Tale of Kieu

Summary

The talk is a Dharma teaching centered on ancestral connection, the nature of reality, and the cultivation of happiness through mindfulness. It begins with a greeting to the Sangha and a reflection on the gathering as a spiritual family across France and Vietnam, especially in the context of Lunar New Year. The speaker emphasizes that human beings, like trees and rivers, need roots and sources, and that ancestors are the roots of a person’s life. From this perspective, ancestor worship is presented not as superstition but as a meaningful and even scientific practice that supports mental health, gratitude, and continuity of life. A major theme is the Vietnamese tradition of honoring ancestors through altars, incense, and offerings. The speaker explains that lighting incense, cleaning the altar, and remembering deceased relatives are ways of establishing real connection with those who have passed away. Burning paper money, clothing, and other paper offerings is also defended as an expression of love, loyalty, and remembrance rather than mere ritualism. The speaker recounts a conversation with scientists and Marxist philosophers in Ho Chi Minh City, arguing that these practices preserve cultural beauty and ethical feeling. The Forest Rose Festival is also described as a modern, symbolic adaptation of ancestor remembrance, where roses on the lapel indicate whether one’s parents are alive or deceased. The teaching then broadens into a Buddhist and scientific discussion of nonduality. The speaker argues that the separation between this world and the other world is illusory, just as science has shown that matter and energy, electricity and magnetism, sound and air, heat and matter, and heaven and earth are not truly separate. The law of conservation of energy and the law of gravity are used as examples to show that reality is interconnected and that birth and death are transformations rather than absolute endings. The cloud is offered as a vivid image: it does not die, but becomes rain, snow, or ice. This is linked to the Heart Sutra and the teaching of no birth, no death, no coming, no going. Another important section concerns Vietnamese spirit traditions such as Kau Dong, linh dung, and trance mediumship. The speaker describes rituals in which a medium, after purification and vegetarian practice, becomes a vessel for a spirit or deity such as the Mother of the Forest or Mother of Water. These practices are framed as culturally meaningful ways of seeking guidance from the unseen world and from nature. The speaker stresses that even when such practices appear superstitious, they may contain deep ethical and emotional value. The talk then turns to The Tale of Kieu by Nguyen Du, which serves as a central literary and moral example throughout the remainder of the discourse. The speaker recounts Kieu’s suffering, her relationships with Kim Trong and Tu Hai, her sacrifices for her father, her time in the brothel, and her eventual rescue by Sister Yagyong and Sister Yak Yuen. Kieu’s story is used to illustrate karma, loyalty, compassion, sexual ethics, and the complexity of human suffering. The speaker highlights Kieu’s refusal to engage in sexual relations when she felt it would destroy love, connecting this to the third mindfulness training in Plum Village, which teaches that love is not the same as sexual desire. Kieu’s suffering is interpreted not as fate alone but as the result of passion, attachment, and the conditions of life. Yet the speaker insists that she also has strong wholesome roots transmitted by her ancestors, which allow her to endure and transform her suffering. Her acts of self-sacrifice, including selling herself to save her father and encouraging Tu Hai to surrender to avoid war, are presented as morally complex but deeply compassionate. The speaker repeatedly returns to the idea that Kieu is not merely a victim; she is also a practitioner who learns from suffering and eventually gains wisdom. The final part of the talk focuses on the present moment as the true place of life and happiness. The speaker says that people often sacrifice the present for imagined future goals such as diplomas, marriage, houses, or careers, forgetting that life is only available now. Through mindful breathing and walking, one can return to the body, recognize the miracle of being alive, and cherish one’s parents, ancestors, friends, and loved ones. The concluding reflections on Kieu’s reunion with her family reinforce this message: what seems like a dream becomes real when one is fully present. The talk ends by affirming that happiness comes from seeing and appreciating one another now, before the moment passes.