This is the 2nd guided meditation in the morning. We all are meditating together. This is a big group, therefore the number of people we don’t know would be bigger than the number of people we do. So also concerning Dhamma or the Truth or doing good deeds, what we don’t know will be much more than we know. As a meditator, what we cannot do that will be more than what we can. But we should not forget that we are not alone, we are doing good deeds together with Buddha, Dhamma, Shanga and other meditators. With this right understanding, we should not give up any present moments of doing good deeds and also doing good deeds together. To practice alone by ourselves is easier, to practice like this with a big group is very difficult.

In my own experience, to be able to open a full-time meditation center, to do good deeds together like this, I have been teaching for 5 years continuously as a monk with different people, time, and place. On the side of a meditator, practicing meditation together with a big group is a really rare chance. If you don’t have enough merits or good deeds, you cannot get involved in this retreat. If we are unable to use this chance, we are not sure to have this kind of opportunity in the future. We all should try our best by doing good deeds, to be the best use of this opportunity. What we are doing here is not only for us but also for the others and the Truth. By not doing like this very often, we all may have difficulties in this retreat for sure. We may have a desire not to meditate, to go back home, being difficult to endure. These are common, even for a regular meditator. Each retreat is not the same even if it is the same duration of nine or ten days, same place but there will be different people, teaching, and conditions. That’s why it’s difficult to do good deeds together with different conditions and different people. The good point of being difficult to practice is we have a chance to detach from practicing difficulties. We can also practice to be more patient and endurable. We also have a chance to detach from what we don’t understand, what we cannot do. Most of the people in society may not have a chance like this. Even if we are not convenient because of not understanding and not easy to practice, we should not give up; we should think of the other and the Truth. We should not destroy this kind of doing good deeds together even if we are inconvenienced to understand and to practice. Donors, volunteers, meditators, meditation teachers are all needed here till the end. Even if we can do nothing because of our sicknesses, let remain to support the teamwork. Because being difficult to open this retreat, this will also be difficult to finish.

My teaching is about the Truth. It is necessary to experience, to witness by doing good deeds freely. This will solve the problem of not knowing the Truth and unable to practice the Middle way. Even if we cannot get success, other people in the group can succeed; in this way, we will have a chance to succeed in the future. We should understand that there will be much benefit in doing good deeds together. There are many people we don’t know, many things we cannot do, and many problems we cannot solve, there will also be many benefits we don’t understand for sure. Here we all should learn how to be able to do, know, and understand in the best way.

I have been doing good deeds including practicing meditation for over 20 years, not only for me but also for others and the Truth. There are many misunderstandings, mistakes, problems, difficulties until now but I don’t emphasize on these happenings. I only emphasize not to give up or stop and do good deeds at every present moment. I emphasize to be doing-only and not-doing-only, this is the Middle way. That’s why I receive many good things and come to know many causes and effects. In teamwork, endurance and forgiveness are important. We cannot avoid mistakes and misunderstandings, that’s why we need to endure and forgive each other. If we cannot forgive we will not be forgiven in return; in this way, the mind will not be peaceful and stable. Besides, we should emphasize knowledge which is what we see here and experience by ourselves. Even our own knowledge can be wrong and knowledge from the others is not be reliable for sure. We all should use our all knowledge as much as possible. We should not use the knowledge of the others as ours. That is the cause of most problems. Even if we are using the knowledge of the others, we should try to be using-only with mindfulness and detachment. Using or not-using only is the most important of all.