A Dharma Talk on the Highland Plateau

This is an unforgettable memory of a dharma teacher sharing the Buddha's teachings with the Ede ethnic community. It recounts an initial failure caused by gaps in language and thought, followed by a profound lesson on adjusting one’s attention to connect from mind to mind.

Mountain winds blew bitterly cold through the wooden stilt houses, carrying the scent of cooking smoke and ancient forests. Under the flickering firelight, hundreds of Ede people sat gathered, their eyes fixed on the young dharma teacher standing on a rough wooden platform. The atmosphere was solemn yet tense. The teacher, Master Minh, took a deep breath, trying to steady his trembling voice. This was his first invitation to propagate the Dharma in the Dak Lak highlands.

Master Minh began his talk with lofty Buddhist philosophical concepts: cause and effect (karmic law), liberation, and enlightenment. He used abstract examples and tight logic, hoping to convey the essence of the teachings. Ten minutes passed. Twenty minutes passed. He glanced down. Those dark, weathered faces still looked at him, but their eyes were empty and confused. They did not understand. Or rather, they could not receive the information. Sweat beads formed on his forehead, and a chill ran down his spine. Fear seized him: "I am failing. I am wasting their time. I am disgracing the title of dharma teacher."

He stopped, falling silent for a few seconds. In his mind, his attention was torn apart: part worried about himself, part struggling to recall the script, and part panicking before the audience’s indifference. Then he remembered the teaching: "Attention must be firmly placed on the object it serves." He decided to change his strategy. Instead of speaking of "liberation," he lowered his voice and spoke slowly of "chili peppers," "bitter melons," and "cucumbers."

"Uncles, brothers, and sisters," he said, his tone becoming gentle. "When cooking bitter melon soup, if you do not wash it carefully, it remains bitter. If washed clean, it becomes sweet and refreshing. Life is just like that..." Immediately, those eyes lit up. They nodded, whispering to each other in their mother tongue. He continued, connecting the law of cause and effect (karmic law) to farming, hunting, and daily meals around the hearth. From the abstract concept of cause and effect (karmic law), he transformed it into "you reap what you sow." From compassion, he spoke of sharing firewood and yielding to one another within the village.

The shift was clear. The tension dissolved, replaced by attentive listening. Master Minh realized that when teaching in the city, he had often focused solely on the content of the lecture—the theory—while forgetting to observe the "frequency" of his listeners. After the trip, he told a disciple: "In the past, I thought all teachers spoke the same way. But I discovered that in some sessions, the teacher’s mind and the audience’s minds were completely disconnected. The teacher walked his own path, while the listeners’ minds wandered elsewhere. The result was failure. The most valuable lesson is this: A skilled dharma teacher does not just speak well; they must know how to adjust their attention to tune in with the audience. One must observe with the mind/heart, not just with the eyes."

Master Minh learned that the ability to concentrate is not merely keeping the mind/heart still, but also having the flexibility to place attention in the right place, at the right time, suited to the capacity of those present. That is the pinnacle of the art of communication and propagating the Dharma.

### The Meaning of the Story

This story emphasizes the importance of "adjusting attention" in both communication and spiritual practice. According to Most Venerable Thich Chan Quang, our brains process many tasks simultaneously, but attention can only focus on one point. If the speaker (the dharma teacher) does not direct their attention toward the listener’s capacity to receive, but instead follows their own script, the connection breaks. Success in propagating the Dharma, or any work requiring high concentration, depends on focusing on the person being served, learning to "tune in," and adjusting methods appropriately. This is also a manifestation of wisdom and practical compassion.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Most Venerable Thich Chan Quang