Originally it wasn’t good, then it becomes so good. (Maybe we should turn on more lights.) If you have eaten, stay here. Stay here to let me have a look after you have eaten enough. We have free time. You should have some more pictures around the wall here because it’s so empty. (Yes.) Paintings. (Sifu’s paintings.) Painting. Too empty. Yes, for example, this one, we can covered with painting. How many paintings downstairs? (Oh yes, there’s plenty. We can bring some up. OK.) Bring some up. Yes, yes, Yes. This one becomes… the two doors become the sofa now. So, it becomes a living room, then everybody can come (Yes.) and see me sometimes. (Yes. Yes.) You do the same thing downstairs in that big room. (Yes, Master.)
You make a sofa out of it. Do you know how to make it? I’ll show you. That’s all there is. (Yes.) Boxes and wood. Empty wood. The door, I have taken from these useless… I’ll give it to you downstairs. (Yes.) It’s just the same, same size. (Yes.) And you find something to put it on. (Yes.) And make it a sofa like this. (Yes.) And can just relax. Otherwise, it’s so useless. OK, good.
Waiting for the blessed (vegan) food, is that right? All the Buddhas of America. Come, come, come over, no problem. Come here. Take it easy, take it easy. (Don’t come in anymore.) The dust is rising. It’s covering everything. Karma covered everything. (Move in closer, press in more.) Oh my, what’s this for? Is it for the video? (Yes.) Oh my! Can these two images even be mixed together? One is for the monk, and the other is so nice. No mixing. This one, what kind of person is that? Good decoration. You brought all the… with the frame and everything? (No.) No. The frame you bought here? (Yes.) You have them in America also? (No, it’s sent from Taiwan [Formosa] exactly like that.) Sent the whole thing? (Yes.) How can you bring 40 pictures with frames and everything? (In a big van.) Big van. (Yes.) OK. OK.
There are many people who are not here. Sue, Sue. (She’s really scared of the nighttime.) She’s too scared to come? And those Buddhas behind your back, hiding so people can’t see them? What kind of Buddhas are these, so rough-looking, all hiding like that? Oh dear! So, now that we’ve met, what’s the deal here? What are you giving? I haven’t eaten or drunk anything all day. What food did you bring? Where’s the “bribe”? Ah! Tribute? Demanding to meet, insisting on it so much. And now what? Now that we’ve met, what’s next? You always wanted to see me. So now you saw me, what happens now? What happens? What do you want to see? What do you want to give me? What do you want to take from me? What happens? Anything good? (Yes. Yes.) Hi.
I have given you everything already. It’s up to you to develop. Whether you see me or not see me, you have everything. (Yes.) I have come here not to see you. It’s just by the way. I came for some refugee issue. Nothing concrete, but because of that I came. Otherwise, I did not want to come, and especially at this time. But since I am here, so, I let you see me. So, don’t expect too much. Also, because next week… no, not next week. Next week? (Yes.) I’m going to speak at the United Nations again. So, by the way, I have to be here, so you profit from this occasion. Because I was invited since last year, before I went to Japan even. So, since I’m in America, I might as well pay my debt.
So everyone’s OK? (Yes.) No complaints? (No.) The woman who came this morning, she left? (No, I’m here.) Oh, here? You changed your clothes? (No.) No? (I stayed here the whole morning until now.) I remember you had red clothes on, no? (No.) No? You must have been angry this morning. The whole body looked red; the top one looked red. And your husband’s here? (Yes. He’s right here.) Both of you look different now, how come? Some magic. Magical power or something. Any complaints against me? (No.) (No.) If there is, you can write it on a piece of big paper like that, but only on a small corner underneath. And after you have written it, you can fold it very nicely and then put it in a dustbin.
So nice to see you. You have made this place very nice. It’s OK to speak English? Understand? No? (Yes.) Yes, no, no, yes? (Yes.) The place is very nice. You have spent some money, huh? Spent time and money here, make trouble for me. You spent time to make trouble for me. (Sorry...) It’s nice. I like your pavilion. It’s beautiful. We went for a walk this morning, looking for some bear(-people). And deer- and goat(-people), but could see no one. It’s very nice. Did you use them yet? No? (Yes.) Yes. Retreat? (Yes.) Small retreat? (Yes.) You retreat to come here just to eat and sleep and gossip without hindrance. Because at home you have work to do. You have friends, you have a telephone, so you cannot gossip freely and sleep freely. When you come here, you just retreat to sleep. Is that right? It’s OK. (Yes.) At least you have somewhere to go to hide and sleep. To be able to sleep is also very rare. It’s not easy. I’m still dizzy with work and the time change. So, you see my eyes look very cloudy. It might rain, you know, rainy weather, it’s going to rain.
So, you like it here? I like it here now. I didn’t like it before. You made it very homely, cozy, and you have put your sincerity in it. So, I feel I’d like to stay this time. I never liked to stay before. I said, “I feel like” only. I did not say, “I will stay.” “Feel like.” Just want to stay, that’s all. Haven’t even said anything about staying yet, but clapping like crazy. (Happy!) What’s with being that happy? Be happy, but keep it moderate, don’t overdo it.
Where are you from? Boston? (Pennsylvania.) Pennsylvania? All the neighboring states. Good. Why are you bowing so much? Oh, my goodness! That’s enough. Used to bowing to wooden Buddhas, now seeing a living Buddha, you keep bowing non-stop. Bowing too much makes your hands tired. Hands are for making money, not for bowing to Buddhas.
This is a nice place. How long does it stay like this? Anyone who doesn’t understand English? Raise your hand. Anyone here who doesn’t know English, raise your hand. Alright. Go outside and play. If you don’t know English, go out. What do you do here? Go behind and get some translation. Sometimes I don’t feel like speaking Aulacese (Vietnamese). Sometimes. It’s difficult. Sometimes I don’t feel like speaking Chinese. I feel speaking English is the easiest, even though my English is…, but it’s still better than broken Aulacese (Vietnamese).
There’s some Americans around there? One? The one and only? So just to see you for warming up, and then we see what we’ll do next. Boston? How come you’re here now? On strike or what? No work? (As soon as we heard You were here, we just...) Don’t care about work. Just left. Just quit the job. Leave the boss over there and say, “Sayonara. Maybe I come back, maybe not.” Is that right? (Yes.) (That’s right.) Keep your job in order, until I come back, in case I do come. Well, that’s the problem.
I was thinking this afternoon how nice it would be just to be a governor of a state, or a president, or whatever, because you just govern people, but you don’t have to see them. Except when you go for election, then you go around shake hands, kissing babies and hugging old women and all that. Yes, yes. But then normally, you don’t have to see people. You stay in your palace, warm, tidy, nice, and cozy with your family and your friends circle. And now and again, you see whom you want to see or whom you have to see, for the profit of the nation or your own. You don’t have to always hang around with the whole crowd of people like this. And even if you open the door, I don’t think people will come. I don’t think people like to hang around in the White House or governor’s palace every day, no? What do you think? Do they? Do they want to? (No.) No, I don’t think so.
I was thinking this afternoon, when you started to stream into this place, I was thinking, “Oh, it would be better to be a governor or to be something like that, a political head.” And you govern, and people know all about you and respect you, but you don’t have to take the bitter part of it, like see the people every day and entertain them and make your house become a public hotel, free of charge.
Photo Caption: Too Delicate for This Rough World. Take Care!
