2018 09 30 4 Principles| DT by br Phap Dung
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0:00 - 0:05[The Plum Village Online Monastery]
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0:05 - 0:11(Bell)
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0:34 - 0:40(Bell)
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1:04 - 1:10(Bell)
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1:26 - 1:32Dear respected teacher,
dear brothers and sisters, -
1:32 - 1:34dear sangha,
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1:34 - 1:36can you hear OK?
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1:43 - 1:48This autumn retreat
we are exploring for three months -
1:49 - 1:51Thay's
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1:54 - 1:5814 mindfulness trainings
of the Order of Interbeing. -
1:58 - 2:02It's like a tradition that Thay founded.
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2:03 - 2:06Some of you are new
to our community, to Plum Village -
2:07 - 2:09so, please, do your best.
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2:09 - 2:12If you don't know what
we are talking about, it is OK. -
2:12 - 2:16But in the autumn time, for three months
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2:16 - 2:22we brothers and sisters like to
go focus on a particular topic -
2:22 - 2:28so that it nourishes
all of us to go deeper, -
2:28 - 2:32to understand Thay,
to understand our tradition. -
2:34 - 2:37The Order of Interbeing
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2:37 - 2:40is a kind of new vision of Thay.
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2:41 - 2:44Thay is trying to -
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2:45 - 2:52Back then he didn't really envision
himself having monastic disciples. -
2:52 - 2:55I think we've heard him share that,
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2:55 - 2:59"There are already too many teachers
with too many students. -
2:59 - 3:03I will just teach the students
of other teachers." -
3:03 - 3:07So he really wanted to
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3:10 - 3:14just to be doing the part of the teaching.
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3:16 - 3:19Not having students.
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3:20 - 3:22I think that during that time,
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3:23 - 3:25he experimented a lot.
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3:25 - 3:29You can see some old pictures of Thay,
his hair is long. -
3:30 - 3:34I think he is probably
aware of the hippy movement. -
3:35 - 3:39If you see Thay's old pictures
sometimes he looks cool. -
3:39 - 3:42Looks like a renegade.
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3:42 - 3:47He didn't wear the formal robe
like you see Thay does now, -
3:47 - 3:49and with a OI jacket.
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3:50 - 3:53We see Thay evolve
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3:53 - 3:58from a hippyish monk traveling,
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3:58 - 4:00experimenting and -
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4:01 - 4:03Anyway, this is my perception, OK?
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4:03 - 4:05(Laughter)
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4:05 - 4:07You have to ask Thay yourself.
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4:08 - 4:12For me that's how I begin
to understand a little bit -
4:13 - 4:15of the Order of Interbeing,
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4:15 - 4:19as well as our tradition.
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4:19 - 4:24To not to make such a distinction,
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4:24 - 4:28but Buddhist teaching is to help us
liberate ourselves -
4:29 - 4:31and to relieve suffering within us
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4:31 - 4:35and to relieve suffering in the world.
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4:35 - 4:37That is the main purpose.
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4:37 - 4:42Buddhism is not here to describe
the world, the reality, -
4:43 - 4:46the nature of things or how we came to be.
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4:46 - 4:48It's not philosophical.
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4:48 - 4:51When the Buddha found this path
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4:51 - 4:54is to help relieve suffering.
That's it. -
4:55 - 4:57And as Buddhism evolved,
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4:58 - 5:03it became more and more philosophical,
academic, and theoretical. -
5:04 - 5:11Thay's new Order of Interbeing
is to revive that. -
5:12 - 5:16It is something we need to
look deeply, practice deeply, -
5:16 - 5:22so we can understand our teacher more,
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5:22 - 5:29to understand what we are doing here,
in Plum Village -
5:29 - 5:32as well as sangha building and so on.
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5:34 - 5:40Today I will share about the four
principles of the Order of Interbeing. -
5:42 - 5:47The Order of Interbeing has precepts,
the fourteen precepts, -
5:47 - 5:54and the underlying foundation,
the spirit of the 14 mindfulness trainings -
5:54 - 5:57Thay has shared it,
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5:58 - 6:06put it into four principles, or four
spirits of the Order of Interbeing. -
6:08 - 6:15Openness, direct experimentation,
appropriateness and skillfulness. -
6:16 - 6:19I will write that up.
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6:19 - 6:21And before we -
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6:23 - 6:28To understand those four,
why they were so important to Thay -
6:28 - 6:30we will look a little bit
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6:30 - 6:35at some of the conditions that existed
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6:35 - 6:41when Thay was becoming,
evolving as a young monk. -
6:42 - 6:47This is my own reflection
to try to understand more -
6:47 - 6:52and I leave it up to you to study more
and to look more deeply -
6:52 - 6:56why these four are so important
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6:57 - 7:01during Thay's time
as it is now in our time. -
7:02 - 7:05The first principle is openness.
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7:05 - 7:10[Openness]
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7:10 - 7:13The second one is
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7:14 - 7:22[Direct Experimentation]
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7:27 - 7:30direct experimentation.
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7:30 - 7:33The third one is appropriateness.
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7:36 - 7:39[Appropriateness]
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7:41 - 7:44And the last one is skillfulness.
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7:45 - 7:48[Skilness]
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7:51 - 7:54And these are things not to just
write down in notes -
7:54 - 7:56for us to reflect on in our practice.
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7:56 - 8:00They are the spirit,
the guides of practice. -
8:00 - 8:05To understand a little bit,
at least my own looking, -
8:06 - 8:10I try to look at what was happening
during Thay's time. -
8:10 - 8:12The conditions.
-
8:14 - 8:17There is a misspelling,
skill -ful. -
8:19 - 8:22"Skilness" is not a word yet.
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8:22 - 8:23(Laughter)
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8:23 - 8:25Skillfulness.
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8:25 - 8:28Two "l"s?
Two two "l"s? Four "l"s? -
8:30 - 8:33One "l" somewhere there, right?
Maybe here. -
8:33 - 8:35(Laughter)
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8:35 - 8:39Yes? No? The other one!
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8:40 - 8:42It's not very skillful.
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8:42 - 8:44(Laughter)
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8:44 - 8:46Voilà!
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8:48 - 8:51So I was reflecting a little bit of -
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8:51 - 8:56And we've heard Thay share
how he was inspired -
8:56 - 9:00when he learned about
what Buddhism did one time -
9:01 - 9:04during Vietnam's history.
-
9:04 - 9:09How it actually was very integrated
in society, in politics. -
9:09 - 9:15A lot of Buddhists
were teachers of political leaders, -
9:15 - 9:17so it was very integrated.
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9:18 - 9:24So Buddhism was never something you do
outside of what was happening in society. -
9:24 - 9:26This is something -
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9:27 - 9:33So during Thay's time,
there was a war going on. -
9:34 - 9:40[height war]
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9:44 - 9:50This is in 1968.
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9:53 - 9:57What we call the Tet Offensive.
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9:57 - 9:59[1968 Tết Offensive]
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9:59 - 10:03It's like a lot of violence happening.
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10:03 - 10:05There is the -
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10:05 - 10:08In the war's history they say
this is the height -
10:08 - 10:15of when the Vietnamese
wanted to show America -
10:15 - 10:18that they are not giving up.
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10:19 - 10:23So there is a lot of atrocity
happening in 1968. -
10:23 - 10:27And just let us know that the OI order
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10:27 - 10:32[OI Order]
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10:32 - 10:351966.
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10:37 - 10:39This is when Thay -
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10:40 - 10:47I have a feeling Thay had formulated
these teachings and trainings before that -
10:47 - 10:49but we put there 66,
-
10:49 - 10:52it is when sister Chan Khong
and the six - -
10:53 - 10:55(Vietnamese)
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10:55 - 10:57Six cedars? No.
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10:57 - 10:59(Vietnamese)
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10:59 - 11:02The first six OI members,
three men and three women -
11:03 - 11:05were ordained.
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11:05 - 11:08So we look and we see that
during that time -
11:09 - 11:13there were bombs being thrown
on the country -
11:13 - 11:15and people were dying.
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11:16 - 11:19We have to imagine that time.
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11:20 - 11:22So, how to help?
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11:23 - 11:26We all know the story of Thay saying that
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11:26 - 11:29if you are a monk
and you are sitting in the monastery -
11:29 - 11:31and you are chanting
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11:31 - 11:34and there are bombs and people
being blown to pieces outside, -
11:34 - 11:38you do not sit in the temple
and continue to chant. -
11:40 - 11:44This is just to understand a little bit
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11:44 - 11:46Thay's intention.
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11:46 - 11:48During this time,
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11:49 - 11:53there are a lot of
young people's movements, -
11:58 - 12:00students,
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12:00 - 12:02[Young People (students)]
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12:02 - 12:08who were going into the streets,
in the Universities. -
12:08 - 12:09[Univ.]
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12:10 - 12:13This was happening in Vietnam
and in the US. -
12:13 - 12:15[VN U.S.]
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12:16 - 12:19In the mid-sixties, this is happening.
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12:19 - 12:24The young people
were actually a great part of the - -
12:24 - 12:27How many of you
were part of that movement? -
12:27 - 12:30Some of you here, yes?
A few? Let's see hands! -
12:31 - 12:35In America a lot of OI members
were from that era. -
12:36 - 12:41I remember Thay shared with me
one time he was in Columbia University -
12:41 - 12:44and there was a student protest.
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12:44 - 12:48And Thay witnessed all that.
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12:50 - 12:58This also informs the S-Y student,
what is it? -
12:58 - 13:01The S-Y-S-S?
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13:03 - 13:06What it stands for?
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13:06 - 13:09Social Service.
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13:13 - 13:15School? Yes.
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13:16 - 13:21School for Youth and Social Service.
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13:21 - 13:24[Sch. Youth. Soc. Serv.)
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13:25 - 13:28So in this you can see
what Thay was trying to do. -
13:28 - 13:35Trying to help bring -
Have students gather to help. -
13:37 - 13:43And this is also during the time when Thay
envisions also a kind of Plum Village, -
13:44 - 13:47"Phương Bối",
-
13:48 - 13:53Fragrant Palm Village
in the mountains side. -
13:53 - 13:58Because he saw as we were doing
social service and I guess helping, -
13:59 - 14:04we also needed a place
to retreat and to revitalize ourselves. -
14:10 - 14:12There was also
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14:13 - 14:18religious persecution,
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14:18 - 14:21[Religious persecution]
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14:23 - 14:25between -
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14:28 - 14:31There was a big attack
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14:31 - 14:35because the person
who came into political power -
14:35 - 14:38had Catholic backgrounds.
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14:38 - 14:43So there was a lot of tension between -
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14:45 - 14:50and other Buddhist religious sects as well.
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14:50 - 14:53So this was happening during that time.
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14:53 - 15:00The big reason for all that
was the political ideology. -
15:01 - 15:05[Political Ideology]
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15:08 - 15:11With the Communists,
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15:12 - 15:14[Communist]
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15:18 - 15:21the Democracy,
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15:21 - 15:23[Democracy]
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15:25 - 15:27and then of course
the capitalism and so on. -
15:28 - 15:32So there is a lot of that happening.
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15:32 - 15:34Afraid of the -
-
15:34 - 15:38As you learn more of the war
in Vietnam, the history, -
15:38 - 15:40as things are coming out more, you see -
-
15:41 - 15:45I think there was recently
a ten part series -
15:45 - 15:47on the war in Vietnam.
-
15:48 - 15:52And we see that actually a lot of it
was so unnecessary. -
15:54 - 15:56There was a wrong perception,
-
15:56 - 16:02the idea that if you allow one country
to become Communist, -
16:02 - 16:06that was not even necessarily
that assumption was true, -
16:06 - 16:11that the whole, entire area was -
They call it the domino effect. -
16:11 - 16:14And you see how a concept
creates a fear, -
16:14 - 16:17as we are doing now with terrorists.
-
16:17 - 16:20But it's a new thing.
It's not a domino effect, -
16:20 - 16:22but it's a more -
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16:22 - 16:24We don't know a term yet for it.
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16:24 - 16:27But here you see the view,
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16:29 - 16:32the things that make us have fear
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16:33 - 16:36and we will not let go.
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16:36 - 16:41Because of this fear,
some political leaders, -
16:41 - 16:43presidents and so on,
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16:43 - 16:46were afraid and they got stuck in,
-
16:46 - 16:50and because they were stuck in,
their pride came up. -
16:50 - 16:55"No longer can I be the president
that let America fail." -
16:55 - 17:00So there is stuckness
because of a view, an idea. -
17:01 - 17:07And if you are working on the ground,
and this is happening out there - -
17:08 - 17:11Thay sees that
it's not happening in Vietnam, -
17:11 - 17:15it's not the only place where we are going
to find peace and resolution to this. -
17:16 - 17:21This moves Thay to go to the US
to try to convince -
17:21 - 17:25the intellectuals, the political leaders,
the religious leaders -
17:26 - 17:28to change the idea.
-
17:28 - 17:33These are some of the conditions
that were happening -
17:33 - 17:36at the time that the OI,
-
17:37 - 17:40the Order, the Trainings, the Charter -
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17:40 - 17:43Thay writes the whole complete -
Not just the trainings, -
17:43 - 17:47but the Charter,
how it should be organized, -
17:48 - 17:50and so on.
-
17:57 - 18:01And this also, during this time,
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18:02 - 18:04these movements in the US,
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18:04 - 18:08Thay meets with Martin Luther King.
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18:08 - 18:10[MLK]
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18:10 - 18:12After the meeting,
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18:12 - 18:20Dr. Martin Luther King
gave a speech on Vietnam. -
18:22 - 18:24So there is a lot happening as well.
-
18:24 - 18:29Thay came into contact with that
while he traveled the US. -
18:29 - 18:34But there were a lot of like-minded people
doing the - Martin and so on. -
18:38 - 18:47And Thay at this time also starts to
look into forming the Van Hanh University. -
18:47 - 18:50[Van Hanh Unv.]
-
18:52 - 18:56So Thay is trying also
to re-envision a kind of Buddhism -
18:57 - 19:04that is informed and interactive,
engaged Buddhism is born during this time. -
19:05 - 19:11Thay's engaged Buddhism in the sense of -
with these conditions. -
19:11 - 19:17Because Thay has shared that there is a
movement like this happening also in China -
19:17 - 19:20with another Buddhist monk.
-
19:20 - 19:24But this is to understand a little bit.
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19:25 - 19:32Because when we look at
how something manifests, -
19:32 - 19:34we need to look at the conditions.
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19:35 - 19:40That will inform us and we'll understand
what Thay is trying to do. -
20:16 - 20:23So those are
external conditions in society. -
20:23 - 20:28We can also look into Thay,
what inspires him. -
20:30 - 20:33The Lý and Trần dynasties.
-
20:34 - 20:37[Lý, Trần Dyn.]
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20:38 - 20:44This is where Buddhism
was very integrated with society. -
20:45 - 20:47[B. - Soc.]
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20:47 - 20:49Not separated.
-
20:50 - 20:53And Thay shares a lot about this.
-
20:58 - 21:02And during this time,
Thay would begin to write - -
21:02 - 21:05Before the founding of the Order,
he wrote two books. -
21:06 - 21:09"Modernized Buddhism",
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21:09 - 21:12[Modernized Bud.]
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21:16 - 21:21"Đạo Phật hiện đại hóa" in Vietnamese.
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21:21 - 21:25[Đ. P. hiện đại hóa]
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21:29 - 21:31And then he writes another one,
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21:32 - 21:35"Socially Engaged Buddhism".
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21:35 - 21:37[Socially Eng. B.]
-
21:40 - 21:42This one is
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21:43 - 21:46"Đạo Phật đi vào cuộc đời".
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21:47 - 21:49[Đi vào c. đ.]
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21:54 - 21:58So here Thay is expressing
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21:58 - 22:03and he is also in this time writing
many articles in Buddhist magazines -
22:04 - 22:08to share his vision of a Buddhism
-
22:08 - 22:12that is very connected to society,
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22:13 - 22:16working in politics,
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22:16 - 22:19social service
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22:19 - 22:22as well as in education,
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22:22 - 22:24in organizations and so on.
-
22:25 - 22:34This is a vision of Thay for the SYSS,
the School of Youth and Social Service. -
22:43 - 22:48In the School of Youth and Social Service
they went into the villages -
22:48 - 22:52and they helped organize the health care,
-
22:52 - 22:58the management as well as
very practical things, -
22:58 - 23:02helping the farmers deep wells.
-
23:03 - 23:07It was not just go there
and teach Buddhism, -
23:07 - 23:10but go there and you'll see.
-
23:10 - 23:16This was Thay's vision of monastics
or OI members doing not just -
23:19 - 23:22"philosophical ideas",
-
23:22 - 23:24but actually very practical.
-
23:25 - 23:28So it's an engaged, practical Buddhism
-
23:28 - 23:32that is not just in the temple,
in the University, -
23:32 - 23:36but actually embedded in society.
-
24:05 - 24:10So we can here begin to see
these four principles -
24:11 - 24:13based on these conditions.
-
24:14 - 24:17There was a very intense debate
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24:18 - 24:20between two ideas.
-
24:20 - 24:23And Thay saw that very clearly,
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24:23 - 24:26that it caused a lot of suffering
-
24:26 - 24:29just based on a viewpoint,
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24:29 - 24:33having an agenda.
-
24:34 - 24:39So the first principle
of the Order of Interbeing is openness. -
24:41 - 24:50In Vietnamese it is "phá chấp".
-
24:50 - 24:53[phá chấp]
-
24:54 - 24:56It is very interesting.
-
24:56 - 24:58I read the Vietnamese.
-
24:58 - 25:02It's not "cởi mở",
"cởi mở" is openness. -
25:03 - 25:05But it is "phá chấp".
-
25:05 - 25:10"Phá" is to phá, right?
-
25:10 - 25:12(Laughter)
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25:12 - 25:14To remove.
-
25:15 - 25:18But it also means to mess around.
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25:19 - 25:21To "phá", to remove.
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25:22 - 25:24[remove]
-
25:24 - 25:27And "chấp" is like
-
25:30 - 25:32stuckness.
-
25:32 - 25:35[stuckness]
-
25:35 - 25:36To remove stuckness.
-
25:37 - 25:39Thay would say it is also "thủ",
-
25:40 - 25:43a kind of grasping.
-
25:45 - 25:47It is very interesting, eh?
-
25:47 - 25:49Openness is to remove your -
-
25:50 - 25:52You know?
Openness is like this. -
25:53 - 25:58This way is describing
"to remove your -". -
25:58 - 26:02And everyone can relate to that.
-
26:02 - 26:04When you have a view
and you think you're right, -
26:04 - 26:07it's pretty tight.
-
26:08 - 26:10(Laughter)
-
26:10 - 26:12He is wrong!
-
26:12 - 26:14You hold your breath, right?
-
26:14 - 26:16When you are right, you hold your breath.
-
26:17 - 26:18(Laughter)
-
26:18 - 26:21You know that feeling, right?
-
26:21 - 26:25You see, openness is very -
It's up to you! -
26:27 - 26:30You want to hold?
Or you want to -? -
26:31 - 26:32You can see.
-
26:33 - 26:36This is easy to understand
on the individual level, -
26:36 - 26:39but when it happens on a mass level,
-
26:39 - 26:43when a whole nation,
when a whole group of people -
26:44 - 26:47is based on fear and wrong perceptions,
-
26:49 - 26:53they build walls,
they make more guns, -
26:55 - 26:57start to have cameras,
-
26:58 - 27:00start to search.
-
27:00 - 27:02You know, at the airport?
-
27:04 - 27:08This is to understand
what Thay is looking at -
27:09 - 27:12in terms of what is coming
for the modern world. -
27:12 - 27:17Because of the militarization, the fear,
the wrong perceptions. -
27:18 - 27:25This is the root of a lot of suffering
in the world on the mass scale. -
27:26 - 27:29And it begins with the individual scale.
-
27:30 - 27:32If you cannot handle this,
-
27:32 - 27:35if you go to education
and you are not taught this, -
27:35 - 27:38you will become a leader.
-
27:38 - 27:42And if you don't know how the mind works,
you will be caught in a view. -
27:43 - 27:48My sister Tue Nghiem
will speak more about this next week -
27:48 - 27:52so I will stop there.
-
27:58 - 28:03And of course,
this you can understand more, -
28:04 - 28:08the root of it, in the Buddhist teaching
in the Sutra called the Kalama, -
28:09 - 28:14[Kalama Sutra]
-
28:16 - 28:20where these monks
from a different tradition, -
28:20 - 28:26many teachers teach them many things
and they don't know which one to follow -
28:26 - 28:28because they all make sense.
-
28:28 - 28:31This is the Buddha teaching
-
28:34 - 28:37you need to test it yourself
and see if it works. -
28:39 - 28:40So it's a kind of a -
-
28:42 - 28:47The Sutra that shows the spirit
of openness, of tolerance in Buddhism. -
28:50 - 28:54Now we move into direct experimentation.
-
29:06 - 29:08In Vietnamese it's
-
29:14 - 29:15"thực chứng".
-
29:15 - 29:17[thực chứng]
-
29:19 - 29:21(Vietnamese)
-
29:24 - 29:25"Thực chứng"
-
29:26 - 29:28Real
-
29:28 - 29:30[real]
-
29:33 - 29:35experience.
-
29:35 - 29:38[experience]
-
29:39 - 29:42This is a heart
of the Buddhist teaching as well. -
29:43 - 29:47It's based on our own experience
-
29:47 - 29:53that we believe in something
or not believe in something. -
29:54 - 29:57This is also found in the Kalama Sutra.
-
29:58 - 30:03So it's not a belief based on
what a teacher or what the Sutra -
30:03 - 30:05or what someone says,
-
30:06 - 30:08but it is from your direct -
-
30:08 - 30:11And we need to keep this in mind.
-
30:11 - 30:14Because it's very easy just to follow.
-
30:31 - 30:34So the practice of meditation
-
30:35 - 30:36will help us
-
30:39 - 30:44know more and more
what is appropriate for us. -
30:44 - 30:49So these two are very linked to
appropriateness and skillfulness. -
30:51 - 30:53Sometimes we learn something
-
30:54 - 30:59and we have not fully tasted it
-
31:00 - 31:03and we are very easy to teach it.
-
31:03 - 31:06This is a danger.
-
31:07 - 31:14Also in our work of
- how we call it- -
31:14 - 31:17sangha building or helping the world,
-
31:18 - 31:21this is where it can be dangerous
-
31:23 - 31:25in terms of -
-
31:25 - 31:29If you have not found ease,
found peace within yourself, -
31:29 - 31:32have touched that within us,
-
31:32 - 31:34and we go and teach it,
-
31:35 - 31:37I think that's where it can become
-
31:38 - 31:41in Vietnamese they call it (Vietnamese).
-
31:41 - 31:45It's like you do the Buddhist work,
-
31:46 - 31:48sangha building for instance,
-
31:48 - 31:52and you see this a lot in sangha building.
-
31:56 - 31:59You come into the sangha,
you join the sangha, -
31:59 - 32:01and you learn about
the 5 mindfulness trainings, -
32:02 - 32:05you practice it but it's not fully ripe.
-
32:06 - 32:08And then you hear
there is a 14 mindfulness training. -
32:08 - 32:11Wow!
14! Bigger number! -
32:11 - 32:13(Laughter)
-
32:13 - 32:16And you get involved.
-
32:17 - 32:19You have a good spirit,
-
32:19 - 32:22you want to continue Thay's
engaged Buddhism! -
32:24 - 32:28But because of this direct experience,
-
32:29 - 32:31direct
-
32:31 - 32:35[realization]
-
32:37 - 32:38ripening
-
32:38 - 32:40[ripening]
-
32:40 - 32:42Two "n"s? One "n".
-
32:49 - 32:51This is very important
-
32:51 - 32:54and it links to direct experimentation.
-
32:55 - 32:58We are very good to -
-
33:02 - 33:03How we called it -
-
33:04 - 33:06We like newness, we like -
-
33:08 - 33:10Once you know it,
-
33:10 - 33:13and we've done it once,
like walking meditation, -
33:13 - 33:15we've touched it,
-
33:15 - 33:18as, "Now I can walk in meditation".
-
33:18 - 33:19But we don't continue it.
-
33:20 - 33:23It's like, "Let's do something else,
let's start jogging meditation. -
33:26 - 33:28It's fast walking meditation".
-
33:30 - 33:33Or sitting everyday, you touch it
-
33:34 - 33:37and you get bored of it.
"Let's go sit outside!". -
33:37 - 33:40Or, "Let's sit -"
We - -
33:41 - 33:43Because of our restlessness,
-
33:44 - 33:47and our not-stillness,
-
33:48 - 33:53this direct experimentation
can be a temptation. -
33:54 - 33:58We haven't really touched
this kind of stillness, -
33:58 - 34:01this kind of calm, this peace,
this freedom. -
34:03 - 34:07It hasn't ripened in the Buddhist circle
-
34:07 - 34:09and we are too quick
-
34:09 - 34:14to start engaging in the world.
Sangha building. -
34:16 - 34:19What will happen is -
-
34:19 - 34:22Two of those elements come together
-
34:22 - 34:25and you have collision of views.
-
34:26 - 34:29This is something we need to know,
-
34:29 - 34:31because OI members,
-
34:32 - 34:35one of their fundamental-
not fundamental, -
34:35 - 34:41one of their misperception
or kind a drive in OI members -
34:41 - 34:45is to sangha build,
and to engage in the world, -
34:45 - 34:49and to help do what Thay did
during his time. -
34:51 - 34:57This is -
It needs to be some caution with that. -
34:58 - 35:05Because I think, as we talk with
OI members and sangha builders, -
35:06 - 35:13there is a lot of colliding of viewpoints
if we are not careful. -
35:15 - 35:21So this is direct experimentation.
-
35:23 - 35:26We like it. You can see
how Thay was influenced -
35:29 - 35:36by the West scientific rational thinking,
to test everything. -
35:39 - 35:42But do we need to test everything?
-
35:43 - 35:46Sometimes in Dharma sharing
or consultation -
35:47 - 35:51I hear someone describe their suffering
and it's something I've never experienced. -
35:53 - 35:56Do I need to go experiment with that?
-
35:57 - 35:59No, there is another thing going on.
-
35:59 - 36:03It is also a kind of intuition,
our wisdom, our own deep looking. -
36:04 - 36:07So this is out there.
-
36:07 - 36:10We just recently had a Wake Up retreat
-
36:11 - 36:15and a young man said,
"I want to experience everything!", -
36:16 - 36:23including open sex, open relationships.
-
36:24 - 36:26And I was like, "OK, good".
-
36:27 - 36:32It is quite interesting,
because you hear a lot of sharing -
36:32 - 36:35about the suffering surrounding that.
-
36:35 - 36:40But he didn't want to
just believe in someone else, -
36:41 - 36:43he wanted to experiment.
-
36:43 - 36:46I chose not to.
-
36:47 - 36:50It's very clear where it leads.
-
36:50 - 36:53Because there is a wrong perception.
-
36:53 - 36:57We don't look deeply
that we are lacking something -
36:58 - 37:01and we are chasing maybe
a sensual pleasure. -
37:01 - 37:05Anyway, certain things
that you can look deeply into. -
37:06 - 37:08And from the deep looking,
-
37:08 - 37:10we don't need -
-
37:11 - 37:13We can see clearly.
-
37:13 - 37:19So the experimentation doesn't-
This is where there is a fine line. -
37:19 - 37:21I think we all know this.
-
37:22 - 37:26It's obvious that there are certain things
you can know it's hot. Don't touch it. -
37:27 - 37:29But it's very tempting.
-
37:30 - 37:32So experimentation
-
37:35 - 37:39is very tempting.
-
37:52 - 37:56We will have a sound of the bell
before we continue. -
38:08 - 38:09(Bell)
-
38:11 - 38:18(Bell)
-
38:42 - 38:45One time I heard Thay share
-
38:45 - 38:48that before he brings out
a new teaching, a new practice, -
38:49 - 38:52he has practiced it for about ten years.
-
38:53 - 38:57I think it was during a Dharma talk,
I've forgiven which practice it was. -
38:58 - 39:00But that's pretty -
-
39:01 - 39:03And there are other instances
-
39:03 - 39:07where we've seen Thay
held on to his insight for a long time. -
39:09 - 39:13And then he revealed it to the sangha.
-
39:13 - 39:17That is something I'm learning.
-
39:18 - 39:21Because usually we find something,
we learn something, -
39:21 - 39:23we experience something
-
39:23 - 39:26and we right away,
the way my education is, -
39:26 - 39:30we share it out before it's ripe.
-
39:31 - 39:38There is something that is in the training
that is very hard to transmit. -
39:38 - 39:41And that is the thing
that I'm learning here. -
39:41 - 39:45There are certain things
we have to cherish -
39:45 - 39:48and keep practicing until it ripens.
-
39:50 - 39:54I know it's not always the case,
-
39:55 - 39:58but there are certain things you do,
you practice -
39:58 - 40:02and you find lightness,
liberation, more insight. -
40:02 - 40:06And it is amazing what happens
when you keep it. -
40:07 - 40:10Don't share it out too quickly.
-
40:11 - 40:15Have we ever thought about
writing a book? -
40:16 - 40:21Have we ever shared it with someone and
then somehow the inspiration goes away? -
40:23 - 40:26Or you want to do something and
you get so excited and you share it -
40:26 - 40:30to too many people and then
we just don't do it anymore. -
40:31 - 40:34I don't know, there is something
psychological about that. -
40:35 - 40:38In the mindfulness trainings,
in our practice, -
40:40 - 40:44it has something to do
with intuition as well. -
40:44 - 40:47There is an inner training
that is happening. -
40:49 - 40:53When you succeed, and you have an insight
on one of the trainings, -
40:54 - 40:58it is very tempting to share it
in Dharma sharing right away. -
40:58 - 41:01I know you are supposed to,
and the monks encourage you to, -
41:03 - 41:07but just -
I throw that out there. -
41:09 - 41:11To cook something,
-
41:12 - 41:14don't let people look in it.
-
41:15 - 41:18You are cooking potatoes,
stop lifting the lid -
41:19 - 41:21letting people look into it.
-
41:21 - 41:24It's not going to cook.
-
41:25 - 41:28I don't know how to share
this way of training. -
41:29 - 41:31Outside you don't train like this.
-
41:31 - 41:34In education, in university,
you have something, -
41:35 - 41:39Ah! You write it on Facebook
and you let everyone know. -
41:43 - 41:46You have lo live here at least five years
-
41:47 - 41:51for you to taste that.
-
41:53 - 41:56To have that direct experience.
-
41:59 - 42:03There was something I wanted to
share about experimenting. -
42:07 - 42:15When you discover something from your
experience and from your experimentation, -
42:17 - 42:20don't make a thing out of it.
-
42:20 - 42:22(Laughter)
-
42:22 - 42:26You know? You discover that
these shoes are amazing! -
42:27 - 42:29And you just go around
telling all your brothers, -
42:29 - 42:34"These shoes are amazing!
They help you run, they keep your back, -
42:34 - 42:37you will never have backaches again".
-
42:37 - 42:43You begin to form a theory around it.
You make a thing out of it. -
42:44 - 42:46You know what I'm talking about?
-
42:48 - 42:51You discover a new food,
-
42:51 - 42:54you went on the Internet
-
42:55 - 42:57and it starts so like -
-
42:58 - 43:01And it becomes something.
-
43:02 - 43:05That will make the openness less.
-
43:06 - 43:09Slowly, your thing you discovered,
-
43:10 - 43:12you hold it.
-
43:13 - 43:16That is so hard to do.
-
43:19 - 43:22So I'm very sensitive to that.
-
43:22 - 43:27I have suffered a lot
because of my own "thing out of it". -
43:30 - 43:34I helped form the teenage program,
-
43:35 - 43:38one of my sufferings
as the abbot in Deer Park Monastery -
43:38 - 43:43was I helped for six years
to form the Teenage Program. -
43:44 - 43:47Just the teenagers, no parents.
-
43:48 - 43:52I remember the teenagers
came to us after a family retreat -
43:53 - 43:55and they spoke to me,
-
43:56 - 44:00and they shared it to me, only me.
-
44:00 - 44:03And they shared,
"Oh, we don't want our parents here". -
44:04 - 44:10I remember it was very inspiring to see
the young people, Vietnamese Americans. -
44:10 - 44:12I really connected to them,
-
44:12 - 44:15I can feel they need space
from their parents. -
44:15 - 44:18Because the teenagers,
with their parents around, -
44:18 - 44:22they always get followed by their parents.
-
44:23 - 44:25"Do you drink enough water?", or
-
44:25 - 44:28"You're late for walking meditation!"
-
44:29 - 44:32So I remember hearing that
from the teenagers -
44:32 - 44:35and slowly we convinced
the parents not to come. -
44:35 - 44:38But some parents wanted to be staff,
-
44:38 - 44:41so they came in the staff
to watch their kids. -
44:41 - 44:43Anyhow, I was involved in this
-
44:43 - 44:46and I had to slowly, skilfully
get rid of the parents. -
44:47 - 44:49(Laughter)
-
44:49 - 44:51And after six years, we finally had real -
-
44:52 - 44:54And every year we would do it.
-
44:54 - 44:57And one year, the sangha decided,
-
44:57 - 45:01"Maybe we should combine
the teenage program with the families, -
45:01 - 45:03because we are doing too many retreats."
-
45:04 - 45:06And I got really upset.
-
45:07 - 45:12I was very, like, "You know
how long it took to form that program?" -
45:14 - 45:19I remember in that meeting
I was quite not appropriate -
45:19 - 45:22and not skillful.
-
45:22 - 45:23(Laughter)
-
45:23 - 45:26This is sangha building, you know?
-
45:26 - 45:28I was doing good!
I was building the sangha! -
45:28 - 45:31Doing what Thay wants!
-
45:33 - 45:37But I didn't listen to anyone else.
-
45:37 - 45:39I pretended I listened,
-
45:40 - 45:44but I think I came back really hurt.
-
45:46 - 45:50I made a thing out of it.
It's a good thing, -
45:51 - 45:53but still not good, because -
-
45:54 - 45:56I was -
-
45:56 - 46:01Anyway, that is where the phrase
"Don't make a thing out of it!" comes from. -
46:01 - 46:04Don't make your thing become a "thing".
-
46:05 - 46:06(Laughter)
-
46:06 - 46:09I know this is hard to translate.
-
46:09 - 46:11(Laughter)
-
46:14 - 46:17That is involved with dogmatism.
-
46:18 - 46:22It is the technical word for it. Right?
Dogmatism, and other ism. -
46:23 - 46:27The ism is you make whatever it is
into an ism. -
46:27 - 46:30That is to be careful of.
-
46:34 - 46:37So we move into appropriateness.
-
46:56 - 46:59Appropriateness in Vietnamese is
-
47:00 - 47:02"khế cỏ".
-
47:02 - 47:04[khế cỏ]
-
47:04 - 47:07I've just learned this morning
"khế" is like - -
47:11 - 47:14I said, I know what "cỏ" is, like
-
47:14 - 47:16(Vietnamese)
-
47:16 - 47:19But what is "khế"?
-
47:19 - 47:21It's appropriateness, right?
-
47:21 - 47:24But I don't know why there is two words.
-
47:24 - 47:27But it goes with "khế Lý",
-
47:28 - 47:31[khế Lý]
-
47:31 - 47:33which is -
-
47:34 - 47:37I keep forgetting that something today.
-
47:39 - 47:41"Khế cỏ" and ""khế Lý",
-
47:42 - 47:44this is appropriate,
-
47:44 - 47:46[app.]
-
47:46 - 47:48to the situation.
-
47:49 - 47:51[situation]
-
47:53 - 47:55And this is appropriate
-
47:55 - 47:57[app.]
-
48:03 - 48:06to the principle, to the spirit,
-
48:10 - 48:12to the principle, Lý.
-
48:12 - 48:14[principle]
-
48:15 - 48:17Spirit.
-
48:17 - 48:19[spirit]
-
48:19 - 48:23Or in the Buddhist circle, we say maybe
to the Dharma. -
48:23 - 48:26[Dharma]
-
48:28 - 48:34To whatever it is
that makes you it feels OK. -
48:37 - 48:40So there is a situation.
-
48:43 - 48:46And there is also the Dharma.
-
48:56 - 49:02Sometimes, the Dharma, if you teach it
and it is not appropriate, -
49:02 - 49:04then it becomes -
-
49:05 - 49:08I don't know, it's hard,
but like poisonous. -
49:08 - 49:11Like you do harm to the Dharma.
-
49:12 - 49:14For instance, you go home
-
49:14 - 49:17and you are so inspired
after two weeks in Plum Village, -
49:19 - 49:21mindfulness!
-
49:22 - 49:23Plum Village!
-
49:23 - 49:26And you go home
and you tell it to your family, -
49:29 - 49:33"Eating in silence is so good for you!
You touche peace." -
49:34 - 49:38But you don't know
the situation, the person. -
49:38 - 49:41You don't know the situation
of your family is not appropriate. -
49:42 - 49:46It is not skillful, it is not appropriate,
they are not ready. -
49:46 - 49:49The Dharma is not for that.
-
49:50 - 49:52You go to the Dharma
-
49:52 - 49:55but it is not something
you put in the Dharma. -
49:55 - 49:58We hear this all the time from -
-
50:01 - 50:05That's my own experience as well as many
consultations and Dharma sharings. -
50:06 - 50:11So knowing what is appropriate
for the situation, for our time. -
50:15 - 50:20I remember first learning about
the practice, my first retreat. -
50:20 - 50:24I came home, and I organized
everything in our house. -
50:25 - 50:29I put everything back
to where it should go, the shoes. -
50:29 - 50:34And then the closet,
I helped my mum redo her food stuff, -
50:34 - 50:36the cans, can food.
-
50:37 - 50:40It became an obsession.
Because I had an idea -
50:41 - 50:47that when you put things mindfully,
it goes back to where it should be. -
50:47 - 50:50You all have that idea?
As a beginning practitioner? -
50:50 - 50:53It's the most beautiful and tempting idea.
-
50:53 - 50:56To practice mindfulness
when you put a cup down, -
50:56 - 50:59it has a place.
-
50:59 - 51:02I mean, it makes sense, right?
But when it becomes an obsession - -
51:03 - 51:06Ow! OK, that toothbrush is not -
-
51:07 - 51:10It goes in here, eh?
-
51:10 - 51:13The shoe, it goes there!
-
51:13 - 51:18These mats should be straighter.
-
51:20 - 51:22So we begin to -
-
51:22 - 51:25And then I go home
and I do this to the house. -
51:26 - 51:30My two brothers were back from college,
back for the summer, -
51:30 - 51:32and we shared the same house.
-
51:33 - 51:35(Laughter)
-
51:36 - 51:38And the story, you know.
-
51:39 - 51:43We had a lot of interesting conversations.
-
51:43 - 51:45They were fully not open.
-
51:46 - 51:48(Laughter)
-
51:48 - 51:50So I caused a lot of suffering
-
51:50 - 51:57because of my "Lý" law.
-
51:58 - 52:00I had a reason for everything.
-
52:01 - 52:04And because it's "Lý" -
-
52:06 - 52:11So when something is appropriate,
it is also in line with the Dharma, -
52:12 - 52:17in line with something more true,
more human, more open, more whatever, -
52:18 - 52:20less suffering.
-
52:20 - 52:23If it is appropriate,
it will not cause suffering. -
52:25 - 52:29This is something
we need to ingrain in ourselves. -
52:29 - 52:33Because we believe so much in truth,
we believe that this really happened, -
52:35 - 52:36and we say it.
-
52:37 - 52:39"But it is the truth!"
-
52:40 - 52:43But the person is not ready for it.
-
52:44 - 52:47So we cause suffering.
Truth does not harm. -
52:48 - 52:51But we have an idea about truth,
that it is objective. -
52:51 - 52:55Somewhere there is a truth.
"This is really what happened!". -
52:57 - 53:00And we cause suffering
because of our truth. -
53:00 - 53:03There are many truths.
-
53:03 - 53:05And that is very hard to believe.
-
53:05 - 53:07Specially when you are right.
-
53:07 - 53:09(Laughter)
-
53:09 - 53:12When you are right, it is like,
-
53:12 - 53:15"OK, I give it a year,
but I'm still right." -
53:20 - 53:24A lot of suffering, for yourself as well,
because you hold it like this -
53:24 - 53:28and when you see that brother you kind of-
You see that sister, you kind of- -
53:28 - 53:31because you are holding on to something.
-
53:31 - 53:34Remember that image, eh?
You have a choice! -
53:36 - 53:38Relax.
-
53:38 - 53:41It's true, but, you know,
there are many truths. -
53:42 - 53:44It is such a hard training.
-
53:45 - 53:47If you want to taste it,
come and stay here one year. -
53:48 - 53:50We will put you in the cooking team.
-
53:50 - 53:52(Laughter)
-
53:52 - 53:55Like the brother shared.
Advance training. -
53:55 - 53:59I already shared that in the lay -
No, he shared - -
54:00 - 54:03The cooking team
is the most advanced training. -
54:04 - 54:08It's strange for a monastery.
-
54:08 - 54:11It is supposed to be
in the meditation hall. -
54:13 - 54:15Sorry, I'm a comedian.
-
54:15 - 54:18(Laughter)
-
54:18 - 54:21When we say "khế Lý",
-
54:21 - 54:23how do we know it is appropriate?
-
54:23 - 54:29This requires us to go deeper and deeper
as we do the sangha building, -
54:29 - 54:34as we become OI members,
to touch interbeing, and so on. -
54:34 - 54:38The three, the six,
the three, the two threes. -
54:38 - 54:43Just remember, the three seals
and the three doors. -
54:45 - 54:48And you use that to test everything.
-
54:48 - 54:52You want to experiment? Go ahead,
but use these to test. -
54:53 - 54:57In chemistry it is called litmus paper.
-
54:58 - 55:01You throw it in to see
if it is the right thing. -
55:01 - 55:07In Vietnamese, they say,
"Use fire to test gold." -
55:07 - 55:12(Vietnamese)
-
55:12 - 55:15It is a beautiful saying.
-
55:15 - 55:19You want to see if it's real gold?
Put fire to it. -
55:20 - 55:24And all the impurities,
they separate and the gold collects. -
55:25 - 55:30So the three seals,
I think you know them already. -
55:31 - 55:33Some of you. Three Seals.
-
55:35 - 55:38[3 Seals]
-
55:39 - 55:40What are they?
-
55:40 - 55:43Impermanence,
-
55:43 - 55:46[Impermanence]
-
55:48 - 55:50Non-self,
-
55:50 - 55:52[Non-self]
-
55:52 - 55:54and Nirvana.
-
55:54 - 55:56[Nirvana]
-
55:57 - 55:59This is 3 Doors.
-
56:00 - 56:02[3 Doors]
-
56:03 - 56:05"Trois portes."
-
56:05 - 56:07Just remember the "s"s.
-
56:08 - 56:10[ss]
-
56:10 - 56:12Right?
-
56:12 - 56:13Empty,
-
56:14 - 56:15[E]
-
56:15 - 56:17signless,
-
56:18 - 56:19[S]
-
56:19 - 56:21Aimless.
-
56:21 - 56:23[A]
-
56:23 - 56:25That is how I remember it, sorry.
-
56:25 - 56:29I just remember the three doors,
"ss", remember. -
56:29 - 56:33Emptiness, signlessness, aimlessness.
-
56:34 - 56:37And this helps us in our practice.
-
56:39 - 56:42When you make a thing out of it,
-
56:43 - 56:48it's no longer very related
to other things, right? -
56:50 - 56:53And we become caught by it.
-
56:57 - 57:01"Sign" here also represents
words, concepts. -
57:08 - 57:11There is one word that challenges people.
-
57:11 - 57:18When we do the morning recitation,
before the nuns and monks chant, -
57:18 - 57:25we say, "Remove your inferiority complex,
superiority complex -
57:25 - 57:28and your equality complex."
-
57:29 - 57:34When Thay first came out with that text,
and we had to tour the US, -
57:34 - 57:40many people asked this question,
"What's wrong with equality?, -
57:40 - 57:42How is that a complex?"
-
57:46 - 57:50The word "equality"
or the idea of equality -
57:51 - 57:53can be a thing.
-
57:56 - 57:59Who has a thing about equality?
-
58:00 - 58:02How come the monks
are sitting at one side, -
58:02 - 58:05at the non-monks and
the nuns sitting at the other side? -
58:07 - 58:11Or, how come the nuns have smaller bowls
and the monks have bigger bowls? -
58:12 - 58:17Or, how come the bell is always
on that side?, or, what else? -
58:18 - 58:20There are so many.
-
58:20 - 58:22How come the grass
is greener on this side? -
58:22 - 58:24(Laughter)
-
58:26 - 58:29There are some good ones, eh?
-
58:29 - 58:31I used to have a -
We should make a catalog -
58:32 - 58:35of equality as a thing.
-
58:40 - 58:42It is a complex. Equality is good,
-
58:44 - 58:49and getting people to -
Injustice causes suffering. -
58:50 - 58:54Inequality can cause suffering.
-
58:55 - 58:57So it's not to deny
-
58:57 - 59:01that that is happening
in our world as well. -
59:02 - 59:05But just don't make a thing out of it.
-
59:06 - 59:09Going everywhere to always look for -
-
59:13 - 59:16This is not to be caught by dualism.
-
59:17 - 59:21It is all skillful means.
-
59:21 - 59:23We wear this just for
-
59:24 - 59:30a way to skillfully do something,
to manifest something. -
59:31 - 59:36When Thay was in Vietnam,
or in America touring, -
59:36 - 59:39a reporter asked him,
-
59:39 - 59:42"Are you from the North
or from the South?" -
59:42 - 59:45Do you know that story?
-
59:45 - 59:48And Thay says,
"I am from the Center." -
59:49 - 59:52He is from the center.
-
59:53 - 59:56From Hue, or something like that.
-
59:57 - 60:01He is from the center.
And we love that story, I love that story. -
60:06 - 60:11If we are not careful, we can
make the "center" become a thing. -
60:11 - 60:14And I've seen that,
living in the monastery. -
60:14 - 60:17You don't want to choose left or right,
then you choose the middle. -
60:17 - 60:22And you are always choosing the middle.
You make a "thing" out of centralness. -
60:36 - 60:38You are-
-
60:44 - 60:48We get caught, so the idea of centralness
-
60:48 - 60:51is to help the reporter in that situation.
-
60:53 - 60:56To take away his idea
-
60:56 - 60:59that there is just North and South.
-
61:00 - 61:02So that is the means.
-
61:02 - 61:08Thay uses that answer to help
that reporter in that moment -
61:09 - 61:12to let go of his North and South.
-
61:13 - 61:16But us, when we hear the story,
we love it -
61:17 - 61:19and then we hang on to centralness.
-
61:21 - 61:24And we go around being careful.
-
61:24 - 61:28"No, I'm not choosing! No!"
-
61:29 - 61:31And that becomes an obstacle.
-
61:33 - 61:37We become like relative, liberal,
-
61:37 - 61:40not always - Let's see.
-
61:41 - 61:46It seems like I'm open,
but actually I'm very tight. -
61:46 - 61:49That is stuckness.
-
61:53 - 61:58This is from my own suffering
of practicing with that. -
61:59 - 62:01Of always avoiding each team
-
62:01 - 62:04to the point where -
-
62:05 - 62:08You know what is the right thing to do.
-
62:14 - 62:16There is also -
-
62:17 - 62:19The idea here is
-
62:20 - 62:23when it is true to the Dharma,
-
62:26 - 62:30is to not be caught by the word
by the sign. -
62:31 - 62:34Therefore, you don't grasp.
-
62:34 - 62:36That is the aimlessness.
-
62:36 - 62:40You need a little freedom from that.
-
62:40 - 62:42These are all -
-
62:42 - 62:45These three, three,
-
62:46 - 62:51are - Thay would say concentrations,
they help us. -
62:51 - 62:56You may choose a week
to contemplate signlessness. -
62:59 - 63:03To look and to see
where you are caught with signs -
63:03 - 63:06and to test for yourself.
-
63:07 - 63:09Or aimlessness.
-
63:09 - 63:13In a way, they are like
Plum Village's koans, -
63:13 - 63:20something that you can hold here like
a mother carrying her child around. -
63:21 - 63:24And you begin to look like that.
-
63:24 - 63:30You look and you discern
when you are being not aimless. -
63:31 - 63:36You want something,
so you come back to your steps. -
63:38 - 63:44The tea will still be there,
the hot water will still be there, -
63:47 - 63:50so you slow yourself down.
-
63:50 - 63:55So these practices, these ideas here
are for us to practice. -
63:56 - 63:59What I share with you is -
-
64:00 - 64:03Watch when you are not being aimless.
-
64:04 - 64:08But how to touch aimlessness
while we walk? -
64:09 - 64:12You make a step, a left step,
-
64:14 - 64:16a right step.
-
64:19 - 64:22Or aimlessness when you eat.
-
64:22 - 64:25When you put a morsel in your mouth,
-
64:25 - 64:28you put the spoon down.
-
64:29 - 64:31And you chew.
-
64:31 - 64:34And you put a hundred per cent
in the act of chewing. -
64:35 - 64:41Savoring the food, contemplation
with nature and Mother Earth, the sun, -
64:42 - 64:47before you take the next spoon.
I remember having to train this. -
64:48 - 64:50When I'm chewing,
I'm preparing for the next one. -
64:53 - 64:56It's a big habit I had to remove.
-
64:58 - 65:01The same thing with our walking.
-
65:01 - 65:04These two are very trainable.
-
65:06 - 65:10But they can help us also
when we have ideas and concepts. -
65:12 - 65:18When we practice the trainings, and
we will learn more these coming weeks, -
65:20 - 65:26they speak of a truth, of a way,
-
65:27 - 65:30but we need to know when to apply it,
-
65:32 - 65:35so that it is appropriate
for the situation with the people, -
65:36 - 65:40and if it is appropriate to the Dharma,
-
65:40 - 65:47to the guiding spirit
of the Buddhist teachings. -
65:49 - 65:52I think Thay has shared -
-
65:54 - 65:58To prepare to operate on someone
-
65:58 - 66:00they need to be healthy.
-
66:03 - 66:05You prepare and you -
-
66:06 - 66:08That's kind of -
-
66:08 - 66:10That is tough, eh?
-
66:11 - 66:14But sometimes it's like that, I think
-
66:16 - 66:18Thay's method, I sensed that.
-
66:19 - 66:23When we first come in the community
Thay is very gentle with us. -
66:24 - 66:26He nurtures us.
-
66:26 - 66:30Everything, he flower-waters us.
-
66:30 - 66:33He pushes it.
-
66:33 - 66:37And then, when we have enough
strong roots, Thay starts to trim. -
66:37 - 66:39(Laughter)
-
66:40 - 66:42Have you been trimmed by Thay before?
-
66:43 - 66:45You're lucky.
-
66:45 - 66:47Because it is painful.
-
66:47 - 66:48(Laughter)
-
66:48 - 66:50Operation.
-
66:50 - 66:54Because you have something
you're holding on to. -
67:01 - 67:02And -
-
67:03 - 67:05(Laughter)
-
67:05 - 67:08And one mourns.
-
67:09 - 67:11It touches your ego.
-
67:12 - 67:18So there is not enough liberation.
You had an idea about it. -
67:19 - 67:23Something, whatever that is
you're holding on too tightly. -
67:24 - 67:27In the sangha building
it is very important -
67:28 - 67:31that we get this one done.
-
67:32 - 67:36Because we sometimes bring the stuff
that has not ripened, -
67:36 - 67:38has not let go yet,
-
67:38 - 67:41and we start to sangha-build,
-
67:41 - 67:45we make sangha become a thing
-
67:46 - 67:48and so on.
-
67:48 - 67:51But inside of us it
is not fully, still, fully - -
67:52 - 67:54There are certain things still -
-
67:54 - 67:57And that can come and bite you.
-
67:58 - 68:01The Buddhist teaching is not for us to do
-
68:01 - 68:02(Vietnamese).
-
68:03 - 68:07It's to help us relieve our suffering
and in doing so we - -
68:08 - 68:11inter-be with the world.
-
68:11 - 68:13And how we do it?
-
68:14 - 68:18You can see this in today's society.
-
68:19 - 68:23People build up, fame, power.
-
68:23 - 68:26After ten, twenty years,
what happens? -
68:26 - 68:29They did not ripen.
-
68:30 - 68:34Sexual scandals,
political scandals, corruption. -
68:35 - 68:39There is a movement going on
that is so beautiful in society. -
68:39 - 68:42It is like the rain washing
-
68:42 - 68:45and revealing.
-
68:48 - 68:53Other things are going on
underneath of that fame, power, wealth. -
68:54 - 68:56Political and-
-
68:57 - 69:00In the political world,
in the corporate world -
69:00 - 69:03as well as in the entertainment world.
-
69:03 - 69:09This is because the person
did not do the homework. -
69:09 - 69:12Did not care for the ripening inside.
-
69:12 - 69:18But they were tempted
with external achievements, success. -
69:20 - 69:24This is where direct experience,
direct liberation, -
69:25 - 69:29direct touching of peace, happiness.
-
69:30 - 69:32When you do this,
-
69:32 - 69:36you become
more appropriate, more skillful. -
69:40 - 69:43We are moving to skillfulness in here.
-
69:44 - 69:46In Vietnamese,
-
70:03 - 70:05is "phủỏng tiện".
-
70:06 - 70:10[Phủỏng tiện]
-
70:18 - 70:21These are the methods and practices
-
70:22 - 70:24to help us teach,
-
70:25 - 70:28to guide and to apply
the Buddhist teachings. -
70:28 - 70:31These are the ways we do it.
-
70:35 - 70:37Skillfulness here
-
70:42 - 70:44can be seen as a means,
-
70:45 - 70:47skillful means.
-
70:47 - 70:49[s. means]
-
70:53 - 70:54I think it is
-
70:55 - 70:59very fundamental in the Buddhist teachings
-
70:59 - 71:02and it has great examples.
-
71:02 - 71:04The raft,
-
71:04 - 71:08when you get to a river
and you see you need to cross, -
71:08 - 71:10and you build yourself a raft.
-
71:10 - 71:13It helps you cross the river.
-
71:15 - 71:19And you get attached
because the raft is so cool. -
71:19 - 71:23You did it by yourself, by hand
and you start carrying the raft around -
71:25 - 71:28even though you don't need it anymore.
-
71:28 - 71:32And the Buddha says, "It is a wise thing
to do, brothers and sisters? -
71:35 - 71:37To carry a raft around?"
-
71:38 - 71:42And, of course, the students
reply obediently, -
71:42 - 71:45"No, no, it's not a skillful thing to do.
-
71:45 - 71:48You should leave it there
and share it with others, -
71:48 - 71:51be generous because they might need it."
-
71:52 - 71:54But we have to ask ourselves,
do we do that? -
72:00 - 72:02So there are skillful means.
-
72:05 - 72:08It's very easy to get caught
-
72:12 - 72:14by the raft.
-
72:22 - 72:26So appropriateness and skillfulness.
-
72:26 - 72:30I think those are areas where we
-
72:33 - 72:36learn a lot from living in the sangha.
-
72:37 - 72:39We make mistakes and we adjust.
-
72:41 - 72:45They allow us to be creative,
allow us to - -
72:48 - 72:53It's not a perfection in our rhythm
and there is no manual. -
72:54 - 72:59So we can always continue to be
more appropriate, more skillful. -
73:01 - 73:04I'll read you a text
-
73:06 - 73:11from the book, Interbeing book,
Thay wrote: -
73:12 - 73:19"The spirit of non-attachment to views
and the spirit of direct experimentation -
73:20 - 73:28lead to open-mindedness and compassion,
both in the realm of perception of reality -
73:29 - 73:32and in the area of relationships."
-
73:35 - 73:39So openness and direct experimentation,
-
73:40 - 73:45it keeps us open to experiencing life,
experiencing, -
73:46 - 73:49being alive, interacting.
-
73:49 - 73:52And there is the word compassion in it.
-
73:52 - 73:55It helps us be compassionate.
Very important. -
73:55 - 73:59So it's not to experiment
to be open like a scientist, -
74:01 - 74:05but in the Buddhist tradition
-
74:06 - 74:08it is based on compassion.
-
74:09 - 74:15It is to relieve suffering, it's not just
to describe reality and the world, -
74:16 - 74:18or how the mind works and so on.
-
74:19 - 74:20But just enough
-
74:21 - 74:24so that there is compassion in the world,
-
74:25 - 74:28in society, in our families, in ourselves.
-
74:29 - 74:34This is a distinction
from the scientific endeavor, -
74:35 - 74:40which is to try to figure out
how this thing works, -
74:40 - 74:42where do we come from, and so on.
-
74:43 - 74:47Sometimes interacting with
scientists and the sciences, -
74:48 - 74:53if we are not careful, we can also lose
a little bit of the "khế Lý", -
74:55 - 75:00the primary reason for
the Buddha's finding the teachings -
75:00 - 75:03and the practices
to help relieve suffering. -
75:03 - 75:09It is not to come up with a new theory
about the world or about our minds -
75:09 - 75:11and how things work.
-
75:15 - 75:18"The spirit of appropriateness
and skillful means -
75:18 - 75:23lead to the capacity to be creative
and to reconcile, -
75:24 - 75:29both of which are necessary for the
development and the effective realization -
75:29 - 75:32of the idea of serving living beings."
-
75:33 - 75:36This is very Mahayana.
-
75:37 - 75:40Save the world!
-
75:41 - 75:45"Reconcile" here can be
incorporate, to integrate. -
75:46 - 75:51So appropriateness and skillful means
help us be in touch -
75:51 - 75:54with what is happening in our world.
-
75:55 - 75:59And to find ways
to help relieve the suffering. -
76:01 - 76:04I think most of you know,
who are here, -
76:04 - 76:09that one of the primary sufferings
in the world now is climate change. -
76:12 - 76:16You can hear it already
in weather reports. -
76:16 - 76:19It seems like they are from movies,
-
76:21 - 76:23but they are not-
-
76:23 - 76:27Climate change isn't going
to come anymore, it is here. -
76:28 - 76:34And many of us may have families
in some parts of the world. -
76:34 - 76:38Indonesia recently,
I think two days ago, -
76:38 - 76:40had a big tsunami.
-
76:40 - 76:46This will, scientists predict, will occur
more regular and more regularly. -
76:46 - 76:50That means displacement of population.
-
76:51 - 76:53So we have to prepare us so,
-
76:53 - 76:56not to be in despair,
-
76:57 - 77:02to be aware, to be mindful
of the present moment. -
77:03 - 77:07And adjust. We have suffering,
we have some healing to do, -
77:07 - 77:10we have some transformation.
-
77:11 - 77:14That is why Thay has dedicated
his whole life to building the sangha, -
77:14 - 77:16to building a refuge.
-
77:17 - 77:19So climate change,
-
77:25 - 77:30alienation, loneliness,
despair, depression, -
77:32 - 77:36suicide, these numbers are on the rise.
-
77:37 - 77:41Because of urbanization
and the breakdown of families. -
77:41 - 77:44Whatever in your field you're working on.
-
77:46 - 77:51These are real issues of our society
and they are not happening out there. -
77:52 - 77:54They are very connected
-
77:55 - 77:58to how we are in the world now.
-
77:59 - 78:02Young people having no direction,
-
78:04 - 78:08being restless
because of the media industry. -
78:09 - 78:12These are all thought about and mastered.
-
78:14 - 78:20It is not coincidental,
the mechanism that drives capitalism -
78:22 - 78:25while we are so like -
-
78:25 - 78:28My niece, it is hard for her
-
78:28 - 78:33to put down the gadget, the screen.
-
78:34 - 78:36This is not -
-
78:38 - 78:43We have, we do have
some contribution to make. -
78:44 - 78:46It's not to say just -
-
78:46 - 78:50And this is what I love about Thay's work.
We don't wait until we are liberated, -
78:51 - 78:55or find peace and then do the good work.
-
78:55 - 79:00Actually, interbeing is
we transform ourselves -
79:01 - 79:04and we help transform the world.
-
79:04 - 79:09Whatever scope your are in.
It can be on your individual level, -
79:09 - 79:14because so much suffering
you cannot be involved, -
79:15 - 79:19and you take care of yourself.
Make yourself less grumpy, -
79:19 - 79:26less obnoxious, less whatever,
less provoking, reactive. -
79:27 - 79:29Personal level.
-
79:29 - 79:32Or group level, family.
-
79:32 - 79:34Work on the family level,
-
79:35 - 79:39work on your neighborhood,
what can you do for your neighborhood? -
79:40 - 79:46How can you help build a sangha to be a
refuge in your city for the neighborhood? -
79:48 - 79:53Because you see young people no longer
going to church, going to temples. -
79:53 - 79:57And they are looking for
a spiritual direction. -
79:57 - 80:00Building sangha, Thay has shared,
is the most noble task, -
80:01 - 80:05because they are refugee camps,
they are like refugee camps. -
80:07 - 80:11Refugees in the media are lot lately.
-
80:11 - 80:15And there is a refugee going on now.
-
80:15 - 80:19People coming to monasteries
retreat centers, finding refuge -
80:21 - 80:25because of the war going on
a war on restlessness, -
80:27 - 80:29discrimination,
-
80:30 - 80:36or no break from rushing energy.
-
80:37 - 80:40So there is another war going on.
-
80:41 - 80:44In Thay's time, it was the war in Vietnam.
-
80:45 - 80:47In our time, what is the war?
-
80:49 - 80:51Or what is the peace?
-
80:52 - 80:55This is something for us to reflect on
-
80:56 - 81:00as we engage and build
the Order of Interbeing. -
81:02 - 81:07It's very tempting to do the outer work.
-
81:10 - 81:13(Vietnamese)
-
81:15 - 81:19Buddhism goes into society.
-
81:19 - 81:26This goes hand in hand with
Buddhism that goes inside in our heart. -
81:26 - 81:29(Vietnamese)
-
81:29 - 81:34Thay has a saying,
"The way out is in." -
81:36 - 81:41It's not surprising
that it's a very visited calligraphy -
81:43 - 81:45of Thay, to remind us,
-
81:48 - 81:51"Don't forget to do your homework".
-
81:51 - 81:55Because building sangha
and doing the great things -
81:57 - 82:01is very glamorous.
-
82:02 - 82:06People prays you, there is result.
-
82:07 - 82:09It gets -
-
82:10 - 82:12But if we don't do our homework,
-
82:12 - 82:15when the time comes -
-
82:15 - 82:18Very unstable. Your emotion will come up.
-
82:19 - 82:22You won't let go.
-
82:23 - 82:26That is why the sangha is very important.
-
82:27 - 82:29They are a protection
-
82:29 - 82:31and they help prevent us from going -
-
82:31 - 82:34And holding on too tightly.
-
82:35 - 82:39The vision of Thay,
the Buddha as a sangha, -
82:40 - 82:42is doable.
-
82:43 - 82:47We don't all have to be the Buddha,
which is needed is to be part time. -
82:47 - 82:49And we take turns.
-
82:50 - 82:52I mean, it's OK.
-
82:54 - 82:59So it's our protection
from becoming dogmatic and so on. -
83:03 - 83:10My gratefulness to Thay
to emphasizing building sangha -
83:12 - 83:17as a way to keep us
in line with the spirit. -
83:18 - 83:20That is why in the Charter of Interbeing
-
83:20 - 83:27it's very important that when you become
an OI member, you grow from the sangha. -
83:28 - 83:30But now lately there is a trend
-
83:30 - 83:34that the people want to receive
the OI membership or become an OI member -
83:35 - 83:37like the world, it's very worldly.
-
83:38 - 83:41It is like, "Oh! I want to be an OI!
How do I become an OI?" -
83:41 - 83:44It's like very isolated.
-
83:45 - 83:49An OI member or a person
who grows in the Dharma -
83:50 - 83:52grows from the sangha.
-
83:53 - 83:57That is why you cannot become
an OI member out of thin air, -
83:58 - 84:00it comes from the sangha.
-
84:00 - 84:03I mean, I guess you can.
I don't want to be dogmatic about it. -
84:03 - 84:06Maybe in Alaska or somewhere
there is no sangha. -
84:06 - 84:09You can become OI member.
-
84:09 - 84:13But the intention there is
that you come from a culture. -
84:14 - 84:17You have support,
you have brothers and sisters -
84:17 - 84:21that know you.
They know you very well. -
84:23 - 84:26They are your protection.
They understand you, -
84:26 - 84:29they know your weaknesses,
they know your strengths. -
84:30 - 84:32It is very easy to just -
-
84:33 - 84:39Be by yourself and operating on your own.
-
84:40 - 84:44Because it's very hard
to live with those who know you. -
84:44 - 84:46(Laughter)
-
84:48 - 84:52Sangha is all nice. Plum Village
is all nice. Wait until you live here. -
84:52 - 84:53(Laughter)
-
84:54 - 84:56It's very easy
-
84:57 - 85:00but difficult, because
your brothers know you. -
85:02 - 85:04It's easier to live as a tourist.
-
85:05 - 85:08Ah! Nice! So beautiful!
-
85:09 - 85:13Everything is so wonderful!
Plum Village is so nice for one week! -
85:14 - 85:16(Laughter)
-
85:17 - 85:22You stay here and we get to know you
and we let you grow some roots, -
85:22 - 85:24and then we start trimming.
-
85:25 - 85:26(Laughter)
-
85:27 - 85:29"You don't show up on time.
-
85:30 - 85:32Why is that?
-
85:32 - 85:34Look at your room!
-
85:34 - 85:36How do you live inside your room?"
-
85:37 - 85:39You look very good,
-
85:39 - 85:43when you see the monks
walking around, all like that. -
85:43 - 85:48But take a look at your room,
how do you live inside your room? -
85:50 - 85:52That's the in.
-
85:52 - 85:55The way outside needs to be inside.
-
85:55 - 85:58If you cannot do the little work,
-
85:59 - 86:01when the tsunami comes,
-
86:02 - 86:04no foundation.
-
86:05 - 86:09So in our sangha building,
please do your homework. -
86:11 - 86:15That wasn't too intense?
I did shining light -
86:16 - 86:20too intense sometimes, so I apologize.
-
86:20 - 86:24But this is me speaking to myself,
so I need to be careful. -
86:25 - 86:28Thank you, sangha
for being here with us. -
86:30 - 86:33Please enjoy breathing
-
86:33 - 86:36and let go of everything I say.
-
86:38 - 86:41Please, dong hang on to it. OK?
-
86:42 - 86:45Oh, it's quite -
Throw it away. -
86:45 - 86:47(Laughter)
-
86:48 - 86:50(Bell)
-
86:50 - 86:56(Bell)
-
87:18 - 87:24(Bell)
-
87:42 - 87:47(Bell)
-
88:08 - 88:10(Bell)
- Title:
- 2018 09 30 4 Principles| DT by br Phap Dung
- Description:
-
You can support us by:
- donating: https://plumvillage.org/support
- helping to caption & translate: https://amara.org/en/profiles/videos/plumvillage/ or http://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_panel?tab=2&c=UCcv7KJIAsiddB2YRegvrF7g - Video Language:
- English
- Duration:
- 01:28:15
Bego Laka edited English subtitles for 2018 09 30 4 Principles| DT by br Phap Dung | ||
Bego Laka edited English subtitles for 2018 09 30 4 Principles| DT by br Phap Dung | ||
Bego Laka edited English subtitles for 2018 09 30 4 Principles| DT by br Phap Dung | ||
Bego Laka edited English subtitles for 2018 09 30 4 Principles| DT by br Phap Dung | ||
Bego Laka edited English subtitles for 2018 09 30 4 Principles| DT by br Phap Dung | ||
Bego Laka edited English subtitles for 2018 09 30 4 Principles| DT by br Phap Dung | ||
Bego Laka edited English subtitles for 2018 09 30 4 Principles| DT by br Phap Dung | ||
Bego Laka edited English subtitles for 2018 09 30 4 Principles| DT by br Phap Dung |