This is difficult, especially if you are a Buddhist monk. You should just go there and humbly explain that you are a Buddhist and have vows not to harm others, so you cannot do the jury duty. This also an education for them about Buddhists.

Morality is the road to liberation from samsara. With morality, it´s easy. Without morality, life creates obstacles for realizations, and then it creates sufferings.

Please tell her, “Tired but worthwhile.” We can be tired because we are not yet freed from delusion and karma, and our body and mind are in the nature of suffering, but in this case we are tired through benefiting sentient beings.

This kind of temporary help doesn’t really eliminate the root of suffering, samsara. But your teaching Dharma to sentient beings has great benefit. That eliminates the very cause of samsara.

Dear Mum,Thank you for being a mum to your daughter. I appreciate your views and your kindness in your recent message to me.Please continue to help others, which is helping yourself to achieve enlightenment.

While you are shaving your hair, remember how not to waste this most precious human body, which is most rare, and this precious human rebirth, qualified by the eight freedoms and ten richnesses, which is much more precious.

I have heard that a monastery should not be under or below a road. Then, the monks cannot achieve realizations. There should not be water below the monastery, such as a river, stream, or spring.

My very dear one,Thank you very much for your letter.As for the project for nuns, yes, of course.

It is great here, tonight, doing Guru Puja with the ex-abbot, Geshe Jampa Thegchok, the resident teacher here at Tse Chen Ling, Geshe Ngawang Dakpa, and the resident teacher from Boston, Ven. Geshe Tsulga.