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Summary
This 7-day retreat was held in a secluded river valley—Sandimen. Supreme Master Ching Hai makes use of the silent influence from nature, and lets the initiates relaxingly saunter among the river and mountains. The initiates enjoy water games, hammocks, barbecue, performances, and meditate. With the loving blessing from Master, each one returns to their simple and innocent child life, and truly experiences the state of extreme bliss of being in Nirvana. The Supreme Master says, some people think the 7-day retreat means meditation all day long, one meal a day, lectures from Master from dawn till dusk, and Master blessing everyone, etc. Those have been done too, and then she lets us play a little bit at night so as to balance Yin and Yang, thus we feel comfortable and have a happy mood and bright spirit, then we can have an effective meditation. Otherwise we will be too rushed and confused in our spirit, and won't digest the power we receive, even if it's a lot.
Any good things we should not eat too much, otherwise we will be too full to the point of bursting; nor should we take too much tonic for it may become poison. Therefore, true spiritual practitioners are very ordinary, taking whatever just a little bit and feel good as long as they are balanced. In this world there is both "good" and "bad", Yin and Yang, and we just need to balance them to make it perfect. In fact there's no goodness or badness at all; it's just that we don't know how to use it, and that's all. Whatever we do, we should be like this, and be balanced to attain perfection and comfortableness.
Highlights
Why does Master use different ways to handle 7-day retreats? Why is it that sometimes we meditate a lot, sometimes we have a lot of lectures, and sometimes a lot of entertainments?
Why does Master say that it's the best for us when she is not lecturing?
Which time is better for meditation, in the morning or at night? Why is it that we shouldn't have breakfast if we did not meditate in the morning?
Why are Master's paintings different from the disciples', even if they use the same painting tools and source materials?
Some people, after following Master and becoming monks, cross legs and sit all day long without eating and talking. Why does Master not let such saints stay? By revealing the secrets of cooking delicious Au lac cuisine (Vietnamese cuisine), Master reminds the initiates of balance in spiritual practice to achieve perfection.
Why does Master sometimes drive some people away during retreats? What effect would be caused if we beg Master to let them stay?
Why did the fifth Zen Patriarch Hongren treat his mother in such an unfilial way which did not conform to the morality in this world that his disciples misunderstood him and wavered in their faith?
According to the Bible, " If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." But why do the disciple' faith often waver?
Why should we fulfill our responsibilities to help the world? We all have our own responsibilities in this life. What can we do if we don't know what our own responsibilities are?
