Four Dharma Talks
I was up at 5:30 again for a quick shower and outdoor walking meditation. At one point I was walking with two of the Vong sisters, and I stepped between them and held their hands as we walked across a bridge. We all smiled about that. The early morning meditation was very good. Just when I thought I couldn’t sit without moving any longer, the bell sounded, so we could move. Then at breakfast I saw my old mentor Jack Lawlor. We had a silent breakfast together, smiling and nodding. But later we met at a gathering of dharma group facilitators and had a chance to exchange pleasantries.
Thay’s dharma talk – make that talks – were fantastic. First of all he did not walk up the stairs to the stage with great solemnity and dignity as he usually does. He was standing in front of the stage with the children. Then he backed up the stage, put his palms on the stage behind him and lifted himself up so that he was sitting on the lip of the stage. Then he swung his legs up and stood up. It looked like the kind of move a teen-ager would make; it was so casual and agile. It was so incongruous for an 80-year-old monk that everyone laughed.
Then he announced he had so much to say he would give four dharma talks today, but don’t worry, he said, “they will be short – you will still get to lunch.” He had us laughing again. Then – and I think this was really a spur-of –the-moment decision – he said he would ask two young monastics to give two of the talks. He said he would give the first and fourth talk and Brother Wayne and one of the sisters would give the second and third talks. He talked about the pebble meditation, and he did a wonderful job, injecting it with humor. He said he had one pebble and it represents a flower that is fresh. He talked about that for a while and then paused. “Oh, look,” he said, sounding surprised. “I have a second pebble!” That one represented a mountain that is solid. Then he feigned surprise at a third pebble that represents still water reflecting what is true. And finally, he discovered a fourth pebble that represents space and freedom. It was a useful and coherent talk. Then he asked Brother Wayne to talk. He is a young American monk. He first led us in a song and then told some of his story. For the benefit of the young children in the audience, he talked about how he used to like wizards. That got their attention. He said he always used to pretend he was a wizard, because they seemed to know everything. “Would you like to hear about how I found my wizard?” he asked the children. Of course the wizard was Thich Nhat Hanh. After that story, Brother Wayne saw that the children were getting restless, so he dismissed them to go outside and continue their practice with the brothers and sisters outdoors. For the benefit of the adults he told a second story about how he decided to become a monk, and it included stories about troubled teenagers using drugs and committing suicide. He also mentioned that his mother said she anted him to become a Buddha. That sounded very prophetic coming from a man with a shaved head in a brown robe sitting in the lotus position on a brown cushion. He looked like a Buddha.
Next it was the young sister’s turn to talk. She said she was completely surprised when Thay announced her name because she had not prepared a dharma talk. In fact, she said, she had never given a dharma talk in her life. She said she was extremely nervous and noted that her father was sitting in the hall. She asked him to come up and sit beside her. Then she gave a lovely and meaningful talk about the relationship between her spiritual family and her blood family. In part of it she mentioned that for her father’s 68th birthday she decided to make a list of 68 things for which she wanted to thank her father. It was very touching. Then she said, “Maybe my father would like to say something.” He was also an eloquent speaker and told a story about how much he admired his daughter. He said she asked permission to leave the monastery for a few months so she could make arrangements to care for her mother, who was deeply troubled. The proud father spoke in glowing terms of how kind, compassionate, loving and also practical his daughter was.
By the end I was crying, and I know many others were too.
Then Thay got up again and said, “You see, I promised you four dharma talks, and I see that you have heard four dharma talks.” Everyone laughed. “And don’t say I only gave one, because I gave all four.”
Then there was lunch, and after lunch I had a long talk with my friend Jeff. Jeff has been deeply affected by the retreat in a very positive way. He is transformed. He not only wants to take the Five Mindfulness Trainings, but wants to be even more active in the order and eventually become a dharma teacher. We talked for a couple hours about that. I am so happy for him. He is feeling just the same kind of excitement I felt at my first retreat. I am also happy to have been a part of his transformation. It is also great to know I will have more help at the Sangha.
The afternoon program is a presentation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings, and I decided to skip that to do some writing. In the evening, we had another dharma discussion group in which we discussed the Five Mindfulness Trainings. We are getting to be good friends in teh group.
Thay’s dharma talk – make that talks – were fantastic. First of all he did not walk up the stairs to the stage with great solemnity and dignity as he usually does. He was standing in front of the stage with the children. Then he backed up the stage, put his palms on the stage behind him and lifted himself up so that he was sitting on the lip of the stage. Then he swung his legs up and stood up. It looked like the kind of move a teen-ager would make; it was so casual and agile. It was so incongruous for an 80-year-old monk that everyone laughed.
Then he announced he had so much to say he would give four dharma talks today, but don’t worry, he said, “they will be short – you will still get to lunch.” He had us laughing again. Then – and I think this was really a spur-of –the-moment decision – he said he would ask two young monastics to give two of the talks. He said he would give the first and fourth talk and Brother Wayne and one of the sisters would give the second and third talks. He talked about the pebble meditation, and he did a wonderful job, injecting it with humor. He said he had one pebble and it represents a flower that is fresh. He talked about that for a while and then paused. “Oh, look,” he said, sounding surprised. “I have a second pebble!” That one represented a mountain that is solid. Then he feigned surprise at a third pebble that represents still water reflecting what is true. And finally, he discovered a fourth pebble that represents space and freedom. It was a useful and coherent talk. Then he asked Brother Wayne to talk. He is a young American monk. He first led us in a song and then told some of his story. For the benefit of the young children in the audience, he talked about how he used to like wizards. That got their attention. He said he always used to pretend he was a wizard, because they seemed to know everything. “Would you like to hear about how I found my wizard?” he asked the children. Of course the wizard was Thich Nhat Hanh. After that story, Brother Wayne saw that the children were getting restless, so he dismissed them to go outside and continue their practice with the brothers and sisters outdoors. For the benefit of the adults he told a second story about how he decided to become a monk, and it included stories about troubled teenagers using drugs and committing suicide. He also mentioned that his mother said she anted him to become a Buddha. That sounded very prophetic coming from a man with a shaved head in a brown robe sitting in the lotus position on a brown cushion. He looked like a Buddha.
Next it was the young sister’s turn to talk. She said she was completely surprised when Thay announced her name because she had not prepared a dharma talk. In fact, she said, she had never given a dharma talk in her life. She said she was extremely nervous and noted that her father was sitting in the hall. She asked him to come up and sit beside her. Then she gave a lovely and meaningful talk about the relationship between her spiritual family and her blood family. In part of it she mentioned that for her father’s 68th birthday she decided to make a list of 68 things for which she wanted to thank her father. It was very touching. Then she said, “Maybe my father would like to say something.” He was also an eloquent speaker and told a story about how much he admired his daughter. He said she asked permission to leave the monastery for a few months so she could make arrangements to care for her mother, who was deeply troubled. The proud father spoke in glowing terms of how kind, compassionate, loving and also practical his daughter was.
By the end I was crying, and I know many others were too.
Then Thay got up again and said, “You see, I promised you four dharma talks, and I see that you have heard four dharma talks.” Everyone laughed. “And don’t say I only gave one, because I gave all four.”
Then there was lunch, and after lunch I had a long talk with my friend Jeff. Jeff has been deeply affected by the retreat in a very positive way. He is transformed. He not only wants to take the Five Mindfulness Trainings, but wants to be even more active in the order and eventually become a dharma teacher. We talked for a couple hours about that. I am so happy for him. He is feeling just the same kind of excitement I felt at my first retreat. I am also happy to have been a part of his transformation. It is also great to know I will have more help at the Sangha.
The afternoon program is a presentation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings, and I decided to skip that to do some writing. In the evening, we had another dharma discussion group in which we discussed the Five Mindfulness Trainings. We are getting to be good friends in teh group.
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