So now, there was a young man who was in training to become a priest. As a priest’s job, sometimes in the church, people come and confess to you. If you are a priest, people come and confess to you their sins, and then you must listen. Or when they come to you with their problems and you try to help or not to help, you must listen. You listen to everything that people tell you, if they want to tell you. So now, the priest was in training, and he’s supposed to listen to everybody. It doesn’t matter what it is. And he made a vow to himself that he would listen to anybody, whatever their complaint is. Whether he could help or not, he would listen patiently. So that’s what he did. And time over, over, over again, and again, and again, and again. He listened and listened. He listened. Sometimes he gave advice, sometimes he didn’t, but he gave sympathy, or comfort, or encouragement, accordingly. It doesn’t matter sometimes how much he’s disgusted with the story, he still holds fast to his vow, not to reject the person and send him away. But listen, listen, listen. Everybody was very happy with him and pleased with him because he was really sincere and he really kept his vow inside, that he listened to everybody and gave sympathy to everyone that he happened to listen to.
And then, one day, a woman came in. Then he listened alright, but he felt something was not very proper here, and he didn’t know what. For example, one day the woman had a very, very terrible headache. She came in and complained to him about her headache. This headache was very awful. It’s like a migraine or something, but it didn’t go away with all kinds of medicine or doctors and things like that. But the priest would say to her, “Maybe something bothers you at home, no? Something gives you a headache, no? Maybe you have pressure or family [issues] or something. Wouldn’t you tell me?” Then the woman told him everything, everything, everything, everything, everything. Absolutely almost everything gives her a headache. There’s nothing at home that doesn’t gives her a headache. So, she talked on and on and on for a few hours. The poor priest, the pious priest, just sat there and listened, listened, listened. And after a while, she said, “OK, I’m sorry it took a long time, but I feel much better now. Thank you very much. Oh, my headache’s gone. It’s really fantastic. Thank you, Father.” And so, the Father, the priest, thought to himself inside, “Yeah, I know, I know. Now I have a headache.”
So that’s the karma. You take what people give to you. There must be something there. Just like a man who was very hot – he’s a wealthy man and he had servants in his house and he felt very, very hot. So, then he told his servant to fan him. So, the servant, of course, fanned him, fanned, fanned, fanned, fanned, fanned, fanned all the time. And later, the wealthy man felt very good, said, “Oh, it’s good now. All my sweat is gone. I don’t know where to.” So, the servant said, “It came to me.” The servant’s now sweating from fanning him. So, there must be some exchange of some kind. Same with the things that I told you about the germs from the mouth water (saliva) and things like that. So do take care.
How long did I speak? Is it enough now? I think it’s enough. (No.) Nah? I know you would listen all year round. Alright. I think that’s OK. You have more time to look at me, and then you go home. Did you eat good (vegan) cakes? Did you eat something? They prepared? (Yes.) Did you? (Yes.) I’ve seen a lot, still outside. You don’t want [any]? Oh, you didn’t have enough. This is leftover, right? There are leftovers outside, right? Too much to finish, right? (They came to fetch it just now, because the quantity was limited and there were so many people, so everyone just took a little to eat inside.) Oh, there’s more. There’s plenty out there. What time is it now? What time is it? (Around 12 o’clock.) 12 o’clock (AM). (Yes.) You see? Now it’s (Lunar) New Year’s. Just on time. I just finished on time. So next year we’ll tell a new story. Anyhow, if you believe it, I would wish you a good (Lunar) New Year, a good new start, a new try. Whatever you failed to do last year, you will have a good start again, and then you will succeed.
Alright? I’m going to slide down. OK. I’ll just walk around, then I’ll go up. Take this. OK. No need. So, it’s good to have a (Lunar) New Year this way. Are there any Chinese here? (Yes.) Yes. OK. Did you have translation just now? (No.) “No” is the best. I will go over there to let you have a look, and then it’s fine. I’m going between there. If you leave me a path, I’ll go there better. Why [are] you not sitting here? OK, I will go from the middle path. So, you can have a look at my beautiful clothes. I’ll go this way. Just a little, just a little path, Alright, so if I walk like this, you can see me, right? Can I have a path, please? Just squeeze together and give me a little way. It’s OK. It’s OK now. Yeah, don’t put anything on my path; I’m wearing high heels, OK? It’s very difficult to walk already. Thank you.
(Master. Master, You’re so beautiful!) It’s Aulacese (Vietnamese), after all. I don’t want to walk on your “beds.” (So beautiful. Master, You’re so beautiful!) It’s an Aulacese (Vietnamese) outfit. (Master is so beautiful!) (The dragon is so beautiful!) This is beautiful? (No, Master is beautiful.) What is “rộp”? (“Rộp” [robe] is the outfit, Master.) (The dragon. The dragon.) A dragon? (Yes, a dragon.) You call it a dragon but pronounce it like a louse. The dragon speaks, but it sounds like a louse. (Right at that part, the smoke is so beautiful, Master.) Beautiful, right? (So beautiful. So beautiful, Master.) Just go home and have one made, that’s all. (Yes, we’ll copy it.) Amazing, right? Just looking at it is amazing. (Looking at it, it really does look like that, amazing.)
(How did it come out like that?) It’s an Aulacese (Vietnamese) outfit – don’t you know? (Yes, it’s amazing.) (My mother says it’s amazing.) From the North, right? (Yes.) You know? (Yes.) It’s this beautiful – haven’t you ever seen it before? (No.) Everyone has this outfit. (No, only Master has it.) It’s because Master modernized it. Making our traditional long dress even more beautiful. (Yes.) Just like some Aulacese (Vietnamese) zippers, or sometimes I wear loose pants (Yes.) and a slightly tight top – that’s basically an Aulacese (Vietnamese) bà ba shirt. (Yes.) But if you choose nice fabric and tailor it well, add big buttons, it looks beautiful – otherwise, the bà ba shirt doesn’t look like much. (Yes.) It’s not exactly like the original bà ba shirt, see? (Yes.) Sometimes I wear those pants, or sometimes a mixed-style shirt like that. (Yes.) Thanks to the nice fabric and good tailoring, it ends up looking Western, but really, it’s still our traditional mixed-style shirt. (Because Master is beautiful.) Everything is “bà” anyway. Bà lai, bà ba. Bà Rịa, bà ra.
This is an Aulacese (Vietnamese) áo dài. (Yes. So beautiful!) Today is Aulacese (Vietnamese) New Year, so I’m wearing an Aulacese (Vietnamese) áo dài for everyone to see. (Wonderful! Wonderful!) This one is just a bit different, (Yes.) Just add a little soy sauce, a little salt. Wasn’t it Ms. (…) who sewed clothes for me the other day, and everyone complained like crazy, saying, “Why is the fabric so incredibly thin?” (It was […].) Remember? Ms. (…)? When I properly design the pattern, Taiwanese (Formosan) tailors can make it even better. (Yes.) This needs to be modified a bit to look good. (Yes.) Right? (Yes.) (Way too difficult.) You’re sewing an Aulacese (Vietnamese) outfit – it’s not really any different, see? (Yes.) It’s clearly Aulacese (Vietnamese). (Yes.) Very clear, right? (Yes.) Now, wearing this, would anyone say it’s not Aulacese (Vietnamese)? (It’s Aulacese [Vietnamese].) You recognize it as Aulacese (Vietnamese), right? (Yes.) OK. (But it looks very elegant, Master.) (This is the most beautiful Aulacese [Vietnamese] outfit ever.)
If it looks elegant, that’s because the person wearing it makes it look elegant. I was just showing off to them. Nothing special. I said that my clothes are very beautiful. That’s it. Beautiful, huh? (Beautiful.) (Yes.) This is the traditional costume of Âu Lạc (Vietnam). (So beautiful, Master.) Áo tứ thân (traditional Aulacese [Vietnamese] dress). That’s right. An Âu Lạc (Vietnam) outfit – Northern (Aulacese) Vietnamese clothing. (Yes.) That crow-beak headscarf. (Yes.) But the crow’s beak here is broken. Too tired, it drooped, so… Now it’s some other kind of beak. Turned into a temple monk’s wooden fish “tok tok, tok tok.”
Chinese people. (Yes.) (Master.) Âu Lạc (Vietnam), right? (Yes.) Why are there so many Âu Lạc (Vietnamese) people here? (Beautiful. So beautiful.) So many Âu Lạc (Vietnamese) here? (Yes.) You guards don’t need to be here. It’s alright. Don’t have to follow me. Go out. Beautiful. (Beautiful.) Last time I taught you how to do makeup, but you’re not doing it. (Very beautiful. Nice.) Beautiful and nice, huh? (Nice. Yes.) It’s an Aulacese (Vietnamese) costume. (So beautiful.) I myself designed it. Adding something to make it beautiful. You’ve seen Aulacese (Vietnamese) costumes. They often wear a lot, don’t they? Not as dignified and beautiful as this one. Yeah. You saw them dancing, no? (Yes.) They were wearing it, but not the same as mine. (Yes.) If the design is different, it’s different. This is making it look nicer. It’s different. (Yes.) That’s right. I’m the best at everything. It is Chinese New Year; what’s the harm in giving a little compliment?
Photo Caption: “No Matter How Beautiful, It's Impermanent on Earth”
