LISTENING – VEN. THAY THANH

Listening:

Teaching in Virginia Beach, Ven. Chuc Thanh told the sangha: “Listening is part of the art of compassion. Learn to listen without judgement.  Many times, people just need someone who will listen to them without commenting or passing judgement on them.  It is okay to listen and accept their worries.  Just put them in your ‘back pack’ while you are with them, and then open the bottom of the back pack later and let the other person’s worries drop out.  Listen, accept and then let go.”

Ven. Chuc Thanh uses the analogy of the back pack frequently in his talks with the sangha as one technique we can use to collect or organize our thoughts, feelings, perceptions, etc. so that we may review and reflect upon them, learn from them and then let them go. Some things may stay in our back packs longer than others, and some might even return to our thoughts to go through the letting go process again.

In this specific teaching, Chuc Thanh is encouraging us to be good listeners. Through his reference to the back pack, he is providing a technique to help us.  Perhaps you can find other ways to apply the back pack technique to your daily practice.

(Venerable Thich Chuc Thanh is the Dharma Master at Dong Hung Temple. These quotations were collected from 2015 through 2018 as he taught in Virginia Beach, VA and Southern Shores, NC.  The quotation titles and commentary are by temple member Mark Palamara.)