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Dharma Talk and Memorial Service
At the beginning of 1996 at Plum Village, the Mai Thon Sangha initiated the Dharma talk “Viễn Thông” (Remote Transmission) to connect and share the Dharma from afar with Vietnam and the ancestral temple. During the transmission, the sound was often distorted, the connection was sometimes lost, and Thay reminded everyone to be patient, to keep silence so that the sound could become clearer—like a metaphor for deep listening in the practice: when the mind is not agitated, the Dharma can truly penetrate and spread. Thay recited the verse:
On the tip of the willow branch, sweet dew stretches out,
one drop is enough to fill the ten directions
reminding us of purity and liberation. Despite technical difficulties, Thay continued to practice Paramita—the perfection of patience and peace—maintaining calmness, calling on everyone, even from afar, to listen and share the Dharma sound as refreshing drops of sweet dew.
Thay compared two “young boys” of the past and today:
- The boy of 16–20 years old, full of strong energy, wishing to practice but not yet knowing the method
- The boy of today, rich in insight from 45 years of practice, having witnessed the transformation of practitioners through retreats in Europe, America, and Plum Village
When we practice looking deeply, there is no longer a boundary between self and others; suffering and the dream of the Kingdom of God are but illusions to escape the present moment. The teaching of “dwelling happily in the present moment” guides us to find peace right now through practices such as
- eating rice
- drinking tea
- breathing
- sitting meditation
helping us to recognize small happinesses so that greater happiness may naturally arise, to live peacefully and be fully present in every moment.