BROTHER
Bro, you are one of the most outstanding youths who came to join this program “Breathe and Smile”. You shining shaved head caused me to mistake you as one of the brown-robed monks. How happy you were to win the auction of this caligraphy piece “I am breathing for Mom and Dad, I am smiling for Mom and Dad”. You confided in me: “I bought this caligraphy for my six-month old daughter. Since her birth six months ago, my wife and I have spent every night reading “White clouds over the old path” (Đường xưa mây trắng) of Master… Also since my wife’s giving birth to my daughter, I have decided to shave off my head” Talking to you seemed to make me hear the first cry of your newborn, together with the tears you and your wife have shed. The sweet drops of happiness.

ELDER SISTER
You brought with you an air of rush, and you walked pass the bamboo gate “Returned, Arrived” laden with all the ups-and-downs of the Real Estates market. However, on the last afternoon, you burst into tears. You burst into tears just a satna after your successful bidding over a piece of caligraphy. What caused you to shed tears was the explanations of a nun: “you are so lucky to have obtained this caligraphy… “Child, relax your steps toward home” is a verse written by Master as a message Master wished to be carved on his tombstone. Your tears caused the whole audience to cry, including me. In the brilliant sunset of Hoi An, the singsong of monk Pháp Niệm seemed to be miraculously flowing:

Here I am, come and go with a light heart
Not an ounce of care about to be or not to be, exist or waste
Child, lighten up your steps back home
That moon up there, never a full moon, nor a crescent

MY FRIEND
Grabing my hands, you hurrily wispered: “You know what, when Master told us “breathe in deeply, breathe out lightly… think about your enemies, think about those to whom you have born a grudge all your life… breathe in deeply, breathe out lightly… please let go, forgive and smile… breathe in deeply, breathe out lightly..” I then saw, I did see his disgusting face, and I cried…”

“EACH STEP IS A STEP OF HAPPINESS”
Two business persons, one from the North, one from the South, were allowed to negotiate in private for the last bidding round over the piece of “Each step is life”. Everybody else stepped out to allow them this privacy. Right now, I am not so certain how many of us aware of who was the winner. However, one thing I can be certain about is that nobody could forget the firm handshake when the two businessmen lifted up the caligraphy so that “Each step is a step of happiness”, so that they can take their separate journeys back home (one to the north, one to the south) in a light pace.
On the last night, a group of 300 people walked in total silence, 600 sparkling lanterns in hands, “each step is a step of love”.
Then out on the lake, 600 lanterns were launched, 300 prayers were silently said.
Tears also shed in silence. A night in a “magnificient silence”.
Is it true that every time one can cry with happiness, is a time for a turning point toward a better tomorrow….

By Le Ba Thong

The auction of 6 art pieces of caligraphy that Zen master Thích Nhất Hạnh dedicated to “Doanh Nhân” magazine (column “Breathe and Smile”)- A special event for “Doanh Nhân Việt Nam” and master Thích Nhất Hạnh, that increased the funds “The Future Manager” of the DNSG magazine by a hundred million dong.