This is a short teaching excerpted from a full Dharma talk given by Thay in the Summer Retreat 2002, on July 26, in Upper Hamlet, Plum Village France.

🔔 Video transcript

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"Once, roughly 15 years ago, I gave a Dharma talk in the Montréal City Hall. That day I gave the speech to a Vietnamese-only audience. I also talked about re-establishing the communication between parents and children. I gave the talk in the evening.

Earlier that morning, I heard a very tragic story. A teen boy, around 14 or 15 years old, jumped down a river to commit suicide. Because his father was a bit too harsh on him. His father forced him to be like the son of their neighbor's. [...]

Well, that morning, on his way to school, when passing by a bridge, he jumped down the river to end his life. It was a large river. This happened in Montréal.

He left a letter before suicide, saying, 'Dad, I'm very sorry that I can't do what you want me to do. So I have to take my own life.'

As I sat there taking in the story, I felt a pain shoot through my heart. My heart squeezes in pain.

So, that evening as I gave the talk, I retold this story to the audience. [...] I taught them all different sorts of ways, including using loving speech, compassionate and deep listening, and doing hugging meditation with their children.

I looked at the audience, saying, 'Gentlemen, if you've had difficulties with your sons you better give them a big hug on your return home tonight. Tomorrow may already be too late.'

Because my heart was still being weighed heavily by the story I had heard in the morning.

'If you misters are having difficulties with your sons, you better give them a big hug tonight. Tomorrow may already be too late.'

I said it with the most earnest, fervent tone of voice, like a wake-up bell."

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✩ Full talk's original title: "Đánh Mất Con Là Mất Tất Cả | TS Thích Nhất Hạnh(26-07-2002, Xóm Thương, Làng Mai)"

✩ Full talk originally posted: by Làng Mai (Plum Village's Vietnamese YouTube Channel) on Dec 23, 2023

✩ Full talk given: on July 26, 2002, Upper Hamlet, Plum Village France

✩ Excerpt's length: 26 minutes 29 seconds

✩ Video's note: "Some parts of this Dharma talk will be difficult to follow audio-wise, we hope for your kind understanding. The Plum Village Editorial Team."

✩ You can watch the full talk with English subtitles and transcript here.

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REFERENCES (Resources used to translate this Dharma talk)

Please kindly refer to the Video Transcript link for the full list.

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Republished on the Plum Village App with kind permission of Thich Nhat Hanh's Talks channel 🙏