The Novice by Thich Nhat Hanh Read Free Book Online

self-directed personal reflection.
    The second focus was Thien Si. It seemed Thien Si was trapped. The only son of a rich family, he had many advantages for acquiring a good education and a successful career, but the young man just could not be master of his own life. Thien Si was living as a shadow of his parents, completely under their control, just like a marionette moving under the puppeteer’s strings. He was not capable of making his own judgments about things or of creating happiness for himself and his beloved.
    Kinh Tam thought back to the critical moment of the accusation of attempted murder. Thien Si was sitting there, wanting to say something, but he was ultimately unable to voice his thoughts. He was about to lose his wife, yet he could not take charge of the situation or even make any decision at all. His parents resolved to send their daughter-in-law away. How could he oppose them? Kinh had tried to change the situation, but could not. In returning home Kinh had felt quite light in heart and mind, not holding any grudge toward Thien Si. At the same time, Kinh did not have much respect for him, and without respect, marital love simply could not survive.
    The third subject of this meditation was Mau. Daughter of a rich family, she had beauty and position, but not happiness. Although her suitors were numerous, she had never been truly loved. Even the young man whom Mau had bedded she neither loved nor respected. The novice did not need to know who that man was. What the novice knew with certainty was that Mau did not love that person. Both Mau and that man were simply victims of the raging fires of passion.
    Mau fell in love, but fatally, as that love came up against two major obstacles. The first was that the person she loved had taken monastic vows. The second was that the person she loved was a young woman in disguise. Furthermore, Mau did not know how to practice in accord with the teachings of the Buddha, such as the Five Mindfulness Trainings (Buddhist precepts). No one had helped Mau understand that body and mind are like deep oceans containing dark, hidden whirlpools and sea monsters that can capsize the boat of our life in seconds. When one is miserable, lonely, and hopeless because of an impossible love, wealth or beauty has no real value. The issue is how to actually create happiness.
    Both Kinh Tam and Mau were in danger of being drowned in the ocean of suffering and ignorance. If Kinh Tam had not practiced, the novice would not have been able to escape that ocean. Mau had hoped to trap Kinh Tam into admitting to the alleged tryst. The young woman still had confidence in the strength of her influence, her power, and her position in society. But Kinh Tam had defied all of that. Mau’s pride and conceit were totally demolished. It could be said that she suffered the most. What was left for her to feel happy about in life? Could it be that the only path remaining for her was the path of practice?
    The fourth person was the biological father of Thien Tai. Whether that man was rich or poor, young or old, of high or low social class, acquainted with the novice or not, still living in the village or long gone away to another place, all was of little importance to the novice. Kinh Tam only saw that the man also suffered greatly. He had suffered because Mau did not acknowledge him, even though she had allowed him to be physically intimate with her. If Mau had loved him, she would have reported his name to the village council and had their wedding arranged. The truth was that Mau did not love him, and she was afraid of even mentioning his name. Clearly, he was also terrified and dared not make himself known or publicly acknowledge his son. Perhaps he didn’t even know he had a child at all. He would not have been caught in this web and forced to go into hiding if Mau hadn’t been obsessed, desperate, and miserable. The man had also fallen victim to ignorance and fear. Would he ever escape his