Transcript
[0:08] Dear respected teacher, dear respected
[0:13] elder, sisters and brothers,
[0:18] dear beloved community,
[0:22] today we um we today it's the
[0:27] 26th of October of the year 2025.
[0:33] We are at the beginning of uh our 3month
[0:37] reigns retreat.
[0:41] This retreat is a tradition that that
[0:45] has started uh since the Buddha time for
[0:48] more than 2,600
[0:51] years.
[0:54] For three months during the rain season,
[0:56] the Buddha and his uh monastic disciples
[1:00] stayed in the monasteries
[1:03] and they didn't go out of the boundaries
[1:08] at that time.
[1:10] They begged for food every day. They
[1:14] walked
[1:16] to villages to beg for food
[1:21] and to avoid stepping on insects that
[1:27] came out from the the earth. They
[1:31] stopped even the arms rounds and they
[1:34] stayed in the monastery and the lay
[1:37] people
[1:39] um supported them by bringing them food
[1:43] every day
[1:45] and um it's considered um
[1:50] the annual monastic retreat and only in
[1:54] Plum Village we open this retreat to our
[1:58] lay friends to you.
[2:02] And many of you also stayed with this
[2:05] for 3 months and
[2:09] you practice
[2:12] like us.
[2:14] You participate in all the activities
[2:17] like us like um sitting meditation,
[2:21] walking meditation, dharma sharing,
[2:25] listening to the dharma talks and even
[2:29] cooking with us. I remember this year in
[2:33] the cooking retreat. Many of our friends
[2:35] wanted to cook with the sisters in the
[2:38] kitchen
[2:40] and it was too complicated so they
[2:43] couldn't and they were sad.
[2:45] So this winter you have the chance to be
[2:50] with us in the kitchen
[2:53] and you will see all the corners.
[2:57] You will know all our secret recipes.
[3:07] And um
[3:09] and our teacher maintain has maintained
[3:13] this tradition in winter. This is the
[3:17] season when it rains the most and it's
[3:20] very cold. and whatever we did um like
[3:27] leading retreats or visiting our
[3:29] families, we all came back
[3:32] for this retreat and it's always been
[3:34] like um big family reunion and we stay
[3:39] together very cozy,
[3:43] warm in the monastery
[3:46] and it's always a very happy time,
[3:49] joyful time like Um
[3:53] in the west is like Christmas and in
[3:57] Asia is like Luna New Year.
[4:00] And before we start the retreat, there
[4:02] are many things we have to do to
[4:05] prepare. And some of you have seen two
[4:08] weeks before we started the retreat, we
[4:13] had it lots of meetings
[4:16] and um we
[4:21] we agree on the boundaries for the
[4:24] retreat and we announced it
[4:28] in Vietnamese. This retreat is called
[4:31] the anu.
[4:34] Um,
[4:56] anku means uh dwelling peacefully.
[5:01] And we had a lot to do to prepare. But
[5:05] as soon as the ceremony is over,
[5:10] we can feel the energy. Everyone is calm
[5:14] and peaceful.
[5:17] And we want to start
[5:21] the first day of the retreat with peace,
[5:26] joy, and happiness.
[5:29] And um
[5:35] and during this retreat, we don't go
[5:38] out. Whenever we need to go out for the
[5:43] SA service or to see the doctor,
[5:47] we ask for permission. And
[5:52] this is
[5:54] this is a way to remind us to see
[5:59] whether it's really necessary to go out.
[6:04] We can go out when we must when we have
[6:08] to.
[6:10] And each of us we are aware that this is
[6:14] the time of dwelling peacefully where we
[6:17] are. That's why each of us we we limit
[6:22] our going out even through social media.
[6:28] I remember in the past there was a um a
[6:30] sister was so so committed to the
[6:33] practice that she
[6:38] she didn't check email
[6:42] during the 3 months
[6:46] and I think she's lucky she doesn't have
[6:49] u some important responsibility in the
[6:52] SA
[6:56] and And um
[7:00] and um among
[7:04] uh the preparation what we had to do to
[7:07] prepare was to have meetings and change
[7:11] rooms. All the sisters and brothers
[7:13] change room
[7:15] before the winter retreat. We changed
[7:18] our responsibilities,
[7:20] our rotation teams. Um
[7:25] and it was very joyful, very exciting.
[7:29] Nobody missed those meetings. Even
[7:33] though we are very busy, we never missed
[7:37] those meetings.
[7:40] And um we and some friends who were
[7:43] there during those two weeks, they were
[7:46] very surprised to to to see us you
[7:50] change room every year.
[7:53] Yes, this is the practice of releasing.
[7:56] So we don't say that this is my room
[8:00] and we know that we change every year.
[8:04] So this is also the time of releasing
[8:07] unnecessary
[8:09] belongings.
[8:12] If we have too much chocolate in the bed
[8:15] box, we also release. And in the dining
[8:18] hall of the new hamlet, it was like a
[8:21] garage sale, you know, but a garage sale
[8:25] for free. We release and then we walked
[8:28] around. If something we need, we can
[8:30] take
[8:32] and I saw chocolates, candies, sweets,
[8:38] and I took some for my mentees.
[8:45] And um
[8:51] and we clean is the deep cleaning uh in
[8:54] the monastic quarter.
[9:00] Then and um
[9:05] and we also have a counting stick
[9:08] ceremony before the main ceremony.
[9:14] We announced the boundaries and last
[9:18] Thursday many of you were there when we
[9:20] all gathered in the upper hamlet to have
[9:24] the taking refuge ceremony and it's the
[9:27] main ceremony
[9:32] and
[9:34] um
[9:36] in that ceremony
[9:38] we we we um
[9:43] we we take refuge face to face in front
[9:47] of a monastic.
[9:51] What is different
[9:54] in this retreat is
[9:58] we we stay in the monastery. We don't go
[10:01] out. We don't go out the boundaries and
[10:05] we take refuge.
[10:07] It means that during three months
[10:11] we listen to the guidance of the
[10:17] the SA.
[10:20] We are face to face. We we take refuge
[10:23] with a monastic
[10:26] who represents the SA. And during the
[10:30] three months we take refuge in the SA.
[10:35] We practice the same practice with the
[10:38] SA.
[10:41] We become one with the SA to flow as a
[10:44] river and then and we listen to the
[10:47] guidance and the shining light. This is
[10:51] the only time for the monastics to shine
[10:54] light and to receive shining light.
[11:00] Those who stay for the whole three
[11:02] months, you will hear more about um this
[11:05] practice and you will have the chance to
[11:08] practice it too.
[11:23] Then um last Thursday
[11:26] I was deeply moved when I saw
[11:30] our elders brothers and sisters um they
[11:35] were there for us to take refuge in.
[11:39] I remember
[11:42] when I was uh a novice during my first
[11:46] years,
[11:49] my eldest brothers and sisters were
[11:51] still young,
[11:54] just a little bit older than
[11:57] than me and most of the sisters here.
[12:01] And they told us that
[12:05] I want to train you to become loving and
[12:09] compassionate. Shoubas.
[12:12] Shoubas mean senior
[12:16] senior monastics. Senior old monastics.
[12:22] And
[12:25] last Thursday I looked at my eldest
[12:27] brother and sisters
[12:30] and I saw that they succeeded
[12:35] and our elders monastics also succeeded.
[12:40] We are very lucky to have sister Jun,
[12:45] sister Chungduk, sister Gina
[12:48] to be here with us.
[12:52] I see that we are the luckiest
[12:55] monastics in all flam village
[12:58] monasteries.
[13:01] They were um our sister
[13:05] our sisters Timuk and Timong they
[13:10] they were here since the last winter
[13:14] retreat 37 years ago.
[13:21] And we all can
[13:25] can benefit a lot
[13:28] from their guidance, from their
[13:29] teachings, and from their energy of
[13:32] peace,
[13:35] of love.
[13:45] The first time when we had um
[13:50] the winter retreat in the new hamlet,
[13:53] after we have the new hamlet, Tai
[13:56] facts to us the ceremonies of counting
[14:00] sticks and uh face to face taking refuge
[14:04] ceremony to us for for to um inaugurate
[14:10] to open to start a winter retreat. And
[14:13] at that time each hamlet
[14:16] had our own ceremonies
[14:18] separately. And we start to get together
[14:22] in the uphe in the upper hamlet with all
[14:26] the hamlets
[14:28] since the year 2000 or 2001.
[14:34] And um
[14:37] the last the uh the last winter retreats
[14:43] when Tai um was when Tai was there,
[14:49] he always shared with us that
[14:55] Tai was Tai is very grateful
[14:59] with the Buddha because he started this
[15:02] tradition.
[15:05] And thanks to it, Tai has the chance to
[15:08] stay in the monastery with his children
[15:11] for the whole period of 3 months. And
[15:13] Tai doesn't need to travel and teach
[15:15] anywhere.
[15:18] It was a great happiness for Tai. And
[15:20] when we heard it,
[15:24] we understood something more
[15:29] because I remember um the first time
[15:32] when we had the counting stick ceremony
[15:36] in the new hamlet.
[15:38] It happened in the floating cloud um
[15:41] meditation hall. Now is the exhibition
[15:44] hall. And that winter there were four
[15:49] venerable nuns
[15:51] coming from Vietnam for Shouba.
[15:55] They were the heads of uh big
[15:58] communities of nuns in Vietnam.
[16:02] And when we had the counting stick
[16:04] ceremony,
[16:06] I saw the Shoubas whispering to each
[16:09] other, "What is it?
[16:12] I've never seen this ceremony.
[16:16] They had they spent 40 50 years in their
[16:21] monastic life and they never saw that
[16:24] ceremony.
[16:26] And one of them who was the master of
[16:29] the vinaya she said yes there is in the
[16:32] vinaya
[16:33] to confirm that yes it's in the vinaya
[16:38] and um
[16:42] because at the Buddha's time
[16:45] there was no computer to for
[16:48] registration there was no paper and pen
[16:52] and all the monastic they traveled,
[16:58] they walked
[17:00] and begged for food. And when it was
[17:03] time for the 3 month retreat, they just
[17:08] joined a community nearby.
[17:11] And sometime there were hundreds of them
[17:14] and they didn't know each other.
[17:18] And the way to organize to know to know
[17:22] how many
[17:25] how many of them so that the lay people
[17:28] knew and supported them and brought food
[17:32] to them. So the way to know how many of
[17:34] them
[17:36] was to count the stick. Each person take
[17:39] a stick and then they collected the
[17:40] sticks and they know how many people.
[17:44] And in the counting stick ceremony, we
[17:49] could visualize and we could we could
[17:52] feel how it was difficult to organize a
[17:56] rain retreat at the Buddha's time.
[18:00] And any monk, any nun, any monastic
[18:04] could join any community. They didn't
[18:07] need to ask for permission and waited
[18:10] for the reply. Yes, you can join us or
[18:13] something like that. They just joined
[18:16] and they practiced together
[18:21] and they were supported by the lay
[18:23] friends
[18:26] and we could feel the compassion, the
[18:29] love and compassion of the Buddha and of
[18:33] the elders monastics who who organized
[18:45] >> [music and bell]
[18:51] [music]
[18:55] [bell]
[19:22] >> And after so many years as monast as a
[19:26] monastic,
[19:28] Tai saw how
[19:31] beneficial it was arranged retreat for
[19:35] him and for others. And I was full of
[19:40] gratitude
[19:42] for the Buddha, the founder of that
[19:46] tradition.
[19:48] And many people, many monastic were
[19:51] surprised.
[19:53] Why only in Plum Village we have that
[19:56] counting stick ceremony?
[19:59] And Tai
[20:01] was well known as a progressist
[20:07] teacher.
[20:10] But
[20:11] when we saw when we understood that they
[20:15] was very grateful for this tradition and
[20:17] they restore that tradition for us to
[20:22] see how it was hard to start that
[20:26] tradition and to maintain that tradition
[20:29] during the Buddha's time and it was
[20:32] maintained
[20:34] through generations and generations
[20:38] until today and thanks to that we can
[20:43] enjoy we can benefit from from this
[20:47] tradition
[20:49] and
[20:51] in especially in the west not all the
[20:55] monastics have the chance to to
[20:58] participate in a three month retreat.
[21:03] There are many temples where there are
[21:05] only one or two monastics
[21:08] and um they don't have the chance to
[21:13] study to deepen their studies and
[21:15] practice with everything they they have
[21:19] to do to take care of the temple.
[21:22] And we remember sister Nuang who is a
[21:27] dear sister to us. She um she got
[21:30] ordained by another teacher. She lives
[21:33] in Strasbu now and every year she joined
[21:37] us but she could not join us for the
[21:41] whole three months and she had to leave
[21:45] after one month and 1 month and a half
[21:48] and every year she cried and she said
[21:52] I'm not lucky enough like you and I
[21:56] cannot
[21:57] participate to the whole retreat
[22:02] And I got ordained in Plum Village and
[22:06] every year we have the rain retreat and
[22:09] for me it's normal and I took it for
[22:12] granted and thanks to thanks to sister
[22:16] Nuang I realized that oh yes we need to
[22:20] be lucky to be able to attend to
[22:23] [clears throat] participate this
[22:25] retreat.
[22:27] And then years pass by in our
[22:30] communities. We see that when conditions
[22:33] are not sufficient, some of us we cannot
[22:36] participate
[22:38] because of health, because of our
[22:41] parents' health. We need to leave before
[22:45] the end of the retreat or we cannot
[22:47] attend
[22:49] at all. We cannot at all re attend the
[22:52] retreat. And slowly with time we realize
[22:56] that
[22:58] it's a great fortune for us
[23:03] to be able to to be here during the
[23:06] three months
[23:12] and
[23:15] and I also remember the first time when
[23:18] we had the taking refuge ceremony with
[23:21] our teacher. There were many venerable
[23:24] monks and nuns come coming from Vietnam.
[23:28] And Tai, our teacher was the first one
[23:31] who took refuge
[23:33] in
[23:35] the abbot and abbisonist. And they
[23:38] touched the earth in front of us. And
[23:42] everyone was shocked
[23:44] because a Zen master, we think that a
[23:47] Zen master could touch the earth before
[23:49] the Buddha but not before his students.
[23:53] And we were very embarrassed. We were so
[23:56] shocked. Everyone was so shocked. And
[23:59] automatically
[24:00] instinct
[24:02] we we touch the earth back to Tai
[24:08] and [clears throat] after so many years
[24:11] of practice Tai we saw that Tai
[24:14] wholeheartedly he took refuge in the SA
[24:25] and T
[24:30] many time T shared with us that
[24:33] his understanding on the Buddha on the
[24:36] SA continue
[24:40] to
[24:42] to evaluate
[24:45] to change when he during the first year
[24:49] when he first became a novice and then
[24:52] with years his understanding
[24:56] and practice practice and his practice
[25:00] and understanding continue to grow.
[25:04] Who is the Buddha
[25:06] and what is the SA?
[25:24] And we were also very very um touched.
[25:31] I remember the last
[25:34] the last uh taking refuge ceremony with
[25:37] Tai. Tai also expressed his uh
[25:41] commitment his aspiration
[25:46] for that winter retreat. And they said
[25:49] that they made the vow
[25:52] to cultivate his love for his students.
[25:56] They made the vow
[25:58] to love his students equally.
[26:04] [clears throat]
[26:05] And we are in that meditation hall. We
[26:09] knew
[26:11] the great compassion of our teacher.
[26:16] Anyone who came to Plum Village and and
[26:19] who saw our teacher, that person could
[26:24] feel his energy of love and compassion.
[26:28] And he still
[26:30] made the vow to cultivate love, to grow
[26:33] his love, and to love his students
[26:36] equally because he was aware that
[26:40] those who had the chance to be close to
[26:43] Tai
[26:46] were very lucky. But those who didn't
[26:48] have the chance to be close to Tai may
[26:51] have felt that
[26:55] they must love the ones who were close
[26:58] to him more than to me.
[27:04] Everyone could feel Tai's love. Everyone
[27:06] knew that
[27:09] Tai loves me. I know I can feel Tai's
[27:12] love for me. But in the community we
[27:15] sometime we compare and we think that oh
[27:17] T may love the my sister more than me
[27:23] and Tai made that vow
[27:27] to let us know that they want to love
[27:30] everyone equally. Don't worry.
[27:41] And
[27:43] looking back, we saw that
[27:46] in all the um
[27:50] in all the rain retreat, Tai
[27:54] invited us to
[27:57] practice, to love each other, to build
[28:00] siblinghood.
[28:02] like I wanted to train
[28:05] a generation of um
[28:08] shoe of senior monastics uh
[28:15] um of loving and compassionate
[28:19] senior monastics. Tai didn't have the
[28:21] intention to train us to
[28:26] know by heart all the sutras of the
[28:29] Buddha, all the teachings of the Buddha.
[28:33] They just wanted to train us to become
[28:37] loving and compassionate practitioners,
[28:40] monastics and lay practitioners. Whoever
[28:44] whoever is committed in the practice
[28:51] And
[28:58] and I remember if I remember you well in
[29:01] the year 2010 before we started the
[29:06] the winter retreat.
[29:09] Did you forget to invite the bell?
[29:14] Every 15 minutes we will listen to the
[29:17] bell.
[29:20] And before we started um
[29:24] the winter retreat, we had a monastic
[29:26] day and Tai
[29:29] reminded reminded us how to prepare for
[29:33] the winter retreat.
[29:35] And they said that
[29:39] as um carpenter,
[29:43] as carpenters, they must know how to
[29:46] make tables, chairs,
[29:51] as
[29:52] masons.
[29:54] They must masons.
[29:57] They must know how to build a wall, a
[30:01] house.
[30:03] And as practitioners,
[30:05] we must know
[30:07] to do those four things. And we need to
[30:10] focus
[30:13] on this practice
[30:16] the next three months. It was before
[30:19] before the winter retreat.
[30:22] And the four things we we must know.
[30:34] The first thing
[30:37] is to practice the practice of
[30:40] releasing.
[30:47] Second, the practice of
[30:50] transforming
[30:57] suffering.
[31:08] The third practice is
[31:15] create creating joy.
[31:25] And the fourth
[31:29] Restoring
[31:48] communication.
[32:16] >> [music and bell]
[32:25] [music]
[32:27] [bell]
[32:56] >> So Tai reminded us to practice releasing
[33:00] during the 3 months retreat.
[33:03] And before we started the retreat, as I
[33:07] mentioned, we we already practiced
[33:10] releasing unnecessary belongings.
[33:14] Um, we released rooms, we released
[33:19] roommates.
[33:22] But what is most difficult
[33:26] is to release
[33:29] our
[33:31] ideas,
[33:33] our
[33:37] prejudice,
[33:39] our nots.
[33:45] First of all,
[33:47] we need to practice with our body
[33:51] to release the tension
[33:54] during this three months retreat.
[33:57] Whenever we
[34:00] we feel any tension in our body,
[34:04] we release the tension.
[34:08] And if we are not
[34:10] using concrete practicing like
[34:14] mindful breathing,
[34:17] mindful walking,
[34:19] we won't be aware of any tension in our
[34:22] body.
[34:27] The tension in in the body is easier to
[34:31] see
[34:33] to observe because we can feel it, we
[34:36] can touch it.
[34:41] So it's easier than releasing ideas. So
[34:45] we first of all we need to be able to
[34:48] practice it. And the sounds of the bell,
[34:53] the practice of sitting meditation,
[34:57] walking meditation help us do it.
[35:00] And on Thursday, brother Fapung, my
[35:04] elder brother
[35:07] um showed us the sign of 100%. We are
[35:12] committed in
[35:15] the practice with 100% or more.
[35:20] of our body, our mind, our heart.
[35:25] So the first thing
[35:29] we need to stick to
[35:32] our
[35:33] mindful breathing
[35:36] whenever we do during the day,
[35:41] when we walk,
[35:45] when we cook, when we wash pots, when we
[35:50] sanitize,
[35:52] when we clean,
[35:55] and all our lay friends, we would
[35:58] practice the same the same thing with
[36:01] the monastics.
[36:08] And we want uh to to help us focus
[36:12] our attention, our mindfulness.
[36:15] We want walk while walk uh we want talk
[36:20] when we walk.
[36:26] And if together the whole community we
[36:29] practice it, it will be very easy.
[36:36] we can um last evening uh I sat with my
[36:43] mentees
[36:44] all the all of you who stay for the
[36:47] whole retreat you you are in small
[36:50] groups with your mentors and every week
[36:54] mentor and mentees we sit together
[36:58] and
[37:00] last evening I sat with my mentees and
[37:02] we promised each other to remind each
[37:05] other
[37:07] Whenever
[37:09] we see one of us running or walking
[37:14] without mindfulness and the other one
[37:16] will
[37:18] we will do this sign
[37:21] and we will smile to each other and
[37:24] appreciate
[37:26] those reminders
[37:30] because
[37:32] this is the foundation. If we don't
[37:35] stick to our mindful breathing, mindful
[37:38] steps,
[37:40] there's no way we can be aware of the
[37:44] tension in our body in order to release
[37:47] it. And if we are not if we are not able
[37:52] to release the tension the physical
[37:55] tension
[37:57] it would be too too difficult for us to
[38:00] release
[38:02] prejudice irritation,
[38:06] anger,
[38:11] prejudice
[38:13] and if we
[38:16] if we are not able to release
[38:19] it would be very difficult for us to
[38:21] transform our suffering
[38:24] and do and practice other
[38:28] things like creating joy, restoring
[38:31] communication.
[38:33] So releasing is
[38:36] the fundamental practice
[38:39] and we can succeed it or not.
[38:44] It depends on our mindful breathing and
[38:48] mindful steps.
[38:53] And
[38:56] for the monastics,
[38:57] we are very excited and very happy for
[39:01] this retreat. It's like a beginning, a
[39:03] new for us. When we change rooms,
[39:06] roommates and rotation, we change
[39:09] everything
[39:11] and we have the feeling that we can
[39:13] practice beginning a new. Everything is
[39:16] new.
[39:18] The room, the roommates, the teammates
[39:23] and we have um um we start a new and
[39:27] beautiful
[39:28] environment and relationship.
[39:38] And [clears throat]
[39:41] and it's the chance for us to
[39:46] to practice wholeheartedly and not with
[39:51] just with the form.
[39:53] We are together. We join the activities.
[40:00] But when we have sitting meditation,
[40:05] we are committed 100%
[40:08] of our body and mind to be with ourself,
[40:12] to be present with ourself, not to be
[40:16] serious like okay this is sitting
[40:18] meditation. I want to attain
[40:22] some enlightenment. No, we just we just
[40:25] need to be with ourself to be present
[40:29] and to feel do I have any tension in my
[40:33] body?
[40:34] Do I have any pain
[40:37] any knots
[40:39] in my body?
[40:43] And then we can go further.
[40:46] Do I have any knots
[40:50] with my sisters and brothers?
[40:55] And you know, every year when we change
[40:58] roommates and teammates,
[41:02] we can observe and see that, oh, this
[41:07] year
[41:09] my heart is bigger than last year
[41:13] because I have more rooms, more room in
[41:16] my heart for other sisters. Our practice
[41:19] is to enlarge
[41:22] our circle in the community life. We
[41:26] always have some affinity with some one
[41:30] or some
[41:32] um a small group and our practice is to
[41:39] make the circle bigger and bigger.
[41:47] Sometimes we don't we prefer to be in
[41:50] the same team with that sister. We our
[41:53] tendency is to choose our buddies
[42:00] and but every time we observe and we we
[42:05] practice to make the circle bigger, we
[42:09] have more space in our heart. And the
[42:12] one who is happy in the community is the
[42:16] one who has a big heart.
[42:19] Who is happy who is joyful with many
[42:23] people with everyone.
[42:28] So when we have a bigger heart is not
[42:32] for our brother and sisters is for
[42:34] ourselves. [snorts]
[42:39] We can
[42:42] we can have joy.
[42:44] We we can enjoy each other's presence
[42:48] with many many members in the
[42:52] in the spiritual family.
[42:58] And
[43:00] so the way we organized
[43:04] before the winter retreat, everything
[43:08] we did and everything we do is to help
[43:11] us cultivate love.
[43:17] And during these three months,
[43:22] the result of our practice
[43:25] is seen clearly seen
[43:32] in our relationship with others.
[43:38] And when um I have there's a line in the
[43:44] evening chant
[43:47] before we have sitting meditation in the
[43:50] evening and assisted
[43:52] chants
[43:54] uh some lines
[43:57] and I love the line um the first lines
[44:01] stay seated under the body tree body
[44:06] speech and mind are one in stillness
[44:10] free from views of right and wrong.
[44:15] When we are still attached to the views
[44:18] of right and wrong
[44:25] in a community in the community life
[44:28] it's it's very clear
[44:31] when I when I'm attached to what is
[44:33] right what is wrong I see right I can
[44:36] feel right away
[44:38] there's some
[44:42] some it will lead to some struggling,
[44:46] some fight, some disharmony.
[44:50] But when we try to understand the
[44:53] situation with our heart and find and
[44:57] try to find the best
[45:00] thing for our community, for our sister
[45:06] and
[45:08] the situation transforms right away.
[45:12] So releasing is also the practice of
[45:15] releasing our ideas of right and wrong.
[45:32] When we we are attached to what is right
[45:36] and wrong,
[45:37] we can feel right away a tension in our
[45:40] body,
[45:42] tension on the shoulders, tension on the
[45:46] face.
[45:48] And if we are mindful enough and if we
[45:51] are lucky
[45:53] there's sounds of the bell or clock
[45:57] chimes and we have to stop and we
[46:00] practice 100%
[46:03] listening to the sound of the bell or
[46:06] the clock chimes and then we notice
[46:10] the tension on the shoulders on our face
[46:14] and if we can
[46:17] release this tension.
[46:20] We can also feel that ah
[46:24] my mind is lighter also mind body and
[46:28] mind are one
[46:31] and we can feel right away.
[46:37] We feel lighter.
[46:51] [music]
[47:00] >> [music]
[47:01] [bell]
[47:09] [music]
[47:39] >> And when we are capable to release
[47:43] thoughts,
[47:46] running thoughts,
[47:49] ideas
[47:51] and then we have space
[47:56] We can dwell in the present moment and
[47:59] we have space to recognize
[48:02] the beauty
[48:06] of the far season.
[48:09] I see that the
[48:12] the last few weeks our community is
[48:14] enjoying every day and every day we see
[48:18] how the colors change.
[48:22] It's amazing. We are very lucky. Many
[48:26] sisters who come from Vietnam, this is
[48:28] the first time they see autumn because
[48:31] in Asia we don't have um autumn
[48:39] and when I see my sisters who see autumn
[48:42] for the first time and how they
[48:46] are surprised and love the colors, the
[48:50] leaves, the trees is
[48:56] they
[48:58] seeing them enjoy autumn.
[49:02] I remind myself to look at autumns like
[49:05] the first time I see it with new eyes.
[49:10] We have the habit to take things for
[49:12] granted.
[49:14] And if we um if I continue to run
[49:19] in my thoughts, I don't have space
[49:23] in my mind, in my heart to receive all
[49:27] this beautiful, all this beauty.
[49:39] If I'm full of
[49:43] worries
[49:45] and what should
[49:47] our community do? What should we do?
[49:51] What should I do
[49:55] in this winter retreat?
[49:58] I have no space. I remember during the
[50:01] first uh my first winter retreats, I was
[50:03] so excited and wholehearted that
[50:08] the the community the SA has a schedule
[50:12] and then I have my own schedule.
[50:15] All the tiny slot between
[50:20] meals and the next activity I squeeze in
[50:23] study
[50:26] sutra study or reading tai books
[50:32] and my schedule I planned ahead very
[50:37] very beautiful schedule of someone who
[50:42] practices 100% or 200s% sent
[50:47] and every time when something happens
[50:49] and I cannot follow my own schedule I
[50:52] was so frustrated
[50:56] I suffered oh I cannot this is time to
[51:00] read tai's books and that sister came to
[51:03] me and asked me to do this and do that
[51:06] sometime I was very angry with that
[51:08] sister
[51:13] and
[51:14] After those experience, I just drop.
[51:18] I don't plan anymore. I just follow
[51:23] the SA schedule and it's good enough.
[51:25] And whatever happens to me, I receive it
[51:28] with peace
[51:31] with a smile
[51:34] and
[51:35] I stop dividing. This is my time. This
[51:39] is the time I spent for the SA.
[51:46] my time. I want to use my time to do
[51:50] what I like.
[51:55] Um
[51:56] looking at the pictures and classify my
[51:59] pictures in my photo album and there are
[52:02] many things we like to do. So this is
[52:05] for my time for me
[52:10] and then
[52:12] uh and um because Tai taught us to
[52:16] organize our days in such a way that
[52:21] there's balance between practice, study,
[52:26] playing
[52:27] and service.
[52:29] So I made my schedule very balanced.
[52:34] with color
[52:37] service is this color practice is this
[52:40] color and calculate
[52:43] very well there's a balance in numbers
[52:46] of number of hours for practice number
[52:48] of hours for playing it was so well
[52:52] organized
[52:54] and I never I could never follow
[53:00] and [snorts]
[53:01] when I and then I had to change anything
[53:05] I do, I practice
[53:08] coming back to my mindful breathing.
[53:13] And so even I if I cook for the SA and
[53:16] if I follow my breathing, I practice
[53:20] mindfulness to strengthen
[53:25] uh to water the seeds of peace, to
[53:28] strengthen solidity in me. So this is
[53:32] also the time for me for my practice
[53:38] and if I um
[53:44] if I go if I have to go out of the
[53:47] boundaries
[53:50] because of uh service to do something
[53:52] for the SA
[53:54] and I go out of boundaries
[53:57] with mindful breathing.
[54:01] I follow my breathing when
[54:04] um I drove the car
[54:08] when I
[54:10] even when I had to go far to Bdo or to
[54:14] Paris and if I go with my mindful
[54:19] breathing it means that I continue my
[54:22] practice exactly like when I'm in the
[54:25] boundaries and I don't feel frustrated
[54:29] that ah I am committed to stay in the
[54:32] monastery but now I have to cross the
[54:35] boundaries to go because of the SA. So
[54:40] when I bring the practice with me and I
[54:44] bring the SA with me
[54:48] and then I see that this is also the
[54:50] time for me for my practice
[54:55] and
[54:56] I don't feel frustrated. I see that
[55:00] whether I cross the boundaries or I'm
[55:03] within the boundaries
[55:07] if I maintain my practice and then
[55:10] there's no difference and I'm still in
[55:13] the bound in the monastery practicing
[55:16] with the SA and slowly
[55:20] I can remove
[55:23] all the the frustrations
[55:25] and the
[55:27] discrimination
[55:29] between my own time or the time I spent
[55:35] for the SA or SA service or being in the
[55:42] boundaries or outside the boundaries.
[55:48] I share with you my practice but it
[55:52] doesn't mean that I encouraged you to go
[55:54] to cafe in Duras and bring the sana and
[55:58] the mindful breathing with you to the
[56:00] cafe in Durasing.
[56:25] And because
[56:28] everyone we all are are together
[56:33] and it's coal we are indoor.
[56:37] uh in the summer we we stay in the tents
[56:41] and we have uh we had many activities
[56:44] outside but in this 3 months retreat we
[56:48] are stay indoor
[56:50] so
[56:54] there's lots of um rubbing we say
[56:58] rubbing
[57:00] from morning to um
[57:06] >> [laughter]
[57:08] >> Um from morning to evening we are
[57:11] together and
[57:14] have you seen all the brother and sister
[57:16] who came up here to to chanted. I was so
[57:20] moved.
[57:22] I was so moved to see how big the
[57:25] monastic community is because in summer
[57:28] we also came here and chanted but half
[57:32] of us was here
[57:35] and now we are more crowded
[57:39] and so when we
[57:42] [clears throat] are always together and
[57:45] then it's very easy to
[57:48] to cause irritation or disharm harmony
[57:52] or
[57:54] um small conflicts. And that is why Tai
[57:58] added the fourth point restoring
[58:01] communication
[58:03] is very important. The practice of
[58:06] beginning a new
[58:08] of
[58:11] of um reconciling restoring restoring
[58:16] communication
[58:19] is very important during the 3mon
[58:21] retreat.
[58:40] >> [music]
[58:49] [music]
[59:15] >> and being aware of the great fortune
[59:18] that we have to be here for 3 months.
[59:23] We are we want
[59:27] we want to have joy and happiness every
[59:31] day.
[59:33] This is a joy. This is a happy time for
[59:36] each of us.
[59:41] And to have joy and happiness,
[59:46] we will need to use all the practices
[59:51] that are offered.
[59:54] The practice of sitting meditation,
[59:57] walking meditation, all the practices in
[1:00:01] the schedule
[1:00:03] and
[1:00:05] the practice of beginning a new,
[1:00:09] the practice of shining light.
[1:00:14] This is the opportunity for us to make
[1:00:17] good use of
[1:00:19] many practices that are offered to
[1:00:22] cultivate
[1:00:24] joy, happiness
[1:00:28] because we don't want to waste this
[1:00:31] opportunity
[1:00:33] to be together for three months.
[1:00:41] And
[1:00:44] I would like to invite our
[1:00:47] elders Shuko
[1:00:50] to sing us a song.
[1:01:28] I mentioned uh our eldest uh monastics
[1:01:33] to you. So I would like to invite Shako
[1:01:40] who's been here since the first winter
[1:01:42] retreat, the first year of Plum Village
[1:01:44] and the first winter retreat.
[1:01:48] And Shiko is for those who don't know
[1:01:53] um yet Shiko is 87 years old and Shiko
[1:01:57] loves to sing.
[1:02:02] Taro, the singing nun.
[1:02:09] [singing]
[1:02:19] I found
[1:02:23] [singing]
[1:02:28] [singing]
[1:02:31] the moon.
[1:02:42] [singing]
[1:02:51] Say come in.
[1:02:58] [singing]
[1:03:06] Be
[1:03:21] S found no
[1:03:27] [singing]
[1:03:40] shore. Foreign [singing]
[1:03:54] [singing]
[1:04:07] speech. Foreign speech.
[1:04:29] >> [laughter]
[1:04:30] >> We meet each other. We laugh.
[1:04:37] Birth and death would not disturb me.
[1:04:46] [clears throat]
[1:04:55] >> [singing]
[1:05:02] [singing]
[1:05:06] >> Fore! Foreign! Foreign!
[1:05:17] Fore! Foreign! Foreign!
[1:05:23] [singing]
[1:05:31] >> [singing]
[1:05:37] [singing]
[1:05:59] [singing]
[1:06:06] [singing]
[1:06:29] [singing]
[1:06:40] >> Thank you Shu. Thank you everyone. The
[1:06:44] sunshine has joined us for the walking
[1:06:48] meditation and for the whole day. Let's
[1:06:52] enjoy
[1:06:54] the whole day together.
[1:07:06] >> [music]
[1:07:08] [bell]
[1:07:13] [music]
[1:07:22] [music]
[1:07:29] [music]
[1:07:40] [music]
[1:07:50] [music]
[1:08:09] [music]
[1:08:09] [bell]
[1:08:18] [music]
[1:08:34] [bell]
