1
00:00:02,787 --> 00:00:06,119
Br. Phap Huu: Good morning,
dear respected Thay,

2
00:00:06,119 --> 00:00:10,752
dear brothers, dear sisters,
dear friends.

3
00:00:10,752 --> 00:00:16,151
I hope you had a relaxing
and lazy morning.

4
00:00:16,151 --> 00:00:19,351
You could sleep in
and feel more rested

5
00:00:19,351 --> 00:00:24,634
and enjoy the wonderful space
provided for us

6
00:00:24,634 --> 00:00:32,099
to be in touch with our breath,
with the trees, with the space.

7
00:00:32,099 --> 00:00:38,431
We have an opportunity
for questions & answers.

8
00:00:38,431 --> 00:00:48,114
This is a great opportunity
to put into words something

9
00:00:48,114 --> 00:00:52,613
we may have been chewing on
for a long time.

10
00:00:52,613 --> 00:01:00,362
But with regards to the practice
of mindfulness and meditation.

11
00:01:00,362 --> 00:01:05,961
the teachings of Plum Village,
and looking back

12
00:01:05,961 --> 00:01:11,428
at our way of life, 
our happiness, our suffering

13
00:01:11,428 --> 00:01:15,810
and how to apply the practice
in our daily lives.

14
00:01:15,810 --> 00:01:22,409
This is an opportunity to ask questions.
We call it "Asking from the heart."

15
00:01:22,409 --> 00:01:28,141
We tend to come more
towards the intellect,

16
00:01:28,141 --> 00:01:36,074
but here in Plum Village
we always encourage to ask:

17
00:01:36,074 --> 00:01:40,940
How do we bring these teachings
into our daily life?

18
00:01:40,940 --> 00:01:47,289
This is more important to us
than philosophy.

19
00:01:47,289 --> 00:01:52,439
And we have children with us.
I'm surprised they are here.

20
00:01:52,439 --> 00:01:56,105
I thought you would
enjoy more laziness.

21
00:01:56,105 --> 00:02:03,821
It is a wonderful tradition to have
space for the children to ask questions.

22
00:02:03,821 --> 00:02:10,020
We would like to offer space to the kids
to ask three to four questions.

23
00:02:10,020 --> 00:02:17,035
A good question can benefit many of us.
It doesn't have to be long.

24
00:02:17,035 --> 00:02:21,035
It can be clear and simple.

25
00:02:21,035 --> 00:02:29,200
We have our brother filming the session.

26
00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:37,134
Please raise your hand if you
prefer not to be on camera

27
00:02:37,134 --> 00:02:42,115
and our brother will know. He will
focus the camera on the monastics.

28
00:02:42,115 --> 00:02:54,680
So you can be at ease if you would like
to ask a question, but not be filmed.

29
00:02:54,680 --> 00:03:00,579
Before we listen to a question,
we will listen to a sound of the bell

30
00:03:00,579 --> 00:03:06,029
to come back to our breathing,
and then we ask the question.

31
00:03:06,029 --> 00:03:10,894
So, we would like to invite
the children first.

32
00:03:10,894 --> 00:03:16,561
If there is a child with a question,
you are welcome to come up

33
00:03:16,561 --> 00:03:27,110
and sit on this chair and breathe with us.
And then you can ask your question.

34
00:03:27,110 --> 00:03:32,792
Do any of you have a question?

35
00:03:32,792 --> 00:03:41,975
We do.

36
00:04:02,889 --> 00:04:22,470
[sound of the bell]

37
00:04:27,220 --> 00:04:34,372
Dear community, this is the first
question. Our friend will ask in Italian.

38
00:04:35,645 --> 00:04:40,814
Giacomo: [Italian] If there is
something that we like to do,

39
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and we see someone else
do something that we might not like,

40
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but so many people are doing it,
why do we end up doing that, too?

41
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Voice offscreen: I will try to translate it
and Giacomo can help me

42
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
if it's not correct, because
you speak English quite well?

43
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I think the idea is: We know what we want,
what we like to do.

44
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But then we see others do something
that we don't approve of.

45
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We don't like what they're doing.

46
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How come we end up what they're doing
even though we don't like it?

47
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Br. Phap Huu: Do you need translation?

48
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Br. Phap Linh: Thank you.
That's a great question.

49
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We could all ask ourselves that question
at the level of the whole planet.

50
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Why, when there are things that we know
we don't want to do, or we don't like,

51
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but we see that society is going that way,
and we end up doing it as well.

52
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That can happen with a group of friends,
or in a choice of career that we make,

53
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
or how much money we think we need,
where we should live,

54
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
what lifestyle we think we should have.
It's all a similar problem.

55
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We get pulled into things that
at some level we don't want to do,

56
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but we find ourselves doing anyway.

57
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So ... I think the first question
that I would ask.

58
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You started by saying that we know
what it is that we like to do.

59
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We know what we want.
I'm not sure that that's true.

60
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We kind of know.
But do we really know?

61
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Do we know with the power,
with the strength,

62
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that would be enough to stop us
from getting pulled into things

63
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that we don't want to do?

64
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So we know a little bit.

65
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But could we make that more clear?

66
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What is it that we want to do
and what is it we do not want to do?

67
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That takes contemplation. In a way,
that's what meditation can be for.

68
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Our teacher used to ask us to go
and quietly sit in the forest

69
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and ask ourselves: 
What is my deepest desire?

70
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What is the thing that I want most of all?

71
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because when we know that really clearly,
it makes it much easier to say No

72
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
when other people are trying
to pull us into something.

73
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That's the first thing. Do we really know
what it is we do and don't want to do?

74
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And the second thing is that
there's a competition in us,

75
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because we like two things:

76
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We like to do the thing we want to do,
but we also like to be with our friends.

77
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We like to feel connected to others.

78
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We like to not stick out,
so that we're not left out of the group.

79
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If there's a group going one way, a strong
part of us wants to be part of the group.

80
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Even if they're doing something
we don't really want to do.

81
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There are two different pulls.
One is: I need to be part of the group.

82
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I am in danger if I'm not
part of the group.

83
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There's a very old feeling in our bodies.
For a long time, maybe millions of years,

84
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
if we didn't belong to the group,
we wouldn't be able to survive.

85
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We would die. So there's a
strong need to be part of the group.

86
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And when that need is in conflict
with this other part of us that says:

87
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I don't want to do what they're doing",
it's difficult.

88
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It depends which one is stronger.
But it helps just to know that.

89
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You're here, we're all here. We've heard
about the energy of mindfulness.

90
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The energy that allows us to be aware
what's going on inside and around us.

91
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That is the capacity to recognise:
"I want to be part of the group."

92
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When you can see and recognise it,
you also have a bit more freedom.

93
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I know, I hear you. I hear the part
of me that wants to jump in,

94
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but I can also say No thank you."

95
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Sometimes in a group,
when there's one person that says:

96
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
" No. Actually, I don't want to do that."

97
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then maybe there's two or three
or four other people in the group

98
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who also feel uncomfortable.
Once that one person has said no,

99
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they can also say: "Actually,
I also don't want to do that."

100
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And suddenly, the whole group
can change direction

101
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because one person had
the freedom and the courage to say No.

102
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's like you are watching
what's happening around you,

103
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but a part of you is watching
what is happening inside of you.

104
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's like you have an eye tracking:
"I want to jump in,

105
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but I also don't feel comfortable
with what we're doing."

106
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And then you get to choose.

107
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because otherwise you jump in
before you even know.

108
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It just happens, and then later,
maybe a day, maybe a week later,

109
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you realize you didn't want to do that.
But with the energy of mindfulness,

110
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you have more time,
you have more freedom to choose.

111
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And then maybe many other people
in the group will thank you later

112
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because they also didn't want to do that.

113
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And thanks to you,
they had the choice to say No.

114
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Maybe as a society we're a bit like that.

115
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We rely on a few people with the strength
and awareness to say no to the current

116
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that is taking us in the direction
of destroying the planet

117
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and causing suffering to each other.

118
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Maybe if a few of us can see us and say:
"We don't want to go that way",

119
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
then others can get to also say No
and go a different way.

120
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thank you for your question.

121
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[sound of the bell]

122
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Girl: (French) Do plants
have a nervous system?

123
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
For example if you snap a twig,
are you hurting the tree?

124
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Br. Phap Linh: Do the plants
have a nervous system?

125
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
For example if you break a branch,
does it hurt the plant?

126
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Br. Phap Huu: The quickest answer
is "Oui" - yes.

127
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Br. Phap Linh: I can add a little bit.

128
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I would say the answer is yes and no.

129
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because they don't exactly
have a nervous system like ours.

130
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There's no central brain where
all the nerve impulses arrive.

131
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's been a question in science
for a long time.

132
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And most scientists have said:
"No, plants don't feel anything."

133
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But it's changing. So in recent years,
there are a few scientists

134
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
finding evidence to say that plants
do feel and we still don't know how.

135
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But we know that there are electrical
signals passed through the plant cells -

136
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
all cells are electrical in nature,
just like nerve cells.

137
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They're not exactly like brain cells,

138
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but they are similar enough
that there is a Spanish scientist

139
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who really believes, and has good
evidence to show, that plants can feel.

140
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
One of the ways they can test this
is by using anaesthesia.

141
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If you have to go to a hospital
to have surgery,

142
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they give you an injection or a gas
that makes you fall asleep,

143
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so you don't feel any pain.

144
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
For a long time, everybody thought
that only works on humans and animals.

145
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But plants respond to anaesthesia
in very much the same way,

146
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to being put to sleep.

147
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is all very new research.
You ask a very good question.

148
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You could make
a whole career as a scientist

149
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
out of trying to answer that question.

150
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But that's answering
at the level of the head.

151
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There's also an answer
at the level of the heart.

152
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's the answer that Thay Phap Huu gave

153
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and it's the answer you already know.

154
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We don't feel comfortable
to break a plant for no reason.

155
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We feel like maybe we should
respect them a little bit more.

156
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We should care for them
a little bit better.

157
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Maybe we should not be so sure
that it is only us who can feel things.

158
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If we're very sure,
we can cause a lot of harm

159
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we can be very careless.

160
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But if we're not sure,
if there's a part of us wondering:

161
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Will the tree feel it
if I break the branch?"

162
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that little space of openness, of
"I don't know, maybe the tree can feel it"

163
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
can make us more careful.

164
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Not only as individuals,
but collectively as a species.

165
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There's an awakening happening
in the whole of society.

166
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There are more and more people
waking up to the suffering

167
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that we are maybe causing to
not just the animals that we kill to eat,

168
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but also to the trees that we cut to
build houses, like this meditation hall,

169
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the paper that we use in the toilet,
or to write on.

170
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Maybe it is impossible to live completely
without hurting anything.

171
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's actually really hard.

172
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But maybe there's a way to live
where we cause as little harm as possible.

173
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We try to do less damage.
Maybe we can't do no damage.

174
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I'm sure we can do less damage.

175
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thank you for your question.

176
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Br. Phap Huu: One more question
from the children sangha.

177
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If there are no more questions
from the children sangha,

178
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you are welcome to stay or
you are welcome to go out and play.

179
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I was told there's no children program,
but there's a lot of space.

180
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So feel free.

181
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And now we'd like to offer space
for the bigger children.

182
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
if you have questions from the heart,
you are welcome to come up

183
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
just like the children to ask
your questions to all of us adults.

184
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[sound of the bell]

185
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Woman: Okay. I'm nervous.
Lots of people.

186
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's a question I've had
in my head for some months.

187
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's about how to handle
the suffering that is attached

188
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to a mental formation that has its
beginning somewhere during childhood,

189
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
something traumatic that happened.

190
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because it's different to handle emotions
that come back in a never-ending circle,

191
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
or an emotion that comes from something
that happens in a moment and goes away.

192
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I'd like a little advice how to do it.

193
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It confuses me to learn something that
helps me to always be happy or be at peace

194
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but without wanting that the pain
goes away. It's like a contradiction:

195
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How to embrace it without getting
caught in it, or holding it back.

196
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The concrete question is: How can I see
when something that comes up

197
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
needs to be embraced, or I can just
let it go and focus on something else,

198
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
or how can I see the point
where I'm holding it back?

199
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This difference where I'm embracing it
or where I'm getting stuck on it.

200
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How to let it go
without wanting to let go.

201
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I hope you understand it.

202
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Br. Phap Huu: Thank you for your question.

203
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I will share from my own experience
as a practitioner.

204
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
First of all, we have to understand that
meditation is not to get rid of feelings.

205
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We don't practice it to have a single
field of emotions that we feel is us.

206
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But meditation, mindfulness,
is the ability to stop,

207
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to recognise what is happening,
what is present.

208
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Name it. To identify it.
To call it by its name.

209
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And that is acceptance.

210
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
For me, a good word that I use,
particularly with emotions

211
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and feelings that are very linked
to childhood experiences,

212
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is to befriend it.
To befriend that emotion, that feeling.

213
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We can have a natural reaction, like
trying to get rid of it, or run from it.

214
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I've run away from particular
emotions for a very long time.

215
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Like you shared in your question,
it doesn't go away.

216
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The word that we use
in our training is 'transformation'.

217
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We can transform a seed, a feeling
that we have experienced

218
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
into another feeling.

219
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Inviting another feeling
to embrace and take care.

220
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Mindfulness is an energy
that we can cultivate

221
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to befriend these emotions.

222
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The practice of our arriving
in every moment is the present moment.

223
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The present moment
is the place where life truly is.

224
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Where we can invite that emotion
to be present, to embrace it

225
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with our present moment of who you are.

226
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I can say that all of us have suffered.

227
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Suffering is a noble truth.
We all can understand suffering.

228
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It can make us relate to one another.

229
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Suffering can also be a prison.
We can be attached to our suffering.

230
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And the suffering we tend to be
attached to might not be the feeling,

231
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but it's the story.

232
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Every time that emotion, that feeling,
comes up, that story is recalled.

233
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Our practice is to identify the story.
Recognise the story, embrace it,

234
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but have the mindfulness of this present
moment that I am not in that situation.

235
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I am a new me today.

236
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This new me has the ability to embrace.

237
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To recognise. And to tell the child
that was wounded inside:

238
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Yes, I have suffered,
I have experienced such pain.

239
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But in this present moment, I have
other energies that I can cultivate."

240
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Love for oneself. Compassion.
Courage. Solidity.

241
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In this present moment,
by embracing this pain,

242
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we don't just get lost in this story.

243
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's like when we've been slapped.
We're not being slapped again.

244
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But this time we are aware of that pain
and we are telling ourselves

245
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that in that moment,
I'm cultivating something new.

246
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So you are healing the child.
You are transforming it

247
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to live, deeply, this present moment.

248
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And this is the work of transformation
for the samsara, the cycle.

249
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To have an opportunity to stop.

250
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
On a personal note:
I've practised for more than 20 years.

251
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Fear is a seed that is still
very present in me.

252
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In particular situations, maybe if
I meet somebody who reminds me

253
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of someone who offered
a lot of pain to me,

254
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that seed of fear gets watered.

255
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But now as a practitioner,
I'm not afraid.

256
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I can become aware of my body.

257
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Your body will have reaction
to the fear that is channeled.

258
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The first place of mindfulness
is the body.

259
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I come back, I recognise the fear.

260
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I know exactly where
the reaction is coming from.

261
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I bring my mindfulness
to those body parts.

262
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I calm the nervous system
with mindful breathing,

263
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with total relaxation.
And in this moment of recognition,

264
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I tell myself: "Phap Huu, don't be afraid.
You're much more than that emotion."

265
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You have many other wonderful emotions.

266
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I call up the other emotions.
I have confidence in my practice.

267
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I know how to breathe.
Nobody can take that away.

268
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I know how to be present.

269
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I have learned to recognise
how to be myself.

270
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To be with my loved ones.

271
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I know how to do it.

272
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Mindfulness is also remembering.
Remembering how to.

273
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How to be in the moment
where you can be solid.

274
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So our practise of this present moment

275
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is training to take care
and to heal the wounds.

276
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
As a mindfulness practitioner,

277
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we have to have the ability to know
when it's enough to be with suffering.

278
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We can be very ambitious
as a practitioner.

279
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"The monks, the nuns,
are telling me to recognise my suffering.

280
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
OK, I see it. And now
I want to transform it all."

281
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Don't do that. It's a dark hole.

282
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Be generous and patient with yourself.

283
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
For us, the practise is a path
of transformation. It takes time.

284
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We have to develop the joy and
the happiness in the present moment.

285
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To also let the wounded child know
that you have the ability

286
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to live happily in this present moment.

287
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This doesn't mean
"to have something to be happy".

288
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But in this moment, I am present.
I still have the ability to recognise

289
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the simple joy, the wonderful
conditions that are there.

290
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Recognising pain is a happy condition.

291
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Knowing what to do, 
what not to do.

292
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I hope that helps. Thank you.

293
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Woman: Can I say one more thing?

294
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So it's important not to identify
with the emotion, or with this thing.

295
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I understand it.

296
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And to know that I can decide
when I look at it and when not.

297
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because it really was like you said.
I thought: "Let's look at it" for years.

298
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Br. Phap Huu: Yes and no.

299
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To not be caught and
just identify as one emotion.

300
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
As one past story.

301
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because we are
a continuous stream of life.

302
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If we are just caught in one story,
we'll become a victim of the story forever

303
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But our practise is to identify:
"Yes, in this moment, I am angry."

304
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"That is just one emotion, though."

305
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In this moment, I can invite
and invoke other energies.

306
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And therefore, you are
more than that emotion.

307
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I've done this myself: Feel very entangled
in an emotion, in a story.

308
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I see myself as just that.

309
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But our mindfulness
of coming home to oneself,

310
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we know we are much more than just that.

311
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We are a continuation of our ancestors.

312
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We are a continuation of this earth.

313
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Sometimes, I take refuge
in land ancestors.

314
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I am much more than just this suffering.

315
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But also to own our suffering,
and be responsible to transform it.

316
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
'Cause I've met people, sorry,
I'm going on a little bit long.

317
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I've met people who've become
very attached to their suffering.

318
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And that suffering
becomes a way to blame life.

319
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And using that as an excuse.

320
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And our teacher shared with us
that we all have the right to suffer.

321
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But it is our responsibility to
transform it. This is it. Thank you.

322
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[sound of the bell]

323
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Paolo: This matter about gardening
and nourishing our seeds.

324
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Help me to understand and to cope,
I would say, with my inconsistency.

325
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Having both grown, beautifully,
my seeds of generosity, and greed.

326
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Of welcoming, loving,
and of anger.

327
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Dealing with this source of having both
parts, and experience in both parts.

328
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is one big topic I'm working on.

329
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But my question is about
gardening others' gardens.

330
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Of course, unwillingly, I also grew anger
and pain and sadness and distrust

331
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in people I love.
It's very convenient for me to say:

332
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Oh, I'm a new Paolo. I'm in the moment.
The past is the past, don't worry."

333
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's very convenient for me.

334
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I understand that this is
not so easy for the other,

335
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because the pain is not mine.

336
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What can I do about the pain
that I generated, over many years maybe,

337
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and how can I deal with it today?

338
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Br. Troi Bao Tang: Dear Thay,
dear community, and dear friends.

339
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's true that our mind is like a garden.

340
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we go to the garden, we may find
beautiful plants that we love.

341
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Flowers, trees, et cetera.

342
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But we will also find grass,
and the plants we don't really like.

343
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But they are all there. This is
one thing we first have to accept.

344
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That everything is organic
and they are all there.

345
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And they all can be transformed, too.

346
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The place where the nettles grow,
if we want to change it into flowers,

347
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it's possible.

348
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But we can also allow the nettles
to be there and see the goodness of it.

349
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So for me, for example, when I practise,

350
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in the beginning I thought I could
take away all of the bad seeds in me.

351
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And to have no more bad seeds,
only good seeds.

352
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I imagined, if I practised, and one day
I would not have anger any more,

353
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it means I am emotionally handicapped.

354
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I don't want to be like that.

355
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I want to feel alive.

356
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But to do that, I need to have
enough energy of mindfulness

357
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in the present moment,
to recognise that something is arising

358
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that I don't appreciate.

359
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Something that can cause
suffering for myself and for others.

360
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So that is why navigating
our action is very important.

361
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
First, recognise what is happening in us,
and then we navigate our action.

362
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The fourth mindfulness training
is very helpful to do that.

363
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we recognise that
we are in a strong emotion,

364
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we practise not to speak
and not to act, but instead,

365
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to recognise it and
practise with that seed.

366
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Until you feel you have enough calm.
Then you can start to communicate.

367
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Tonight we will learn more about that,
in the practise of loving speech.

368
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So let's say we have done a thing
that caused suffering in the past

369
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and it has become a burden for us.
Maybe it makes us feel guilty.

370
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It makes us feel like we have
to take the responsibility for that.

371
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So in the practise,
feeling regret is very healthy.

372
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It is not good,
it is not bad to feel regret.

373
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But that regret, if it has grown
into a burden for our mind,

374
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
then it is not very good,
then it is not healthy for us.

375
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So one thing we can practise is
to change the direction of our guilt

376
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
into an aspiration.
Into the aspiration of practising.

377
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So let's say, I get triggered and I cannot
stop myself from saying something.

378
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To make people feel pain, for example.

379
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If one time I feel
I'm not doing it successfully,

380
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I know that I can do it better next time.

381
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I need to make a real effort
to do better the next time.

382
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Until I'm able to stop my speech,
that is already good enough.

383
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because if we are not able
to save the people in the past,

384
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we can still save the people
in the present moment.

385
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we can save the people in the future.

386
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But this moment is very crucial
to cultivate that aspiration to

387
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
practise and embrace that.
And to not be afraid of it.

388
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So, when we practise like that,
we also have self-compassion,

389
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that we have a weakness inside,
that we can still embrace.

390
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When you are able to be present
for your loved ones,

391
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that is already good enough
to transform the past.

392
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We are made people suffer
in the past unconsciously,

393
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because we didn't have enough
energy of mindfulness at the time.

394
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
By generating energy of mindfulness
and aspiration to do it better,

395
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we can do it now.

396
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In our practise, we have a lot of methods,
we call them dharma doors,

397
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
like touching of the earth, cultivating
joy and happiness in the present moment,

398
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that will help us to be more attentive.

399
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In the practise, we should
not be afraid of failure.

400
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There's no failure actually.
We just need to exercise and to practise.

401
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thank you for the question.

402
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Br. Phap Huu: Can I add one thing?

403
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If we have hurt another garden,
very simple, but very difficult:

404
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Apologise.

405
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Say "I'm sorry."

406
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And why is it so difficult,
even for us practitioners?

407
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because we think we're right.

408
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I share this from my own
experience of living in this community.

409
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We work with brothers and sisters
365 days. We smile a lot,

410
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but we also get angry at each other.

411
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And even in our greatest intention
of doing things for "the greater good",

412
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we will still make each other suffer.

413
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And my biggest growth as an individual
is learning to say sorry.

414
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Without explaining.

415
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Every time I've made someone suffer
in the past, I had a reason to do so.

416
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We all do this.

417
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Our practise of the present moment,
now I've learned, when somebody expresses

418
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
their pain and hurt to me,
of what I've done to them,

419
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
my mind will go into the garden right away
and say: "Yes but, I gave you good manure,

420
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
now you're a better person," and you find
every reason to justify your action.

421
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I've learned that
that doesn't do me any good.

422
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It only feeds my own ego. It only
makes the other person hate me more

423
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because I don't listen.

424
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And the biggest support and practise
in that moment is to bow and to say:

425
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I'm so sorry I made you suffer."

426
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because what is real is that
that person is suffering. That is real.

427
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That, for me, is what
I have learned to accept.

428
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And our practise is
to help remove the knot.

429
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we will hear the practise
of beginning anew this afternoon.

430
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But this is the biggest practise
of taking care of one's garden

431
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and of each other's garden:
Beginning anew.

432
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To recognise the pain that we have
offered, even from a good intention.

433
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But your action has made
that person suffer.

434
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And just to accept,
you accept the suffering.

435
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Maybe, in my critical mind, there's
still a part of me: "I had to say that."

436
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I had to do that."
But that's not important.

437
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That's already in the past.

438
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The present is: "You suffer. It was
my words. It was my choice of action.

439
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I will learn from this.
I will reflect on these actions."

440
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And in this way, you offer
the other garden understanding.

441
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because when someone suffers,
what they want the most,

442
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in my understanding, is to be heard,
to be seen, and to be accepted.

443
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If we're too proud of our garden,
then we are not supporting and helping.

444
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We're just showing off.

445
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
As a practitioner, there are moments
to come back to humility,

446
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to be humble, so that we know
we're not always right.

447
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we still have compost
that we need to take care of.

448
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That, for me, is bruising,
it's painful,

449
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but it gives us an opportunity
to continue to grow.

450
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That is the wisdom of nature.

451
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That it's always growing.
It's learning from its mistakes.

452
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And the garden continues
to bloom it its four seasons.

453
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thank you.

454
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[sound of the bell]

455
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Woman: I have more of a kid's question.

456
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's a little bit concerning the saying:
A cloud never dies.

457
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Sometimes we have conversations with
children about death and reincarnation.

458
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
My son often says:
I don't like this reincarnation,

459
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because you won't be my mother in 
another life, and my dad won't be my dad.

460
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's difficult to have answers. Here,
we really feel that the body never dies,

461
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
kind of like composting.
And reincarnation really talks to me.

462
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Also the heritage of our ancestors
and the lineage. It's all a bit blurry.

463
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I thought that maybe
you could be clearer.

464
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Br. Phap Linh: I'll see
if I can summarise the question

465
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to make sure we understood.

466
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There's two types of teaching
on continuation, reincarnation, rebirth.

467
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In one type, it seems to be that there is
something like a soul, or a person,

468
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that gets reincarnated. And
that person has a kind of continuity.

469
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Although the relationships might change.

470
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But it's that person that
then appears in another body.

471
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And then according to Thay's teaching,
it's something more blurry.

472
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We don't see ourselves exactly
as a separate entity or person

473
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that gets reincarnated, because
we are already all of our ancestors

474
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and all of our descendants.

475
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we are the whole cosmos.

476
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So who dies, and who is reborn?

477
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Could it be more clear?

478
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[laughter]

479
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I think it's quite clear.

480
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There's a part of us that still
doesn't quite trust or believe

481
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that we are already each other.
That we are already the earth,

482
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the stars, the entire cosmos.
The past, the future.

483
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Yeah, OK, I guess, intellectually, I
kind of understand this interconnection.

484
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But why is it that I feel things
that you don't feel?

485
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Or I see things from a point of view
and you have a different point of view."

486
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We are different.

487
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We do seem to be different.

488
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We seem to have our personalities
and characteristics. We're not identical.

489
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And yet we are, each of us,
manifestations of the whole.

490
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's very strange.

491
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's OK for it to be strange.

492
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Of course there's a part of us
that would like it to be clear.

493
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Sort of explainable. Simple.

494
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I think that would be more boring.

495
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So I like to kind of rest in the mystery.

496
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I acknowledge the part of me
that wants to know.

497
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I also see its limitations.

498
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That part of me that wants
to grasp and explain, in words:

499
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"It's like this, and then it's like that",
make a nice picture,

500
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I go: "Hello! I see you. You can rest.
Take a break. This is another part of us."

501
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It doesn't need to resolve it.
It can dwell peacefully in the mystery.

502
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
My experience of it is that it's
a much more alive place to be.

503
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I think it's beautiful that
at the heart of reality,

504
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
at the heart of the present moment,
at the heart of life, of us,

505
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
there is something that cannot be grasped.

506
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That cannot be explained.

507
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I prefer it like that.

508
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
No?

509
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's so much more fun.

510
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If it was all explainable, you could just
write it down and you'd be done.

511
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"OK, now we know.
What else should we do?"

512
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's kinda boring.

513
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
For me, a part of the practise is
to recognise the part of me

514
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that wants to know in that kind of way.
It doesn't mean that we can't know.

515
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's just another kind of knowing.

516
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We do know. We already know
that it's a different kind of knowing.

517
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's a knowing that
can't be said in words.

518
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It can't be grasped.

519
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But it can be experienced.

520
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Sometimes it's a little glimmer,
a little flash of that knowing.

521
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You feel it. You feel connected.

522
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You feel at peace.

523
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I think that is something
that we can settle into.

524
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And there's words that can take us there.

525
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To some extent or another.

526
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Even stories, or poems.

527
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Why do we sit here, talking,
if it can't be said?

528
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Why did Thay give so many talks,
thousands of talks. He kept talking

529
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
about something that can't be said.

530
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because if he did that and we continue
to do that, it's not completely useless.

531
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I observe what we're doing here now
and I find it very beautiful.

532
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That we're sitting here and
not looking at our phones

533
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and not distracting ourselves
on our phones.

534
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We're sitting here and
there's something happening

535
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to all of us by the fact
of sitting here together.

536
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's a bit hard to grasp
what exactly is going on.

537
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What are we doing? It might
not be exactly what we think.

538
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I think the fact that
we are sitting here

539
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and maybe all of us, or most of us,
are aware of our breathing,

540
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
aware of the sensations in our body,
maybe noticing some discomfort

541
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in the present moment
and accepting it,

542
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that's a kind of awakening for me.
It's a kind of rebirth.

543
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
My ancestors didn't do this
50 years ago. A 100 years ago.

544
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
150 years ago. They didn't
have a way to do this.

545
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To sit together in a room
to cultivate stillness,

546
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to cultivate awareness of their bodies,
of their feelings, thoughts ...

547
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But now we are doing that.

548
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thanks to one man, Thay,
he was exiled, he lived in the West,

549
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and he saw that maybe
there was something

550
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that we needed
to cultivate a little bit more.

551
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And so that stream of wisdom and practise
joined all of our streams of lineage,

552
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of culture, education, transmission,
inheritance, suffering and happiness.

553
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So something is being awakened.
Somebody is being reborn.

554
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I don't know if it doesn't
belong to any of us individually.

555
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We're all changing, together.

556
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We're all transforming together.

557
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I can't say that I understand it.

558
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Or that I can know it exactly.

559
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I can feel that it's important.

560
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I can talk to my ancestors.

561
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I ask them how they would
like to continue.

562
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What direction they would like to go in.

563
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Almost all of them. Not quite all of them,
some of them are still negotiating,

564
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but pretty much all of them
are very, very happy to be here.

565
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To live like this.
To do these things together.

566
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It would be kind of sad if they had
to just continue to be themselves.

567
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So the change and the fact that
we inter-are is an amazing thing.

568
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's a wonderful thing.
It's what liberates us.

569
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We don't have to keep continuing the
same patterns of suffering, of confusion.

570
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We can also get beyond the stories of
who we were and the pains we experienced.

571
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We can start to soften that and
let that go a little bit and experience

572
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
what it might be to live as a community.
To live as the world. As forests. Clouds.

573
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Of course there's still a part of us
which seems to be very concerned

574
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with what happens to this body,
these feelings, these thoughts.

575
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But from time to time we get to experience
something that stretches us a little bit,

576
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that goes beyond the immediate concern
for this part of the whole.

577
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I find that interesting.
I find it kinda healthy.

578
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I'm still gonna do my best
to take care of this bit.

579
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I like to practise daily stretching
the envelope of what I think I am.

580
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I find it changes my view
in interesting ways.

581
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It changes my priorities
in interesting ways.

582
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What if I'm actually also the forest?
What does the forest think?

583
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What does it need, what does it feel?
Can I feel what it feels?

584
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Am I already feeling what it feels?

585
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Is something that I'm feeling actually
not to do with what I think it is,

586
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but it's actually a manifestation
of the feelings of the earth,

587
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I just misidentified it?

588
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I find that very interesting.
To experiment with my boundaries.

589
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Let them be more flexible.

590
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I think Thay showed us that
again and again and again.

591
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Of course he had his body
and his feelings and his thoughts.

592
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Personality. One that we loved.

593
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I could feel many times that he
wasn't as concerned about just this part,

594
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the body, as you might think.

595
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
He wasn't afraid.

596
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
He would sometimes make this gesture.

597
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Don't get attached to the body, to the form;

598
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thay is the tiniest part of what I am."

599
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So even if our personality
gets reincarnated somehow,

600
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
into another body, it's OK.
But that's not all we are.

601
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's a very small part of who we are.

602
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So maybe it doesn't matter
as much as we think.

603
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What happens to the little 
of reality that we identify with as self.

604
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In the many ways that we can apply
the practise that Thay has offered us,

605
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to experiment with being more flexible
with what it is that we think we are,

606
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
like right now we can sit here and think
of our own individual needs and wants.

607
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There's probably things that we want.

608
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We'd like to feel better. Less
uncomfortable. Happier. More peaceful.

609
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There's things pulling at us inside.

610
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But it's also possible to look around
to sort of feel into the space of the room

611
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and to feel: "Oh, there's something really
interesting happening here.

612
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Why have a couple of hundred people
chosen to spend their Thursday morning

613
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
sitting still and listening deeply
to each other and to themselves?

614
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I wonder what's happening."

615
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's a very strange thing. I don't know
in how many parts of the world

616
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
this is happening right now.
In how many places is this going on?

617
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Not many. I find it really interesting.

618
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There is something happening
which we are a part of,

619
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but that we're not exactly doing.

620
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We get focused a lot on "What is it
that I'm doing, my choices?"

621
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But there's so much of our life
that is not doing.

622
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We are co-being. Co-manifesting.

623
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So. I don't think it's any clearer.

624
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I think it's also OK.

625
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Br. Phap Huu: Dear community. 
I think we have to end

626
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because we don't want to
overtake our joyful and lazy day.

627
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There's just one part I want to share.
It's the "Sorry" part

628
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
which was the first
action of recognising suffering.

629
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But if there is some misunderstanding
about the situation, there's always

630
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a time and space to clarify,
to come back and to resolve any conflict

631
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that has been established.
It's not just "I'm sorry", and that's it.

632
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If there is wrong perception,
when we are talking about the garden,

633
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
if there is real wrong perception,
and there is miscommunication,

634
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the practise is to find a time and space
to communicate and resolve,

635
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so that the relationship
can be re-established.

636
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Normally, when somebody
is sharing their suffering,

637
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it's just very easy to get very defensive.

638
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That defensiveness blocks
the heart to connect.

639
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We have to be very mindful of
our judgment and our righteousness.

640
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then we create space in order to resolve.

641
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thank you.

642
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thank you, dear friends, for being present.

643
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
For listening with open hearts.

644
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Let us listen to three
sounds of the bell together.

645
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[sound of the bell]

646
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[sound of the bell]

647
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[sound of the bell]