WEBVTT

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Emotion is a very strong feeling.

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And many people do not know 
how to handle their feelings, their emotions.

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They suffer so much they attempt to
commit suicide.

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Because they believe that to die is 
the only way to end the suffering.

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So, a meditator is someone 
who knows

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how to handle 
his or her feelings and emotions.

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When the energy of the emotion
emerges,

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they know right away what to do
in order to take care.

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They don't have to fight
the emotion or the feeling.

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They just invite 
the energy of mindfulness

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in order to 
come and take care of the feelings.

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Because they know mindfulness 
is the Buddha, in the form of energy.

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Mindfulness carries 
concentration and insight,

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having the power to relieve, to comfort,
to understand, to liberate.

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The Buddha is within every cell.

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And that is why 
when the energy of suffering arises,

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we should know 
how to invite

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the energy of the Buddha 
to come and take care.

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Breathing in, 
I know the feeling of despair is in me.

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Breathing out, 
I know this is only one feeling.

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And I'm much more than one feeling.

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It's very important.

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And every feeling is born, 
stays for some time, and will go away.

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Why do I have to die because of
one feeling?

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Each one has to succeed in this practice.

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It's very important.

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We have to survive 
our emotions, our feelings.

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We have to go through the storm.

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You should be equipped with the practice.

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You should master the art of 
mindful breathing, mindful sitting, mindful walking,

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so that we can encounter 
our strong emotions with ease.

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We don't fight,

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we are capable of embracing, 
recognizing, and smiling to them.

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This is possible.

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Many generations of practitioners 
have been able to do so.

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We should be able to do so ourselves.

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Whether in the sitting position,
or a walking position, or a lying position,

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We should be able to handle
our emotions.

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We cultivate our capacity of mindful breathing, 
mindful smiling, and mindful embracing

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our emotions and our feelings.

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If you succeed, then you can 
help many people,

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especially the young people.

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Too many young people kill themselves

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because they don't know how to handle 
their emotions.

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The rate of suicide of young people in our time
is very high.

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And you should be able to help them.

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They are around you, all the time,
tempted to kill themselves.

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Every time, they feel that they cannot
handle their emotions.

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So every moment 
that is given to us to live,

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we can use it in order to practice

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cultivating the energy of mindfulness,

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the capacity of being 
in the here and the now,

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the capacity of recognizing,
embracing, and smiling

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to whatever happens to us.

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And within a sangha, it's very easy,

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because everyone is supporting you
to do so.

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Allow the sangha to embrace your despair.

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[Bell]

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You have pain in your heart.

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You have suffering and ill-being
in your heart.

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You come and sit close to the Buddha.

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And after some time sitting 
with the Buddha in silence,

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you may say, "Dear Buddha,
I suffer."

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That's what you should say.

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You should tell him, 
"Dear Buddha, I suffer."

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Because the Buddha 
may not be another person,

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not having anything to do with you.

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The Buddha may be just in yourself.

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And talking to the Buddha 
is very important.

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Every one of us has the Buddha within.

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And the Buddha, I can locate him,
he is in every cell of your body.

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"Dear Buddha, I suffer."

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And if you are attentive,
you'll hear him say,

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"I know, show me your suffering,
so that I can see and embrace it."

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And you show him your suffering,
your despair, your anguish.

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And he will embrace.

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You don't rely on you alone to
embrace your suffering.

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You rely on the Buddha to embrace.

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And the Buddha is there in every member
of your Sangha.

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You have to behave like that
with your Sangha.

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"Dear Sangha, I suffer."

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You should be able to communicate
like that.

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And your Sangha will say 
with the same amount of compassion,

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"Dear brother, dear sister,
show us your pain.

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"Allow us to embrace your pain."

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This is very comforting, very healing

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when you have the Buddha to rely on,

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when you have the Sangha to rely on.

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Because they are Gems, they are Jewels, 
the Three Jewels.

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And with the practice, 
you'll realize that

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you are much stronger 
than you have thought.

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When you observe a tree,
standing in the storm,

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or when you focus your attention on
the top of the tree,

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you have the feeling that the tree
is going to be blown away.

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The wind makes little branches and leaves 
swing back and forth like that, with violence.

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And you are afraid that the three
will be broken, blown away.

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But if you direct your attention
to the trunk of the tree,

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and if you are aware that the tree is
deeply-rooted in the soil,

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you'll have another feeling.

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You know that the tree
is going to stand.

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Each of us is like a tree.

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If we stay on the level of our brain,
or our heart,

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we may feel that we are vulnerable,
breakable at any moment,

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especially when the strong emotion 
has come up like that.

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We feel that we cannot handle.

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But the Buddha advised us
in this critical moment,

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don't stay on that level
of your tree.

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Go down to the trunk.

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And the trunk is here,
somehow a little bit lower than the navel.

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The Chinese call it Dan Tien.

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Focus your attention on this spot,

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and begin to breath in and out,

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and invest 100% of your attention

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on the rise and fall of your abdomen.

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Sit in a stable position,

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because the stability of the body
helps with the stability of the mind.

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Don't stay here, go down.

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Enjoy breathing in and out,
with the awareness,

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"This is only a storm, among many other storms, 
that can go through my life.

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"I have survived other storms,
this time, also, I can survive.

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"A storm that is something that comes,
stays for some time, and will have to go.

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"Why do I have to die because of that?"

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It may be helpful if you write down these words 
in a small sheet of paper,

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and slide it into your wallet.

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And when the storm comes, 
just take it out, and breathe, and read.

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And you'll know what to do.

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That is a bell of mindfulness.

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You can hear the voice of the Buddha,

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you can hear the voice of your teacher,

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just by reading this small piece of paper.

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And you know how to sit down,

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smile to your pain, your sorrow, your fear, 
your despair, your strong emotions.

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And after having succeeded 
going through the difficult moment,

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you have confidence, 
(smiling, fist pumps)

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you have confidence in the Dharma.

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And you are no longer afraid.

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Next time when it comes,
you'll know what to do,

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how to do, and what not to do.
(smiling)

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And then you are in the position
of helping the young people

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because they don't know yet,

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they don't know how to handle
their pain, and their emotion yet.

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My recommendation is that 
we shouldn't wait

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until the strong emotion come 
in order to begin the practice.

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Because naturally, we will forget 
the practice.

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We have to practice right now
when the storm is not yet there.

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And if we make it into a habit,

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practicing something like three weeks, 
and continue.

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And then when the emotions come,
you suddenly remember to practice.

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(It) should be made into a tradition,
a good habit.