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(Reel rattles)

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(Praying quietly)

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- My name is Soni (Tuming).

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But people call me Soni Sunum.

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I was born in Bhutan,

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- lived in Nepal,
- studied in India.


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So right now I'm in Toronto.

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- My family background
- is from Tibet.


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Hey Zee, be nice.

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Buddhism to me

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it's like helping each other

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- without any intention
- to get any, any benefits.


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- Most people believe in karma
- as well -


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comes around, goes around.

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Buddhism is something for me,

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peace, love and compassion.

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- And it's really hard
- to get these days.


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- Even I have my own personal
- experience.


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When I try to help them

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- without any intention
- or anything, you know,


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- but sometime people get
- selfish.


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Sometime you expect things.

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I help that person,

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- and now that person should help
- me back too.


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- And I think that's
- a little bit selfish.


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♪♪♪

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- In my daily life
- when I wake up


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I have prayer beads,

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- and I just like wrap around
- and I say like,


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I do my prayers.

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(Speaks in dialect)

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- That is a short form
- of the name


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of His Holiness Dalai Lama.

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- My family business
- is a Tibetan store


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- named called Tibetan Emporium
- and Entertainment.


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We sell like meditation stuff,

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Buddhist items,

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like religion items,

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- and meditation CD's
- swinging balls.


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- To show the documentaries
- about Tibet,


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- updates of the Tibetan
- exile government.


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- Most of our regular
- customers are Tibetan.


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The life I have is really busy,

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- being a DJ and being
- a promoter,


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getting all these emails,

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taking care of family business.

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- Where I came from from Nepal,
- I don't usually see that.


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- It's like a really totally
- different life.


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- I, I use prayer beads
- just to calm me down.


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- It's really trying to give me
- a focus.


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- I feel like I'm being
- protected.


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Even when I get disturbed

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I use prayer beads,

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- and that's why I always
- carry prayer beads.


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(Speaking in dialect)

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- The things what I do
- in my community


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- like we have five different
- non-profit organizations.


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- Whatever the little bit
- of skill I have,


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- like doing the DJ
- and the sound technician


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- and they always tell me,
- Soni, can you,


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- can you help us,
- we're doing this event.


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And yeah sure and I help them.

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- These kind of things I've been
- doing in my community


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for almost eight years.

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I just, I just like helping,

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- helping each other
- in a positive way.


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- I think that's, that's more
- interesting part of Buddhism.


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Kora is the taking around

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outside the monastery.

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I would spin the prayer rolls

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- and inside the prayer rolls
- we have all the mantras.


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When we spin it,

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- it's like same
- as we're doing Kora


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outside the monastery.

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- So like, you know,
- when we have a prayer wheel,


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- when we do like (speaking
- dialect)


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- and some people will
- do different.


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- But personally I just use
- these two mantras.


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- Me, you know, when I get time,
- right.


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- I'll just take one run,
- do my listening like you know,


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- like any music,
- and just spin it, you know.


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Once I get inside the monastery

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- and I will do just
- my own personal,


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- like you know how I used
- to do it.


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(Prayer bead rattle)

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(Praying quietly)

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(Speaking dialect)

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- That's like showing respect
- to all the lamas.


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- And (speaking dialect) prayer
- to all living beings.


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- When I bow down I will just
- say (speaking dialect)


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And while I'm doing it,

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- I'll just think about this
- is life.


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- It has to happen,
- it has to happen, you know.


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- So I will do better
- to change it.


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(Praying quietly)

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(Beads rattle)

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- It feels good when I go
- to monastery


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and do all these prayers.

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- And even, you know, I don't
- go to monastery often.


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- Over here the life
- is like so busy.


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The monastery like is just -

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- it's like even you have like,
- you know,


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- like some rough time going on,
- or you know like--


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- or sometime you know,
- you need some calm,


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just, just do the prayers.

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- And like just try to calm
- you down, that's it,


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like simple way. (Chuckles)

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♪♪♪