ਇੱਕ ਅਭਿਆਸੀ ਉਹ ਹੈ ਜੋ ਘਰ ਜਾਣਾ ਚਾਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ, ਨੌਂ ਹਿਸ‌ਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਅਠਵਾਂ ਭਾਗ

Has (…) found a job yet? (No, not yet.) Not yet? When does he think he’ll get a job? (It’s probably very difficult, Master.) Very difficult, huh? Yeah, jobs are hard to find now, tough, right? (Yes.) How much did he earn before? (Just enough to live on, Master.) Just enough to live on? (Yes.) Why doesn’t (…) help (…) find a job? (It’s not that easy. It’s very difficult.) (Go somewhere else.) (Even the factory...) (If he moves up, he’ll relocate because it’s too expensive there, moving to another state.) (Moving to an eastern state.)

So, where has (…) been eating vegan food lately? (Just got out of the camp, so I don’t really know.) Eating vegan and looking so pale? (Instant noodles.) Eating (vegan) instant noodles? (He came to my house for [vegan] lunch today.) (I felt embarrassed.) shy? (Yes.) When you can’t eat vegan food, go to your relatives’ house to eat, right? (Yes.) Find your relatives, right? (Yes.) Because restaurant food is expensive. Even I don’t dare to eat out. (Restaurants are really expensive.) (Seven or eight dollars.) Exactly. Seven or eight dollars for what, just a bowl of (vegan) phở. Even I don’t dare to eat out at restaurants anymore. Seven or eight dollars per meal? How much for ten days? (Yes.) Just one meal, but what about three meals? You eat three, four times a day, and it’s not even convenient. (Yes, you have to drive out.) I heard there are people now offering meal delivery. (Yes, yes. Some fellow initiates cook and offer [vegan] meal delivery, and you pay monthly.) Yeah. Then order the delivery meals, or just go eat at (…) house.

(I told him to come stay at my house; I live with my parents.) Really? (Yes.) Who are your parents? (My mom and my younger brother live with me.) You have a younger sibling? (Yes.) A boy or a girl? (A boy.) Really? (Yes.) What does he do? (He’s studying. He just arrived more than a year ago.) Oh. (I’m supporting his education, so when he finishes, then he’ll take care of my mom, and I can do other things.) Do what? Take off? (Take off.) I keep turning them away, but they keep following me. I don’t accept anyone anymore. We’re not accepting new renunciates anymore. (I’m not planning to be a renunciate. I just want to help out with work.) Making vegan food? (Yes. It’s too tough at home.) Too tough at home? (Yes.) Why is it tough? (It’s just difficult. I find it very hard.) (Too many people are leaving together. We still don’t know what to do.) Running back and forth all the time? Running away and then coming back to beg me. Didn’t you see? (Yes.) Two or three of them. Three of them last night were kneeling and bowing (to me) too much. (Yes.) When they left, they made a big fuss and insisted that they must leave. And when they came back, they also made a big fuss and insisted on coming back.

No problem. We’re talking about some old times, and a job problem in America. And he can’t get a job now. He’s an engineer. Do you have any job for him? (It’s not a problem. It’s nice to be out of work for a little while.) Oh, yeah, also. (Yes, you don’t have to grow fast.) No, he gets social benefits. (Yes.) It’s enough. You have US$800. That’s a lot of money. Because he earned a lot before. That’s very good. It’s enough for you, a bachelor. (OK.) US$800 is a lot. And he doesn’t have his own house, so he doesn’t have things [that are] expensive. (He has a tent.) Huh? (He has a tent, enough.) (That’s saying he’s…) What’s that? (The tent is enough.) The tent? (The tent’s enough.) It’s too cold. (Too cold. Cold.) Too cold in America. No? (Pretty soon it will get cold.) Yeah. Well, can live in a tent for most of the year. (Yes.) About eight months of the year.

Even in winter, it’s not always cold. (Yes.) It’s warm sometimes. (But the ocean is what’s cold.) Oh. (The nights get colder. Yes. That’s when it starts to come, the winter gets cold.) Oh, I don’t feel cold here. (No, not in the daytime.) Even now? (No, now it’s not winter.) Oh, wow. (This is the Santa Ana winds that bring all the fire.) So when is winter? (Later on.) (Until about December.) (December.) (December, January, February, March.) Oh! (Yes, yes, yes.) Four months. (Yes, like that.) It never snows here? (No.) (I never saw it.) (Very seldom. Once every 20 years, maybe 30 years, they’ll get a little bit of snow.)

Now, one of our disciples, an American – she’s an opera singer, leading role, superstar – she invited me to go to Texas to her performance. What do you think? (I think about…) Why? (Do you like that?) (Is she paying?) Sure. (For maybe two minutes.) No, I wouldn’t let her pay. Maybe just a free ticket for the opera, for her honor. Only US$20. I’ll let her pay that, but not the air ticket. What I’m thinking is, it’s a seven-hour flight, my health is not so good. (Yes.) And I want to see some of the fire victims here. (Yes. Oh, You’ll stay here?) We can arrange it tomorrow. No, not stay here. I can’t stay here. What do I stay here for? I have no house. (We’ll get You one.) No, I get one of the disciples’ houses. I don’t like staying in people’s houses. And here it’s too noisy.

I only bought it for you. (Thank You.) I have never stayed here yet. (Right.) I come and sit down and go. I haven’t stayed here yet, not even one night. Never stayed here, huh? (No.) (They didn’t.) No. But it’s nice. (Oh, yes.) (Oh, it’s beautiful.) It’s not… (It’s a lovely Center.) Enough? (Yes, I love the mountains. This reminds me of...) Do we have mountains? (All here around us.) Oh, yeah? (Well, they look like it to me.) I never see them because I only see you. True, true. (Yes.) (Yes.) That’s why I didn’t notice much. Oh yeah, I noticed some of the mountains. (Yes, coming down the path. Oh, it’s beautiful.) Oh, it’s quiet enough.

Is there anyone from San Jose here? (Yes, Master.) Who? …responsible persons here. (Yes, she is gone.) Why? (Yes, Master, but the sister left after I arrived. […] is still here, I think.) Isn’t someone else here? (Someone is in Seattle.) Oh? (Master sent her to Seattle when You gave a lecture there.) Ah, really? OK, let me see. Call (…) in here. Why did she... Oh, she’s still over there? (Yes, Master.) I forgot. She didn’t ask me for permission to leave. I forgot about her. She did ask me for permission. I left her in Washington, (Yes.) and then in Canada, too. I have so much work to do, I forgot everything. (You’ve got so much work, You forgot what to do.) Right. No, I don’t forget what to do, but I forgot the other things.

(Is there anyone calling?) Yeah, in the back. When are you going back? Are you getting ready to leave soon? It’s time. (Yes, [I am going] late tonight, Master.) Alright, you can go. (Yes, Master.) How will you drive? (I can drive in the [early] morning, then go straight to work.) Going to work, you will be very tired. (It’s OK. [One time], when I came back from Hawaii at 6 AM in San Francisco, I went home at 8 AM, showered, rested a bit, and went straight to work.) Really? By plane? (Yes. Saving vacation hours.) Sometimes I had to do that too, working day and night. And on some days...

Still in Seattle? (Yes, Master.) How did you get here? (Some people carpooled, so I tagged along.) Carpooled? Did you carpool to Hawaii too? (No, I really went there on my own, not carpooling.) So clever! (Yes.) Using my money to travel? (No, Master. I used a credit card.) What credit card? Credit card? How can you have a credit card with no money left? (Somehow, I paid it off. […]’s father gave me money to support me, so I could go.) Really? (Yes.) Using that girl’s money? (Yes.) So, I’m raising your girl, and that money is actually mine. (Yes, it’s Master’s money, but I used it for the trip.) See? She dropped the girl to me, then now I’m raising both mother and daughter. Then she takes the credit card money for traveling and says it’s not mine. (Sorry, Master.)

So, is the San Jose Center still not done yet? (No, Master. Last time I checked, it wasn’t finished.) (I don’t know. Sister said that Master told them to stop working there. Then Master said to give us money to buy new land somewhere else.) That was a long time ago already. There was talk of a different piece of land. (Yes.) But whatever they said... It’s been so long that I forgot. They didn’t even sell it, so I forgot all about it. I told them to report it, but they didn’t say anything, and I also forgot. Maybe we should just build our own Center. (Some people have been asking us. When I went to Seattle, I left it to the disciples in San Jose to handle, I was not involved.) Yeah. So what’s happening now? (We’re renting a school.) I know. (Renting for Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, there’s group meditation in the afternoon, and Sunday, we meditate the whole day. Or we have a one-day retreat every other week.)

But is there enough space? (Yes, enough space, Master.) That’s good? (Yes.) It seems like everyone’s comfortable, not needing me. (The new place is really good, Master.) Really? (Yes, the new place is good.) (It’s very peaceful, Master. We have a full day retreat on Sunday, very quiet.) So nice, huh? What about the parking? (The parking is spacious. The whole school is ours on Sundays.) Then maybe there’s no need to build anything. (The whole school is ours.) Whenever we’re ready... Or to build and make it ready, then we won’t be less stuck. Can you rent that school permanently? (Yes, we can.) That’s great, huh? (That’s a good solution, Master.)

How many people can fit in there? How many people can the room hold? (On average, about 150 people weekly, and for group meditation, more than 200.) No, I mean the room itself. (The room can hold around 200, maybe 180.) Really? Is that enough? (Yes, it’s enough.) If it’s not enough later, we can find a bigger school. (Yes. We can rent a bigger room. They have many rooms available, Master.) That’s perfect then. That’s what they do in Taipei too, renting spaces like that, no need to build. (We think it’s better to save Your money and use it for something else. We can temporarily live like this.) It doesn’t cost much.

But what if we want to build something? But I am afraid we don’t have permits? Didn’t (…) say something about getting permits? (Permits for what, Master?) Permits to build a house on the hill. (I heard from the sister once that they are still waiting for paperwork. It’s taking a long time.) Exactly. And it’s still not done yet, right? (Not yet. Still not done.) We should just apply for the permit. Then, when we’re ready to build, we can go ahead. (Yes.) Understand? (Yes.) If we wait too long, we might not have time when we need the permit. Just apply for the permit, OK? (Yes.) When we’re stuck there and need to build something for the disciples to enjoy, we can gradually... Anyway, are you going to keep staying in Seattle? (I don’t know, Master. You told me to go up there, so I went. Now they keep calling me a Seattle person, not from...) Just staying there permanently?

And where’s your daughter? (She just met You earlier, Master. Now she’s...) I know, but is she staying in Seattle? (Yes, she’s studying there, Master.) Oh, my goodness, I didn’t tell you to stay there forever. (I didn’t know. You told me to go up there, so I went. Whenever Master tells me to go home, I’ll go home.) Is there anyone looking after things over there? What about in San Jose? (Ah, San Jose has […], Master.) Alright, that’s fine. Whatever works for you. You like Seattle better? (Yes, it’s easier to practice there, Master.) Oh, come on, you can practice anywhere. Is it because there are more people there, and it’s more fun living together? (No, there are only a few people there, Master.) But isn’t the meditation hall part of his house? You’re living in his house? (Yes.) Gosh, isn’t it awkward staying together? (I stay in the kitchen. But it’s quite big, Master. The whole house is spacious. The disciples there have also offered land, but haven’t built anything yet because he’s waiting for Master’s approval.)

Have I seen the land yet? Not yet? (No, last time You were here, Master, You were too busy to visit.) Oh. How far is it from here? (It takes two hours to get there.) Two hours? By plane? (Yes, two hours by plane.) How can it be that close, love? (Where is it close, Master?) (Seattle, Master.) Really? (Yes.) But it’s tiring to travel. With just a few people, it’s too tiresome. Forget it. We’ve been there already. (Yes.) So, let them do what they want. Why wait for my order? (Because Mr. […] said to wait for Master’s approval. If You say so, I’ll tell them. The disciples are ready to build the meditation hall. They feel a bit embarrassed going to his house.) Do they have a lot of money to be ready like that? (I’m not sure. The disciples said they would contribute and build it. The disciples there are very sincere, Master.) Yeah, OK. No problem. (Yes.) Later on, if they run out of money, they’ll come asking me again. (The land there is cheap, and building costs are low.) Building is expensive, but the land is cheap. (Yes.) Alright, then. No problem.

(They’re also considering buying a small mobile home, similar to here, Master. Just for group meditation, nothing else.) That’s right. And then they’ll pull something... (Yes.) Little by little, huh? (Yes.) That works. Good. Buy four or five of them, and it’ll be plenty. (Yes, over there they suggest buying a double-wide, Master. It’s as spacious as this. If we connect two, it becomes really big, Master.) Is that so? (Yes.) How can they connect them? (I don’t know, but people know how to do it.) But what about the walls? (The walls are hollow like this.) Both of them are hollow? (Yes, both are hollow.) (They have something like two panels that form a house, and they divide the land into two lots, making it easier to move. Then they bring them close together, connect them, and close it up.) Oh, really? (Yes.) Wow, that’s great. OK, very good.

Oh, we’re talking about a mobile home at the Seattle Center. That’s OK, nothing to translate. It’s just domestic affairs. (It’s very beautiful just listening to You speaking the language.) Yeah? The Aulacese (Vietnamese)? (It’s very melodic.) (Very soft language.) Oh really? (It is, very.) It is because I’ve spoken softly! (That too.) I can shout also if you want. (No. Don’t, don’t, don’t.)

So what job are you doing? (Me?) Looks like you have all the free time in the world. Are you an oil heiress or something? Tell. Tell your tale. (Tell my tale?) Yeah. (Well, actually, I’m not doing anything right now.) That I know already. (I’m waiting. No, I was waiting for You and then I’m going to work for You.) Alright. (It should have been...) (That’s it.) Do the translation, right? (Going to do that.) Yes. Maybe you can help? You are staying in Los [Angeles]? No. Where are you now? (In Costa Mesa. Oh, You mean now, now, now?) Yeah. (Now as in tonight? I don’t know.) Not tonight.

(Live in Costa Mesa.) (Costa Mesa.) Where is that? (That’s near Laguna Beach. Near Newport Beach.) (Yes, we got home after Hawaii. We went into the apartment. It was meant to be all beautiful and clean. And we saw dust everywhere, soot.) (Soot.) Where do you live? (We had the fire. Costa Mesa.) (Costa Mesa.) But where is Costa Mesa? (OK.) I have no idea. (North of San Diego, probably about 40-50 miles.) Ah, San Diego is there. (Close to San Diego.) (You have to come and see us and You’ll know where it is.) (Near Newport Beach.) Don’t try to... You might tell me the same story.

I’d like to, if I go to San Diego, maybe I will come see you. (Please do.) (It’s not that far.) It’s just like now, the Aulacese (Vietnamese) are having a waiting list that I stay in their house. And so now I stay in one of the disciples’ houses. (We have a meditation room.) You do? (Yes, and we have all Your pictures and everything like that.) Oh yeah? (We have Buddhas.) (Buddhas.) (Photos of all the great Masters.) All the collections. (You bet.)

You can check with the translation for me, please. In English, if they have. They are ready to work with the translation. (French.) Yeah, French-English, and English-French. You check. (Subtitles.) Subtitles from English to French? (Yes.) Can you do that? (Yes.) Is your French good enough? (She speaks it well; I write it well.) Alright. (With both, it goes well.) Write well is… (And me, I speak only German.) (I know the grammar; she speaks it better.) Only German? Oh, yes, that’s good. And you can check it in German? (But I’m very, very… not too good at interpreting. I’m not a good interpreter.) Why? How long have you been here? (I’ve been here a long time, but I…) You don’t speak English, right? (… I’m not gifted in that area.) You don’t know that. You just have to try. (Yes.) You don’t know – maybe you can. (It’s possible, but…) It’s not so... you can also auto… see through it, whether it’s a mistake or not. Maybe you don’t have to translate. (Aha.)

He says he’s stayed here very long, but his English is not so good. My God, I don’t believe it. Maybe you try. You have to be good in German, not in English. (Yes.) Because English you already understand. It’s very easy. But German has to be good. (Yes, even in Germany, I’ve been here for 25 years. I’m out of touch with German.) But you spoke very well in German. What are you talking about? (Well, I can speak it, but that’s different...) Right.

Photo Caption: All Around and Next Tree’s Leaves Gone or Turned Gold. Only NY (on Top of My Wigwam) Still Retains Protective Green!

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