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Dharma Talk April 1996
Jim Force, an American veteran who participated in the Vietnam War, found the Dharma door during a retreat in California and wholeheartedly devoted himself to practice at Plum Village. He served in hospice care for the terminally ill, known as the “Bodhisattva driving the van,” carrying practitioners between hamlets, leaving a deep impression. Upon learning he had cancer, Jim said, “I don’t want to die, but if I have to die, I will die without fear,” expressing a mind of peace and compassion. When Jim passed away, Thay sat in meditation for Jim and practiced walking meditation, bringing the quality of sitting meditation into each step, to honor his practice and the image of the Bodhisattva in him, which remains alive in each of us.
The poem Recueillement by Baudelaire—beginning with the invitation “Sois sage, ô ma douleur, et tiens-toi plus tranquille” (“Be wise, O my sorrow, and keep still”)—teaches us to embrace our pain instead of suppressing it, because pain is a part of us. This is the principle of non-duality in the Buddha’s teaching: love and happiness are us, and so are pain and disappointment. Heaven or hell both bloom in our body and mind, depending on which seeds we water each day. Practicing mindfulness, keeping the Five Mindfulness Trainings, and taking refuge in the Sangha help us recognize the “jug of poison” of craving, embrace our pain with gentleness, and cultivate wholesome seeds, so that we may dwell happily in the present moment, in every moment.