Samvega is a Pali word. It means "a feeling of urgency". To get on, to do something with your life. Don't waste your life sitting in front of a TV for three-and-a-half hours a night. Don't waste your life reading useless novels, seeing useless shows, whatever else, wasting your life with just kind of enjoying watching other people's lives. You know how many thousands and thousands, maybe millions of people who, on Saturday afternoon, are watching some football game, or soccer game, or baseball game, or whatever. They just sit in a chair and just watch. And they yell and they scream and they're rude and whatever. Two hours of their life have gone down the drain watching somebody else live, instead of doing something with their own life.
Samvega means "get on with your life," and in particular, get on with the wonderful opportunity that you have as a Dhamma practitioner. Don't waste it, don't blow it. Don't go home and throw the Dhamma away. When you go home, keep a regular practice going, even if it's just five minutes. Five minutes every day. Can you do five minutes? Is there anyone in this hall, who could not do five minutes a day? OK, I am holding you to that. Next time I see any of you in the future, I might ask you, "Did you keep a regular practice going? Did you do five minutes a day?" There is more than one person in the hall right here who does a regular practice. And sometimes when we talk about these five minutes, some people kind of go, "Hmm... I don't." But you brush your teeth, don't you? A lot of people really don't have to brush their teeth. You can always get new teeth. Everybody is so worried about their teeth. Teeth are easy to replace, but what about your mind and your heart, can you replace your mind and your heart so easy?
Samvega, get on with it, do something, develop your mind and your heart every day. Do more, if you can. Make Dhamma friends. Keep in contact. Skype is free. Free. You can talk to people for an hour for free. Before Rosemary and I got married, I was in America, she was in Australia. I phoned her maybe four times in one year! It was three dollars a minute. I was a college student, I didn't have that kind of money. I was not that rich! Four times in one year.
A few weeks ago, I went to America, and she stayed in Australia, I was able to Skype with her, I was able to talk with her twice a day - free! You can stay in contact with your Dhamma friends for free, no matter where they are around the world. And that will push you. Samvega. Do it. Do some more with your life. Don't waste this wonderful opportunity. You're here doing a nineteen day retreat, a lot of you, the rest of you are doing a special ten day retreat only for old students, there is not a single new person in this whole hall, you've all been here before. Keep your practice going. Samvega.