And all of us are in the same position. We are not psychotherapists, but we have a relative, a father, a mother, an uncle, a partner, or a son or a daughter who suffers. And we are very eager to help him, to help her suffer less. And we have to practice the same. We know that we have seeds of suffering in us. And we don't want to allow these seeds of suffering to be watered while we listen. That is why we have to practice. The amount of time we use to practice mindful walking, mindful breathing, mindful sitting is important. We have to help ourselves first before we can help someone else.

And the first time when we try out our compassionate listening, we may realize that our capacity of listening deeply and with compassion can last only, say, fifteen minutes. After that point, we think that we are too weak to continue. So in that case, we have to say, "Darling, shall we continue some time later on? Now I need to go for walking meditation." Or something like that. You have to renew yourself before you continue. Don't try. You have to know your limit. Knowing one's limit is very important, whether you are a doctor, a psychotherapist. If you don't know your limit, you will fail in your attempt to help other people.

I have sat in meetings where we had to practice breathing in and out for a long time, and yet the other person still is not able to speak. Even if we give him or her a chance to speak, no one has been able to listen to that person. Now we provide him or her with a chance. And we sit there, very attentive, and yet that person is not capable of talking. And we have to try it again and again, and finally he can begin to tell us of his pain. Patience is the mark of true love. If you love, if you really have true love within you, you become more patient. And sitting like that, in order to listen to him or to her, you need patience, you need compassion.

[One sound of the bell.]