Dear Sifu, I’ve been wanting to write to you since a while ago, and finally got time to sit down and do it. I really want to say Thank you for your teaching. Over the time I’ve spent in Russia this spring and summer I realize how much you have taught me and how useful it has been to stay in Su Bong Zen Monastery with all the nuns. It has been really helping me in life in many ways. Now in the times of war, I often recall your example and your teacher’s example on how not to take sides in the conflict and only come back to the Dharma. It has helped me not to enter many conflictous situations and not to spread hate and anger to either side, but to direct both sides to some kind of wholesome states of mind.
Also I’be using loving kindness practice a lot, as you taught, upon meeting every being or entering any place. And it really works. People in Russia can be quite intolerant towards those who look different from them or have different lifestyle or religion. So just wearing monastic clothes can provoke some aggression. But this time was quite different. To give one example here’s a story:
One time I was in a police station to apply for the new passport. There was quite a lot of people there. One man was a little drunk and very aggressive, shouting at everyone, swearing and swaying some metal thing in his hand. He almost got into a fight with one man. Than he noticed me, came up and sat right next to me. Everybody else immediately moved away. He stared at me and roared like an animal: who are you? I said: I’m a Buddhist nun. He roared again: Why did you betray our Christian faith? I said nothing, but inside I was doing the loving kindness practice for him: may you be well, may you be free from mental suffering, may you be free from physical suffering, etc... He stared me into the eyes, and a moment later he was crying. He started telling me that he participated in a war many years ago, and killed many people, and how he suffers because of that and can never forget and forgive himself, and how he wishes to die, but no one could kill him, etc, etc... After few minutes he felt better, started smiling, hugged me, gave me some small thing as a present and finally happily went away. I almost said nothing during this whole conversation, only did the loving kindness practice inside. It was very interesting to see it’s effect...
I also suggested doing it to one woman who is always stressed and very suspicious of others. She always expects other people to harm her. She started doing it whenever she can remember and she told me that it really works and she feels differently now.
A number of people also thanked you for the talk you gave to Russian and Ukrainian sanghas in the beginning of the war. People say it’s a very powerful teaching and a very sane approach to the situation. It has helped them a lot.
I could write much more about the things I learned from you, which maybe didn’t seem to be so significant back then, but over the time they were appearing in my mind in various situations and were very helpful.
But it’s getting too long and I know you’re very busy, so I stop here and thank you again.
Hapchang
So Ya