Hoa Nguyen, Kim Quang Buddhist Temple, Sacramento, California
“Cooking is my favorite work. I like it when people eat my food. That is my life. I cook at the temple, but I also like to cook outside of the temple. Cooking is my chanting, I don’t get a chance to go up to the Dharma hall much, I stay in the kitchen, but when I cook that’s my chanting. It is the same.”
“I have a lot of happiness in my life. But the happiest moment for me was when I just moved to my house, and five months later was my birthday. Four Buddhist Masters came to my house to surprise me. They brought me flowers, gave me a card with a note. It was a very special surprise, and it will always stay with me. And a nun from our temple also wrote me a note, it was very sweet. I felt lovely. It was the most special day of my life. It was the first time in my life I celebrated my birthday.”
“Every night I chant the Lotus sutra. It is good for me. If I don’t chant at night, it feels like not taking medicine when I am sick. I feel better after chanting.”
“When I get angry I stop right away. When I feel hurt, I hold it at first. I go away, inside my room or somewhere else to cool down. I breathe in and out slowly and let it go. When I have big trouble, I stay home for a day, if it is still not gone, I stay home two days or however long it takes for me to let go. If I have to be somewhere and cannot stay home, I won’t show it in my face, but I will hold it inside. As soon as I can, I take time to breathe. I don’t keep anger in my heart. Later, I want to talk about it, but not right away.”
“Love is loving everything and everyone. It is very big. I don’t want to hate. For example, if you break my cup, although I love my cup, I don’t hate you. You didn’t do it on purpose. When people hate me and do something bad to me, I still love them, but I don’t love their action. The person is doing something wrong, and not good for me, but I try to understand and show compassion. She doesn’t know better, she cannot control her feelings, I want to help her to clear everything, that’s how I love. Love is big.”