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Questions and Answers

Thich Nhat Hanh · February 22, 2013 · Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, France

Transcript English

The Question and Answer session took place during the monastic retreat, where the community could ask a Question or request Kieu oracles, and contribute writings for the retreat’s commemorative volume.

“How to stop striving” (Làm sao để dừng lại sự cố gắng quá mức) and whether effort is really nourishment for love, or only a kind of pretending on a stage?
How to maintain the flow of practice like a river with the Sangha when, because of conditions, one has to leave and no longer flows in this river?
How to practice in the case that one day elder brothers and elder sisters return to the ocean, become a snowflake, or change into another form?
How to transform the strong seeds of anger and heal oneself when one was abused as a child and tends to torture oneself each time one is angry with others?
How should elder brothers and elder sisters practice in order to understand and not put labels on the younger ones, and how should younger siblings open their hearts to share their own deepest concerns?
How to practice so that there is harmony when things said in a meeting are brought outside and shake the community, or when stories of this residence are told to another residence and cause upset?
Please teach about the art of being an elder brother, elder sister, and younger sibling so as to avoid distortion in communication and avoid saying unclear things that cause suffering to others.
How to explain the difference between a cloud that has no consciousness of a separate self and the consciousness of a deceased person that still clings to their children, in order to help the living transform their karmic consciousness?
When a sister shows signs of attachment and several people come to share and remind her, but she thinks they are motivated by jealousy, what should be done?
Why is it that while practicing there is fear of so many things: as a child being afraid of adults, and when grown up being afraid of younger people?
Is it true that we have heard the announcement that we will open a vegetarian restaurant to generate income, and how can we accept participating in a commercial enterprise?
Should we keep silent to have peace for ourselves and for the community, or should we speak out what we believe in, even knowing it will bring risks and make others sad?
Is there another way to be a monastic without learning the mindfulness trainings of oai nghi (monastic decorum), or how can we guide younger siblings better so that they do not feel that oai nghi is an obstacle?
Dear Thay, please interpret Kieu oracles number 28 and 40 in order to guide my practice.
How to practice and how to speak so that the Sangha truly takes care of us in terms of financial support and illness, instead of having to rely on our blood family?

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Opening instructions for the Q&A and memory-book activity

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How to stop striving?

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Thich Nhat Hanh

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How can I keep flowing with the Sangha river when I must leave, and how can I practice when I manifest in other forms?

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How to transform the strong anger rooted in childhood violence and sexual abuse?

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How should seniors and juniors avoid labeling, keep meeting information confidential, and maintain harmony in the Sangha?

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How can I help my deceased mother find liberation and realise non-duality between us?

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When several sisters offer guidance and the one advised says they are jealous, what should we do?

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Should EIAB open a vegetarian restaurant, and is it better to keep silent or speak up for harmony?

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Are mindful monastic manners essential for every aspirant, even older Western novices who feel them burdensome?

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Guidance for my practice through oracle verses 28 and 40

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How to balance accepting help from my family with the principle “let the Sangha take care”?

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