifests as a result of conditions is called a "formation". 01:13:17.320 --> 01:13:20.830 It is said that "all formations are impermanent"in the sutras. 01:13:20.830 --> 01:13:25.420 All formations are impermanent. This is a truth. 01:13:27.390 --> 01:13:32.060 There is no formation, no phenomenon that is not impermanent. 01:13:32.970 --> 01:13:39.450 Not only is our toothache impermanent, our tooth is also impermanent. 01:13:39.450 --> 01:13:43.910 It's very true. There is nothing that is not impermanent. 01:13:43.922 --> 01:13:47.880 "All formations are impermanent" is something the Buddha really said. 01:13:48.220 --> 01:13:53.120 But then people said, "all formations are suffering, 01:13:53.120 --> 01:13:56.780 wherever there are formations, there is suffering." 01:14:00.240 --> 01:14:05.435 Toothache is suffering and no toothache is also suffering. 01:14:06.300 --> 01:14:10.520 When our tooth aches we suffer, but when it stops aching we still suffer. 01:14:10.520 --> 01:14:23.230 This is to push the words of the Buddha too far. 01:14:30.520 --> 01:14:36.680 If all formations are suffering, what is there that is not suffering? 01:14:40.990 --> 01:14:45.900 Then there's the third kind - the "suffering of decay" (壞苦). 01:14:51.560 --> 01:14:54.970 It means everything is decaying. 01:14:54.970 --> 01:14:59.660 If it has not yet decayed, it will decay, 01:14:59.660 --> 01:15:03.150 that is why there is the "suffering of decay". 01:15:03.150 --> 01:15:07.180 Not yet decayed is also suffering. 01:15:07.180 --> 01:15:11.621 That idea shows that people really wanted to prove 01:15:11.633 --> 01:15:16.280 that the Buddha's words were right. 01:15:17.390 --> 01:15:19.193 "Everything is suffering." 01:15:19.205 --> 01:15:21.280 But the Buddha did not intend to say that. 01:15:21.280 --> 01:15:27.860 He said that suffering is present and we must find ways to resolve it. 01:15:30.120 --> 01:15:33.000 We have be a little more intelligent. 01:15:33.000 --> 01:15:40.400 We should not be dogmatic. We should not misunderstand the Buddha's words. 01:15:41.020 --> 01:15:43.845 His purpose was not to say that everything is suffering 01:15:43.857 --> 01:15:46.940 and so let's just die to end it. 01:15:46.980 --> 01:15:53.260 He said - suffering is present, we need to take care of it. 01:15:57.080 --> 01:16:02.350 So now, when you teach about the First Truth, you need to be skillful. 01:16:02.350 --> 01:16:05.378 Don't be carried along by the idea that everything is suffering. 01:16:05.390 --> 01:16:08.680 It is true that "everything is impermanent; everything is without a separate self". 01:16:08.680 --> 01:16:16.160 But “everything is suffering”, I'm afraid is not true. 01:16:16.160 --> 01:16:23.160 In our society, when a child is born, it is a joy. 01:16:25.850 --> 01:16:28.140 Giving birth to a child is a joy. 01:16:29.660 --> 01:16:36.560 And when the birthday comes, we celebrate and sing “Happy birthday”. 01:16:37.390 --> 01:16:40.180 Then why do we say birth is suffering? 01:16:40.200 --> 01:16:46.255 If we accept that birth is suffering, then let's stop singing 01:16:46.267 --> 01:16:52.040 “happy birthday to you”, don't celebrate anymore. 01:16:54.720 --> 01:16:58.720 "Everything is suffering". Growing old is also suffering. 01:17:00.060 --> 01:17:05.000 Growing old is sometimes very joyful. I am old, so I know. 01:17:05.920 --> 01:17:11.939 Growing old can be very joyful. When we grow old, in our body 01:17:11.951 --> 01:17:18.080 there are no more the excessive exuberance or frustrations of youth. 01:17:18.080 --> 01:17:22.040 Old age is very relaxed. 01:17:22.940 --> 01:17:29.420 It is very calm, we can live deeply, we have wisdom. 01:17:30.140 --> 01:17:34.400 So growing old is not necessarily suffering. 01:17:34.400 --> 01:17:39.120 Don’t be afraid. Growing old is wonderful. 01:17:40.240 --> 01:17:47.080 When young, we are like a stream dancing high on the mountain - 01:17:48.400 --> 01:17:52.248 we are restless, wanting to reach the ocean 01:17:52.260 --> 01:17:56.200 as soon as possible. 01:17:56.890 --> 01:18:02.040 But as we descend to the plain and become a river, we slow down. 01:18:02.720 --> 01:18:09.580 As the river slows, we start to see the clouds reflected in our midst. 01:18:10.880 --> 01:18:16.420 The river can reflect the blue sky and white clouds. There is tranquility. 01:18:17.120 --> 01:18:24.020 Not only being a stream is joyful. Being a slow flowing river is also very joyful. 01:18:26.990 --> 01:18:29.140 "Illness is suffering." 01:18:31.320 --> 01:18:34.060 Now we might agree that illness is suffering. 01:18:34.720 --> 01:18:37.280 But we can look again more carefully. 01:18:40.300 --> 01:18:45.160 In the sutras it also says that illness helps us to have insight. 01:18:46.810 --> 01:18:53.680 If we do not know of illness, we are too far removed from reality. 01:18:55.130 --> 01:18:57.540 If as a child 01:18:58.120 --> 01:19:05.760 we were not sick from time to time, our immune system would be very weak 01:19:05.760 --> 01:19:08.360 and we could die at any moment. 01:19:08.360 --> 01:19:13.542 Thanks to the child being sick from time to time, 01:19:13.554 --> 01:19:19.220 the body could create a strong immune system. 01:19:19.930 --> 01:19:24.533 And thanks to that strong immune system, as the child grows up 01:19:24.545 --> 01:19:29.160 they can resist the invasion of countless pathogens from outside. 01:19:29.160 --> 01:19:36.120 So illness helps a child to grow stronger and able to resist diseases. 01:19:36.120 --> 01:19:40.360 Illness is not necessarily something negative. 01:19:44.440 --> 01:19:48.788 In the “Jewel Cloud Samādhi” commentary, it is said that 01:19:48.800 --> 01:19:53.240 if there is no illness, sensual desire can arise. 01:19:54.760 --> 01:19:58.940 And so being sick once in a while is very good. 01:20:00.170 --> 01:20:04.040 The monks, nuns and lay friends have seen that. 01:20:04.040 --> 01:20:08.960 When we are sick, we have the time to lie still and reflect back - 01:20:08.960 --> 01:20:11.622 we realize how good it is to be healthy. 01:20:11.634 --> 01:20:14.120 So don't be so sure that illness is only suffering. 01:20:14.120 --> 01:20:20.980 It can also be a favorable condition for our happiness to grow. 01:20:26.120 --> 01:20:29.100 So illness is not necessarily suffering. 01:20:29.112 --> 01:20:32.300 It can also be a favorable condition for happiness. 01:20:33.150 --> 01:20:35.050 Death is also like that. 01:20:35.050 --> 01:20:40.040 We usually say death is suffering. But without death, how can there be life? 01:20:40.040 --> 01:20:44.400 Without death, where would we find the land for our children to live? 01:20:44.400 --> 01:20:47.849 How could our children have a future? 01:20:47.861 --> 01:20:51.200 We would grow very old: 100, 500, 5000 years old. 01:20:51.200 --> 01:20:54.884 The earth would be full of hunched up people 01:20:54.896 --> 01:20:58.280 who go around coughing as they walked. 01:20:58.280 --> 01:21:03.440 There wouldn't be room for the children on the land. 01:21:03.440 --> 01:21:07.534 We see clearly that in our body, if no cells die, 01:21:07.546 --> 01:21:11.980 how can new cells be born, for us to grow? 01:21:11.980 --> 01:21:14.860 So death is very crucial. 01:21:15.950 --> 01:21:20.193 When we die with the insight that we are not really dying 01:21:20.205 --> 01:21:24.460 but are leaving room for future births; such a death is not suffering. 01:21:24.480 --> 01:21:32.080 So the old ways of explaining the First Truth of suffering is too out of date. 01:21:32.960 --> 01:21:36.399 Birth is suffering, ageing is suffering, illness is suffering, 01:21:36.411 --> 01:21:40.300 death is suffering, this is and that is suffering. 01:21:40.300 --> 01:21:47.600 We need to recognize the sufferings of now. 01:21:54.330 --> 01:21:58.760 In the past there was not the phenomenon of global warming, 01:22:00.440 --> 01:22:04.680 which is a great human suffering now. 01:22:04.680 --> 01:22:06.680 A catastrophe. 01:22:09.320 --> 01:22:13.101 We have to present the Noble Truth of suffering in terms 01:22:13.113 --> 01:22:16.720 of what is happening now - that the earth is heating up, 01:22:17.840 --> 01:22:21.240 climate change. 01:22:22.220 --> 01:22:24.540 It is a threat. 01:22:24.540 --> 01:22:31.500 And we need time to look deeply and find ways to transform it. 01:22:32.490 --> 01:22:35.940 Now, there is a great deal of violence in society. 01:22:36.670 --> 01:22:45.820 Violence and terrorism are new kinds of suffering 01:22:50.220 --> 01:22:53.480 that were not there in the old days. 01:22:57.150 --> 01:23:04.180 There are many people with mental illness. There are many religious wars. 01:23:04.920 --> 01:23:07.930 These are the sufferings that we need to note down 01:23:07.942 --> 01:23:10.840 in order to look deeply into them. 01:23:11.610 --> 01:23:14.760 We need to recognize these sufferings: 01:23:23.150 --> 01:23:26.970 fanaticism, division, 01:23:30.750 --> 01:23:34.480 violence, terrorism, 01:23:36.520 --> 01:23:38.600 economic crisis, 01:23:43.980 --> 01:23:50.540 environment destruction... all these sufferings need to be recognized. 01:23:51.470 --> 01:23:55.180 We must have a new way of seeing the Noble Truth of suffering. 01:23:56.010 --> 01:24:01.130 We need to know the path, to see the path 01:24:01.142 --> 01:24:06.900 that leads to the transformation of this suffering. 01:24:12.010 --> 01:24:18.890 This is the truth of suffering. The first truth is to recognize 01:24:18.890 --> 01:24:23.920 and call our sufferings by their name. 01:24:26.330 --> 01:24:28.140 The real sufferings, 01:24:29.240 --> 01:24:35.180 collective sufferings of humans, of all beings, and our personal sufferings. 01:24:37.920 --> 01:24:46.040 There are of course personal sufferings that are connected to that of the entire Earth - 01:24:46.040 --> 01:24:49.450 including human beings and other species. 01:24:49.450 --> 01:24:53.120 But we do have our individual sufferings. 01:24:53.120 --> 01:24:59.550 We need to recognize them. It could be despair, 01:24:59.550 --> 01:25:03.400 hatred, 01:25:04.720 --> 01:25:07.480 anxiety. 01:25:08.090 --> 01:25:14.400 We need to acknowledge our suffering in order to find a path to transform it. 01:25:15.390 --> 01:25:19.040 It's not about finding ways to prove that life is suffering. 01:25:19.040 --> 01:25:23.242 But to call the suffering by its true name, 01:25:23.254 --> 01:25:28.080 acknowledging that it is real in order to find a path to transform it. 01:25:49.520 --> 01:25:55.140 If we want to see a path 01:25:55.980 --> 01:26:02.740 to transform the suffering, we must see the roots of the suffering. 01:26:05.470 --> 01:26:10.420 For example, if we want to reverse the situation of global warming, 01:26:11.290 --> 01:26:16.240 we must see why this phenomenon exists. 01:26:18.250 --> 01:26:25.560 Our way of daily consumption, 01:26:27.000 --> 01:26:29.100 car use, 01:26:32.520 --> 01:26:35.680 deforestation, 01:26:36.170 --> 01:26:40.160 raising cattle for meat... 01:26:40.960 --> 01:26:46.780 all these are contributing to global warming. 01:26:48.000 --> 01:26:55.820 So we have to see the Second Truth, tập đế. 01:27:08.260 --> 01:27:09.640 "Samudaya". 01:27:23.040 --> 01:27:24.990 "Accumulation". 01:27:28.840 --> 01:27:32.640 "Roots of suffering". 01:27:34.750 --> 01:27:36.700 Tập đế (集諦). 01:27:49.320 --> 01:27:52.380 "Tập" is to accumulate. 01:27:57.290 --> 01:28:00.640 It also means to converge (chiêu tụ, 招聚). 01:28:19.221 --> 01:28:24.941 That is, to gather, an accumulation. 01:28:26.976 --> 01:28:31.451 We use cars too much, 01:28:32.270 --> 01:28:35.920 we burn and destroy too many forests, 01:28:35.920 --> 01:28:39.660 we eat too much meat, we consume too much, 01:28:39.660 --> 01:28:57.800 we cause too much CO2 emission, etc., 01:28:58.730 --> 01:29:03.900 that is why the phenomenon of global warming is there. 01:29:04.590 --> 01:29:06.740 We have to discover the causes. 01:29:07.400 --> 01:29:11.142 This is the Second Truth. If we cannot see the Second Truth, 01:29:11.154 --> 01:29:15.180 we cannot hope to transform the suffering. 01:29:16.160 --> 01:29:21.720 It means looking into the nature of the suffering to find its root causes - 01:29:21.720 --> 01:29:24.900 "the making of ill-being". 01:29:25.690 --> 01:29:28.820 The First Truth is ill-being. 01:29:29.280 --> 01:29:33.530 The Second Truth is about where the ill-being comes from - 01:29:33.530 --> 01:29:36.200 "the making of ill-being". 01:29:37.320 --> 01:29:40.040 We must see it, see it clearly! 01:29:41.210 --> 01:29:49.440 This is already a Buddhist contribution to a global ethic. It is very practical. 01:29:49.440 --> 01:29:52.773 We are not speaking vastly about everything under the sun. 01:29:53.100 --> 01:29:58.840 But to bring people back to the truth that there is real suffering here. 01:29:58.840 --> 01:30:04.200 We need to find ways to recognize the roots 01:30:05.150 --> 01:30:08.640 that have brought about that real suffering. 01:30:09.760 --> 01:30:18.560 These are the basic principles that can give us a clear vision of a global ethic. 01:30:20.200 --> 01:30:30.000 The First and Second Truths on suffering and its roots can also be applied individually. 01:30:30.110 --> 01:30:36.240 We have our own pain and suffering, physically and spiritually. 01:30:37.720 --> 01:30:44.200 We need to look deeply to see where they come from. 01:30:45.290 --> 01:30:47.700 Only then we can resolve them. 01:30:49.320 --> 01:30:53.420 It is similar to the principles of medicine. 01:30:53.420 --> 01:30:58.380 We are sick. What are the causes of that sickness? 01:30:59.640 --> 01:31:04.360 Sometimes it is our diet; sometimes it is too much anxiety; 01:31:05.480 --> 01:31:10.700 sometimes it is working too much with no time to relax. 01:31:10.700 --> 01:31:13.400 We need to discover all these causes. 01:31:13.420 --> 01:31:18.720 There is no hope of transforming our suffering if we cannot see its roots. 01:31:19.770 --> 01:31:24.240 It is true for ourselves and for the world. 01:31:24.240 --> 01:31:27.520 What sufferings and difficulties are there right now in the world? 01:31:28.680 --> 01:31:32.980 Not only the world of humans, but also the world of all beings. 01:31:34.010 --> 01:31:39.060 Where are the sources of the world's pains and sufferings? 01:31:42.650 --> 01:31:47.280 Why is there an economic crisis now? 01:31:47.280 --> 01:31:52.900 Why is the environment being polluted now? 01:31:53.840 --> 01:31:57.070 Why is there the situation of global warming now? 01:31:57.120 --> 01:32:02.060 Why is there so much violence and hatred? 01:32:02.970 --> 01:32:07.790 We ask these questions and find the Second Truth – 01:32:10.860 --> 01:32:15.485 the Truth about the roots of suffering. 01:32:38.380 --> 01:32:42.440 "Khổ đế" (苦諦), the Truth about suffering, is the First Truth. 01:32:43.550 --> 01:32:46.560 The Second Truth is “Tập đế” (集諦), 01:33:00.010 --> 01:33:04.900 the Truth about the roots (of suffering). Strictly speaking it should be 01:33:09.340 --> 01:33:11.580 “Khổ tập đế” (苦集諦) 01:33:15.937 --> 01:33:20.294 The truth of the accumulation of sufferings. 01:33:22.560 --> 01:33:25.600 Suffering is the First Truth. 01:33:25.600 --> 01:33:31.189 The Second Truth is the roots, the accumulation, 01:33:31.201 --> 01:33:37.060 the build up or the making of suffering, or the causes of suffering. 01:33:37.070 --> 01:33:42.569 We often say that the First Truth is "khổ" (suffering), the Second Truth is tập (the accumulation). 01:33:42.581 --> 01:33:48.360 But strictly speaking it should be "khổ tập" - the root causes that have led to suffering. 01:33:48.360 --> 01:33:50.859 "The making of suffering". 01:33:52.936 --> 01:33:57.120 The making of suffering. 01:34:12.142 --> 01:34:25.000 We also invite those of other ethical and religious paths to look deeply. 01:34:27.870 --> 01:34:35.180 Whether our friends are Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, 01:34:35.840 --> 01:34:44.680 you also acknowledge that the sufferings there are real. 01:34:49.020 --> 01:34:54.810 And these sufferings have their root causes near and far. 01:34:54.810 --> 01:35:00.380 We can sit down together to find out those causes. 01:35:01.100 --> 01:35:06.030 It is not because you are Christian, Jewish or Muslim 01:35:06.030 --> 01:35:11.700 that we cannot work together or agree collectively on this matter. 01:35:20.240 --> 01:35:26.300 That is why first of all, we need to name the sufferings 01:35:26.300 --> 01:35:30.800 that are present in us and around us. 01:35:30.800 --> 01:35:40.360 Secondly, we need to look carefully and deeply to see the root causes ... 01:35:40.520 --> 01:35:45.700 that have brought about the sufferings. This is the Buddhist way. 01:35:46.490 --> 01:35:51.720 It does not require us to have faith in anyone. 01:35:52.480 --> 01:35:58.740 We don’t need to believe in the Buddha, the Bodhisattvas, in God, in anyone. 01:35:59.560 --> 01:36:04.179 We just use our insight to acknowledge that there are sufferings, 01:36:04.191 --> 01:36:08.560 and there are causes for those sufferings. 01:36:11.980 --> 01:36:19.600 That is why Buddhist contribution is not religious in nature. 01:36:21.050 --> 01:36:24.520 It is based on insight and experience. 01:36:27.480 --> 01:36:33.478 The Chicago Declaration Towards a Global Ethic was signed 01:36:33.490 --> 01:36:38.720 by representatives of many different religions. 01:36:38.720 --> 01:36:42.250 You can read it and see. 01:36:42.250 --> 01:36:48.460 While reading, we need to contemplate - what can Buddhism contribute? 01:36:53.100 --> 01:37:01.760 We should read in a spirit of free enquiry. 01:37:02.970 --> 01:37:07.960 When we read it in that spirit we will have insight. 01:37:08.030 --> 01:37:13.740 We can then complement it and contribute from a Buddhist perspective.