(half bell)
(bell)
Dear Thay,
It seems this week we are practicing on aspects of taking care of anger.
This is a teenager who asks:
Dear Thay, have you ever been able to calm down
and to help...a person who is completely
enraged and exploding in anger.
Thay has been able to deal
successfully with a number of people
who get angry at Thay
out of jealousy and wrong perceptions.
And sometimes it takes a lot of time
for a person to calm down and to transform.
Uh...
These people exist even in the clergy
and in...ordinary society.
And Thay's way is very simple:
Do not to respond, attack or insult.
Never reply to attack or insult,
don't even try explain.
A complete silence.
He did not try to justify himself
or do anything
because doing so may cause
the other person to get angrier and so on.
So breathe in and out and accept
and do not reply... do not react.
And then Thay can do even better
because a few days later or a few months later
he can write a love letter to him or to her.
He has done that several times.
Someone betrayed you,
has caused you to suffer a lot
and caused your community to suffer a lot.
And yet you are able to write
a nice letter to him, to her,
to help him or her to suffer less
Sometimes it takes time for
that person to suffer less and
to...stop being angry,
but it always has effect.
You know that in Vietnam we had
a very beautiful community,
a practice centre called 'Prajna'.
There were about 400 young monastics
living there and practicing.
And they generated a lot of energy
of harmony and brotherhood and...
and peace.
And so many young lay people came
and practiced with us.
It is up in the mountain area.
And yet there were times when
five thousand young people came and participated
in a retreat of 5 or 6 days
and get transformation.
It was quite a movement.
People were very enthusiastic.
But in a country like Vietnam
that does not look safe for...
those who rule the country.
They are afraid of something that is too strong.
They are afraid that they cannot control it.
So there was an attempt to dismantle
the practice centre.
And our young monks and nuns
tried to resist with compassion,
nonviolence for more than one year and a half.
And finally we could no longer resist
because they sent violent people to
our centres.
They destroy, they burn, they attack.
They cut the electricity.
They cut the water.
They shout.
They insult.
They organised hundreds of people
to come and insult us
and to break and to destroy.
And finally we had to... evacuate the place
and went to a temple
in the area to take refuge.
But they still continue to press
until we have to leave that place.
Many of these young monks and nuns
are taking refuge in Thailand,
Germany, France, America.
And we were able to identify those who...
who...
who tried to destroy the place.
Thay has sent words to them
that we don't hate them
because they...they may have been
victims of wrong perceptions
that can give rise to fear
and anger.
And...disciples of Thay in Vietnam
have sent books of Thay to them as a gift.
It is possible to respond to violence and anger with love.
And that is the way we always...follow:
to respond
using compassion
and understanding,
to respond to violence, misunderstanding and so on.
During the time Thay...
organised the School of Youth for Social Service,
we trained hundreds of young people,
dedicated young people,
monastic and lay,
to go to the countryside and organize to help victims
of the war
and poor people,
to organize in terms... of health...education...
and economic development
and to improve the quality of life
in the countryside.
And many of us were suppressed
Many of us were killed during service.
Because during the war
we did not want to join
one of the warring parties.
We wanted to accept both sides.
We wanted reconciliation and peace
rather than to continue the war.
That is why we were victims of
suppression by both sides
And we always respond with compassion.
After they have killed a number of us
we organized a funeral ceremony.
And we declared:
We do not hate those who have killed us
because we know they are victims of wrong...
perceptions that have given rise to
fear and suspicion.
And we hope that they will look and
understand us better.
Our intention is not harm them,
only to help the people in the country,
victims of war, orphans
and poor people.
And...in the beginning the suppression
the violence continues
but later on,
these actions of suppression began to decrease.
There is an effect.
And that is what we have experienced
in the decade that we practiced
and served in Vietnam.
I think the book written by Sister Chan Kong,
'Learning True Love'
told a number of stories like that.
You can read 'Learning True Love'.
And also Sister Chan Kong wrote an
an article printed in my novel, 'The Novice'.
And you can read also
the book 'the Novice'...
to know a number of things like that.
So using compassion, understanding
to meet with violence and misunderstanding
is a good practice
that...can bring result
if you are patient enough
in the practice.
And some of the people in the police
came to our retreats in Thailand and
even in Plum Village to practice.
That is a victory for both:
for us and for them.
(half bell)
(bell)
Subtitles by the Amara.org community