Happiness is the Way

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May 27, 2013. 69-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Hong Kong Coliseum. The sangha is on the spring Asian Tour and this talk is given in English with consecutive translation into Chinese. This is the Public Talk.

Thay has a few questions to ask the audience and the questions might touch something very deep in you and provide you with insight to see the way to go. Allow the question to penetrate into your heart.

• Are you in love? 
• Are you still in love? 
• Do you want to reconnect with the person you used to love? 
• Do you think that he or she is happier than you are now? 
• Do you have the time for each other or are you both to busy? 
• Have you been able to preserve your freshness and beauty for yourself and for the other person? 
• Are you capable to offer him or her freshness and beauty everyday? 
• Do you know how to handle the suffering within yourself? 
• Are you able to help handle the suffering in the other person? 
• Do you understand your own suffering and the roots of that suffering? 
• Are you able to understand the suffering in the other person? 
• Do you have the capacity to help the other person suffer less? 
• Have you learned the way to calm down your painful feelings and emotions? 
• Do you have the time to listen to yourself, your suffering, your difficulties, and your deepest desire? 
• Do you have the time to listen to him or her and help him or her to suffer less? 
• Do you know the Buddhist way of restoring communication and bringing about reconciliation? 
• Are you capable of creating a feeling of joy and happiness for yourself? 
• Are you capable of helping the other person to create a feeling of joy and happiness? 
• Do you really think you have a clear spiritual path to go? 
• Do you have the feeling of peace and contentment within yourself? 
• Do you know to nourish your love everyday? 
• Have you ever met a person who is truly happy? 

During the most recent retreat at the YMCA camp in Hong Kong, we learned about walking meditation. How can we arrive with every step in the here and the now. We also learned how to breatha and sit in order to transform our suffering. In order to understand and recognize the suffering in ourselves and the other person. We only need a short time of practice to gain understanding.

What is compassionate listening and loving speech? How can we create reconciliation?

Making the Five Precepts relevant to our time. The precepts and noble eightfold path are based on the insight of Right View and allow you to transcend all discrimination.

The first training is protecting life. The second is about true happiness. Next we have true love. We’ve already touched on deep listening and loving speech, the subject of the fourth. The last training is about consumption. We cover the Four Kinds of Nutriments.