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(Half bell)

2
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(Bell)

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Dear Thay, dear Sangha,

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my name is Jenna and I am here with 
my daughter and her baby,

5
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my grandbaby for this retreat.

6
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And I am a new grandmother.

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And what has happened for me 
is something that I've never expected,

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which is my heart has got me even bigger
and filled with so much love

9
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for this little baby girl 
and this little baby boy.

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I feel very very deeply

11
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and I feel a very big responsibility,
a sacred responsibility for --

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a future to be possible for them.

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So, I try to do what I have learnt, 
which is to breathe and enjoy the beauty

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and the joy of these babies in this life
and in this world.

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But even reading your book recently,
'Love Letters to Mother Earth'

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and I am an activist, so the research 
that I have done about what is predicted

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for life on this planet
is very painful for me to live with.

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And part of that is 
because I feel quite alone

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and as I move through life, 
I look around and I wonder

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if other people are feeling and 
thinking the same things as I am

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because it feels very confusing to me

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that more people are not talking 
about the positive things we can do.

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And so, I do take the actions
that I need to

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and I am helping preserve tigers
and the wild.

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And the good news is
there are more coming back.

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Maybe they won't go extinct in the wild.

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And where I live in the Pacific Northwest,
there are changes happening politically

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around prevention of coal coming 
into the area to go to Asia to be burned.

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But I don't feel like there are a lot 
of places where I can talk about this.

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I don't want to be angry about it, 
I want to talk from my heart about it.

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I want to talk without a ruse about how 
to make positive changes that we can.

32
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And what I am wondering is 
how we can do that in the Sangha

33
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because it seems even some reservations
that perhaps talking about this thing

34
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is too political or too social and 
I feel alone in my suffering around this.

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Thank you.

36
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(Sr.) Dear Thay, dear Sangha,

37
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our friend is here on the retreat
with her daughter and her grandbaby.

38
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And she is a very happy grandmother 
of two young babies

39
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and her heart has gotten bigger 
as a grandmother.

40
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But she is very worried for the future
for her grandchildren.

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She is an activist, she has been reading
Thay's recent book

42
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'Love Letters to Mother Earth', and 
she has done her own research and

43
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she knows that the prognosis does not look
good for the future for her grandchildren.

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She is doing her best to cherish them 
in the present moment and to cherish life.

45
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But she has this fear for them coming up 
and she feels alone in this.

46
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She feels isolated, 
she does not want to be angry,

47
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she would like to speak and
act out of love

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but she doesn't know how or where 
and in what way to do that.

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She is active in protecting wild tigers
and other projects

50
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and she knows that in this way,
she can make an impact.

51
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Within her own Sangha, she also sometimes
feels that there is not enough space

52
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to talk about these issues or to work
on these issues together

53
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because they are seen perhaps
is political or social.

54
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And so, the essence of her question
is this, how to go forward. Thank you.

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Sangha building is a very important work.

56
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Sangha means harmonious community

57
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and the main task of the Sangha
is not to organize events

58
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even events of practice of the practice.

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The main purpose of the Sangha is to build
brotherhood and sisterhood, harmony.

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That is why,the practice of deep listening
and loving speech is so important.

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We should be able to communicate 
with each other easily.

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We share our views, we can come easily
to agreement, collective insight.

63
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And you feel that sitting in the Sangha,
you feel nourished, you feel stronger

64
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and that is the real Sangha building,
not organize.

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And with Sangha like that, 
everything is possible.

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Because you feel nourished, you don't lose
your hope and we have sensible time

67
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even a Buddha cannot do much 
without the Sangha.

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Sangha building,you need a lot of patience
and patience is a mark of true love.

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In Plum Village, we spend a lot of time 
and energy building a Sangha.

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We have enough time to sit together,
to eat together, to drink together,

71
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to walk together, 
exchange views and so on.

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Because we know, that 
if we do not have enough harmony

73
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and happiness in our Sangha,

74
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it could not mean anything 
to organize a retreat

75
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for other people to come
and have practice.

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The Buddha spent a lot of time
building his Sangha

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and he was a perfect Sangha builder.

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It is not easy to build a Sangha 
and the Buddha felt the same.

79
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But with compassion and patience,

80
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he was able to build a beautiful Sangha.

81
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When the Buddha was 80, 
he met King Prasenajit for the last time,

82
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the King was also 80,

83
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And the king saw the Buddha was travelling
and enjoying and he imitated the Buddha

84
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and also left the politics to his son
to enjoy visiting the country

85
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and one day, by chance they met,
in the northern part of the country

86
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and on that occasion, King Prasenajit 
praised the Buddha and he said:

87
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"Dear teacher, 
everytime I see the Sangha,

88
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I appreciate you much more.

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As I contemplate the Sangha moving, 
sitting, doing Dharma works,

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I see your real insight, your real value,

91
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and today, I would like to bow to you 
because you have such a beautiful Sangha.

92
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In this trip, I remembered, once
I went to a place with two carpenters,

93
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and they were your disciples,

94
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and that night we were sleeping
in the same room.

95
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They turned their head to the direction
they believed you were

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and they turned their feet towards me.

97
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They fear you more 
than they fear the King,

98
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so I know that you are loved daily

99
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by members of your Sangha,
foremost Sangha.

100
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And today I would like to tell you 
that the Sangha is a jewel

101
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and with the Sangha, you can accomplish
much in the world.

102
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So King Prasenajit as well as the Buddha
recognized that the Sangha building

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is the most important thing to do.

104
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With the happy Sangha, many people
can come and take refuge

105
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and benefit from the collective energy
of peace and happiness

106
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and compassion and mindfulness.

107
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With the Sangha like that, 
you can nourish your grandchildren.

108
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That is the safest place 
for your children to be.

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If children are nourished and
raised in such an environment,

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they will become instruments of peace 
and we have to believe in our children.

111
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Our children have Buddha nature in them.

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And what we can do today is not to worry

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but to focus our efforts in watering
the seeds of love, compassion,

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talent in them and we should
believe in our children,

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investing and transmitting the best
we have to our children

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and not to worry about future.

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Taking good care, the best care
of the present moment

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is about everything you can do
for the future

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so instead of spending energy
to worry about future,

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invest all your energies
into the present and

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nourish our children and grandchildren
with the energy of hope,

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compassion and insight.

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(Half bell)

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(Bell)