There is an ancient saying that the place we now sit was once occupied by someone else. This place of exile and Paradise are a part of the journey that as human beings, we have to experience and make an effort to advance spiritually. Therefore, to join the community of humankind, then return to the unchanging Origin, is an ordinary process.

“Tonight I counted the stars in the sky And silently watched people passing by Oh the immense realm of sorrow In the morning tea, autumn lingers How can all the planets be counted? Love of Truth remains still hundred years later? Your departure, as a feather so light Leaving behind rain and sun in the meadow of time The multiple worlds are still in existence Gladly awaited in the heart of humanity In meditation, loneliness evaporates For eons we’ve been wandering...

On this luminous night, I asked the moon A thousand years ago, on whom has it once shone? You were gone, in these few long years How I missed your presence on Earth! Unexpectedly, a smile came upon my lips In the fragrant incense, glory to the world adorned by celestial flowers Innumerable affinities were about to emerge But the temple of old has always been tranquil.”

Throughout the seasons, our motherland has given us fragrant rice and resplendent flowers. The land nourishes us like a mother’s loving milk since our infancy. Thus, however hard life gets, the vast love of the land instills in our hearts the joy of hope.

“O friend, don’t leave the field uncultivated. Every inch of soil is as valuable as every inch of gold.” These folk poetry verses remind us of the preciousness of every inch of soil in the homeland, even if we have plow on pebbles and stones. “And tomorrow, our land thrives with a new season of fresh rice fragrance And tomorrow, our land blooms for smiling lips to be pink.”

“From the deserted paddy field today We sing together these words Despite hardships and worries for thousands of eras Life’s still filled with joy. As we labor with our two dry hands Do try more and more each hour Despite the deserted paddy field today Together we move forward for tomorrow.

Clear the deserted land, plow the barren land As land blossoms with precious flowers, our future fulfilled Our land we hoe and fill Our land we water and sit on We live on our land, our country’s great Our land is where we die; our nation is where we return.

And tomorrow, our land thrives with a new season of fresh rice fragrance And tomorrow, our land blooms for smiling lips to be pink And tomorrow, the country is lush green with mountains and rivers Because tomorrow our people are determined to live for this land.”

Among the gifts of happiness that God bestows upon humankind, friendship is a precious gift that makes life more joyous, meaningful and warm. In friendship, people often forget themselves to think of others.