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(Half bell)

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(Bell)

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Dear Thay,

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two months ago, 
I recognized a lump on my breast.

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It's a benign tumor,

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so it is not life threatening,

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and I am really relieved from it.

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But, at the beginning,

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I was really shocked,

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because it was there
from one moment to the other.

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Now, my question is:

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How can Buddhism help 
with severe physical illnesses?

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(Sister) How Buddhism can help 
with severe physical illnesses?

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Can you repeat the whole question?

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Dear Thay, 
our friend said that

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two months ago, she found a lump
in her breast.

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And fortunately, 
it turned out to be benign.

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So it is not life threatening.

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But it caused her some concerns.

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And thus, she comes 
to the question:

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how Buddhism can help 
with serious illnesses?

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Is that right?

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(Nods)

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The practice of mindful breathing,

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especially when you practice

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breathing deeper,

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can help strengthen your lungs,

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make them stronger.

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And, when your lungs are stronger,

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they can resist infections and

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things like that.

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And, not only the practice
of mindful breathing

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can help your lungs,

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but it can help your whole body,

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every cell of your body.

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When Vietnam, my country, 
was divided into North and South,

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my mother passed away,

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and I had a depression.

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And, doctors could not help,

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but with the practice 
of mindful breathing,

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I got out of the situation.

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The practice of mindful breathing
is wonderful.

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It can heal many diseases.

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During the time I had that depression,

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I practiced mindful breathing
and mindful walking.

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In the hospital also, I found the way

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to do walking meditation every day.

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Any time that was available
for the practice,

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I would take in order to do
walking and breathing.

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Especially when the air
is pure, of good quality,

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then the practice of breathing 
can help the body very much.

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And, when you have some trouble
in your body,

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and you have not seen 
what you should do,

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and the doctor has not told you
what to do

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in order to relieve that problem
in your body,

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then you know that mindful breathing 
is what you can do right away.

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Take up the practice and breathe.

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Every breath can be healing.

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That is my conviction,
my practice.

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Every breath can be nourishing.

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Every breath can be healing.

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Every breath can help not only your lungs,

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but also your kidneys,

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your liver, all the cells in your body.

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This is very clear.

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Walking meditation, 
breathing meditation

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you practice in such a way that

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the in-breath is pleasant,

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the step you make is pleasant.

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And, you know that every step,

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every breath can help with the illness.

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This is something very certain for Thay.

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And, then, the other thing is that

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you should not allow the energy 
of worry to take over.

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This is very important.

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The lump is benign, but
if you imagine too much,

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you think "I am going to die very soon!"

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and it makes the situation much worse.

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So, to worry is not good.

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And there are ways in order

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to deal with worries.

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The Buddha talked 
about the "second arrow",

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which is a very good teaching.

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He said that someone is struck
by an arrow,

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and the pain, the suffering is there.

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But, if a second arrow comes and 
strikes exactly in the same spot,

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then, the pain will not only double,

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but it can be 10 times or more intense.

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So, don't let the second arrow come.

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And, that second arrow is worry.

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If we let the anger and the worry
to take hold of us,

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we suffer 100 times more.

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And, that is why we practice,

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in order not to let your anger,

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your protest,

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your despair and your fear

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to take over.

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That is the second arrow.

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It is very harmful, the second arrow.

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So, with mindful breathing,
mindful walking,

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you look deeply and

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you recognize the thing as it is.

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Do not exaggerate.

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Do not exaggerate.

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And, if needed, 
we can consult a physician,

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a Dharma teacher, 
a psychotherapist,

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and never imagine too much, 
and exaggerate too much.

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That is the second arrow!

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These are two things that every one 
of us can take up and practice,

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to deal with what is not going well 
in our body and in our mind.

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And, the third thing is the meditation
on birth and death.

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Even if you are in terminal illness,

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you can practice,

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so that joy can still be possible.

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Our true nature is the nature 
of no birth and no death.

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When we look into a cloud,

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we see that a cloud can never die.

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The cloud can become a rain
or snow, or ice,

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or river, or teeth,

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but a cloud can never become nothing.

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It is so beautiful 
to be in the form of a cloud,

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but it is equally beautiful
to be in the form of the rain, or a river.

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So, to die is not something possible.

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You can change the form of manifestation,

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but you cannot die.

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And, when a person is in the phase
of a terminal illness,

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and she or he is instructed by a teacher

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to meditate like that,

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she or he will not be afraid of dying.

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Because they will be manifesting again,
in another form.

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So, in Buddhism we learn many things

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in order to deal 
with the problem of illness.

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And, remember, first of all,

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mindful breathing, mindful walking,

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with joy and serenity

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can help prevent illness,

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and bring relief,

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and allow the healing
to take place more quickly.

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The second teaching is not to allow 
the second arrow to strike us.

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(Helf bell)

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(Bell)