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The Tale of Kieu – Through the Eyes of Mindfulness, Part 6
The brown robe gradually turned the color of meditation – ever since Thúy Kiều wore the brown nun’s robe, we should consistently read the word T H I Ề N (Dhyāna). After a few months of practice, Kiều did not have a sangha or a stable guiding teacher, so her practice was only superficial: busy with chanting, burning incense, sweeping the temple to “cover her sorrow with the mat before the Buddha,” but she did not transform her internal knots. When fellow practitioners came, she could talk and laugh naturally, but when they left and she was “shedding pearls in solitude,” she would cry.
Lacking mindfulness and faith, Kiều violated the precepts:
- stealing the golden bell and silver gong at the Avalokiteshvara Pavilion
-
lying to Abbess Giác Duyên about her background
which led her to flee to the Bạc family and then fall into the brothel a second time.
A strong bodhicitta and solid precepts are the sources of energy to transform suffering and protect the practitioner. Ordaining is not to run away from suffering, but to transform suffering and bring joy to all beings.
