To forgive means simply that we will not put anyone out of our heart, because to do so closes us, it reduces us from being human.

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Well, this evening is it for 1993. Anything that you really want to do in 1993, you better do right now, because this is the last of it you will ever see again.

And because it is New Year's Eve and we've gathered together here to practice and to awaken in the spirit of the Buddha, the one who is awakened in every being, the potential that Buddha nature to awaken.

It is time of New Year's, which is starting the next year's cycle in our calendar, really, because it's quite part of the winter solstice.

I would like to tell a story. And the story speaks about going into darkness, in a time of darkness.

In the darkness coming to that, which is light.

When we first come to spiritual practice, many of us are attracted by light, a spiritual light, if you will, in forms outside of ourselves.

There might be some sacred text that we read or some image of what's beautiful, whether it's Buddha or Mary or Kwanian or something sacred or some person, some master or teacher.

And we sense the reflection of that light in our own eyes and think, this is wonderful. I'd like to find that, discover that.

But to fulfill the spiritual path, it's not enough to reflect the light, but rather to be the light, to be permeated, to let that which is light shine through us.

As in the words that Mary ended with last night, the Buddha's last words, be a lamp, will be a light.

So this is a story in part about finding light.

We all started in the same place, a long, long time ago, when you were very young, you lived in the center of a star.

Every particle of everything, rock, water, flower, human, has been in the same place, flaming in the heart of our ancient sun before the earth came flying out of it.

The irises in your eyes, the tissues of the rose leaf, the slow giant rocks in mountain hearts, were all born together, flaming, locked in the sun as it drifted like a light on the dark waters of the sky.

It came out of that same place, it's amazing, all the forms that are created out of that.

And this particular story is one of the oldest stories in India, from the time of the Buddha, or even before when he was wandering India as a Bodhisattva.

It was a village, and in this village was a successful merchant.

That means a businessman to more contemporary language, but all the old texts talk about merchants coming.

A pillar of the community, but this man, as he got older, began to think about the other world as is appropriate and necessary as you get older.

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