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The Present Moment is the Substance that Makes the Future
We use the present moment as the material to build the past and the future, because the present is the support for the past and the foundation for the future. If the past has not been happy enough, let us invest each day:
- seven days of practice create a small past
- seven months of nurturing brotherhood create a greater past
- seven years of living with the Sangha become a precious capital
Building the Sangha is to create a beloved community based on brotherhood and peace, continuing the ideal of the Buddha and Reverend Martin Luther King with The Southern Leadership Conference. Each breath, each step, each smile is an opportunity for us to:
- practice forgiveness and inclusiveness with “the eyes of loving-kindness”
- take care of our body and mind as we care for the Sangha
- use the twenty-four hours of each day to nourish love and joy
For Christmas, Western New Year, and Vietnamese New Year, I have:
- the Prajñā boat – a symbol of the Sangha crossing the waves
- the Buddha’s hand citrus with eight fruits – the hand of the Buddha
- a set of year-end poetry books, printing the poetry collections of Thế Lữ, Xuân Diệu, Vương Chương
During the Dharma discussion, Sister Nghiêm sings in Chinese, Pháp Biểu sings in Italian, together harmonizing “love” – the essence of Buddhism – to live fully in each moment of the present.