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with resentment or even resignation. These reactions are not inclusiveness or magnanimity ( kshanti paramita ) and cannot take us over to the other shore. We must practice deep looking and contemplation in order to understand and cultivate loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. In cultivating loving-kindness, we offer happiness; in nurturing compassion, we relieve others’ suffering; practicing diligently strengthens our inner source of joy; and developing equanimity helps us let go of all hatred, prejudices, and entanglements. When our heart is filled with loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, its capacity becomes boundless, im-measurable. With such an expansive heart, immense as the wide-open sea, those blatant injustices and suffering cannot overpower us, just as a small handful of salt cannot make a great river salty. Because I have been able to learn and apply the practice of these Four Immeasurable Minds, I can continue to live, to go deeper into the practice, and to find happiness in the life of a monk.”
    Listening to Kinh Tam’s statements, the elder novices had much admiration and happiness for their younger brother. Novice Chi Tam went the next morning and related their conversation to the abbot, who was also very pleased.
    The sneering in the village over the scandal eventually quieted down—that is, until Mau completed the term of her pregnancy and gave birth to the child. In a fit of anger, Mau’s father declared that Mau should take the baby to the person to whom it belonged, as he could not accept the presence of an out-of-wedlock child in his home. Still, Mau dared not reveal the truth. She didn’t know what she should do. In the end, she audaciously took the newborn child to the temple and left it in the care of novice Kinh Tam.

K inh Tam had already thought of ways to answer the abbot and the elder novices about taking in the abandoned newborn. The young novice pleaded with the elder novices for their understanding and acceptance.
    These words, however, did not prevent Thanh Tam from flying into a rage and refusing to acknowledge Kinh Tam’s presence for several days. This was not because Thanh Tam didn’t care for Kinh Tam, but simply because he didn’t fully understand. His logic was that Kinh Tam was not the child’s father and so should not take on the responsibility of raising the child. Kinh Tam had barely escaped the noose of injustice, so why should the novice have to voluntarily put his own neck back into it again?
    Though Thanh Tam had listened to the reasoning that “the merit of building an elaborate temple nine stories high cannot compare to that of saving the life of one person,” he just could not accept it. “Why not save any other person, instead of saving that particular person?”
    But Kinh Tam was very firm, even harder than a rock, in fact, for the novice’s heart had become like a diamond. No one could stop Kinh Tam from doing what the novice believed was right. How could someone so gentle, sweet, and devoted be so stubborn? Yet within a week, Kinh Tam’s steady patience helped change Thanh Tam’s point of view.
    Elder brother Chi Tam also disagreed at first, but he kept silent and did not show any outward signs of protest. It could be that this elder brother was pulled between two forces inside: on the one hand, his fear of people’s contempt, and on the other, his faith in his younger brother, whose character was truly exceptional.
    Most mysterious of all was the attitude of their teacher. After listening to Kinh Tam’s sincere request, the abbot just stayed quiet. Then he said, “You have my permission to make your own arrangements. You have gained maturity and insight. Just do what you believe to be appropriate.”
    Raising a child was no small task. Luckily, although Aunt Han in the village did not have milk in abundance, she was still willing to share a bit for little Thien