[One sound of the bell.]

Thank you, Thầy, for the opportunity to ask you a specific question. I'm very glad that before, you referred to combatants as victims as well. My question is somewhat similar. I work for the United Nations in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations as a disarmament, demobilization, reintegration officer. Put simply, that means I negotiate and prepare programs for combatants after conflict so that they can transition to a civilian life. I've done that for twelve years.

I've lived in Congo, eastern Congo, in Haiti, been to Afghanistan. But more recently, what concerns me is that I just spent the last month in Mogadishu in Somalia. And most of the time I'm dealing with young men that are involved in these armed groups. In particular, now we seem to have competition. We have groups such as Al-Qaeda that are asking them to come and join them with armed groups. I think people perceive that as a religious war, but in fact, I think they are appealing to very poor young people's sense of being dispossessed, sense of injustice in the world, and they have nothing. Al-Qaeda gives them something. It gives them a little money, but they also become part of something.

Even though it's a jihadi movement, they feel respected maybe feared, and it's very hard to compete with that. So I guess my question is, I'm looking for some guidance as to how we might approach these young men, how we might design programs that help them, want to convince them, because I find it difficult, because I think the Western states do forget them unless they do pick up a gun. That we design an approach that convinces them to come towards peace, to put down their guns. And when we have so little means, and Al Qaeda and others have a lot more means, and a lot more convincing and strong arguments for them in their particular situation. So I was just hoping for a little bit, I know that's difficult, but a little bit of your wisdom with regard to that situation. Thank you.

Dear Thầy, our friend is working with the UN, the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces in demobilization and disarmament. He works, he's worked in many of the countries where the greatest suffering has happened from violence of war. Many different countries, but right now his question has to do with being in countries after conflict where the Al-Qaeda is very strong. And he's generally working with young men who have been in an armed conflict. He's trying to help them to go in the direction of peace. These are often young men who are dispossessed, they are maybe destitute, they have maybe no money, no power.

And Al-Qaeda is standing right behind, ready to offer them a little bit of money, some power of the guns, but also the kind of status. Because our friend is saying that this is not necessarily only a religious war that Al-Qaeda is presenting, but they present themselves as fighting injustice. That Al-Qaeda says, "We are the ones fighting the injustice and you can join us in the fight and become warriors with us." So our friend is asking, especially coming—as a Western person—did you say? Yeah.—When he's coming and trying to help these young men to turn away from violence and go in the direction of peace. What can he do to help them make that choice and not to choose what Al-Qaeda is offering them?

Maybe we should begin by inviting some of them to come to a place where there are kind people, people who have compassion, understanding, who can help other people, and do not have to spend a lot of money in order to be happy. I think these young people they need to survive. And they need some money. And they are offered some money in order to do the things that will make them suffer later. So one of the things we can show them is that you don't need a lot of money in order to live happily.

Suppose you come to Plum Village and see the monks and nuns living. No one of us has a private home. No one of us has a car, private car. No one of us has a private bank account. And yet, happiness is possible with brotherhood, sisterhood, with the feeling that you are useful to society. And happiness is possible when you have compassion and understanding. That you cannot talk to them because they should see by themselves. Come and see by yourself and you are convinced that there is a way of life that can be fulfilling.

And maybe some of them can have a direct experience of that kind of living and serving. And you go back and tell them, tell the rest. We come from a Western country, they may not believe you, but some of them, after having had experience, tell them—they will understand. I think the practice of looking, listening to the suffering inside of us and in the other person, a group of persons is very important. So we can find ways to show them that not only we suffer, but the people we are about to punish, they suffer also. They suffer also.

So that is the practice of the precept regarding understanding suffering. By many ways you can recognize and understand the suffering in the world. And even in the people, they tell you to be your enemies, representing evil. So that kind of understanding suffering will bring about compassion and compassion helps them to suffer less. And when you suffer less, you can help another person to suffer less. So there must be a kind of strategy in order to really help them. Money is just a small part of it.

And if you are surrounded by friends, co-workers who have the same kind of vision and understanding, then you will succeed. You cannot do it alone. You've got to have a Sangha behind you, supporting you, always supplying you with the kind of energy of understanding and compassion so that you can continue. Otherwise you will give up after some time trying. It's very important. If you want to do something, build a Sangha. Build a Sangha.

And if President Obama has a Sangha like that, he will be able to do a lot of good things. And the truth is, the same thing is true with all of us. If you want to achieve something in your life, you need a Sangha. The Buddha knew that after enlightenment, the first thing he did is to go and look for elements of his Sangha.