Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Standard is chuẩn in Vietnamese. Whatever we do, we automatically have a standard for that task – it can be “I will do the best job I can possibly do,” repeating “can” twice or, at the other extreme, “Whatever is OK.”

The people with the highest standard for themselves in each task are greatly successful in life, however you define success. That is a matter of course – if you always try hard to produce a product, that would probably be the best product in the market and would sell very well.

The ones with “whatever is OK,” we all know they are always losers. Continue reading Raise up your standard →

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Probably everyone has heard more than enough about environment – too much dust particles in the air, to much exhaust smoke in the air, to much plastic waste in the rivers and the sea, too much noise pollution…

Our environment directly affects our health, and in some cases our life and death.

But we cannot talk only about physical environment. There are other environments affecting our mind, our heart, and our soul – educational environment, cultural environment, and spiritual environment. Continue reading Environment →

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Even though I talk about national policies in this article, the substance of the writing is for each of you individually, because while national policies are usually determined by political leadership, the thinking and feeling of the people, especially of the intellectual class, are the foundation of such policies.

With so much disruptive commotion around the world today, “chaotic” is an understatement. In every country, every kind of value is being challenged, and … shaking. Continue reading Build your policies on your culture →

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We can be lousy at one hundred things, but we need to be supergood at only one thing to be successful, be it singing, cooking, engineering, teaching, doctoring, lawyering, or soccering…

But so many people are so insecure that they spend all day worrying about the long list of their weaknesses – I am not good in English, public speaking, math, management, dieting, staying calm, socializing, footballing, teamwork, customer supporting, writing, logic, blah blah blah… Continue reading Focus on your strength →

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As people grow up, they learn all kinds of sins which, they tell each other, are the wisdom of the grown-ups. At one time or another, each of us has believed in such stupid “wisdom.”

But now we are wiser, we know that true growing up and true wisdom means the older we are the more honest, gentle, and loving we become. We know how to come back to our saintly and pure original nature. We understand that growing up means less greedy, hating, ignorant, and more honest, gentle, and loving. Continue reading Growing and maturing →

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

You can see very clearly that the world has too many bad apples – corrupt folks, liars, thieves, robbers, backstabbers, unethical officials and professionals… In general, the world is full of greedy, hating, and ignorant people (tham sân si). These people raze down the world.

The world needs many pillars to support it in order to stand tall. And each of us has to be one pillar. Continue reading You are a supporting pillar of the world →

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Maybe you feel lonely constantly because you have too many things to worry about and you feel that you worry alone, no one to share the load, no one to talk to, no one can understand. This phenomenon affects a great many people around the world, thus for them, the world is a desolate and lonely place. Continue reading You always have support →

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

To the non-believer, everything unplanned is coincident, without any special meaning – You go to the opening ceremony of a new supermarket, and “coincidentally” (tình cờ) meet an old classmate whom you haven’t seen for 20 years. Or, a car going toward you from the opposite direction; all of a sudden it loses direction, crosses the road median, and flies toward you like a rocket; you immediate step on your brake, and the crazy car “coincidentally” misses you by 2 cm – you “coincidentally” miss death by 2 cm. Continue reading Miracle or coincident ? →

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It seems war and peace are in a constant tug of war in our heart – Injustice done to our self, war or peace? Injustice done to others in front of our eyes, war or peace?

Of course, the best way to solve any problem is a peaceful way – using soft and sweet talk. But as we all have experiened, many times soft and sweet talks can’t solve a problem, because some people despise sweet talk and only respect strength – and using strength usually means you are ready for war. Continue reading War or Peace →

Làm nhiều mà như chẳng làm chi,
Dạy nhiều mà như chẳng dạy gì,
Dẫn nhiều mà vẫn không là dẫn,
Việc xong lẳng lặng mà đi.
Đó là Đạo;
Đó là Đức,
Đức đến chẳng mong cầu,
Nên Đức là Đức.

(TĐH Aug. 14, 2024)