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Establishing the Line of Compassion
The 71st day of the retreat at Upper Hamlet, Phap Van Temple, with 19 days left until the end. The term monastics is translated as those who have left home, the ordained community. The Ceremony of Invitation for Admonition (Tự Tứ) will be held on the 15th so that the uncles and teachers from Tu Hieu can attend. In the list of apprentice Dharma teachers, three names were missing and have now been added:
- Brother Phap Nhuan
- Brother Phap Tu
- Sister Hanh Lien
The issue of the telephone line was raised urgently: the bicycle tire was flat so the teacher could not guide meditation, and there was no compassionate line to call for help. The teacher reminded everyone to practice the First Mantra—Darling, I’m here for you—by being present 24 hours a day for anyone who calls, even while cooking, gardening, or taking turns in each hamlet, using the telephone as a symbol of love and being ready to share with each other the plan of service.
Caring for retreatants and Sangha facilities still has many shortcomings: lack of restrooms in Lower Hamlet and New Hamlet, lack of a common room for visits, tea and snacks; classrooms and meditation rooms are often noisy. The teacher called on each hamlet to:
- establish their own residence rules, with the Dean of Students responsible for maintaining purity
- form a “retreatant care team” to make up for the lack of facilities with kindness and attentiveness
- improve the internal switchboard system, transferring calls after office hours to the “Activity Bell” team to be on duty for the phone