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Tuesday Afternoon Dharma Talk
Social justice work in Vietnam is approached through the Buddha’s teachings of love and understanding, contrasting with Marxist methods of generating hatred to fight exploiters. When the arrest of friends and the tragedy of the war caused a block of pain that made breathing difficult, deep concentration and conscious breathing were utilized to survive. To resolve the overwhelming suffering of the country, mindfulness is applied to specific daily actions: walking meditation, sitting meditation, planting lettuce meditation, cutting carrot meditation, cooking meditation, and washing clothes. By dwelling in the present moment, the mind is prevented from being invaded by pain. Moving to the countryside allows for the watering of new seeds in the alayavijñāna or storehouse consciousness, calming the manovijñāna or upper level of consciousness.
Creative methods are employed to send aid to Vietnam after the government seized funds intended for 10,000 orphans. Medicine such as Camphre-long and Aspirin is sent to be exchanged for rice to feed hungry children. To protect recipients from being accused of CIA connections, the sender “dies” to their old identity, using different names and handwriting to coordinate distribution. Work is conducted without attachment, following the insight that one must be free like a cloud; when a cloud dies, it transforms into rain, which then becomes grass, lettuce, or a cucumber. This perspective allows for working wholeheartedly in the present without fear of death.
Efforts include crossing fire zones under a Buddhist flag to deliver aid and establishing support for writers and artists, who are considered rare flowers of humanity. Letters are sent to inspire these individuals, many of whom are in re-education camps. The development of Plum Village near Bordeaux is described as a response to the need for more space for practitioners. An appeal is made to sign three letters requesting release: one for writers and artists, one for monks, and one for prisoners in general. Attention is drawn to the plight of boat people facing forced repatriation to re-education camps, urging political influence to prevent them from being sent back to Vietnam.
