The Aulacese (Vietnamese) community here doesn’t read Aulacese (Vietnamese) books, then what books do you read? Do you read English books? It’s fine. But do you completely understand English, or kind of like, “I come from ‘water’ Âu Lạc (Vietnam)” like that? “I go home take the ‘wind’ out of my wife.” Meaning taking the bad “chi” out of the body. […] For example, these books were translated very well. For example only, because there are other books which were translated very well, too. I had all kind of work but still made an effort to read the book [for you], and you didn’t read at all. Ah, for sure, you let me read for you, so you can enjoy listening, right? (Yes.) Only me doing all the work, and you don’t do anything at all?
OK then, this story is “The Tortoise King,” which was one of the incarnations of Shakyamuni Buddha, in the magazine named “Từ Bi Âm” (“Compassionate Sound”). I don’t know who translated this story, I didn’t see the translator’s name anywhere. For sure, it must be some Buddhist Reverend, or a monk or a nun. Normally, some Buddhist Reverend would translate these kinds of books, but they didn’t print it here.
A long, long, long, long… time ago, there was a Tortoise King who meditated diligently, day and night. He meditated two and half hours a day. He was vegan, not eating eggs. This means the Tortoise King kept the Five Precepts, meditated two and half hours every day, went to group meditation regularly. He was very diligent, hard-working, with high morals.
Normally, this Tortoise King wholeheartedly cared for the whole herd of tortoise(-people), so that they would have benefits. Tortoise is same as turtle, you know? (Yes.) Normally, this Tortoise King was teaching his junior tortoise(-people) to have benefits and at the same time be moral. They would live together in harmony, in gentleness, so that they don’t fight, don’t make animosity, or cause bloodshed or break their shells. If they’re fighting, sometimes they would break the other tortoise(-people)’s shell. That is the hardened part on top of the tortoise(-person) body. They can fight so hard that the shell can be broken. This kind of beating from some newspaper, I don’t know if my shell is still intact or not. I think my shell was broken and now the soft tissues are exposed already. I think they thought I was a tortoise(-person), so if they beat me up, I would not feel pain due to the protection of my shell.
And so, due to the Tortoise King, who was wholeheartedly diligent and caring for the whole herd, these Tortoise(-people) lived together very harmoniously, peacefully, and nothing bad was happening at all. I will talk privately later, OK? Since you arrived a bit late, I couldn’t meet with everyone. (That’s OK.) It’s already 9 o’clock.
And the tortoise(-people) in the herd were absolutely respecting the Tortoise King. Therefore they elected Him as the King, because He was not inherently their King. But normally, He is caring for the whole herd like that, and reconciling disagreements in that herd. So, the other tortoise(-people), the initiates… At that time, they weren’t fellow practitioners yet. They were called “comrades.”
What kind of “comrade” would you call Auntie Hải? If I say “our comrades” then some newspapers (in USA) would condemn me as a communist. Is there another word for it? (Yes, “đồng loại” [same species].) Species? (Yes.) Yeah, same species are OK. But we know they are the same species. Tortoise and tortoise, if they’re not the same species, then they are the same what? It means they are united in heart and mind, best friends. So, what is the term? (Fellow tortoise.) (Fellow initiate.) Can’t be initiates. They have not practiced yet. (Teammate, Master.) Teammate? Yeah. (Teammate.) The Aulacese (Vietnamese) language doesn’t have it. I am already “bad,” but you are worse. Forget it!
Those people who… What I meant was for fun only. Because you didn’t find the Aulacese (Vietnamese) term for it, then forget it. If we say “comrade,” the people would label us as communists, too. Talking about labeling, I just remembered a very good joke. There was a family which is very rich, with a luxurious villa. And outside the walls, there are pointed iron lances, to prevent robbers from climbing in. And then more barbed wires around, too. And then outside the door, there is a warning sign: “Vicious dog inside, do not trespass!” They normally have that kind of warning sign: “Beware of vicious dog inside.” One day, a robber went inside and took with him many things. Before he left, he wrote below the sign “Beware of vicious dog inside” as follows: “The dog is very gentle, do not label him as such!”
You don’t have it (translation)? (No, but that’s OK.) Why? It’s not OK. Can you share… (She was sharing but it’s too hard to understand.) Oh, really? (Yes.) Better than nothing. Well, sometimes I speak English, really I do. You know. I don’t why today I speak Aulacese (Vietnamese). So, is it the foreigners that have the cables, or the Aulacese (Vietnamese) people have cables? (For foreigners. For foreigners.) Only foreigners? Oh, my God. And what’s with those things hanging on the ears of the Aulacese (Vietnamese) people in the back? “In case You speak English.” Oh, is that so? My God. Then should I just speak English? (No, please don’t. No!) (No!) No? (No!) You see that? (No!) I want to speak English, but they all say “no.” (Yes.) (No.)
Oh, God. I have trouble all the time. Everywhere. How many “no”? “No English,” raise your hand. How many of you understand English? How many of you know English, raise your hand. That is OK, so I will speak English then. (No Master, not all of us understand.) I already spoke in Aulacese (Vietnamese), so I will continue. (Yeah!) I’m already halfway [through] in Aulacese (Vietnamese), so maybe you try to listen to the Aulacese (Vietnamese) and English translation, and then later I’ll make it up to you. I will talk to you in English, and you can ask me a question in English afterward. I’ll “throw” them all out and then you, just you stay here. Alright? Is that OK? (Yes.)
Otherwise, I can never please everybody. Always, everyone wants different things. And the Chinese also, definitely want me to speak Chinese. That’s why the Shakyamuni Buddha, He learned only one language. And I didn’t hear that [Lord] Jesus can speak too many languages. They were clever. I didn’t know that before I got enlightenment. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have learned anything; just Aulacese (Vietnamese). Alright, now I continue speaking in Aulacese (Vietnamese). So now the Tortoise king was respected very much by everyone. All of you try to translate well. And you don’t have translation? The guy who doesn’t have translation, please somebody whisper it into his ear. (Yes!) (We have translator.) Thank you, thank you. You have to take care of your neighbor in case he doesn’t have or he doesn’t have a good translator. Please take care. Better than nothing. (Yes.) (Yes, Master.)
When I go to India, they all speak Hindi and nobody translates for me, even. I have to try to use my wisdom to understand. But all I can understand is “chapati,” “curry,” “pepper,” ladoos. All the sweet stuff in India, all the food in India, I understand all these kinds of… when they speak like this… “Ah! Now I understand. Chapati. Yes. Ladoos,” sweet (vegan) “meat.” Otherwise, nothing else. But better than nothing. So, nobody can announce that I don’t understand anything from the lecture. I understand something. Yeah, sometimes they speak English. Some of the Masters speak English. But you know the Hindu accent is terrible. Very, very difficult to understand. Sometimes I talk for half an hour I don’t know what she’s talking about. You understand? Yes, very difficult. Very difficult. So, you’re already very lucky that I speak not very bad English.
So, let’s go back to the story. That meant this Tortoise(-person) was respected by all, therefore the majority of the herd voted Him as their King. And when there was some discontent, something that was not harmonious, or something that was not fair in the tortoise(-people) society, then they asked the Tortoise King to resolve it. So in any world, there is always some tortoise(-people), right? There is no society that has no tortoise(-people). Not only the tortoise(-people) society in the story. While we are working with other countries, we can see the administrative “tortoise” who can crawl very slowly. (Yes.) Everywhere, there is a tortoise(-person) anywhere. So tortoise(-people) are omnipresent, right?
Not only Shakyamuni Buddha is omnipresent, or appearing everywhere, but the tortoise(-person) is also. We meet “tortoise(-people)” in any country, especially when we are asking about tax problems, or requesting social security money, or applying for medicare, or anything like that. That is when the “tortoise(-people)” all come out on the street, to block and hinder the work. Or in the case of refugees who are in a refugee camp and applying to go to a third free country, then there is a “tortoise(-person),” very much a “turtle,” so slow. It’s not like only this story has tortoise(-people). So it is not surprising to us in the tortoise(-people) society, right? We get used to it already. These are our friends. The citizens’ friends. Well, I can’t say that. Not everyone is like that, only the majority. Well, not really. Only some of them. Saying like that would insult them! Then later, they would take me out and practice kung fu on me, as their punching bag again. So pitiful! But if that turtle society were only turtles, this wouldn’t have happened. Then I don’t need to sit here and read this story. But it’s too bad that there was a story!
Photo Caption: Oh, Material Life Has Things… and Things…!
