(still in Mysore, but back to reporting on the 21-day "Breath of the Buddha" retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh at his monastery in Plum Village France last June)
Woke up late, shocked that I did not hear the morning bell. Wow, what a great sleep, considering I am in a pup tent with no mattress and no bed. But I am up in time to begin the trek to Lower Hamlet at 6am, for Thay's "Questions and Answers" dharma session at 7. A monk had announced it would be a half-hour walk. Whoever said that either has never taken the walk, or did it on roller skates. At a very brisk pace (4 paces for each "in" breath, 4 for each "out"), I need the entire hour to get there at 7 on the dot. As Thay's car, a Toyota Prius Hybrid, whizzes past me on the country lane, with beautiful vistas on either side, I have a nice smile on my face.
THE Q & A BEGINS
There are over 1000 people in the hall. About a third are monks, nuns, or ordained dharma teachers. The rest are very experienced practitioners. And then there is me. I have lots of questions I would love to ask Thay, but I decide to let them go. Surely the other people could ask better ones.
The announcement is made. If anyone would like to ask a question, please come to the front of the hall. No one moves. My jaw drops. I take a deep breath in. Still no one moves. So I guess this is it. I get up out of my chair, way in the back, and start walking down the center aisle. I feel a thousand sets of eyes on me. Apparently some others conclude that if an idiot like me can do it, so can they. And so about a dozen or so other proposed questioners start getting out of their seats and moving to the front.
In the front are two chairs, side by side. Thay (Thich Nhat Hanh) is in one of them, fully miked. Two professional video cameras on tripods are trained on the two chairs. As the rest of us sit cross-legged on the floor, a young woman is invited to sit in the chair next to Thay, to ask the first question. Below is a summary of some of what happened. It is not even close to a transcript!
QUESTION 1: Thay smilingly nods to the young woman, signaling that she may now ask her question. She takes a couple of breaths, and asks a question that brings her and many others, including me, to tears. She says that she sees so many of her friends finding life partners, yet she has not found one. She says that the pain of not having a partner with whom to share her life is sometimes all-consuming, and that she does not know how she can bear it. She asks Thay how to bear it.
ANSWER: Fear is in all of us. We all fear that our desire to love and be loved will never be satisfied. To truly love is to offer understanding. Develop that, and the entire world can be your life partner. One person is never enough. Look at the Buddha. He had a wife, but she was not enough for him. He had to embrace all beings as his partners. If you develop the capacity to understand and love, your fear will disappear, and with it, the pain you describe.
QUESTION 2: A second woman asks a question, reading from a piece of paper. She seems nervous, as if she knows the question will be controversial. She says, "You are one of the most emancipated men on earth. In the future, do you think it possible that your work will be carried on by a woman?"
Audible gasps and murmurs emanate from the audience.
ANSWER: Thay waits for a moment, looks at her, looks at the crowd, waits another moment, and then looks at her again. He then says to her: "You're the one!"
QUESTION 3: Do you think? And if so, how does your thinking relate to your meditation?
ANSWER: Thinking is often useless. It often leads to confusion. But Right Thinking, as prescribed by the Buddha, can help in meditation, and it can help the world. (Sorry, I cannot remember the rest of the answer.)
It is now time for me to ask a question. I take the seat next to Thay. I try to avoid looking at the vast audience, like a novice mountain climber might want to avoid looking down. I look at Thay. One of the nuns is telling him that it is time to take a written question instead, so Thay motions to me to stay and wait. It is all for the better, because I need time to breathe and calm down. The nun reads the written question, to which I cannot give justice, because I stop taking notes and concentrate on my breathing. After Thay answers, and nods to me to pick up my microphone and ask my question, I can actually observe myself asking the question, and I am amazed that can pull it off without notes, and without stammering. Here it is:
QUESTION 5: "Thank you, Thay. I am grateful that the first words out of my mouth this morning are a question to you about right livelihood. It seems easy for me to understand how some professions, like that of a butcher or a suicide bomber, are incompatible with our practice. I have much more trouble with a profession such as that of a lawyer. In that profession, for example, one may not be killing others, but in order to do the job, as the clients usually want it done, there is often no getting around the fact that the lawyer must represent the interests of one person against the supposedly different interests of another. What guidelines could you offer to determine whether someone in such a profession should consider quitting?"
Before I give you a bare summary of the full answer, which lasted over 15 minutes, I want to tell you that this was perhaps the most profound moment for me in the last 20 years or so. Thay directed most of his answer not to the cameras or to the audience, but to me personally.
(SHORT SUMMARY OF) ANSWER:
This is a difficult question, an important question. Many years ago, when Plum Village was under construction, a gentleman from California requested an appointment. At the time, which was during the winter, we had no heat other than wood stoves, and in the room where I met him, we had no seating other than wooden benches. His wife chose to wait in their car, with the motor running. The man worked for the U.S. Defense Department, and he was in charge of the placement of nuclear warheads on inter-continental ballistic missiles. He wanted to know if he should resign, in view of the fact that he considered himself a Buddhist. I took a long time before I could try to answer his question. I told him that he should stay on, but do so with the practice of mindfulness. I told him that a decision to resign could be an easy one, but that a decision to stay on, and to try to bring an increased consciousness to his job, would be far more difficult, yet perhaps more effective. I reminded him that if he quit, he most likely would have been replaced by someone who has little or no awareness at all. So what would be accomplished by his quitting? In the case of being a lawyer, you actually have an opportunity to be a dharma teacher. You can help educate your clients, heal divides, and thereby alleviate suffering. It is possible that you will lose clients in some cases if you practice this, but in most cases I think it will lead to more clients. In any event, it is vital that you bring your spiritual dimension into your professional life. And that you not compromise on that. If by bringing your mindfulness practice into your legal practice, you lose some clients, then let them go. It is far more important that you stay on your spiritual path.
QUESTION 6:
In the list of 51 mental formations, I did not see one corresponding to a sense of humor. Did I miss it?
ANSWER:
If it is not listed, then it shoud be. Let's make it number 52!
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More later. Gotta go! (to sleep)
As another lawyer, I was very moved by Thich Nhat Hanh's answer. He is right, of course. Russell, have you ever thought about becoming a professional mediator? Your entire practice would be about "healing divides."
Posted by: Susan | October 08, 2006 at 05:37 PM