Today we learn about the Four Recollections—recollection of the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha, and the Precepts—and the four domains of mindfulness, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness: mindfulness of the body, feelings, mind, and objects of mind. The word “Dharma” appears twice with different meanings: with a capital “D,” it refers to the teachings of the Buddha; with a lowercase “d,” it refers to objects of perception. The origin of the gatha on the Four Recollections in the “Chanting Book of the Zen Monastery” and the White-Clad Layperson Sutra (the Householder Sutra) both mention these Four Recollections. For deeper study, you may refer to:

• “For a Future to Be Possible (White Clad One)”—the White-Clad Layperson Sutra and commentary on the Four Recollections
• “Transformation and Healing”—the original text of the Satipatthana Sutta in Pali, Chinese, and commentary

The practice of mindfulness of the body begins with the sixteen exercises from the Discourse on Mindful Breathing, repeating each exercise:

• Recognizing the breath (knowing when breathing in, knowing when breathing out)
• Following the breath
• Recognizing the whole body
• Releasing tension and relaxing the whole body
  This can be expanded into 20–30 exercises depending on experience, and can be similarly applied to mindfulness of feelings (recognizing feelings, soothing them, generating joy and happiness).

Contemplation of the body is also practiced during walking meditation with each step: being aware of each posture (standing, sitting, walking, eating), each stage of movement (lifting, moving forward, placing). Begin with a rhythm of one or two steps (breathing in, one; breathing out, two), then according to the capacity of your lungs, move to two–two, two–three… up to three–three steps. You can replace the numbers with meditation phrases such as “Returning to the island within.” Only when you are firmly established in mindfulness of the body and your steps can you recognize mental formations, take care of and transform worries, anger, and sadness into mindfulness, concentration, and insight.

There are four domains for the practitioner to contemplate:

1. Body
2. Feelings
3. Mind
4. Objects of Mind (Dhammas)

In the Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness and the Anapanasati Sutta, only these four domains are mentioned, not the five aggregates as is commonly seen.

There are 16 exercises of mindful breathing, divided into four groups according to the above domains:

1. Recognizing the in-breath and out-breath
2. Following the in-breath and out-breath closely
3. Awareness of the whole body and feelings
4. Releasing tension in the whole body (relaxing each part, lying-down meditation)
5. Generating joy
6. Generating happiness
7. Recognizing emotions and feelings
8. Calming emotions and feelings
9. Awareness of the mind (recognizing mental formations as they arise)
10. Gladdening the mind (making the mind happy, nourishing with the joy of meditation)
11. Concentrating the mind (focusing attention on one object, citta ekaggatā)
12. Liberating the mind (untying the knots of the mind, clarifying – liberating the mind)
13. Contemplating impermanence (maintaining the insight of impermanence every second, every minute)
14. Contemplating letting go of craving (recognizing the danger in desire so that desire dissolves)
15. Contemplating cessation – nirvana (transcending all notions of birth and death, being and non-being)
16. Contemplating letting go (releasing, letting go of notions of suffering)

The practitioner practices mindfulness to give rise to joy, concentration to give rise to happiness, and insight to liberate right in the present moment.

When naming the meditation hall Eagle Wing, the eagle is seen as the vast Sangha, flying far with the path of peaceful abiding—a path of happiness not found in the future but right in the present moment. Peace means calm, undisturbed, without worry or fear; happiness is the joy that arises from peace. The practitioner must know how to sit in stillness, body and mind at ease, radiating the energy of peace, as if sitting on a gentle lotus flower, not on a heap of burning coals. Those who are peaceful, truly peaceful, will naturally transmit peace to the Sangha; this is the perfection of giving, offering the Dharma wealth—a treasure more precious than material possessions.

The experience of rescuing boat people in Singapore illustrates the teaching If you wish for peace, you will have peace: in the face of the adversity of a 24-hour expulsion order, the teacher practiced sitting meditation—walking meditation to open insight, and found a solution through the intervention of the French embassy. From there, great compassion was manifested, fearlessness broke through the barriers of rules like the hand of the Buddha.

To nourish happiness and peace, walking meditation—mindfulness of breathing with the Anapanasati method using abdominal breathing is very practical:

• Step 1: Breathe in naturally, keeping it comfortable
• Step 2: Breathe out, gently contract the abdomen, extending the exhalation by 1–2 seconds to expel all stale air
• Step 3: Let the lungs naturally draw in fresh air

Repeat the cycle 3–5, 3–6… until the breath is deep and even, the energy of body and mind is strengthened, tension dissolves, and illness is healed.

Today is the next session on mindfulness of feelings – that is, observing sensations (vedanā) and emotions. Practitioners need to know how to recognize feelings and take care of emotions in order not to be carried away by them into words and actions that cause rupture and suffering. The foundational teachings consist of three basic sutras that must be studied thoroughly:

1. The Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta), which teaches contemplation of the body, feelings, mind, and objects of mind.
2. The Discourse on Mindful Breathing (Anapanasati Sutta), which teaches mindfulness of in-breath and out-breath.
3. The Discourse on the Better Way to Live Alone (Bhaddekaratta Sutta), which teaches living fully in the present moment.

In the Discourse on Mindful Breathing, there are four steps of breathing:

1. Recognizing the in-breath and out-breath.
2. Following the breath as it is long or short.
3. Becoming aware of the whole body together with the breath.
4. Releasing tension in the whole body so that the body can heal itself.

Moving to the section on mindfulness of feelings, the seventh exercise is recognizing painful feelings and pleasant feelings, and the eighth exercise is soothing and lessening painful feelings.

Generating joy (pīti) and happiness (sukha) is the art of nourishment before transforming suffering. Joy and happiness arise from two sources:

• Joy born from letting go, happiness born from letting go: letting go of worries and attachments in order to experience joy and happiness right away.
• Joy born from mindfulness, happiness born from mindfulness: recognizing the many positive conditions available in the present moment (youth, health, breathing, brotherhood…) to generate joy and happiness without searching far away.

Mindfulness of the body means deeply contemplating the inseparable relationship between body, feelings, mind, and objects of mind (dharmas). The body cannot be separated from the other three elements: with each breath, there arise sensations and emotions (feelings), mental formations (such as fear, anger, worry, sadness, despair, or love, compassion, joy, equanimity), and the objects of these mental formations, which are called dharmas. Although these four objects of mindfulness are provisionally divided into body, feelings, mind, and dharmas, each domain contains the others, and the body contains all feelings, mind, and dharmas.

The exercises from the Anapanasati Sutra related to mindfulness of the body include:

• 3. Breathing in, I am aware of my whole body – when recognizing the body, we may notice tension, pain, or restlessness (feelings), and through the breath we can also recognize negative or positive mental formations.
• 4. Breathing in, I calm the activities of my body – using abdominal breathing to recognize and soothe fear, despair, and other emotions.

The practice of mindfulness of the body also includes walking meditation and the gatha “let the Buddha breathe, let the Buddha walk” with its variations:

1. Let the Buddha breathe, let the Buddha walk – I do not have to breathe, I do not have to walk.
2. The Buddha is breathing, the Buddha is walking – I am able to breathe, I am able to walk.
3. The Buddha is the breathing, the Buddha is the walking – I am the breathing, I am the walking (non-self).
4. Peace while breathing, joy while walking – peace and joy are available right in our breath and our peaceful steps.

Through mindfulness of the body, each breath and each step becomes a means to recognize the true nature of non-self, enlightenment, and happiness right in our own body.

At the Eagle’s Wing Meditation Hall, during the Rains Retreat, a Day of Mindfulness is organized with the presence of the monastic and lay community. For example, when a corn seed is sown into the earth, it needs warmth, moisture, and fertile soil to sprout into a young corn plant—the corn seed does not truly die but transforms into the plant; one, but not entirely one, two, but not separate. Similarly, we were once a fertilized ovum in our mother’s womb, carrying our father and mother within us through the umbilical cord. When we are born, the cord is cut and we become two, but in essence we remain one. The suffering or happiness of the parents is the suffering or happiness of the child, and vice versa; parents and children should make a vow not to make each other suffer. The Buddha called this “not one, not two”—neither one nor different.

In the Anapanasati Sutra, there are sixteen exercises; today we learn further:

• Exercise 3: recognizing the whole body—breathing in, aware of the presence of the body; breathing out, smiling and relaxing.
• Exercise 4: releasing tension in the whole body—using the breath to let go of tension in the muscles, smiling gently.
• Exercise 7: recognizing emotions—breathing in, aware of suffering, anger, worry, fear, etc. within.
• Exercise 8: embracing and soothing emotions—breathing out, embracing the emotion with mindfulness, easing the pain.

We break the vicious cycle of habit energy and emotions with mindfulness, the breath, and our steps. When the inner storm arises, sit in half-lotus or full lotus, bring your attention down below the navel, breathe deeply into the belly: breathing in, feel the abdomen rise; breathing out, feel the abdomen fall; maintain this for at least 5–10 minutes so that anger or panic gradually subsides. Parents, teachers, and students should all learn this in order to timely care for body and mind, preventing suicide, violence, and pathological stress.

Yesterday we learned about mindfulness of the precepts; today we continue with mindfulness of the body, that is, taking the physical form (the body) as the object of contemplation. Within us, there are five kinds of bodies:

1. The physical body: the material form
2. The Buddha body, Dharma body, Sangha body, and Precepts body
   But the Buddha body and Dharma body only manifest when our practice is solid; the Sangha body needs to be built; the Precepts body must be kept whole—five, ten, or fourteen precepts—so that it is not damaged. We should regularly go to the temple to repent so that the Precepts body can become whole again.

Regarding the Four Establishments of Mindfulness (Satipatthana Sutta), there are four basic domains of mindfulness practice:

1. Mindfulness of the body: contemplating and recognizing our own form
2. Mindfulness of feelings: contemplating pleasant, unpleasant, neutral, and collective feelings
3. Mindfulness of the mind: contemplating the 51 mental formations, recognizing them when they arise
4. Mindfulness of objects of mind: contemplating the objects of perception, letting go of wrong perceptions

The Anapanasati Sutra teaches sixteen breathing exercises, of which four are fundamental for mindfulness of the body:

1. Breathing in, I know I am breathing in; breathing out, I know I am breathing out (simple recognition)
2. Following the breath from beginning to end (following the breath)
3. Breathing in, I am aware of my whole body (the entire body)
4. Breathing in, I calm my whole body (releasing tension and pain)

Practicing mindful breathing—the breath bringing body and mind back together as one—helps us to live deeply in the present moment, here and now, bringing peace, healing, and developing mindfulness so that “Buddha is on, Mara is off.”

Pure precepts is a shortened way of saying “the body of pure precepts,” meaning the body is kept intact, not damaged or defiled. The Threefold Pure Precepts can be understood in three groups, including:

• 1. Embracing precepts: protecting the precepts and the mindfulness trainings for the sangha, family, and society
• 2. Embracing wholesome dharmas: protecting what is beautiful and wholesome—customs, environment, and existing ethical values
• 3. Embracing living beings: serving and benefiting all beings who are still suffering, helping them to maintain the body of pure precepts

Keeping the body of precepts intact brings happiness, freedom, and fearlessness; the body of precepts leads to right concentration, then insight, then liberation. In the practice community, every half month the sangha needs to recite the precepts, practice repentance, and renew the body of precepts to prevent cracks and fractures. Monastics and lay friends both have the responsibility to build the sangha—a place to acknowledge and support families in keeping the precepts, to heal families that are declining, so that the Dharma can spread through the physical body, the Buddha body, the Dharma body, and the Sangha body.

Mindfulness of the precepts is to uphold the precepts and the codes of conduct in order to protect all that is wholesome and to be of service to all living beings. The precepts are practiced in three main areas, called the three bouquets of flowers:

• The first bouquet – the precepts of restraint: protecting the precepts and the codes of conduct, keeping the body of precepts intact;
• The second bouquet – the precepts of cultivating wholesome actions: protecting all that is beautiful and good, giving rise to the aspiration to do good;
• The third bouquet – the precepts of benefiting all beings: serving, alleviating suffering, and bringing joy to all species.

The codes of conduct are the detailed, formal aspects of the precepts, having the function of prevention and beautification. The four bodily postures should be imbued with mindfulness and dignity:

• walking with mindfulness and dignity
• standing with mindfulness and dignity
• sitting with mindfulness and dignity
• lying down with mindfulness and dignity

Reciting the precepts and practicing repentance regularly (every 15 days or twice a month) helps keep the precepts unbroken, renewing them through voluntary aspiration, without control or punishment. Applying mindfulness of the precepts to social life (for example, organizing precepts for drivers, or the European Buddhist Youth practicing the Five Mindfulness Trainings) helps to limit social ills, build a healthy community, and nurture love.

Dwelling in the present moment and “I have arrived, I am home” are two of the four pairs of fruits of the Sangha, together with interbeing and no birth. The four pairs and eight noble fruits include:

• Dwelling-in-the-present-moment path and fruit – the fruit of froglessness, transcending “frog nature” to rest peacefully in the here and now.
• “I have arrived, I am home” path and fruit – the state of aimlessness (apranihita), “I have arrived, I’m home.”
• Interbeing path and fruit – the insight of interbeing, seeing oneself and all phenomena as one.
• No-birth path and fruit – the realization of no birth and no death, transcending birth and death, possessing fearlessness.

A true Sangha is a community of the fourfold assembly (monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen) who have mindfulness, concentration, and insight; who have dwelling in the present moment, “I have arrived, I am home,” interbeing, and no birth. Building the Sangha is not only based on organization, letters, or emails, but must be rooted in practice: precepts are mindfulness, the Threefold Training of mindfulness, concentration, and insight, practicing the precepts (the Five Mindfulness Trainings, novice precepts, bhikshu precepts) through recitation and Dharma discussion to deepen understanding and love, beautify the Sangha, and at the same time contribute to creating cultural villages and neighborhoods, protecting the communal life.

Today, the World-Honored One is no longer just an image from 2,600 years ago, but is present everywhere and in countless forms. Practicing mindfulness of the Buddha by applying the six Earth-touching practices is “…opening the door for ourselves to enter,” not stopping at the image of the past but making contact with Him in the present moment. Living mindfully in the present is to have the Pure Land right now, not waiting until after death to be reborn there, so that each breath, each step, is accompanied by the Buddha, bringing peace and lightness:

• mindfulness of the Buddha
• recollection
• mindfulness of the Dharma, mindfulness of the Sangha

The practice leads to the Four Fruits, as recorded in the four pairs of eight noble beings, these four spiritual attainments corresponding to four stages of realization:

1. Dwelling peacefully (attaining the fruit of being at rest, no longer looking for happiness elsewhere)
2. Arrived, Home (at ease, living fully in the present moment)
3. Interbeing (seeing the deep interdependent arising between oneself and all beings)
4. No birth (realizing the nature of no birth and no death of all phenomena)

Each mindful step, each mindful breath, is the first step into the stream of practice, opening up the capacity to transform suffering and transmit insight to others. Compassion and insight become the inexhaustible “heritage” of the practitioner, sufficient to rescue and support all situations of suffering right in the present moment.

Each breath is a miracle in the practice of meditation:
Instead of reciting the gatha “each step…” during walking meditation, we shift to each breath when sitting in meditation, with four main aspects:

1. Each breath is life – it puts us in touch with all the wonders of the blue sky, white clouds, trees, the Sangha, and ourselves.
2. Each breath is a miracle – it proves that we are still alive, inheriting the capacity to breathe in and breathe out.
3. Each breath is healing – a deep, slow breath soothes tension, purifies the blood, and activates our innate capacity to heal.
4. Each breath is freedom – it brings inner freedom, nurtures wisdom and love, so that we can untie our difficulties right in this moment.

Practicing happiness in daily activities:
• Practicing walking meditation together, sitting meditation twice a day, and eating in silence – these are the privileges and the steps of civilization for practitioners.
• Transforming every moment of walking, sitting, eating, and working into an opportunity to nourish and heal body and mind with mindful breathing.
• Creating exercises such as inviting the Buddha or our father and mother within us to breathe in and out together, to open the heart of boundless compassion.
• Along with practice, continuously cultivating basic Dharma (Three Refuges, Five Mindfulness Trainings, Four Noble Truths…) through in-depth teachings, so that each year we attain a deeper insight into the Dharma and the responsibilities of a monastic, so that our practice is always connected with understanding and the nourishment of happiness right now.

Mindfulness is the energy that brings us back to the present moment through attention to an object—our breath, our steps, our body, our feelings, our mind, or the objects of mind. When mindfulness follows wholesome objects, happiness arises and this is called right mindfulness; if it embraces thoughts that cause suffering, it is wrong mindfulness.

In right mindfulness, the four practices of recollection always accompany us, bringing happiness and liberation:

1. Recollection of the Buddha—contemplating the ten qualities of the Tathagata (Thus Come One, Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly Enlightened One… World-Honored One) and bringing them into the present moment.
2. Recollection of the Dharma—touching the well-spoken teachings, experiencing them directly, being free from afflictions, transcending time, coming to see and leading the way upward.
3. Recollection of the Sangha—taking refuge in the true community, upholding the precepts, practicing mindfulness, concentration, and insight together in the community.
4. Recollection of the Precepts—practicing the precepts as a foundation for protection and nourishment of happiness.

The Earth Touching Repentance Practice is a practice of repentance in the form of a heartfelt dialogue with the World-Honored One, combining aspiration and the Three Touchings of the Earth (each touching with three breaths) to make direct contact with the Buddha in this very moment. The Buddha is first of all a historical teacher, who attained powerful mindfulness, concentration, and insight, and continues to manifest in many forms, like a cloud transforming into water, tea, or the very energy of awakening within us. The practitioner uses mindfulness, concentration, and insight to cultivate “holiness” in oneself, from which great understanding gives rise to great compassion.

Walking meditation is a wonderful method that helps us live deeply in the present moment, different from walking like a sleepwalker, automatically driven by our habits (neuro pathways). When practicing walking meditation, with each step, we place our mind right on that step, we are truly present to touch the wonders of life—flowers, air, sunshine, rain—and by doing so, we are nourished and healed, no longer hurried and restless as in our daily life. Mindfulness (sati) is the energy that helps us recognize when negative habits arise, and thanks to mindfulness, concentration, and insight, we can let go of anger, craving, and tension, so we do not fall into the old cycle.

When walking meditation with the sangha, each person can adjust their pace to suit themselves, for example, two steps breathing in—two steps breathing out, or three steps according to their capacity. Thay suggests four principles to make good habits with each step:

1. Each step is life itself
2. Each step is a miracle
3. Each step is healing
4. Each step is freedom

Practicing mindful breathing in harmony with each step will transform walking meditation into a path of enlightenment, bringing peace and helping to transform negative habits into wholesome ones.