Transcript
[0:02] I feel that the earth is in great danger
[0:08] and climate change uh wars,
[0:13] lack of uh food and uh dangerous
[0:16] political regimes
[0:20] uh at the scale of the world. What can I
[0:22] do?
[0:44] depend I think the question is clear and
[0:47] complete
[0:50] and it's quite easy to
[0:57] Hopefully we can uh cooperate as one
[1:01] body because one person is not enough
[1:05] for this question
[1:09] and this question is uh very deep
[1:12] relating to all of us. Yeah. Mother
[1:16] Earth, humans,
[1:18] all beings.
[1:20] Yeah.
[1:22] Thank you.
[1:24] Yeah,
[1:34] I'm lucky because I'm one who facilitate
[1:37] so I don't have to answer
[1:43] or I will answer later.
[2:03] So
[2:05] um good morning dear friends in SA
[2:09] um good morning to you
[2:12] uh a fine young man who's thinking
[2:16] already about wanting to help.
[2:23] The good news as I see it
[2:27] is that you are already doing something.
[2:33] Uh you are here at Plum Village and
[2:38] learning and practicing uh mindfulness.
[2:43] Yes. And that means to live in the
[2:47] present moment
[2:50] and to discover that uh actually
[2:54] happiness is possible.
[2:57] There is beauty around us.
[3:00] uh we're with our friends and sa
[3:05] and uh we can create peace in ourself
[3:11] with our mindful breathing and mindful
[3:13] walking
[3:15] and the the two promises or the five
[3:19] mindfulness trainings.
[3:22] So I see that
[3:26] there is a good future. you are here and
[3:30] you're learning already how to help. And
[3:34] uh I'm I have so much confidence and
[3:37] happiness
[3:39] that you're here with your family and
[3:41] friends.
[3:43] So I would just encourage you continue
[3:46] mindful breathing. When
[3:49] worry about the future comes up, come
[3:53] back to now with mindful breathing,
[3:56] mindful walking.
[3:59] Um, I know my other
[4:02] monastic brother and sister have other
[4:05] things to share. So, the good news is
[4:08] you're here. Thank you.
[4:21] Dear Thai, dear SA, um, thank you.
[4:25] What's your name?
[4:29] Mercen
[4:32] um thank you very much for the big
[4:34] question. Uh I think this is uh you are
[4:38] still very young but you already have
[4:42] this kind of um question and how you see
[4:47] things around you and you want to help
[4:50] and it's very beautiful uh to see our
[4:54] young people uh
[4:57] like this and uh I think this question
[5:00] is not only you ask but many people ask
[5:04] this question uh during the Q&A uh of uh
[5:08] the sessions before we also had this
[5:10] question.
[5:13] So
[5:15] first of all when we see uh darkness
[5:19] when we see sadness suffering uh what we
[5:22] can do is we come back to ourel first um
[5:27] and then we we will cultivate peace in
[5:32] ourself like my sister said we um if we
[5:37] have peace in ourself if we have joy
[5:40] happiness in ourself if we have clarity
[5:43] we will know what to do in order to help
[5:47] and um if we don't know how to practice
[5:51] how to come back to oursel we will be
[5:53] carried away by the em emotions of
[5:56] others by the suffering by the war and
[6:00] we will have for example anger um before
[6:05] injustice
[6:06] or violence. So the most important thing
[6:11] to do is to
[6:13] come back to ourself to have peace
[6:17] uh with the practice of mindful
[6:20] breathing and walking like my sister
[6:22] said and also we can cultivate joy in
[6:26] our daily life. Uh so we have enough
[6:29] solidity enough strength to face the
[6:33] difficulties. Um
[6:36] so we can bring light to the darkness.
[6:39] So we have to be light first in order to
[6:42] offer light. Uh we can offer joy to the
[6:48] place where is suffering or sadness. In
[6:51] order to offer joy we have to have joy
[6:54] in ourself. For example, if you see
[6:56] someone is poor uh doesn't have food to
[6:58] eat, we have to have money or food in
[7:01] order to offer to others. So in order to
[7:04] help um the places where there's war um
[7:08] there's no peace we have to have peace
[7:10] in ourself. Uh so at each if each and
[7:14] every one of us has peace
[7:18] 100 people here for example or 200 400
[7:22] people have peace. So we can offer this
[7:25] energy of peace to the place where is
[7:28] there's uh war, violence, sadness,
[7:32] suffering. So what we are doing here is
[7:36] we are doing something to help already.
[7:40] We don't need to um do big things. We
[7:44] can do small thing with big love. So
[7:48] what we do has to come from compassion,
[7:52] from love, from understanding and also
[7:55] we can meditate. We can look deeply why
[7:59] uh why people fight each other, why
[8:02] there's um there's laamin, uh hunger,
[8:07] there's not enough food, why so we we
[8:10] can see the root of the suffering
[8:13] because there's a lot of fear in people.
[8:16] So there's fighting uh before the other
[8:19] people kill us, we kill other people
[8:21] first. So this come from our fear. So we
[8:25] can meditate, look deeply and we can um
[8:30] come back to ourself and look deeply
[8:33] into ourself in order to help others.
[8:37] Yeah,
[8:38] we have to cultivate our non fear first
[8:42] in order to help others who have fear.
[8:46] Yeah.
[8:48] So what we can do? We can smile uh know
[8:52] how to generate joy and happiness in our
[8:55] daily life with very simple things. For
[8:58] example, you can see the flowers, the
[9:00] nature. you we nourish ourself with
[9:04] refreshing elements with uh when we eat
[9:07] we enjoy our food and we can send our
[9:11] love compassion to those who don't have
[9:14] food to eat and if possible we can offer
[9:19] uh you know there are many children uh
[9:24] they save money to send to Vietnam they
[9:28] give to sister Chong Kong you know
[9:30] Sister Chong Kong is uh one of the
[9:33] founder of Plum Village with Thai and
[9:35] she used to help u many ch hungry
[9:38] children in Vietnam. Every year she
[9:40] helps 14,000 children even though she's
[9:44] here in France but her her love her
[9:49] compassion is so big so she can help
[9:52] other places. So we can do that with uh
[9:56] little things we can contribute like a
[9:59] drop of water but if in the ocean is
[10:03] missing this drop of water the the ocean
[10:07] is missing something. So we can do
[10:09] something to help you can contribute to
[10:12] to help u by little things in your daily
[10:16] life. If you have money, you can offer
[10:20] this to the hungry children around the
[10:23] world too.
[10:25] By doing small thing like this, you
[10:28] create a habit, a very wholesome habits,
[10:32] energy. And when you grow up, you can do
[10:35] big things. But we start with small
[10:38] things like mindful breathing, mindful
[10:41] walking. Um you can cultivate
[10:45] joy in your daily life and also you can
[10:49] um help and all the children here you
[10:52] can also do. Uh I remember one year
[10:56] there were one child she came to us and
[11:00] she said to sister Chong this is my
[11:03] saving money and I want to offer to the
[11:06] hungry children in Vietnam. And I saw
[11:08] all the money is not something big but
[11:11] it comes from her heart is very
[11:13] touching. So we open the pocket we saw
[11:16] €7. Uh so it's very beautiful that you
[11:20] can do the small thing like this to
[11:22] help. Um
[11:25] there are many things we can do. Yeah.
[11:28] But uh we do with love with compassion
[11:31] with understand with peace.
[11:35] not with despair or anger or sadness.
[11:38] Uh because imagine you are like a
[11:41] doctor. You go to see the doctor and you
[11:44] say I'm I have pain here. I have
[11:47] headache. I have a uh pain there. And
[11:50] then if the doctor is not healthy
[11:52] enough, the doctor cannot help. And so
[11:56] you are like a doctor. You have to take
[11:58] care of your health first. You have to
[12:01] have good health in order to help your
[12:03] patients.
[12:08] Okay.
[12:10] Um I I don't know if my brothers have
[12:13] something more to add
[12:16] you wish to add.
[12:25] Thank you for your question. just can
[12:27] add a little bit to already quite many
[12:30] rich experiences the sisters here had in
[12:34] my experience um when I heard the news
[12:36] of the war
[12:38] or the cl the the the
[12:42] destruction caused by climate change
[12:45] sometimes I feel like paralyzed I cannot
[12:48] do anything
[12:50] some if we are not careful we can fall
[12:53] into state of hopelessness has no joy.
[12:59] Um I remember when I first heard one the
[13:03] news of the war
[13:05] uh it was during the lazy days and I
[13:07] practice noble silence for a week
[13:14] and after I heard the news the silence
[13:16] really helped to digest
[13:19] to give me space to listen. Without the
[13:23] silence
[13:25] would be more difficult for me to to
[13:28] digest the news because it triggered all
[13:31] of the things in me.
[13:34] The silence can be very powerful. We
[13:38] call it thundering silence. We need this
[13:41] silence from time to time to be able to
[13:43] listen to the news to listen to
[13:45] ourselves.
[13:47] Every time we hear the news, we can
[13:49] listen to ourselves. What kind of seeds
[13:51] are water to me? The seeds of fear, the
[13:54] seeds of rage,
[13:57] despair.
[14:00] And just by allowing myself to
[14:03] to absorb all of this and to embrace
[14:06] them.
[14:12] And living in a community, we can feel
[14:14] the joy of other people around us. It
[14:17] helps me to rekindle my joy, my hope.
[14:22] Just practicing on my own might be more
[14:25] difficult to rekindle my joy and my
[14:28] hope.
[14:30] That's why I live in this community
[14:32] because it really helps me to
[14:35] remember. Oh, there are still joy around
[14:37] me. Hope around me.
[14:41] Do you feel the joy this week? Do you
[14:43] feel hope this week?
[14:49] this what I can add for now. Thank you.
[15:01] Thank you sisters and brother. Thank you
[15:05] John. You may like to return to your
[15:07] seat. Beautiful.
[15:11] It's okay. It's okay. You can return to
[15:14] your seat.
[15:18] You have a question over here.
[15:22] Yes, please come up.
[15:35] Enjoy our breathing with the sound of
[15:37] the bell.
[15:41] Yeah. Okay.
[16:23] Um
[16:25] the
[16:36] [Music]
[16:47] What's the purpose of uh the al sound of
[16:51] the bell before inviting the the bell?
[16:57] >> What is the purpose of waking up the
[17:00] bell? the house sound before inviting
[17:03] the bell.
[17:06] This is very easy question I guess much
[17:10] easier
[17:12] maybe for me.
[17:14] No, no, no.
[17:17] Please go ahead.
[17:31] Dear friend, thank you for your
[17:32] question.
[17:34] Um, a bell is like a bodhic satwa, a
[17:37] great being also a spiritual friend. So
[17:41] when we want to invite this friend
[17:44] to to sound, we need to wake up. So then
[17:48] we don't
[17:50] surprise this friend too. If we are if
[17:52] we are just inviting the bell without
[17:55] waking up, this friend may be startled.
[17:58] They may be surprised. Oh, suddenly this
[18:00] friend has to sound all of a sudden.
[18:04] So that's why we invite house sound to
[18:08] for the bell to be ready to be invited
[18:10] but also for those around us to to know
[18:14] there is a sound of the bell going to be
[18:17] invited so we can prepare ourselves to
[18:20] really welcome this friend.
[18:24] We know this friend is very helpful.
[18:27] They remind us to come back to our
[18:29] breath, come back to our joy, our
[18:34] cells.
[18:36] So, we don't want to
[18:38] to do it too quickly. So, then yeah, it
[18:43] it it doesn't surprise the bell and also
[18:47] the people around us.
[18:57] Good enough.
[18:59] Yeah. Okay. Let's see
[19:02] another question. You may to return to
[19:05] your seat
[19:08] over here. Yeah.
[19:14] Italia. No. Then we need the brother
[19:18] names. Oh, okay. Come, come and line up
[19:22] here. Sit here.
[19:28] And brother Nimsa, please come and help.
[19:32] Freri,
[19:33] wait. Okay. Listen to the sound of the
[19:36] bell first. Yeah.
[19:49] [Music]
[20:34] Why the monastics are shaving their
[20:37] head?
[20:59] Dear respected Tai, dear dear friend,
[21:02] dear Sana, thank you for your question.
[21:07] In fact, we remember that uh this
[21:11] question was asked of Tai in the past
[21:17] and I will give a simple answer maybe
[21:20] two parts.
[21:22] One is a little bit of a
[21:26] a joke
[21:28] and that is in the summer it's very hot
[21:31] and when we shave our heads it's cooler.
[21:35] But that's not the original reason.
[21:38] Okay.
[21:39] Uh during the time of the Buddha,
[21:44] uh the Buddha
[21:46] left home.
[21:48] He was a prince, the son of a king.
[21:52] And he wanted to lead a spiritual life
[21:57] and discover the causes of suffering.
[22:01] In order to end the causes of suffering
[22:06] and to show his determination,
[22:10] he he cut off his hair
[22:14] to show his father that he was so
[22:17] determined
[22:18] to follow the path of awakening and
[22:22] creating love and understanding.
[22:25] So originally it was for that reason
[22:30] and for more than 2,600
[22:33] years
[22:35] those of us who wish to follow uh the
[22:39] Buddha's example as his disciples
[22:43] we continue to do that
[22:47] and I think that's a short answer I like
[22:52] to give short answers so my brothers and
[22:54] sister can add more
[22:57] but I I hope that is a good beginning
[23:01] for you to understand.
[23:14] Thank you.
[23:16] Would you like to shave your hair also?
[23:21] No.
[23:23] Please return to your seat before your
[23:26] hair will be saved.
[23:48] >> We listen to the sound of the bell
[23:50] first. It's okay. Take your time.
[24:31] Thank you.
[24:40] Um, the question is, why do you wear a
[24:43] brown robe?
[25:06] Thank you uh for your question. What's
[25:08] your name?
[25:10] >> Gabrielle.
[25:10] >> Gabrielle. Thank you, Gabrielle, for the
[25:13] question. Uh so you see the the rope is
[25:18] very beautiful and the color uh brown uh
[25:22] you see is like the earth uh the same
[25:25] color with the earth. It means the the
[25:30] simplicity
[25:32] um and humility.
[25:34] So when we are monks and nuns, we make
[25:39] the vow to live a simple life. Uh and we
[25:44] also cultivate our humility. Um this is
[25:48] the quality of a monastic. So when we
[25:52] are monastic, we um make three vows. The
[25:56] first is chastity. It means we don't
[26:00] have uh family, children. uh we are
[26:03] celebrate and the second vow we would
[26:06] like to live a simple life
[26:10] and the third vow is uh obedience. So
[26:13] when my brother ask me to answer the
[26:16] question, I will say yes. Uh brother, I
[26:20] will do. But sometimes I don't practice
[26:22] well, I say no. It's so difficult for
[26:24] me. And my brother is very
[26:26] compassionate. He can understand me. Uh
[26:30] so this morning, I hope he also take the
[26:34] difficult question uh for us.
[26:37] um because we are still very young in
[26:40] the practice and uh he's very
[26:43] compassionate. He will answer the
[26:45] difficult questions for us. This is our
[26:48] hope.
[26:52] So brown robe uh is the humility and
[26:56] simplicity.
[26:58] The color represent those quality of a
[27:01] monastic. That's why Thai has chosen
[27:04] this color for our community. Um, and
[27:08] the robe helps us to remind us we are a
[27:12] monastic. So when we go out, we will
[27:16] behave as a monastic
[27:19] when we go out of monastery. So it's
[27:22] very helpful.
[27:25] I hope it's clear.
[27:28] Thank you.
[27:30] >> Thank you. One more last question. Who
[27:34] or who?
[27:37] Wow, you are quick.
[27:42] English. So, okay, let's enjoy one sound
[27:45] of the bell.
[27:58] [Music]
[28:23] Why do people do such horrible things to
[28:26] Mother Earth.
[29:04] Dear friends, thank you for your
[29:05] question.
[29:07] Um, what comes to my mind?
[29:10] Why people do horrible things to the
[29:12] earth? I think because they don't really
[29:14] know how to love the earth. That's why
[29:19] they do horrible things to themselves,
[29:21] not just to the earth.
[29:24] They do the horrible things to
[29:26] themselves, to the family, people around
[29:29] them.
[29:31] Sometimes we don't really know how to
[29:33] love each other.
[29:36] As a as a kid, when I was a kid, I
[29:39] didn't really know how to love my
[29:40] parents. Even though I always say I love
[29:42] my parents, but I didn't quite know how
[29:45] to love my parents, there was no way to
[29:49] practice deep listening. I didn't know
[29:51] the practice of deep listening. So then
[29:53] I couldn't understand my parents. Even
[29:56] though I love them deeply, but sometimes
[29:58] there are tensions, conflicts, and
[30:01] without the practice of deep listening,
[30:03] we don't really know how to listen to
[30:05] each other.
[30:07] And this tensions accumulated in the
[30:10] family can build up to big conflict and
[30:15] tension in the family.
[30:18] We can sometimes do terrible things to
[30:20] each other.
[30:24] So in my experience the practice of deep
[30:26] listening loving speech are very helpful
[30:28] to restore communication
[30:31] first with myself deep listening to
[30:33] myself and when I'm able to practice
[30:35] deep listening I can
[30:37] continue to listen to my to my parents
[30:41] and to my sibling in my family and we
[30:44] stop doing horrible things to each other
[30:47] and when we can stop doing horrible
[30:50] things to each other then we and
[30:53] start to love mother earth and to stop
[30:56] doing terrible things to mother earth
[30:59] because mother earth is us. We are
[31:02] mother earth. If we are if we cannot
[31:05] stop doing horrible things to ourselves,
[31:08] to our family, our beloved ones, how can
[31:11] we stop doing mother terrible things
[31:14] mother earth?
[31:16] Mother earth is very connected to us.
[31:20] It is it is us.
[31:23] So when we see this interbeing nature
[31:25] between us and mother earth and people
[31:28] around us, we will stop doing awful
[31:32] things and we can start to love each
[31:35] other first. Loving ourselves, loving
[31:38] our parents, loving beloved ones, and
[31:40] loving mother earth.
[31:45] I don't know if my siblings would like
[31:47] to something.
[31:58] >> Thank you, brother Di. I would like to
[32:00] add that um
[32:03] why do people do horrible things to the
[32:07] mother earth?
[32:10] Um
[32:13] I see that uh people don't feel mother
[32:18] earth is a living being.
[32:22] people
[32:25] or some people see that mother earth is
[32:29] just
[32:34] uh a thing a thing. Mother Earth doesn't
[32:38] feel. Mother Earth doesn't breathe like
[32:42] us.
[32:44] Mother Earth is just there for us
[32:49] for us to we can explore.
[32:55] But in fact to my experience
[33:00] mother earth is breathing with us.
[33:04] Our breath and our mother earth breath
[33:08] are one.
[33:10] So when we
[33:12] touch that reality we are one then we
[33:17] love mother earth as we love love us.
[33:23] So how to awaken that awareness
[33:27] that mother earth and us we are one
[33:32] then naturally we love mother earth
[33:35] because we don't want to harm us right
[33:39] we don't want to harm the trees because
[33:41] the tree are us we don't want to um
[33:47] pollute the air the cloud the water
[33:53] and as brother Di said everyone of us
[33:58] are also mother earth so taking care for
[34:03] each other is also taking care for
[34:05] mother earth
[34:07] would you like to help mother earth a
[34:09] hand yeah great go for it thank you
[34:15] yeah you may like to rent
[34:20] so thank you dear Hey children,
[34:22] wonderful. You may like have many
[34:24] question you can ask your staff members.
[34:27] Yeah. When we hear one sound of the
[34:29] bell, we stand up,
[34:32] put our headphone down. Yeah. Everyone
[34:37] put our headphone down
[34:41] and
[34:43] standing up with the sound of the small
[34:45] bell.
[34:49] Yeah. Thank you.
[34:51] >> Thank you. We feel more happiness now.
[34:56] >> Thank you, Sister Tim. It was my fault
[35:00] starting so low, so sleepy.
[35:07] [Laughter]
[35:10] Thank you.
[35:12] Uh we have a written question here. So
[35:15] if we would like to ask question in a
[35:19] written form that is also possible but
[35:22] we can also come up here directly and
[35:26] start to line up then we make use of the
[35:29] time and uh question can be uh
[35:35] very deep very wholehearted and
[35:39] relating to our life
[35:42] and uh we try to avoid ask question
[35:45] asking question about the philosoph
[35:49] philosophys philo
[35:54] yeah thank you
[35:57] I'm a little bit lazy
[36:02] uh
[36:04] because uh all about is the practice so
[36:08] we can make you and apply for our
[36:11] benefit and everyone's p uh benefits
[36:15] And a good question can be in profit for
[36:20] everyone.
[36:22] And it doesn't have to be too long as
[36:24] well. Yeah. And
[36:28] one person,
[36:31] one question, not two, not three.
[36:36] So please uh start to line up. to uh
[36:40] please uh bring your cushion to sit here
[36:43] as well. No, no. I mean for the one who
[36:46] line up, you can start sitting here. For
[36:49] the one who are waiting for the
[36:51] question, bring your cushion and sit
[36:53] here and we make use of the time. And
[36:57] I'm aware that is now uh 10:20 already.
[37:02] Thank you for our love, compassion, and
[37:05] patience for our children. Uh yeah,
[37:08] thank you so much. So make use of your
[37:12] time. Bring your cushion, sit here and
[37:15] uh we may ask the organizing team to be
[37:19] flexible with the walking meditation
[37:22] time as well. It's a home hamlet day.
[37:26] Nowhere to go, nothing to do except our
[37:30] two new hamlet sisters. You need to go
[37:33] back and Yeah. But uh I think it's okay
[37:38] for you.
[37:47] No, I make a joke, but you didn't
[37:52] you didn't understand.
[37:57] [Laughter]
[37:59] I said, "Nowhere to go, nothing to do
[38:02] home hamlet except two of our sisters."
[38:06] Now you got it. Okay.
[38:10] Okay.
[38:11] Let's uh start our question and answer
[38:14] by listening to the sound of the
[39:01] So dear Tai, dear SA,
[39:04] I hope my question is not too
[39:06] philosophical,
[39:07] but I have the question,
[39:10] how can I love somebody without being
[39:13] attached to that person?
[39:26] So our friend's question is how can I
[39:30] love somebody without being attached to
[39:33] that person?
[40:05] He's
[40:25] a man. So the brother should answer.
[40:42] Thank you for your question. Um
[40:49] I think in my experience remembering the
[40:52] four elements of true love can be
[40:53] helpful to remind myself when my love
[40:57] um maybe there is a little bit of
[40:59] attachment
[41:00] and the fourth element is inclusiveness
[41:03] or non-discrimination.
[41:06] Sometimes we start loving
[41:10] uh maybe with one person and then we can
[41:12] grow our loves. So it's not just one
[41:15] person. And as a monastic I have this
[41:19] kind of privilege. I don't have to love
[41:20] just one person.
[41:22] I can grow my love to many people around
[41:26] me, my community and everyone in the
[41:28] world. And sometimes attachment happens.
[41:32] It's natural. We are human beings
[41:36] and what I find um very helpful in our
[41:40] tradition is that we don't see
[41:43] attachment as a culprit.
[41:46] Sometimes we see we don't want to have
[41:48] any attachment when we are in a personal
[41:50] relationship or even in the community
[41:53] setting
[41:56] and we see attachment as a very natural.
[42:02] Um I think Tai our teacher also show us
[42:06] it's okay to have attachment sometimes
[42:09] and I don't see them as really as an
[42:11] enemy. I don't I want to get rid of
[42:13] attachment ever if I want to succeed if
[42:15] I practice
[42:17] sometimes they say it's attachment 80%
[42:20] is okay
[42:23] but if you know that is already exist
[42:25] 80% it might be under danger
[42:31] but if it's still less than 80%
[42:34] it's okay we are human beings we learn
[42:36] how to love each other we learn we learn
[42:39] how to love our brothers and sisters
[42:42] And as human beings we are growing our
[42:44] love day by day. And sometimes accident
[42:48] can happen, attachment can happen.
[42:51] But I remind myself I have to grow my
[42:53] love not just to one person, not just to
[42:56] two friends but to grow my love day by
[43:00] day
[43:02] to love all my sisters and brothers and
[43:04] everyone in the world.
[43:08] Maybe that's what I can start off. I
[43:10] believe many siblings have different
[43:12] experiences to share
[43:25] dear sa dear what's your name
[43:31] >> um thank you for your question
[43:34] so my brother already answered one part
[43:38] of the question um I would like to ask
[43:41] um when we love someone uh we need to
[43:45] give this person space.
[43:48] Uh freedom is the foundation of love. Uh
[43:54] we don't want always to possess her or
[43:57] always ask her to be with us all the
[43:59] time. uh to spend all her time with us
[44:03] uh or else she will feel that she don't
[44:07] h she doesn't have space and and time
[44:10] for her joy for her own h happiness. We
[44:14] need to respect her dream, her
[44:18] aspiration, her joy. We need to
[44:20] understand what makes can make her happy
[44:24] uh can make her joyful and also we need
[44:28] to know what are her dreams and we
[44:31] support that person um to realize uh his
[44:36] or her dream. Uh so we also that uh
[44:40] space and time for her to grow uh and
[44:43] not depending on us to be happy and also
[44:48] for ourself. If we love someone we also
[44:51] need to be um to respect our dream, our
[44:55] joy and our time. Uh we can be happy. Uh
[45:00] we don't depend on the other person to
[45:03] be happy. We should know how to create
[45:06] joy and happiness for ourself also. Uh
[45:09] of course when we are together we are
[45:11] happy but we need to cultivate joy uh
[45:15] and have time for ourself for our dream.
[45:18] U so we respect each other's space and
[45:22] freedom. Uh in that way you are not
[45:25] attached to each other all the time. If
[45:28] one day that person is not there
[45:30] anymore, we are not really drowned in
[45:33] the suffering. Uh so because we know how
[45:37] to stand on our feets to be happy and
[45:40] when you are happy, you have joy, you
[45:42] can offer this joy and happiness to your
[45:45] loved one. Uh but you need to cultivate
[45:48] that in yourself. Um so freedom uh space
[45:53] are very essential in
[45:56] love. um real love and also the four
[46:01] elements. Uh so we we are we love one
[46:05] person but we also know how to love not
[46:09] only that person but her family. We love
[46:13] her mother, her father, her um
[46:18] brothers, sisters. So you love her whole
[46:21] family not only her. So your love is
[46:24] bigger uh than that. Yeah. You can see
[46:28] it's not only one. Yeah. And when you
[46:31] can love her family, you you are also
[46:34] free and her family can feel you not
[46:38] only attached or caught in one person.
[46:42] You they they feel love more love for
[46:44] you when you know how to love her family
[46:47] too because she's not uh uh self uh
[46:51] identity but she's also her family.
[46:54] Yeah. She loves you love her friends,
[46:57] her people around her. Yeah. And you can
[47:01] also spend your time with your friends
[47:03] not only all the time with one person.
[47:06] Uh so you are not really attached um to
[47:10] one person only when you can um have
[47:14] fun, have joy with many people, you will
[47:18] not attached to someone because you know
[47:20] that your happiness doesn't depend on
[47:23] one person. Um
[47:26] so this is my experience um how if I
[47:29] love someone I also love people around
[47:33] me and around that person.
[47:37] >> Thank you.
[47:39] >> Thank you.
[47:42] If I just may add just a very small uh
[47:45] very small addition.
[47:47] Um that having a sa is is very very
[47:52] helpful and nourishing
[47:55] for for your life uh to to support your
[47:59] capacity to love others and to have uh
[48:03] others understand and love you.
[48:07] My experience is the nature of
[48:09] attachment is that it will change.
[48:12] Everything changes and the love will
[48:15] perhaps take other forms that have
[48:18] already been mentioned about freedom and
[48:21] space and all that. Um the question I
[48:25] was asking myself is it a mutual
[48:28] attachment or you're attached. So this
[48:32] is something to reflect on. mutual
[48:34] attachments
[48:37] take longer
[48:40] to evolve into something uh like a deep
[48:44] friendship or or something. Yeah. Okay.
[48:47] Thank you.
[48:48] >> Thank you.
[49:16] Oh,
[49:43] [Music]
[49:45] to carry.
[49:55] The Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
[50:23] My question is about the situation.
[50:25] Okay. My question is about this the
[50:27] current situation in Palestine.
[50:42] about what is currently happening in
[50:44] Palestine. In the past year and a half,
[50:46] we've been doing a lot of demonstrations
[50:50] to um sensitize people.
[50:59] So I'm often confronted to people, well
[51:02] at least often enough that it um
[51:04] disturbs me
[51:10] >> that tell us that um they're aware of
[51:12] what is happening over there,
[51:17] >> but they're for peace. So they don't
[51:19] want to intervene.
[51:25] So my question is to be for peace. What
[51:29] does that mean?
[51:32] >> That's
[51:37] are we supposed to act or should we wait
[51:40] for things to um get better by
[51:44] themselves?
[51:47] >> Thank you.
[52:09] I think the question is clear. Uh what
[52:12] does peace means uh in uh
[52:18] in relation to the situation in
[52:20] Palestine?
[52:22] Yeah.
[52:24] Should we
[52:26] act or should we wait until things
[52:30] change
[52:32] and we see you see that uh some people
[52:36] don't act for the sake of peace.
[52:39] Yeah. Is that your question?
[52:44] No. No, that is your not your question.
[52:48] Good to double check.
[53:05] So yes, when I exchange with people,
[53:07] they they often say, "Oh, we are for
[53:09] peace, so we don't want to intervene. Uh
[53:13] it's none of our business.
[53:17] We are for both sides. So we're waiting
[53:20] for peace."
[53:28] My question is what is peace? When we
[53:32] are for peace, what does that mean?
[53:41] >> When we when we want peace for ourselves
[53:44] and for others, what does that mean? Are
[53:46] we supposed to act?
[53:49] [Music]
[54:01] So are we supposed to be militants and
[54:04] act or are we supposed to just wait?
[54:19] So the question you actually got it
[54:21] right the first time
[54:25] she she thought you wanted more info
[54:27] about her question.
[54:56] Yes. What is peace?
[55:07] And what is war? What is armed conflict?
[55:13] Um
[55:15] to me um I see the
[55:20] war,
[55:21] the conflicts in Gaza, in Israel, in
[55:26] Middle East
[55:29] is a continuation
[55:31] of wounds, traumas
[55:36] of many generations
[55:39] transmitted
[55:46] Looking back at the history of the his
[55:49] Israelis,
[55:51] we can see it.
[55:56] And
[55:58] looking at the Middle East history, we
[56:01] can see it
[56:04] is a unresolved
[56:08] conflicts.
[56:10] unresolved
[56:15] wounds, traumas
[56:21] of humans
[56:26] and I don't see
[56:29] the wars in Middle East is only limited
[56:36] to the m middle east is relating to
[56:41] Europe
[56:42] to America
[56:46] as well to all of us.
[56:50] I hope you agree that you feel it.
[56:56] So since the roots of the wars is
[57:03] and the
[57:08] unability to take care for the
[57:11] collective wounds of humans within.
[57:18] Then one of the solution is to return to
[57:23] each of us oneself and take care for the
[57:27] wounds within us.
[57:30] Do you have wounds?
[57:35] Yeah.
[57:37] Yes. Yeah. Everyone I think little
[57:40] wound, big wounds, ancestral wounds.
[57:45] So taking care of our own wounds
[57:50] relating to
[57:53] our ancestors, relating to human family.
[57:57] That is one of the effective way to heal
[58:04] the wars
[58:06] drag on many generation.
[58:14] So we can be a peaceful warriors.
[58:19] Yeah.
[58:21] Equipped with understanding, love,
[58:26] compassion
[58:27] and the capacity of embracing
[58:32] the collective wounds and not taking
[58:34] side
[58:38] equinimity.
[58:41] And together we can do it.
[58:44] together we support each other.
[58:50] Another aspect of taking care for the
[58:53] war.
[58:55] I remember one time I told a story of a
[58:59] general
[59:02] being sent to Africa
[59:05] to take care for the
[59:09] so-cal local war conflict in Africa
[59:13] between the nations
[59:16] and at one point he felt like a dilemma.
[59:22] Should I intervene
[59:26] or should I just
[59:30] kept myself from distance?
[59:34] and he decided
[59:36] not to intervene for some reasons
[59:43] from his perspective but from the
[59:45] perspective of
[59:48] the international
[59:52] or his own national interests.
[59:57] You know being a general you are also
[1:00:02] directed you are also
[1:00:04] told by the politics
[1:00:08] you don't have the real freedom.
[1:00:13] So for some reasons his personal reason
[1:00:18] the collective political reason he
[1:00:21] didn't intervene
[1:00:24] in order to make the war the conflicts
[1:00:30] going down
[1:00:32] and he regretted
[1:00:35] killing
[1:00:37] happening
[1:00:39] because he didn't intervene.
[1:00:43] The amount of victims of the conflicts
[1:00:47] that conflict wow it was huge.
[1:00:51] So he regretted it.
[1:00:55] So some
[1:00:58] somehow we need to act
[1:01:03] with courage.
[1:01:07] Though we may get hurt and killed
[1:01:10] involved in the conflict,
[1:01:14] but this but that is also
[1:01:18] out of compassion.
[1:01:27] And who are the other people? They are
[1:01:31] us as well. We belong to the same human
[1:01:35] family.
[1:01:40] back to the situation in Gaza, in Middle
[1:01:43] East, in our world.
[1:01:46] Very unfortunately,
[1:01:49] very unfortunately,
[1:01:57] the world, the world order
[1:02:01] are ruled
[1:02:04] by nations
[1:02:07] who have their own interests.
[1:02:14] Like the little boy
[1:02:17] uh who asked the first question,
[1:02:20] he mentioned that.
[1:02:23] He mentioned that.
[1:02:27] You remember
[1:02:29] our governments are rules by
[1:02:35] Yeah. Unfortunately
[1:02:37] leaders who don't have that
[1:02:41] compassionate
[1:02:45] um
[1:02:48] nondiscriminative way of thinking. Yes,
[1:02:52] only me.
[1:02:54] You
[1:02:56] no.
[1:02:59] And why is that situation now like this?
[1:03:05] It's not because of those world leaders.
[1:03:10] is because the collective consciousness
[1:03:14] of our human beings
[1:03:18] to my feeling is producing
[1:03:22] those low world leaders.
[1:03:25] And what is the collective consciousness
[1:03:29] again? That is the
[1:03:33] way of our living.
[1:03:40] looking for military power.
[1:03:44] I am number one
[1:03:50] for my power or for my nation's power
[1:03:55] or economic power only for my nation
[1:04:03] and so on. So is also that tendency of
[1:04:08] living that way of living is also a
[1:04:12] continuation of
[1:04:14] our human way of living.
[1:04:18] But the good news is there is a way out
[1:04:23] and that way out could be
[1:04:27] peace.
[1:04:29] Happiness is possible.
[1:04:33] Togetherness
[1:04:36] being intervene is also possible.
[1:04:41] Well-being is not a individual matter.
[1:04:46] Safety is not a individual matter. That
[1:04:50] insight
[1:04:51] can make a breakthrough
[1:04:54] can be a survival
[1:05:00] door for us.
[1:05:02] We make use and we are sitting here. We
[1:05:06] are contributing to that way out.
[1:05:18] I think it's too long now.
[1:05:21] Sorry, it's a difficult question.
[1:05:25] Thank you for your I don't know if our
[1:05:29] sister would like to add. Yeah.
[1:05:36] So um dear friend, thank you very much
[1:05:39] for your question. Thank you very much
[1:05:42] brother Fapun for your deep
[1:05:44] understanding and sharing that that
[1:05:47] happiness is possible.
[1:05:50] Um
[1:05:52] about two days ago I read that uh
[1:05:55] President Mcron the president of France
[1:05:58] has stated France will recognize
[1:06:02] Palestine as an independent state and
[1:06:05] perhaps other countries maybe Great
[1:06:07] Britain uh UK and others in the European
[1:06:11] community will follow. I don't know any
[1:06:15] more than that. to me that represented a
[1:06:19] movement.
[1:06:20] Um, but there are two sides. Okay. So
[1:06:24] that's just a statement and I recognize
[1:06:28] in daily life I don't I can't influence
[1:06:33] the political leaders however the
[1:06:35] collective consciousness can.
[1:06:38] What I want to say is in my daily
[1:06:41] practice that's that's all I have but
[1:06:44] it's a lot. When I learn of when I hear
[1:06:49] conversations and I learn of the wars
[1:06:52] and suffering I recognize that I'm
[1:06:55] feeling very sad, okay, and helpless and
[1:06:59] all of that. So that's a feeling and I
[1:07:04] know it's so important to keep the seeds
[1:07:07] of happiness well watered for me to
[1:07:11] continue. Yeah. So this this is my
[1:07:14] practice now that recognizing what
[1:07:17] feelings are there by whatever is
[1:07:20] watering triggering and to immediately
[1:07:24] take refuge in the practice
[1:07:27] to strengthen the seeds of happiness and
[1:07:31] well-being that are there. If I don't do
[1:07:34] this then I I I feel very uh
[1:07:40] discouraged.
[1:07:41] So I think Tai has really practiced this
[1:07:45] himself
[1:07:47] what's available the beauty of nature
[1:07:51] creating peace in myself. Yeah with
[1:07:54] mindful breathing I have my my my body
[1:07:58] and mind I can create peace let go of
[1:08:01] the thinking I can do walking
[1:08:03] meditation.
[1:08:04] So this is my daily practice faced with
[1:08:07] what's happening. Thank you.
[1:08:42] [Music]
[1:09:00] Could
[1:09:08] you put
[1:09:27] [Music]
[1:09:40] I understand the sentence, no mud, no
[1:09:42] lotus.
[1:09:45] [Music]
[1:09:49] Particularly when we contemplate on the
[1:09:51] lotus pawns here.
[1:10:01] So if I understand this well, it's about
[1:10:03] the transmutation of the suffering into
[1:10:05] happiness.
[1:10:08] [Music]
[1:10:18] Acceptable. So the parallel in life can
[1:10:21] be done easily when um it's about the u
[1:10:26] light suffering in life.
[1:10:35] But when uh we're talking about deeper,
[1:10:38] stronger suffering, it's really hard for
[1:10:41] me to do the connection.
[1:10:54] So for for instance, it's really hard
[1:10:56] for me to um cons console
[1:11:01] um my friend who lost her son who left
[1:11:04] us way too early.
[1:11:11] And so my son who lost his friend from
[1:11:15] um kindergarten.
[1:11:18] [Music]
[1:11:27] >> So in those instances when I think about
[1:11:29] my friend who lost her son, I cannot
[1:11:32] tell her no mud, no lotus.
[1:11:37] [Music]
[1:11:42] So my question is when it's that deep
[1:11:45] why do we have to suffer that much
[1:12:23] Dear friends, thank you for your
[1:12:24] question. I can say from my experience.
[1:12:28] Um,
[1:12:31] my father died 11 years ago and I had
[1:12:34] been exposed to the practice. I was
[1:12:35] practicing in a local sa
[1:12:38] um
[1:12:40] for quite some years for five years.
[1:12:44] So as I have one brother who was very
[1:12:49] was very hard for him to accept this
[1:12:51] unexpected death of my father
[1:12:55] but at the time I couldn't use what I
[1:12:58] know about about plant village teachings
[1:13:01] to expose to him I cannot say no
[1:13:06] that is like a suffering
[1:13:10] we face in life we need to know how to
[1:13:14] how to grief.
[1:13:17] Grief is natural as human beings. We
[1:13:21] have grief from time to time, especially
[1:13:23] when our beloved ones pass.
[1:13:28] But if we know how to grieve, we will
[1:13:30] grief less. It's like suffering. If we
[1:13:33] know how to suffer, we will suffer less.
[1:13:36] But we cannot use the language we know
[1:13:39] here in terms of the ultimate dimension
[1:13:44] like nomad no lotus or no birth no dad.
[1:13:49] We cannot say that to the person who is
[1:13:51] grieving.
[1:13:53] It may not help at all.
[1:13:58] What we can do is just to be there for
[1:14:01] them.
[1:14:02] Offer our true presence.
[1:14:05] This is what I did to my brother.
[1:14:09] Just embrace him as well as my mom who
[1:14:14] you had to go through this grief as a
[1:14:17] family.
[1:14:24] Just by offering our presence, we are
[1:14:26] already embracing our grief
[1:14:29] together.
[1:14:34] What I What we did as a family, we
[1:14:36] really embraced each other. We did
[1:14:37] chanting together.
[1:14:39] The moment my father passed away, we all
[1:14:41] kneel down and
[1:14:44] offer the chanting, send the energy to
[1:14:47] him.
[1:14:55] So grief is very natural. We don't see
[1:14:59] it as something we want to get rid of.
[1:15:03] is very essential part of life. We
[1:15:05] cannot deny that will happen to our
[1:15:09] beloved ones and even to ourselves.
[1:15:16] But with this grief, this with this m of
[1:15:19] grief, we can grow lotus flower.
[1:15:22] We can build our resilience.
[1:15:29] Without this grief, we may not be able
[1:15:31] to grow lotus flower.
[1:15:35] But this may be difficult to accept the
[1:15:37] mud as it is, the grief as it is such
[1:15:40] even when we are practicing very
[1:15:43] very diligently.
[1:15:46] But it's okay. We can say to ourselves
[1:15:48] it's okay to have grief. It's okay to
[1:15:50] suffer.
[1:16:00] And we want to console our friend. We
[1:16:02] can just be there for them.
[1:16:07] We really offer our presence, our joy,
[1:16:10] our freshness without imposing anything
[1:16:14] on them. That may not help. But we know
[1:16:18] just offering our presence.
[1:16:21] they know they have friend
[1:16:24] alongside of them. It can be already
[1:16:26] very helpful.
[1:16:30] That's what I can say from my
[1:16:32] experience. Thank you for listening.
[1:16:57] respected the community.
[1:17:00] Um, what is your friend and your name?
[1:17:08] >> Benjamin Benjam.
[1:17:14] Thank you for your
[1:17:16] question from your heart. It's also
[1:17:19] relating to all of us as humans and also
[1:17:24] to all beings
[1:17:28] facing death in life. And your question
[1:17:33] is why do we have to suffer so deep
[1:17:37] relating to death?
[1:17:39] I sense that is your question.
[1:17:43] And thank you D for sharing your own
[1:17:46] experience relating to your father death
[1:17:50] and being there.
[1:17:59] One of the
[1:18:02] main motivation for me to become a
[1:18:05] monastic to take up the practice is
[1:18:08] exactly that.
[1:18:10] What you are asking
[1:18:12] death is life suffering
[1:18:18] in humans
[1:18:20] and eating each other to survive.
[1:18:28] Humans need to eat all the animals to
[1:18:31] survive. All the animals need to eat
[1:18:35] each other to survive.
[1:18:38] And also animal can also eat humans for
[1:18:42] survive as well. It's really a struggle
[1:18:46] of life on earth.
[1:18:50] Yeah.
[1:18:56] And what is the way out?
[1:19:00] There is a way out of this.
[1:19:03] It doesn't mean
[1:19:07] to ignore
[1:19:09] to
[1:19:12] push away that and the suffering
[1:19:15] relating to death
[1:19:18] and
[1:19:21] ignore the need to survive to be alive.
[1:19:29] What I have learned from Tai and from
[1:19:32] the Buddha,
[1:19:34] a way out is
[1:19:39] to see what is death.
[1:19:44] What is it?
[1:19:48] We may have experience with that
[1:19:53] in our family, in our friends
[1:19:56] and maybe in ourselves as well. But what
[1:20:01] is death?
[1:20:07] That was a invitation
[1:20:10] from a Zen master
[1:20:13] to his student. His student asked his
[1:20:18] teacher, "How can I overcome I how can I
[1:20:23] overcome death?"
[1:20:28] His teacher said,
[1:20:31] "Go to death.
[1:20:36] Touch death deeply.
[1:20:40] Understand death."
[1:20:43] And that understanding
[1:20:46] of death help us to embrace death
[1:20:52] to embrace the suffering of death
[1:20:55] and even transcending death.
[1:21:00] Transcending death
[1:21:03] doesn't mean we ignore death but we even
[1:21:09] honor death
[1:21:12] deeply.
[1:21:13] as part of us.
[1:21:21] So maybe I stand up and make use of the
[1:21:24] B or the B is not here.
[1:21:28] Can we uh take the port here because it
[1:21:32] takes some understanding
[1:21:34] and it's easier with the B then you can
[1:21:37] see and then you understand
[1:21:41] and it is a really blessed gem from the
[1:21:45] Buddha the ancestor anti transmitting to
[1:21:49] us
[1:21:51] in order to embrace death and the deep
[1:21:56] deep suffering of that yeah,
[1:22:00] you may like to uh sit somewhere there
[1:22:03] in order to look at the board and let
[1:22:06] the people also see at the board.
[1:22:11] Sorry, it become a teaching
[1:22:14] but I need some uh uh some time and
[1:22:18] space to share because this question is
[1:22:21] really so touching to all of us.
[1:22:35] So I hope I will do it in 10 minutes.
[1:22:39] It's okay or less than 10 minutes. It
[1:22:43] depends on our capacity of seeing it.
[1:22:53] So here is death.
[1:23:04] And there is a deep
[1:23:10] perception
[1:23:11] that
[1:23:14] this is me.
[1:23:20] This body
[1:23:23] or this mind me
[1:23:29] and this me
[1:23:33] is going to live some time.
[1:23:44] I'm sorry.
[1:23:47] Death go together with
[1:23:51] our birth.
[1:23:56] And because we believe
[1:24:01] we start here, me
[1:24:08] and we live a time
[1:24:14] and we die.
[1:24:20] And after dying we don't know
[1:24:24] what happened or we may think I need to
[1:24:28] continue.
[1:24:31] I don't want to end.
[1:24:34] So that is a struggle here.
[1:24:50] And during our time from birth to death,
[1:24:54] struggle
[1:24:56] survival
[1:25:03] because we cling on
[1:25:07] the perception of a me a separate me.
[1:25:17] So me here separated
[1:25:21] and living on me here separated
[1:25:25] death then
[1:25:29] struggle
[1:25:35] now understanding death.
[1:25:40] What is death?
[1:25:47] Death
[1:25:49] is a natural process
[1:25:53] go together
[1:25:56] with life
[1:26:00] with birth.
[1:26:05] Imagine death is our outreath.
[1:26:13] What is happening after out out breath?
[1:26:19] Oh my goodness. Fresh air in breath.
[1:26:26] Everyone
[1:26:28] don't hold out out breath
[1:26:31] dying
[1:26:34] with in out breath.
[1:26:39] And then naturally
[1:26:44] coming alive in
[1:26:48] our inb breath, right?
[1:26:55] So in breath and out breath they are
[1:26:59] supporting each other.
[1:27:04] So natural and so necessary.
[1:27:10] But we don't see that way.
[1:27:14] We cling only on life without death.
[1:27:21] And that clinging,
[1:27:24] that perception me
[1:27:28] is
[1:27:30] the main source of suffering.
[1:27:34] Death is not the main source of
[1:27:38] suffering but our perception
[1:27:43] is the main source of suffering. The
[1:27:46] notion
[1:27:48] me
[1:27:50] is a notion
[1:27:52] from our
[1:27:58] thinking. human thinking.
[1:28:07] Do you agree?
[1:28:10] So the practice is
[1:28:14] to take care for this notion
[1:28:18] of a separate me
[1:28:24] and that is the way out.
[1:28:29] How to take care for this notion
[1:28:32] deep rooted in us
[1:28:35] with the inside of
[1:28:39] me is
[1:28:44] make of non-me
[1:28:55] is made of nonme elements.
[1:29:00] Then we are free from the notion
[1:29:03] and that's all.
[1:29:06] That's all.
[1:29:09] So simple,
[1:29:11] so complete
[1:29:13] and doable. Breathing in
[1:29:18] this me is made of oxygen,
[1:29:23] trees,
[1:29:25] ocean,
[1:29:27] life.
[1:29:30] And then this notion during that inb
[1:29:35] breath of mindfulness and concentration
[1:29:38] inside
[1:29:40] doesn't bother us.
[1:29:42] I don't need that little notion of me in
[1:29:46] order to breathe in and out.
[1:29:49] In fact, I let go of my notion as a
[1:29:52] separate self in order to be alive,
[1:29:57] to be real me.
[1:30:02] I have arrived. I'm home
[1:30:06] in the here, in the now.
[1:30:09] Yeah.
[1:30:11] Once we have that inside of inner being
[1:30:15] of me,
[1:30:20] we are peaceful, happy
[1:30:24] and at the same time compassionate
[1:30:30] for the suffering caused by this notion.
[1:30:37] We don't ignore the suffering of death.
[1:30:46] So no birth, no death is not a negation
[1:30:53] of birth and death.
[1:30:56] No birth, no death is the inside
[1:31:01] of not a separate self. In order to have
[1:31:05] real peace,
[1:31:08] happiness
[1:31:10] and compassion to embrace the deep
[1:31:15] suffering of death.
[1:31:21] Deep suffering of death happening in
[1:31:25] every moment in life.
[1:31:27] A
[1:31:29] snake eating a frog. Humans
[1:31:35] eating animals.
[1:31:43] Humans eating a salad.
[1:31:49] So we make use of the inside of interbe
[1:31:53] and no death in order to embrace birth
[1:31:57] and death.
[1:32:00] And that is the real teaching of the
[1:32:03] Buddha based on the sutra Udana.
[1:32:10] No birth, no death, no being, no nonbean
[1:32:15] is home, is a refuge for birth and
[1:32:20] death. being and non-being.
[1:32:24] It's a loving
[1:32:27] stable
[1:32:29] embrace of birth and death.
[1:32:32] And then we can heal,
[1:32:35] deep suffering of birth and death. And
[1:32:41] even transform the pain and the
[1:32:44] suffering of birth and death based on a
[1:32:47] notion of a separate self into
[1:32:54] acting of compassion
[1:32:58] of togetherness instead of separation
[1:33:03] of honoring life
[1:33:07] more reverence for life and even
[1:33:11] honoring death.
[1:33:16] Not running away from death,
[1:33:23] not fearing death, but embracing death
[1:33:28] in the peaceful,
[1:33:33] compassionate
[1:33:36] and also turning that into
[1:33:41] aliveness.
[1:33:44] That is so wonderful.
[1:33:50] No mud, no lotus like brother Di
[1:33:53] embracing death, the suffering of death
[1:33:56] and turning it into more
[1:33:59] compassion, more peace,
[1:34:02] more commitment to live this life deeply
[1:34:08] for those who are death.
[1:34:13] Because we are not separate.
[1:34:16] We live for those who have died
[1:34:22] in order to honor their life and their
[1:34:26] death.
[1:34:30] Then life is so precious and suffering
[1:34:34] is so
[1:34:43] How is it?
[1:34:50] Suffering of death is so
[1:34:53] crucial for our growth,
[1:34:58] for our awakening
[1:35:01] into the nature of no birth and no
[1:35:04] death.
[1:35:05] And it become a cycle.
[1:35:16] Birth and death holding hand each other
[1:35:20] and no birth and no death holding hands
[1:35:23] of birth and death.
[1:35:27] Lotus and mud holding hand each other.
[1:35:32] And this is based on the sutra udana
[1:35:36] offered by the Buddha.
[1:35:40] So I hope we can make use of the
[1:35:43] teaching
[1:35:45] and embrace our life deeply and for
[1:35:48] those who have died as well. Sorry for
[1:35:52] taking too long but uh this my heart. Uh
[1:35:56] thank you. Yeah.
[1:36:15] We have a written question.
[1:36:18] Maybe we can read it.
[1:36:29] The question the question is
[1:36:32] maybe one sound of the bell.
[1:37:13] Thank you. The question is sexual desire
[1:37:17] and impose
[1:37:20] impose
[1:37:21] are properly one of the strongest forces
[1:37:26] one can experience.
[1:37:30] How to transform them into something
[1:37:34] more constructive?
[1:37:37] For example, loving kindness, wisdom,
[1:37:41] etc.
[1:37:52] So how to transform sexual desire and
[1:37:57] impose
[1:37:59] very strong
[1:38:02] into more something more constructive
[1:38:06] like loving kindness, wisdom and so on.
[1:38:37] Dear Thai, dear Sanka, um thank you for
[1:38:40] the question is very concrete
[1:38:44] um and practical.
[1:38:46] So I try to be uh concrete also.
[1:38:51] So the the sexual energy is uh something
[1:38:54] very normal. Um and we are born from
[1:38:59] from that everyone we born from our
[1:39:02] parents from love. So we have this in
[1:39:06] each and every one of us. And if you
[1:39:10] feel that you have this don't be ashamed
[1:39:14] or feel something is not beautiful but
[1:39:19] you see that is something normal in we
[1:39:22] have this we all have this but uh the
[1:39:28] thing is we know how to use it and how
[1:39:31] to recognize it when is come up. uh we
[1:39:35] first of all we recognize that we have
[1:39:38] this and try not to oppress or deny it.
[1:39:44] This is the first step and second step
[1:39:47] we see oh we have a lot of energy where
[1:39:51] it comes from we should observe the way
[1:39:54] we eat. Uh we don't eat only with our
[1:39:58] mouth. We eat with our eyes, with our
[1:40:00] ears, with our senses, with our whole
[1:40:04] body. What is the food that we nourish
[1:40:07] every day? Um uh do we watch movies,
[1:40:12] films uh or images or we listen to
[1:40:16] things that water the seeds and the seed
[1:40:19] develop more? So we need to be aware of
[1:40:22] the food that we consume every day in
[1:40:26] order not to water those seed and
[1:40:32] um we also know how to direct this
[1:40:36] energy wisely, how to use it. We can do
[1:40:41] exercises when we see that we have a lot
[1:40:44] of energy. So we can do exercise or we
[1:40:46] can concentrate our energy to do
[1:40:49] something more help helpful for ourself
[1:40:52] and for others. We can do charity work.
[1:40:55] We help poor people. We help we involve
[1:40:59] in association in um group activity. So
[1:41:04] we can use this energy. Um we we
[1:41:08] transform it into our volition. Uh we
[1:41:12] call volition. It means the deep
[1:41:15] aspiration. So we concentrate our energy
[1:41:18] into that. So it we be more helpful in
[1:41:23] order to help ourself and others instead
[1:41:26] of just being carried away or just let
[1:41:28] it and we cannot uh control ourself. So
[1:41:32] there are many ways to do um so we can
[1:41:36] do exercise um physical exercise,
[1:41:39] running, do sports or
[1:41:43] So we transform this energy uh into
[1:41:48] wisdom. Uh so we can
[1:41:52] practice mindful breathing, walking to
[1:41:55] calm down uh our body and mind when we
[1:41:59] see we have uh a lot of excitement or a
[1:42:03] lot of energy in our body. So we we have
[1:42:07] the practices. First recognize it.
[1:42:11] Second step is embrace it as a friend
[1:42:16] where whenever it comes up we say hello
[1:42:18] my friend. I know you uh I will take
[1:42:22] good care of you. So we can invite this
[1:42:24] friend sit down next to us and we can
[1:42:29] talk to this friend. I know you are
[1:42:32] there and I will take good care of you.
[1:42:35] So we will not um do it violently or
[1:42:40] with uh judgment. We see it something
[1:42:43] normal. Everybody has it. Uh so there
[1:42:48] are many things that we can do.
[1:42:52] This is uh our practice.
[1:42:55] You can also uh contemplate about the
[1:42:58] food. As I said, we will not um we will
[1:43:04] protect our our eyes, our ears, not to
[1:43:08] consume, not to read or watch movies
[1:43:12] that water those seeds in us. Yeah.
[1:43:18] Uh I don't know if my brothers and
[1:43:20] sisters have
[1:43:24] something to add. Yeah. Thank you.
[1:43:47] Thank you uh dear community and thank
[1:43:50] you for our sisters and brothers in the
[1:43:54] panel and it's now 11:30 so we can
[1:43:59] conclude and end it here and thank you
[1:44:03] for brother offering your present for
[1:44:06] the bell Okay,
[1:44:08] let's uh listen to three sound of the
[1:44:11] bell and yes be with our breathing and
[1:44:15] refresh ourself letting go what we have
[1:44:18] heard
[1:44:19] and also notice what has been touching
[1:44:22] us and embrace and be there in order to
[1:44:27] uh yeah to be alive again.
