Today is September 19, 2011. We are at Deer Park Monastery on the fourth day of the retreat with the theme of opening the heart. This retreat is one day shorter than the English retreat. Therefore, although the Q&A session was supposed to be tomorrow, we are having it today. This is an opportunity for us to ask questions, and we know that a well-asked question can bring benefits to many people. A question is not just a question; it is practical and related to our practice. Our sufferings, our happiness, our difficulties, and the fruits of our practice. When we ask such a question, everyone in the community can benefit from it. Therefore, we should only ask questions from the heart. The question of the heart.

Usually, during a retreat, the children are asked questions first, then the teenagers, and then the young adults ask their questions. But today, we have let the children go outside for activities. If there are young people, they will have the priority to ask questions, and all of us here, if anyone has a question, please come up here and sit with Thầy. Then we will take turns sitting on that chair so everyone can see our face when we ask the question. Typically, according to this practice, before asking a question, there will be a sound of the bell, and the whole community will breathe in and out three times to calm our mind. Then the person sitting on the chair will ask one question, and only one question, because we want to give others a chance. A good question doesn't need to be long and elaborate. We should remember that a good and right question can benefit many people. If any of us are a bit shy and don't want to come up here, we can write the question down on a piece of paper and ask someone else to bring it up. We can also ask on behalf of a friend or a loved one who is not present here. In Plum Village, sometimes children ask very tricky questions. For example, they might ask, "Dear Thầy, why does my father know that smoking is bad for his health but he still smokes?" "Dear Thầy, why did my parents get divorced?" Questions like that. "Dear Thầy, why is there good and bad?"

It asks questions like that. The concepts of good and evil, it asks very unique questions. It makes adults ponder.