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From the Great Canon to the Line of Compassion
This year, the 21-day retreat carries the theme “With Buddha in Both Feet, Walking in Freedom.” Being born into a Buddhist family, if we do not know how to study, we may feel lost before the vast treasury of sutras. In the past, there was the work Duyet Tang Tri Tan to guide reading the Tripitaka; today, we need to combine archaeology, textual studies, philology, and history to determine the era, locality, and linguistic influences of the sutra collections. The global Buddhist scholarly community works together like a Sangha: whoever makes a new discovery shares it so that everyone can benefit and continue to contribute.
Although Plum Village’s architecture is simple, it has become an international river, with the Dharma door modernized through contact with the world and psychological science. Practitioners from everywhere come thanks to books, the website, or word of mouth from friends. When practicing in Plum Village, body and mind are transformed, reconciliation with family takes place, and conditions are created for young Vietnamese to rediscover happiness in the Buddhist tradition. Although more and more people come to practice, Plum Village has its limits, so it is necessary to spread more Plum Villages and centers in many countries. The mission of each monastic is to create new Dharma doors and new methods of teaching—walking meditation, prostration meditation, renewal meditation, insight meditation—to serve the greater community.
We draw experience from the telephone line as an administrative manifestation of compassion:
- Respond quickly and clearly, without making people wait;
- Arrange for the phone to be placed in a quiet location;
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Establish a duty group to take responsibility, using the directory flexibly.
The “compassion line” is not only for those in despair but is, in fact, the substance of daily administration: every incoming call is an opportunity to practice and to care for all beings.