Retreat Diary – To my friends

...The monks' lectures make me sleepy so I name them as "anesthetists"...

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Dear diary!

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Actually, I do not like to sit alone writing something\r\nlikes those who suffer autism. Here, I have nothing to do but write something\r\nto tell  my friends as I come home. That I joined the summer retreat has\r\ncaused great stir on netizens, (just a slight exaggeration) but actually on\r\nsome friends.

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 I do not know who revealed this top secret\r\ninformation. Everyone don’t believe that a " sane" and handsome guy\r\nlike me took a  Buddhist retreat! Oh  Gosh! Countless message, email,\r\nphone calls came when I was in the pagoda. . Some of them are: "You are a\r\ndevil,  so how dare you participate in the retreat?", or\r\n "You suppose your neighborhood harassment isn't enough, so now you\r\nare going to cause troubles to the temple, aren't you?", "Buddha\r\nbless you! From now on, I will abandon sexual misconduct, alcohol,... guilty,\r\nguilty" and   a lot more. I think my "base" friends’\r\nremarks  is true.

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 What a great job for such a person like me to take a\r\n7- day retreat course! Earlier, I came to temple because my girl friend wants\r\nme to take her there for offerings.  There is nothing heroic about it,\r\njust a gallant action. Temples are boring.  Couples are not allowed to\r\nhave romantic gestures; people must not either smoke  or laugh loudly.

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 Some young men like us must have become old  once\r\nbeing here for some time. The monks'   lectures make me sleepy; so I\r\nname them as " anesthetists". ( He-he it is my first thought as I\r\nhave not joined the retreat yet!). Then, I  decided to take part in the\r\n retreat, finally. Boo hoo, indeed  I felt bored on early days, but I\r\ncould watch  pretty girls. (Buddha blesses you! Sin, guilt).

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 Let me tell you guys: We had to go vegan and sometimes\r\nshared bath-room.  Moreover, phone, internet access and  smoking are\r\nnot allowed either.  (Anyway, there are some guys hiding in the toilet\r\nsmoking). But I did  not smoke because I believe that is  an offence.\r\nDid these discourage you yet? But I have not been bored at all! After two days\r\nI regained vitality. Ha-ha. (Do not think ill of me; I'm practicing religion\r\nbut ..., well it is also partly because of several girls...  he-he).

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 On the third day, I was really interested in the\r\ncourse.   They are clearly recognized to be talented monks. (I am not\r\nflattering them). They can do everything well such as cooking, singing....\r\nThere are a few young monks whose voice is sweet enough to compete in The Voice\r\nsinging competition…he-he! In addition, there are some handsome monks and I\r\nthink  they must have been lovelorn  and decided to become monks.\r\n (At first thought). Oh, I have to go to sleep. The monks are coming up.

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 On the 4th day, I intended to delete a few lines, but\r\n on second thought, it was all right. That is just a superficial thought\r\n of the youth. Sometimes, there are dark thoughts when I come to the\r\ntemple, or when thinking about the temple. After some days, I was actually\r\ntouched  by their teachings as well as their great work. The number of\r\nyoung monks who have kind heart is so rare (They became monks not because of\r\nobstacles in love). Contrary to them, we are the guys who just  enjoy a\r\nlife of pleasure,  snobbishness, and entirely waste our lives. Worse, not\r\nonly are we useless but also disruptive guys. I do not think you can understand\r\nit thoroughly  just when you are here and perceive the experience like me.\r\nWe cannot be blamed for all evil deeds because how can we avoid them while we\r\nare living in the environment with many temptations.

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"Would you mind joining the Buddhist retreat regardless\r\neverything?"

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"Hold my hand tightly and promise we will  fully\r\ncomplete the 7- day retreat.  "He-he "

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I have really changed much. I want you to be enlightened\r\nlike me because we are best friends. I do not know  when you, the\r\n"sane" and handsome people, can be enlightened as I am here. I\r\n watch pretty girls less; do not care about it much anymore. He-he. Well,\r\nthere are some guys  who seem like gays in practice here, too. They stared\r\nat me sometimes. . Buddha blesses you! Loving-kindness, compassion, joy and\r\nequanimity. (He-he, I do not understand  these words well). I have to go\r\nto bed. The monks are coming up.

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 Translated into English by Huynh Thi Tuyet Ngoc.

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