Any authentic teaching of the Buddha must carry the three Dharma seals:

1. Impermanence
2. Non-self
3. Nirvāṇa
   Impermanence is an instrument for emancipation, transformation, and healing. It reveals that nothing remains the same in two consecutive moments, yet things are neither same nor different. Viewed in the light of non-self and emptiness, it shows that a flower is made of non-flower elements like sunshine, clouds, and earth. To be is to interbe, meaning everything is empty of a separate existence. This is a positive reality: thanks to impermanence, a grain of corn can become a plant, a child can grow, and a dictatorial regime can end. As Nāgārjuna said: “Thanks to emptiness, everything is possible.”

Reality is experienced through the historical dimension and the ultimate dimension. In the historical dimension, we are concerned with birth, death, being, and non-being, much like waves on the surface of the ocean. In the ultimate dimension, we touch our true nature as water, which is free from these notions. Nirvāṇa is the extinction of all concepts, including coming and going or same and different. The teachings of impermanence and emptiness are like a finger pointing to the moon or a match that produces a flame; they are instruments to be used and then transcended to reach direct experience. This is illustrated by the interbeing nature of the three dimensions of a coin:

1. Head
2. Tail
3. Metal

The practice of meditating on birth and death helps us touch our ultimate dimension, known as Buddha nature. When accompanying a dying person, we help them realize they are not caught in their body or mental consciousness but are life without boundaries. This involves letting go of the four elements:

1. Earth
2. Fire
3. Water
4. Air
   By watering seeds of happiness through the four recollections—the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha, and the mindfulness trainings—one can die peacefully. As shown in the teaching given to Anāthapiṇḍika, the insight of no coming and no going allows us to transcend the cycle of birth and death. The sutra reminds us: “This body is not me. I am not caught in this body. I am life without boundaries. I have never been born, and I will never die.” Every act and word in daily life should be an act of love, bringing relief to those who suffer.

A childhood encounter with a drawing of a relaxed, smiling Buddha inspires a desire to find peace amidst a world of worry and anger. At age eleven, a search for a mountain hermit leads instead to a natural well of limpid, refreshing water. Drinking this water brings a state of total satisfaction and the realization that the hermit can manifest in many forms, such as a well, a tree, or a sunrise. To recognize the hermit in one’s own life, one must be alert, attentive, and rooted in one’s own spiritual tradition.

The practice of mindfulness involves returning to the body and recognizing it as a flowing river rather than a static entity. This contemplation extends to three specific rivers:

1. The river of the body, where birth and death happen in every second.
2. The river of feelings, including pleasant, unpleasant, neutral, and mixed sensations, which should be met with mere recognition rather than suppression or clinging.
3. The river of perceptions, consisting of notions and ideas that are often wrong and serve as the ground for suffering, anger, and despair.

Strong emotions are like storms that shake the branches of a tree. During such times, it is dangerous to stay at the level of the brain with thinking and imagination. Instead, one should move to the trunk of the tree by focusing on the đan điền, the area below the navel. By practicing mindful deep breathing and observing the rise and fall of the abdomen, the energy of mindfulness embraces the emotion with tenderness. This practice of reconciliation and resting allows one to handle the storm without becoming its victim.

Non-action (vô vi) is a positive quality of being characterized by solidity, freedom, clarity, and compassion. The value of a person is judged not by action alone, but by their quality of being; an authentic presence can serve the world and even save others in times of crisis, much like a calm person on a storm-tossed boat. This quality is cultivated through the energy of mindfulness, which makes us awake to the miracle of being alive in the here and now.

The five miracles of mindfulness are:

1. Being present in the here and now.
2. Recognizing the other, whether it is a loved one, the moon, or your own body.
3. Receiving nourishment and healing from the wonders of life.
4. Embracing pain, sorrow, and afflictions with nonviolence and nonduality.
5. Inquiring and looking deeply into the nature of ill-being to identify its source of nutriment.

Mindfulness is always mindfulness of something, such as drinking water, eating an orange, or walking. In true meditation, the distinction between the observer and the observed vanishes; to understand (comprendre) is to become one with the object. Nothing can survive without food, and by identifying the nutriments of our suffering, we find the path to emancipation. This transformation is supported by the Sangha, whose collective energy helps us embrace and penetrate our afflictions to discover the truth of our ill-being. “What has come to be, if you can look deeply into its nature and identify its source of nutriment, you are already on the path of emancipation.”

One thousand five hundred and thirty-three people, including about a hundred children, gathered to practice joy, harmony, calm, solidity, and love. Looking deeply into the nature of life and death allows us to understand that the flame, like all things, comes from nowhere and goes nowhere. It manifests when conditions — the fuel, the oxygen, and the wick — are sufficient. Reality transcends the concepts of same and different; like a torch spinning in the night creating the illusion of a circle of fire, a permanent identity is an optical illusion. Everything changes in every moment, and our physical body, composed of billions of combusting cells, has no absolute identity.

Birth and death are absurd notions because nothing can be created from nothing, and nothing can be reduced to nothingness. A burned sheet of paper does not die; it transforms into smoke, a cloud, and heat. As Lavoisier said: “Nothing is created, nothing is lost.” This nature of no-birth and no-death is shared by all, including the Buddha and Jesus. The term Tathagata designates the one who comes from suchness, an ultimate reality free from coming, going, being, non-being, same, different, birth, and death. The practice consists of passing from the notion of creation to that of manifestation.

True happiness is established when we free ourselves from ideas and notions, because our concepts of happiness are often our greatest obstacles. Nirvana is the extinction of these notions that generate fear and suffering. To attain non-fear (abhaya), we must touch the ultimate reality through the Three Dharma Seals:

1. Impermanence: a working tool showing that all physical, physiological, and mental formations are constantly changing.

If a handful of salt is thrown into a bowl of water, it becomes too salty to drink, but if thrown into a river, the water remains drinkable because the river is immense. When the heart is unlimited and boundless, small things do not cause suffering. The practice is to enlarge the heart through the four apramāṇāni, or boundless states:

1. Maitrī: loving-kindness, the capacity to offer well-being and happiness.
2. Karuṇā: compassion.
3. Muditā: joy, altruistic joy, or rejoicing in the joy of others.
4. Upekṣā: equanimity.

These four elements are the brahma-vihāras, the divine or sublime abodes where Buddhas and bodhisattvas dwell. Cultivating them makes one’s presence refreshing and healing, like a linden tree. Many people attempt to cover their blocks of suffering, fear, and despair through unmindful consumption—such as drugs, alcohol, or violent media—but this only makes suffering grow. A meaningful life is found by developing understanding and compassion, which transform suffering and offer a wholesome path. Dialogue with oneself and loved ones helps identify this path, providing the strength to overcome obstacles through the power of love.

True love is impossible without understanding. To understand oneself or another, one must practice deep looking through mindfulness in every moment of daily life, whether driving, watering vegetables, or drinking tea. This practice is rooted in the Eightfold Path, expressed concretely in the Five Mindfulness Trainings:

1. Right understanding
2. Right thinking
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood
6. Right concentration
7. Right mindfulness

Mindfulness, concentration, and insight together generate the energy of maitrī, karuṇā, and muditā. Loving with spiritual eyes brings the divine heart, as understanding is the ground and foundation for true love.

The question Who are you? is a profound meditation practiced in Zen and Pure Land schools to realize the ultimate reality. Looking deeply into a leaf reveals the presence of clouds, sunshine, and the whole cosmos; similarly, looking into a person reveals their parents, ancestors, and the entire universe. Loving is a process of exploring and understanding, as love and understanding are two aspects of the same thing. Offering the question Who are you? to a loved one provides an opportunity to practice looking into true nature and recognizing that we are in each other.

War often forces people who are not enemies by nature to behave as such, making them victims of ignorance and policy. In situations of intense suffering, there is a tremendous chance for spiritual growth and the development of compassion. The greatest suffering is not bearing difficulties or hunger, but having a life without meaning or a path. Finding a path of compassion and mindfulness allows one to confront obstacles and find joy even in hard conditions, as being an instrument of compassion provides relief from the suffering of a meaningless life.

The Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara is depicted with one thousand arms and one thousand eyes, symbolizing that love must be translated into action guided by understanding. True love is made of four unlimited elements:

1. Maitrī
2. Karuṇā
3. Muditā
4. Upekṣā

Without the eye of understanding in the hand of action, we may inadvertently cause suffering to those we love. True love requires a permanent dialogue and the practice of looking deeply to ensure our actions bring happiness and freedom. By practicing together and consuming mindfully, we stay on the path of liberation and make love manifest through deep vision.

The sangha is gathered at the New Hamlet on July 27, 2000, for a Question and Answer session.

We begin with a few questions from the children:

1. Why did you become a monk?
2. How can I help people who have forgotten the little child in themselves?
3. What should I do if I have a nightmare and am afraid to sleep, or have problems getting to sleep?
4. Should I call you Thich Nhat Hanh, Thay Nhat Hanh, or just Thay?
5. How can I wake up in the morning in a good way?

Followed by questions from teenagers, young adults, and adults:

1. What should be done when difficult feelings like anxiety and pain arise during meditation, and how do I hold these feelings like a mother holding a baby?
2. How can I help a partner who knows the practice but cannot do it because the world brings up their negative habit energy and depression?
3. What can I do when I get angry and cannot control myself, causing suffering to myself and others?
4. What does it mean to say we suffer because we don’t love enough, and how does a bodhisattva’s aspiration transform suffering?
5. Could you elaborate on the concept of presence in form of thought, words, and action?
6. How can I forgive and accept my father who committed suicide when I was an infant?
7. How can I manifest non-acceptance when a partner pursues a joy that is destructive or unhealthy?
8. What can students do to protect themselves when forced to watch films that water seeds of violence and anger?
9. Should I finish my program of study in Chinese medicine or follow my heart to become a monk?
10. How can I help someone with depression by identifying the source of nutrition that brought it in?
11. How do I deal with doubt when facing a choice, especially when inheriting contradictory qualities from parents?
12. How can communication be improved between parents and children when there is a cultural and generation gap?
13. What is the vision for building a wholesome lay community or Sangha in the lay world?

The name Śākyamuni signifies one who is capable of compassion (Năng Nhân) and the silent one (Tịch Mặc). True silence is not merely the absence of speech, but an internal stillness free from the noise of worries, anger, and unnecessary thinking. While the Buddha gave many discourses, such as the Dīgha Nikāya and Majjhima Nikāya, he remained the silent one because of the peace and space within his mind. This silence is a state of being solid and free from the disturbance of wrong perceptions.

Reality cannot be grasped through the four philosophical categories or boxes:

1. Being
2. Non-being
3. Neither being nor non-being
4. Both being and non-being.
   The body is not a solitary self but a colony shared by billions of living beings, such as Helicobacter pylori and Escherichia coli. In the story of the monk Anuruddha, the Buddha clarifies that he cannot be identified solely within or outside the five elements. Instead of engaging in speculation, the practice focuses on the nature of suffering and the path leading out of it.

The practice is defined by three characteristics:

1. Miên mật: Unbroken, continued practice in every activity, from cooking to brushing teeth.
2. Hiện pháp: Present-centeredness, where touching the present moment allows for the healing of the past and the shaping of the future.
3. Lạc: Joyful and pleasant dwelling in the here and now (dṛṣṭaDharma-sukha-vihārī).
   By recognizing that ancestors and parents are alive within us, we can restore communication and achieve reconciliation, even across cultural gaps between Eastern and Western traditions. This practice of looking deeply allows us to transform guilt and suffering into understanding and love.

The collective energy of mindfulness brings the Sangha together as a single organism, flowing as a river to transcend the boundaries of an illusory self and to be free from the complexes of superiority, inferiority, and equality. A spiritual dimension is necessary in daily life to overcome difficulties and handle suffering. This spirituality, which can exist outside of religion, is based on the deep insight of interbeing: just as a flower is made of non-flower elements such as clouds, sunshine, and the gardener, a human being does not have a separate identity and inter-is with the whole cosmos.

Understanding suffering is the key to happiness, because there is no lotus without mud. By looking deeply into the nature and roots of our ill-being, we identify the sources of nutriments that feed it and discover the path of its transformation. The practice relies on the first eight exercises of the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing:

1. Recognizing the in-breath and the out-breath.
2. Following the breath all the way through.
3. Being aware of the body by bringing the mind back to it.
4. Releasing tension in the body.
5. Generating a feeling of joy.
6. Generating a feeling of happiness by recognizing the conditions already present.
7. Recognizing a painful feeling or a strong emotion.
8. Using mindfulness to embrace and calm suffering.

This insight of interbeing and non-discrimination forms the foundation of a global ethic and of the Five Mindfulness Trainings: the protection of life, true happiness born from compassion, true love based on understanding, loving speech and deep listening to restore communication, and transformation through mindful consumption. The latter involves being mindful of the four kinds of nutriments: edible food, sense impressions, volition or deep desire, and collective consciousness. Introducing these practices in schools, in the form of an education in happiness, allows teachers and parents to transform violence and create a healthy environment for future generations.

Questions from the audience:

• How to integrate mindfulness into family and domestic life when one is not a monk or a nun?
• How to technically install a bell of mindfulness on a computer to release tension at work?
• What is the connection between culture and education in happiness to foster listening and communication?
• Are there specific teachings for doctors to help them handle imbalance and illness?
• How to transform suffering and confinement when facing intense painful crises in a sick loved one?
• What actions are planned in France to train teachers in the practice of mindfulness?

1. What do you believe in, how do you describe it, and is there a discrepancy between your belief and the belief a Christian has?
2. Is there a discrepancy between being in the moment and living for a point after this life where, if you have been a good human being and loved others, you are allowed to go into paradise?
3. How do you get the power to be in the present moment?
4. What is the destiny and the future of human beings?

Intelligence and wisdom must be brought together to discuss issues like cloning for medical purposes, as saying yes or no is too simple; scientists and politicians should consult spiritual and humanist circles rather than making decisions alone.

1. Is the establishment of Plum Village too much of a burden?
2. What is the reason for the phenomenon of high interest in the book Anger in Korea?
3. Is there a special meaning behind the name Plum Village?
4. What is the perspective on the act of Vietnamese monks who burned themselves to protest the war in the 1960s?
5. Can the end justify the means?
6. What did the families of the victims of September 11th say during meetings in New York?
7. What is the meaning of the calligraphy sentence and the stamp?
8. What were the impressions of a past visit to Korea and what are the distinctions between Vietnamese and Korean Buddhism?
9. Are there plans to visit Korea again in the near future?
10. Is it possible to cut the chain of saṃsāra, birth and death, through mindfulness practice as compared to the use of koans?
11. What is the response to being regarded as one of four alive Buddhas in the world?
12. Are young Vietnamese Buddhist monks able to write Chinese characters?
13. Is there a complete Buddhist canon available in the Vietnamese language?

To love someone is to ask how to best love and protect them. Protection is found in cultivating energies that neutralize fear and insecurity, ensuring the seed of fear within ourselves and others is not watered. In Buddhism, consciousness consists of various seeds, including:

1. Peace
2. Compassion
3. Non-fear
4. Understanding
5. Fear
6. Discrimination
7. Hatred
8. Anger

Practicing mindfulness in daily activities—walking, drinking, eating, speaking, and listening—protects the self and others from the toxins of despair and anger.

True happiness requires freedom from fear, anger, and discrimination. This is achieved through four specific energies:

1. Mindfulness
2. Concentration
3. Insight
4. Compassion

Fear is a product of ignorance and wrong perceptions. When we stay with something deeply through concentration, we gain the insight necessary to remove these perceptions. Understanding the suffering of others naturally brings compassion, which is the most powerful source of protection. This approach transforms conflict by replacing violence with deep listening and loving speech, recognizing that the safety of one side depends entirely on the safety of the other.

In social and political life, deep listening allows us to understand our own suffering and the suffering of those we perceive as enemies. By using loving speech and removing wrong perceptions, the cycle of violence can be ended. On a deeper level, meditation allows us to touch the two dimensions of reality:

1. Historical dimension
2. Ultimate dimension

Touching the ultimate dimension, or nirvāṇa, allows us to transcend the fear of birth and death. Like a wave realizing it is water, a practitioner finds non-fear by touching their true nature, which is beyond beginning and end. True love preserves freedom for both the lover and the beloved, offering protection and joy without attachment.

The precious censer burns fine incense, with aloeswood smoke swirling and spreading throughout the ten directions. The bodhi mind is extraordinarily courageous, radiating light wherever it touches, and everywhere is clearly peaceful and settled to respectfully offer to the Compassionate One. We respectfully make an Incense Offering to the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas.

The sacred moment when the wind calms, the birds stop, and the earth trembles seven times as the deathless crosses the stream of birth and death. The hand turning the Dharma wheel in the pure night fragrance, the auspicious mudra blooms white like a flower while the three thousand worlds sing in unison to praise Shakyamuni Buddha. The deathless flower blooms right in the garden of birth and death, and the bud of enlightenment opens into myriad skillful means when He comes here to learn the human language.

Looking from the Tushita heaven, the earth is brighter than a bright star, and stars from all directions gather until the eastern sun shines forth. Lumbini Garden transforms into a soft cradle welcoming the newborn Buddha. The music of this piece is drawn from the traditional ceremonial music of Buddhism, unlike secular music, and is related to the praise chant.

October 25, 2012. A 105-minute Dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh in Lower Hamlet, Plum Village, during the Autumn Retreat on a Day of Mindfulness.

The teaching revisits the Four Kinds of Nutriments and their relationship to the Fifth Mindfulness Training. It explores power, the mind of love, enlightenment, and bodhicitta—energy arising from mindfulness and concentration. Understanding your own suffering helps you understand the suffering of others in the family and in the nation; understanding is the foundation of love. When the mind is left uncultivated it brings suffering, so a spiritual dimension in daily life is essential.

Thay looks into mental formations that make us suffer and how they can be transformed, the role of samadhi in maintaining awareness, and meditation on impermanence to treasure the moments we have. He presents the Three Doors of Liberation—emptiness, signlessness, aimlessness—offering an exploration of birth and death, being and non-being, impermanence, non-craving, and nirvana.

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1. When someone we love is dying, what can be done to help them in their transition to pass on?
2. How can teaching relationships with children support their development and intelligence in relation to finding one’s true home and presence?
3. What is the meaning of right effort and how can one find an appropriate approach to it in mature practice?
4. How can we respond to terrorism with understanding and compassion when many in America believe a show of strength, bombs, and punishment are necessary for protection?
5. How can one protect themselves and remain emotionally healthy while seeking closeness with parents and navigating a materialistic society without absorbing the stress and issues of others?
6. What is the definition and practice of mindful consumption?

Understanding rebirth requires a deep look into the teaching of no-self. Using the analogy of a flame, it is seen that manifestation occurs when conditions are sufficient and ceases when they are not; the flame is neither the same nor different from moment to moment. Continuation is both vertical and horizontal. A tea leaf continues vertically as soil and flowers, but also horizontally as the person who drinks it, the poem it inspires, the Dharma talk it supports, and the calligraphy it thins. Like water transforming into clouds, snow, or ice cream, everything possesses many transformation bodies.

Rebirth and continuation happen in every moment through the three karmas of thought, speech, and action. These actions radiate energy like the light and heat of a candle, affecting both the environment and the self. The six destinies are available in the present moment, chosen like television channels: hell, the animal realm, the realm of hungry ghosts, asuras, and heaven. The Pure Land is also available now. When the mind is free from the three poisons of desire, anger, and ignorance, the land becomes pure. In the Pure Land, there are nine qualities of lotus flowers, and the purity of one’s mind determines which lotus one sits upon.

Practical mindfulness maintains this presence in a busy world through simple exercises:

• Practicing three mindful breaths before making a telephone call.
• Using mindful walking when moving between buildings.
• Smiling and breathing at red lights while driving.
• Simplifying life to allow more time for the wonders of the present.

Zen and Pure Land practices are not contradictory; both aim for mindfulness, concentration, and insight into the five skandhas. The Diamond Sutra teaches that the mind of the past, present, and future cannot be grasped, yet by touching the present deeply, one heals the past and creates the future. This involves letting go of the four notions of self, human being, living being, and lifespan.

The sangha is gathered at the New Hamlet on July 20, 2000. Thay begins by answering questions from the children:

1. What should I do when someone kicks or punches me at school?
2. When someone dies, do they go directly to paradise or are they reborn in another body?

Followed by questions from the adults:

1. How can one practice when being judgmental or self-conscious about oneself, especially when others do not seem mindful?
2. Is it necessary to connect back with one’s family and roots when a history of unrecognized sexual abuse has led to being excluded from the family?
3. How can we accompany the dying and what are the funeral rites in Buddhism?
4. How can we deal with the guilt of suffering we have caused to ourselves or others, particularly when we failed to understand a suffering that led to suicide?
5. How can we help someone with AIDS who has no knowledge of mindful breathing or the power of healing?
6. How can one balance compassionate listening with self-care to avoid being overwhelmed by another person’s negative perceptions and suffering?
7. In order to understand the teacher, does one have to become one with the teacher?
8. How can we show understanding and help a person who suffers but denies their own suffering and refuses to open up?
9. Should one spend time studying and discussing the Five Mindfulness Trainings before committing to them in public, or commit immediately with the intention of following through?

Enlightenment is possible in the here and now through the practice of mindfulness. It is the capacity to be aware of what is occurring in the present moment, such as knowing one is breathing in or recognizing the presence of anger or irritation. A moment of awareness is a moment of enlightenment (đốn ngộ). The opposite of mindfulness is forgetfulness, where one walks, drinks, or acts without being truly present. Maintaining mindfulness throughout the day, whether focusing on breathing, walking, or dishwashing, allows the mind and body to become one and helps cultivate freedom.

Freedom is the foundation of happiness and is reclaimed through mindfulness. Without freedom, one lives as a slave to the past, future, projects, and afflictions. By generating the energy of mindfulness, daily activities like mopping the floor or sitting meditation become moments of pleasure and healing rather than hard labor. The practice consists of two aspects:

1. Nourishing: Utilizing the joy of meditation as daily food (thiền duyệt vi thực) to receive nourishment from refreshing elements within and around us.
2. Healing: Becoming truly present to embrace suffering, pain, and the wounded child within with tenderness and compassion.

Meditation is an engaged practice, not an escape from reality. It provides the vigor and intelligence needed to handle the events of daily life with compassion and skillfulness. Every step and every breath can serve as spiritual food that provides peace and transformation. By lighting the lamp of mindfulness, every moment—whether sitting, standing, or lying down—becomes a gift and an opportunity for the body and mind to heal themselves. Peace Is Every Step.

Six basic prostrations follow the incense offering, accompanied by gathas to praise the Three Jewels and the Bodhisattvas. The gatha for the Three Jewels describes the Buddha smiling on the Vulture Peak, the Dharma resonating in the ten directions, and the Sangha sowing seeds of peace. Other verses honor:

1. Shakyamuni Buddha, who holds one bowl, receives food from thousands of families, and walks barefoot to help beings overcome birth and death.
2. Manjushri, whose sword of wisdom cuts through ignorance and opens the gate of ultimate reality.
3. Samantabhadra, whose oceans of vows and great action transform the cosmos through the Ocean Seal concentration.
4. Avalokiteshvara, who manifests in a thousand places to rescue those in the ocean of suffering.
5. The Ancestral Teachers, following the path of the enlightened masters to ensure the Dharma lasts for future generations.
   Future chanting books will include gathas for Kāśyapa, Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Ānanda, Upāli, and Gotamī.

Collective intelligence operates within a Sangha, similar to the harmony found in colonies of ants, bees, and termites. While an individual insect may lack the neurons for complex planning, a community of termites can build sophisticated cities with ventilation, air conditioning, and fungus gardens. A practitioner is like a bee; if separated from the hive, they lose their strength and energy. True wisdom and power are not found in a separate self but in surrendering to the Sangha and allowing oneself to be transported by its collective energy.

During a twenty-one-day retreat, the Sangha expands and modifies its energy as four hundred new members join. Monastics act as the kernel of a cell, receiving and giving nourishment while treating retreatants as brothers and sisters rather than guests. Dharma talks are not prefabricated but are born from the collective needs, suffering, and joy of the whole community. Daily practice includes specific morning and afternoon chants, such as the Heart Sutra and the invocation of the Buddha’s name, to maintain a pure heart and a clear direction.

The mind is like a garden consisting of two levels:

1. Store consciousness, the soil containing all seeds.
2. Mind consciousness, the space where seeds manifest as plants.

Within the store consciousness are positive seeds such as joy, generosity, and friendship, alongside negative seeds like anger, jealousy, and despair. To maintain happiness, two things must be practiced: avoiding the planting of negative seeds and refraining from watering the negative seeds already present. When a negative seed manifests in the mind consciousness, it should not be fought but embraced with mindfulness, just as a mother holds a crying baby. This practice of recognizing and embracing suffering leads to relief and healing. We must also be mindful of what we consume, such as television programs, which can act as food that either poisons or nourishes our store consciousness.

True love is built upon the four brahma-viharas, beginning with maitri, which signifies friendliness, affection, and loving-kindness. Self-love is the essential foundation for loving others; to love another, one must first be a friend to oneself and accept one’s own nature. This requires knowing oneself—“Connais-toi toi-même”—through the five elements:

1. Form
2. Feelings
3. Perceptions
4. Mental formations
5. Consciousness

By going back to the body and recognizing these elements, one can transform suffering into peace. True love preserves the integrity and liberty of the other person, as locking up the object of love, like sunshine or a breeze, causes it to die. In true love, there must be friendship and space, allowing the other person to remain fresh and solid.

1. How can we educate our children without sheltering them in such a way that they are in shock when they face life?
2. Could you talk more about the Council of Sages?
3. How can we speed up the process of clearing misunderstanding or resolving conflict, and what practice helps us to be patient?
4. Is it possible to practice mindfulness in the presence of other people, and if concentration is low, what is the best method?
5. How can we help the Vietnamese community, especially the elder generation, transform the overwhelming suffering and misunderstanding following the events of September 11?
6. How can we help and carry your message to people who respect and support you but are conflicted by the current opposition within the Vietnamese community?
7. How do we balance the practice of being in the present moment with the need to deal with the future in work and travel?

Holiness is Buddhahood, the energy of enlightenment, compassion, and understanding generated through mindfulness, concentration, and insight. This inherent element manifests when breathing or walking mindfully, nourishing and healing the practitioner. The Sangha is a community of holy people comprising four categories and eight kinds, including:

1. Those heading to the realization of stream entrance (dự lưu hướng).
2. Stream entrants (nhập lưu).
3. Those heading toward arhatship (A-la-hán hướng).
4. Arhats (A-la-hán quả).
   Entering this stream carries one toward the ocean of final enlightenment, providing a sense of arriving in every moment.

Sitting meditation is a time for healing and resting. Just as a wounded animal in the forest lies down to allow its body to heal, humans must stop running after fame and profit to utilize the body’s capacity for self-healing. Proper posture involves an upright spinal column and a stable base with three points—two knees and the cushion—known as kiềng ba chân. Harmonizing the body, or điều thân, includes relaxing the three hundred muscles on the face with a smile to release tension and obsessions.

Mindful breathing involves the simple recognition of the in-breath and out-breath with enjoyment. Through sixteen methods of mindful breathing and respiration abdominale (belly breathing), the rising and falling of the abdomen helps expel toxins and bring in fresh air. The practice follows a specific gatha:

1. Breathing in, I know I am breathing in; breathing out, I know I am breathing out.
2. Breathing in, my in-breath becomes deep; breathing out, my out-breath becomes slow.
3. Breathing in, I calm my body; breathing out, I feel at ease.
4. Breathing in, I smile; breathing out, I release.
5. Breathing in, I live in the present moment; breathing out, I know this is a wonderful moment.

The session begins with a reflection on how to give a stone the chance to free itself from the layers of suffering, ignorance, and prejudice that cover it.

1. Does everyone have access to the wisdom that is within us?
2. Are there as many paths to touch universal wisdom, or the wisdom we have within us, as there are individuals?
3. When an entire people is in suffering, fear, and terror, is the key always the same and must we always look for it within ourselves?
4. What does the new approach to peace for the Israeli and Palestinian peoples at war consist of, based on deep listening to oneself and to the other, as well as on the intervention of the United Nations?
5. How can we understand the role of the army through the analogy of a knife, which can be used to cut vegetables or to kill?
6. Why does the media report daily on scenes of violence in society while very rarely reporting on practices of peace?
7. How has the historical pain and suffering of war, still palpable on the land of Plum Village forty years later, been transformed by twenty years of practice?

Please call me by my true name so that I can hear my cries and laugh at once, so that the door of my heart and compassion will be left open.

1. Do you have any suggestions for the many people who are angry?
2. Is anger appropriate in some circumstances, such as when a person has been terribly wronged?
3. Is not reacting with passion a realistic way to carry out foreign policy, or is it only applicable at an interpersonal level?
4. What would you do and say if you had a chance to sit down with Osama bin Laden?
5. Are there certain situations where a country needs to respond by force to stop evil political leaders from hurting others?
6. What happened when a group of Palestinians and Israelis came to Plum Village?
7. Is it easy to find people from both sides who are looking for peace?

When afflictions such as anger, fear, or despair arise, they should not be suppressed or avoided, but accepted, cared for, and looked into deeply. This is the practice of the seventh exercise of breathing, where the energy of mindfulness and concentration embraces suffering tenderly, like a mother holding a crying baby. To be liberated from suffering, its source of nutrition must be identified and cut off. This is the practice of the eleventh exercise, concentrating on suffering to find its source of nutriment, and the twelfth exercise, the emancipation of the mental formation by cutting off that source. This practice represents the third and fourth noble truths: the cessation of suffering and the path leading to it.

Nothing can survive without food, including afflictions. Three of the four kinds of nutriment are detailed:

1. Edible food, which is consumed through the mouth. Eating unmindfully, destroying the body, or consuming meat and alcohol is compared to eating the flesh of one’s own children or parents, and contributes to global suffering, resource depletion, and environmental destruction.
2. Senses impression, which is consumed through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Consuming toxic media, conversations, or thoughts waters negative seeds of violence and anger, while mindful consumption protects the six sense organs, preventing us from becoming like a cow without skin attacked by insects.
3. Volition, which is the deepest desire within ourselves. A healthy desire, or bodhicitta, is the mind of deep love and highest understanding that motivates spiritual practice and brings happiness. Unhealthy desires for wealth, power, fame, and sex act like strong men dragging us into a pit of burning charcoal.

Cultivating bodhicitta in daily life requires offering compassion and understanding to ourselves and others through sitting meditation, which helps us understand our own body, feelings, and perceptions. A daily practice is to vow to make one person happy in the morning and help one person suffer less in the afternoon. When confronting global violence and terrorism, the response must not be retaliation, but listening deeply to understand the suffering, misunderstanding, and hatred behind the acts, and responding with compassion and forgiveness.

Thay shares about writing a story printed in the newsletter, a brother seeing the first deer in the deer park, a public talk in San Diego, traveling to Northern California on September 11th, delivering a speech in Berkeley on confronting violence and embracing anger, visiting Ground Zero, and the publication of his book, Anger.

1. How can one help teenagers in a residential facility who have disruptive and violent pasts, have no impulse control, and strike out verbally and physically?
2. How can one work with Vietnam veterans who suffer deeply and are still very depressed for things they had to do in the war or for having to participate in atrocities to help transform their suffering?
3. What do you say to people in regions in conflict, like the Middle East, where people have ideological conflict that has gone on for generations and harbor hatred for each other that makes them kill each other?
4. What should a Vietnamese mother married to an American husband do when caught between the traditional Vietnamese way of preventing bad things from happening to teenagers and the American way of letting kids make mistakes to learn from them?
5. What is the message of US Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s speech, Prayer for America, which challenges the Patriot Act and addresses the state of fear and the war?

Sangha Karman is the democratic process of decision-making where all fully ordained monastics vote together, relying on the collective insight of the Sangha eye. Before a decision is made, a large consultation takes place, starting with the novices to ensure everyone is heard. The temple is structured with an assembly of bhikshus or bhikshunis acting as a parliament to make decisions, and an elected executive council acting as a government to carry out those decisions. This structure allows the abbot or abbess to focus on the spiritual well-being and happiness of individuals rather than administrative tasks.

There are two kinds of practice regarding emotional attachment:

1. Preventing attachment
2. Untying attachment

To prevent attachment, monastics live with at least three people per room, and the Sangha organizes weekly joint activities and a New Year’s Day bowing ceremony where brothers and sisters mutually express respect and commit to protecting each other’s monastic life. If attachment occurs, the Sangha offers advice, involves elder monastics, and issues up to three warnings. If nothing changes after the third warning, the Sangha Karman makes a collective decision to temporarily send one monastic to another temple to support their practice.

Two specific practices support the harmony of the community:

1. Second body: Every monastic is responsible for the well-being of another designated monastic, caring for them when sick or struggling, with pairings changing every three months to prevent attachment.
2. Shining light: A regular meeting where the Sangha offers guidance to a member by writing a compassionate letter consisting of three parts:
   1. Positive elements, also known as flower watering.
   2. Weaknesses or negative points written in loving language.
   3. Specific recommended practices to improve.

The difference between the two words Đạo and Pháp opens up our understanding of the path of practice. Đạo is first and foremost the path, going through the following stages:

1. Tầm đạo is seeking the path.
2. Kiến đạo is seeing the path but not yet walking it.
3. Tu đạo is actually walking on that path, facing difficulties and obstacles.
4. Chứng đạo is attaining peace and liberation, touching the ontological ground and Nirvana.
   Pháp is the teachings and methods of practice that are transmitted to us. The process of receiving and practicing the Dharma consists of three repeating elements:
5. Văn is listening to and learning the teachings.
6. Tư is deep reflection and contemplation.
7. Tu is putting them into practice and applying them.

In the present moment, each person continuously generates and offers three karmas, which include:

1. Right Thinking is thoughts of compassion and non-discrimination, going right into the insight of impermanence, no-self, interbeing, and Nirvana.
2. Right Speech is words that untie sorrow and fear, and build love and trust.
3. Right Action is physical actions that go in the direction of compassion and saving others, without causing suffering.
   To generate these three wholesome karmas, we need to nourish our input of energy with mindfulness, Right Concentration, and Right View. Among these, mindfulness is practiced in four domains:
4. Body
5. Feelings
6. Mind
7. Objects of mind
   This practice helps generate the power of concentration and reveals Right View – the unerring vision of oneself and the world.

The principle of interbeing points out that nothing can exist independently, “this is because that is”. This understanding is applied to resolve problems in daily life, from helping business leaders reduce suffering through three steps:

1. Coming back to take care of oneself, to recognize and to transform one’s own suffering.
2. Dedicating time and attention to take care of and bring joy to one’s family.
3. Bringing attention to the corporation, establishing communication, and taking care of the employees’ happiness.
   To resolving religious and social conflicts. True happiness is not made of power or wealth, but of liberation, freedom, and compassion.

Whenever we love someone, we want that person to be safe, protected, and free from accidents. To generate this energy of protection, we need to practice the teaching of looking at living beings with the eyes of compassion – using the eyes of love to look at life. In each person, there is a seed of love, compassion, forgiveness, understanding, and equality, but if they are not watered every day, they cannot grow. The practice of mindfulness requires us to have a policy of intelligent consumption in the spirit of the Fifth Precept, deciding not to consume products of listening, looking, or reading that contain toxins that water the bad seeds such as hatred, discrimination, violence, craving, and despair. Instead, the whole family needs to sit down together to water the good seeds by listening to Dharma talks, reading nourishing books, and practicing consumption in mindfulness to protect both body and mind.

Understanding is the foundation of love. When someone makes another person suffer, it is because they have too much suffering and resentment within themselves and do not know how to handle it, while also being caught in wrong perceptions. To remove wrong perceptions and to transform hatred, we need to practice the two methods of wonder of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara:

1. Listening (deep listening): listening with a compassionate heart to help the other person have a chance to speak out the suffering and resentment in their heart without judging or interrupting.
2. Loving speech: using gentle and harmonious words to express the truth and establish mutual understanding.

This practice needs to be applied first to ourselves and within our families to resolve conflicts between parents and children, and then expanded to the international level to deal with violence and terrorism in the spirit of the Four Noble Truths. By recognizing suffering and the roots of suffering, we can find the path out of suffering without the use of guns and bullets. When we know how to use the eyes of love to look at life, we are able not only to heal ourselves and to transform the three greatest toxins of greed, anger, and delusion in our consciousness, but also to bring true happiness to those around us.

The Samiddhi Sutra teaches that the Dharma addresses the present moment, transcending time to bring nourishment, healing, and the transformation of suffering. Understanding the true nature of desire prevents the desiring mind from arising, allowing one to remain free and dwell in the wonders of life.

Operating on the ground of self causes suffering through three complexes that must be ended:

1. The complex of superiority
2. The complex of inferiority
3. The complex of equality

All three complexes are based on the notion of self. True equanimity requires the wisdom of non-discrimination, or nirvikalpa-jñāna, where the distinction between self and other is transcended. Taking care of oneself is taking care of the Sangha, and taking care of the Sangha is taking care of oneself. Just as the right hand naturally helps the left hand without a sense of superiority, all achievements within the community are collective products rather than individual creations, freeing us from pride and suffering.

According to the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, there are five kinds of eyes that we must discover, cleanse, and empower:

1. The fleshly eye (nhục nhãn), which requires light, space, and good physical condition to recognize forms, colors, and people around us.
2. The heavenly eye (thiên nhãn), which can see very far without being obstructed by distance or obstacles, acquired either through meditation and concentration or through modern technology.
3. The Dharma eye (pháp nhãn), which knows the true teachings and methods of practice fit for transformation and healing.
4. The wisdom eye (tuệ nhãn), which looks deeply into the nature of reality to see impermanence, non-self, emptiness, and nirvana, freeing us from clinging to forms.
5. The Buddha eye, the eye of omniscience and the full development of the wisdom eye, which sees into the mentality of every living being to open eighty-four thousand Dharma doors.

To these five, a sixth eye is added: the Sangha eye. The Sangha eye is brighter than individual eyes because it is made of all the individual eyes practicing mindfulness and concentration. It helps us realize our strengths and weaknesses, offers guidance, and cultivates our capacity for Sangha building. Taking refuge in the Sangha means having confidence in the Sangha eye and surrendering to its collective insight.

Building a Sangha is a noble task that provides a refuge for those who are lost. It is not achieved by organizing meetings, setting up rules, or using technology, but by living together twenty-four hours a day and practicing mindfulness, loving speech, and deep listening. By being a model of peace, joy, and stability, every member—whether a teacher, big sibling, or young sibling—contributes to bringing the whole community into harmony without obstacles.

Meditation practice is the practice of the body and the mind at the same time. To arrive at the state of oneness of body and mind, the breath is a wonder, a bridge connecting the body to the mind. The Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing teaches sixteen exercises of mindful breathing, in which the first four breaths are practiced to return to the body:

1. The first breath: Breathing in, we know we are breathing in; breathing out, we know we are breathing out. We invest 100% of our mind into the breath to generate mindfulness and concentration, putting an end to the thinking and talking in our head (mental talk).
2. The second breath: Recognizing the breath as short or long naturally, without interfering (mere recognition).
3. The third breath: Breathing in and breathing out with awareness of the whole body, using the energy of mindfulness and concentration to embrace the body like a mother embracing her child.
4. The fourth breath: Breathing in and breathing out to calm the whole body (calming bodily formations), helping the body to relax and heal.

Practicing to love and take care of ourselves is absolutely necessary before taking care of others. Instead of punishing the body and mind for fame and profit or the stress of daily life, each person needs to practice Sitting Meditation, walking meditation, and Deep Relaxation to give the body a chance to rest and heal itself, just like a wounded animal in the forest.

The Sutra on Mindfulness of the Body teaches the method of contemplating the body with the beam of mindfulness, similar to a medical scanning technique. The practitioner lies down or sits up, directing their attention from the top of the head downwards to recognize and embrace each of the 36 parts of the body—such as the eyes, ears, brain, lungs, heart, liver, and digestive system—with all their compassion and tenderness, helping to calm and heal the pain and tension within.

Joy is the third immeasurable mind in the teachings of the Buddha, alongside loving-kindness and compassion. True love must have the capacity to generate happiness, which requires constant dialogue and keeping communication open in order to listen and understand each other. The practice of compassion is to use the light of insight to shine upon, untangle the internal knots, and to transform the suffering and pain of our loved ones, rather than just stopping at helpless pity.

Joy means generating the joy of living by recognizing and watering the seeds of happiness in others. Joy is also sympathetic joy, which means rejoicing in the success and happiness of others without jealousy, based on the insight of no-self. This practice of sympathetic joy is expressed in the fifth vow among the vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva mentioned in the Dharma talk:

1. To pay homage to all Buddhas
2. To praise the Tathagatas
3. To make abundant offerings
4. To repent of karmic obstacles
5. To rejoice in the merits of others

True joy must be a lasting joy that helps protect and nourish the body and mind, completely different from shallow, frantic pleasures that destroy the body and soul, such as gambling, alcohol, and drugs. Following the path of mindfulness through the practice of the Five Mindfulness Trainings is a concrete method to protect the body and mind, bringing true joy and building true love in the family.

Bói Kiều là một truyền thống thực tập linh thiêng giúp người học đạo tiếp xúc với tâm thức cộng đồng của dân tộc qua những câu thơ của thi hào Nguyễn Du. Khi đem tâm thành kính và chuyên chú soi vào tác phẩm, mỗi người có thể nhận diện rõ bản thân, hoàn cảnh hiện tại và tìm ra con đường tu tập phù hợp cho năm mới.

Bài giảng giải bày chi tiết ý nghĩa của các quẻ Kiều được bốc trong chúng hội:

1. Quẻ 175 Gửi thân được chốn am mây, ngọn đèn khêu nguyệt, tiếng chày nện sương: Chỉ việc phó thác thân mạng cho một trung tâm thực tập, học hỏi chánh pháp để mở rộng trí tuệ và tinh chuyên công phu sớm tối.
2. Quẻ 124 Vầng trăng vằng vặc giữa trời, anh hùng đoán giữa trần ai mới già: Khuyên người tu nương tựa vào tuệ giác chung của tăng thân để khám phá, nhận diện những tài năng mới và phá tan các khó khăn, vướng mắc.
3. Quẻ 35 Thuyền vừa đỗ bến thảnh thơi, biết đường khinh trọng, biết lời phải chăng: Chỉ ra cơ hội đạt đến bến bờ tự do bằng cách nhìn sâu để biết việc gì quan trọng cần làm, lời gì đúng đắn cần nói nhằm tránh đổ vỡ, khổ đau.
4. Quẻ 82 Gió quang mây tạnh thảnh thơi, bể oan dường đã vơi vơi cạnh lòng: Hướng dẫn tháo gỡ những oan ức, nội kết tích tụ lâu ngày bằng thiền quán và lòng từ bi để đạt được sự nhẹ nhàng, thảnh thơi đích thực.
5. Quẻ 131 Những là nấn ná đợi tin, tỉnh ra mới biết là mình chiêm bao: Nhắc nhở việc chần chừ chờ đợi sự thay đổi từ bên ngoài chỉ là ảo tưởng; khổ đau vốn không có thực thể rắn chắc mà do tri giác sai lầm tự vẽ ra, cần thức tỉnh để tận hưởng tự do.

Các quẻ Kiều tiếp theo tiếp tục đưa ra những lời chỉ dẫn cụ thể cho đời sống thực tập hằng ngày:

6. Quẻ 54 Long lanh đáy nước in trời, hoa đào năm ngoái còn cười gió đông: Khuyên người tu định tâm để nhìn sâu vào ước nguyện của mình, nhận diện cha mẹ luôn hiện hữu trong từng hơi thở, tế bào ở bình diện bản môn để vừa đi trọn con đường đạo vừa tròn chữ hiếu.
7. Quẻ 69 Sẵn Quan Âm các vườn ta, rõ ràng mở mắt còn ngờ chiêm bao: Khẳng định điều kiện tu học và chất liệu thương yêu đã có sẵn trong môi trường sống cũng như trong khu vườn tâm, cần tinh chuyên thực tập để giữ gìn sự thật đẹp đẽ này.
8. Quẻ 60 Những là rày ước mai ao, dưới dày có đất trên cao có trời: Khuyên thực tập hạnh xả và lòng bao dung rộng lớn như đất trời để ôm ấp, chuyển hóa các khó khăn trong mối quan hệ gia đình.
9. Quẻ 115 Bốn bề bát ngát mênh mông, khấu đầu lạy tạ cao thâm nghìn trùng: Chỉ ra cõi tự do thênh thang có được nhờ nương tựa Tam bảo và lòng biết ơn sâu sắc đối với tổ tiên tâm linh, huyết thống.
10. Quẻ về con đường Bây giờ rõ mặt đôi ta, tu là cõi phúc, tình là dây oan: Nhắc nhở việc nhìn rõ các dính mắc thế sự để chuyên tâm thực tập, vì chỉ có sự tu tập mới đem lại hạnh phúc và giải thoát.
11. Quẻ về sự chuyển hóa Được lời như mở tấc lòng, phải dò cho đến ngọn nguồn lạch sông: Khuyên đi sâu tìm hiểu những khó khăn, khổ đau thầm kín của người khác để giúp đỡ họ bằng tình thương.
12. Quẻ 105 Mùi thiền đã bén muối dưa, gà vừa gáy sáng, trời vừa rạng đông và Quẻ 134 Giọt rồng canh đã điểm ba, khá dung kẻ dưới mới là lượng trên: Chỉ ra sự bắt đầu của con đường thiền tập và cách nuôi dưỡng niềm vui bằng hạnh bao dung, ôm ấp những người trẻ hơn.

Awareness of the in-breath and out-breath allows us to know we are alive and touch the Kingdom of God in the here and the now. The fundamental issues of our world are spiritual, not political or economic. In developed countries, despite an abundance of goods to consume, people suffer deeply, while those in developing countries living on very little often experience more laughter, cheerfulness, and brotherhood. True happiness does not come from wealth, power, or high consumption, but from living a simple life with compassion and understanding. When business and political leaders awaken to compassion, they can act as bodhisattvas, using their talents to serve humanity and other species out of genuine compassion rather than forced compliance.

The three key questions for consideration are:

1. What is the reaction to the purpose, agenda, and outcomes proposed?
2. What are the possibilities of working together with business and political leaders?
3. What is needed from this meeting to feel it was a good use of time?

To address these, dialogue must be established across three dimensions:

1. The dialogue within religion.
2. The dialogue between religions.
3. The dialogue with the leaders.

Rather than serving as mere decoration for the forum, spiritual leaders must challenge political and business leaders to provoke a shock and an awakening. The two primary subjects to discuss are:

1. How to help business and political leaders to understand themselves and wake up to their real situation.
2. How for businessmen and political leaders to taste the happiness in the here and the now.
   True transformation of the human being, rather than social justice or environmental policies alone, is at the base of resolving global suffering.

Human suffering drives the aspiration to take refuge in a place of no suffering, such as the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha. The universal practice of nama-japa, or calling the name of a holy person, brings comfort and energy, whether practicing Namo Buddhaya in Buddhism or Namo Christaya in Christianity. While the Sukhavati-vyuha Sutra describes the Pure Land as a place of great happiness where people do not know suffering, suffering is actually necessary to recognize and appreciate well-being. Just as a flower needs compost and garbage to grow, happiness is made of non-happiness elements like pain and despair. Suffering serves as a school that teaches us how to understand and cultivate compassion.

In the study of Buddhism, we distinguish two kinds of truth:

1. The conventional, relative truth
2. The absolute truth (paramartha)

While the relative truth uses the concept of a land without suffering as a skillful means to attract those who suffer, the absolute reality is that suffering exists even in the Pure Land. Under the principle of đới nghiệp vãng sinh, practitioners can bring their luggage of suffering and karma to the Pure Land to slowly transform it. The most attractive element of the Pure Land is not its physical wonders, but being close to many noble practitioners in a good Sangha. Cultivating gratitude for a Sangha and a place to practice mindfulness is enough to maintain happiness, as the moment we stop feeling grateful is the moment we begin to suffer. Anyone motivated by the desire to build a Sangha and establish a place for practice is already creating a real Pure Land in the here and the now.

Mindful breathing is like drawing fresh water from a well on the in-breath, then pouring it over one’s body and mind on the out-breath. Imagining oneself as a mountain watered by the rain, this practice brings freshness and beauty. The sound of the bell is an invitation to stop, to calm one’s thoughts, and to return to oneself. Three sounds of the bell invite us to practice nine mindful breaths to preserve our freshness and beauty, especially in the face of irritation or anger.

To invite the bell, we should first establish ourselves in calmness by reciting a four-line poem synchronized with our breathing:

1. Body, speech, and mind in perfect harmony (for the in-breath)
2. I send my heart along with the sound of this bell (for the out-breath)
3. May all who hear me awaken (for the in-breath)
4. And transcend forgetfulness, suffering, and death (for the out-breath)

After a bow, the bell is held in the left hand like a five-petaled lotus flower. We first produce a half-sound to prepare people to stop, then we invite the full sound, allowing time to take three full breaths.

True spirituality is lived in the present moment, because there is no path to spirituality, peace, or awakening: spirituality, peace, and awakening are the path itself. The mindful in-breath reunites body and mind, immediately offering peace, solidity, protection, and freshness. This practice of stopping also applies to daily actions, such as chewing bread or drinking tea in mindfulness, transforming each moment into spiritual nourishment to avoid the false nourishment of intellectual studies or the pursuit of positions.

The flame is already present in a matchbox before it manifests. When conditions are sufficient, something manifests, and when they are no longer sufficient, it hides. Our true nature is that of no-birth and no-death. Before our birth and even our conception, we already existed in our parents. This deep meditation allows us to dispel the fear of non-being, because death cannot touch us: we simply continue to exist in other forms.

Buddhism favors the term manifestation over creation, because nothing can be born from nothingness. A bamboo leaf or a sheet of paper contains the whole cosmos: the sun, the clouds, the forest, and the earth. Burning a piece of paper does not reduce it to zero, but transforms it into heat, smoke, and ashes that will continue to exist in the air, the sky, and the soil. In the same way, a loved one who has passed away or a cloud transformed into rain do not cease to exist; they continue their manifestation in a different form.

Nirvana is the extinction of all notions and concepts that prevent us from touching reality. To attain non-fear and true happiness, it is necessary to transcend three pairs of opposite notions:

1. Being and non-being
2. Coming and going
3. Same and different

Since everything changes at every moment due to impermanence, we never remain the same from one moment to the next, without however becoming a different person.

To speak of the Alaya consciousness is to speak of the retribution consciousness, that is, the consciousness that contains all the seeds playing the role of self-nature, having the function of encompassing all self-entities and the destinies in the three realms. The word retribution means ripening and changing, requiring time to ripen in three senses:

1. Ripening at different times: ripening at different times depending on the type of seed.
2. Ripening into different categories: different categories ripen not at the same time and not in the same way.
3. Ripening through transformation: when ripening, changing in nature from one state to another.
   The process of operation of the store consciousness includes self-nature (seeds giving rise to manifestations and manifestations giving rise to seeds) and self-entity (the transmigration of all things leading to the destinies in the three realms: the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the formless realm).

Seeds are of two types: outer seeds belonging to the conventional and inner seeds belonging to the ultimate. A seed in the true sense has six characteristics:

1. Perishing in a ksana: arising and perishing continuously in the shortest unit of time.
2. Simultaneous with the fruit: being present simultaneously with the fruit, with the sense organ, and the object.
3. Constantly following and transforming: continuously accompanying the manifestation to transform.
4. Determinacy: whichever seed it is, it retains the nature of that seed.
5. Awaiting conditions: waiting for favorable conditions to manifest.
6. Leading to its own fruit: a particular seed leads to that particular manifestation.

In the process of perfuming, the six consciousnesses play the role of the perfumer, while the Alaya consciousness plays the role of the perfumed. The perfumed has four characteristics: steadfastness (being present constantly and long-term), indeterminate (neutral, having no color), perfumability (having the capacity to receive perfuming), and corresponding with the perfumer (occurring simultaneously and in harmony with the perfumer). The six consciousnesses cannot be the perfumed because there are three differences regarding sense organ, object, and attention, and because two thought-moments are not present simultaneously. Finally, both inner and outer seeds have two energies: the capacity to produce (bringing about manifestation) and the capacity to lead (maintaining the phenomena until they perish).

The ultimate teacher we need is the teacher within. Non-teacher wisdom, or vô sư trí, is the inherent insight that allows us to understand everything and liberate ourselves from suffering. An external teacher cannot transmit wisdom; they can only help us touch our own root wisdom. To touch this inner wisdom, we must recognize and overcome two kinds of obstacles, or chướng ngại:

1. Afflictions, or kleśāvaraṇa (phiền não chướng): basic afflictions such as craving, attachment, anger, confusion, and arrogance, which prevent us from transforming and reaching our true teacher within.
2. Knowledge, or jñeyāvaraṇa (sở tri chướng): what we have learned, our notions, and our concepts, which can become the very obstacles that prevent us from making progress and learning the truth.

To overcome the obstacle of knowledge, we must practice non-attachment to views and learn to unlearn what we have accumulated, just as we must abandon a lower step on a ladder to climb higher. Our habit of making judgments is based on complexes of inferiority, superiority, or equality, which are all born from the notion of self. Zen language, such as the response of no to the question of whether a dog has Buddha nature, is designed to shatter these concepts and restore our freedom. True practice is the practice of freedom from both afflictions and knowledge, allowing our non-teacher wisdom to operate.

Chúng ta đau khổ khi bị kẹt và bám chấp vào một hình tướng biểu hiện cụ thể của người thương. Bản chất của người thương là một sự biểu hiện mầu nhiệm, không phải là một tạo vật, do đó không bị chi phối bởi sinh và tử. Khi học cách nhìn sâu để nhận diện người thương dưới những hình tướng biểu hiện khác nhau, chúng ta sẽ không bị kẹt vào sự sầu khổ và tuyệt vọng. Sự biểu hiện này không hoàn toàn mang tính cá nhân hay tập thể. Ngay cả tạng thức (alaya-vijnana) cũng là một ảo ảnh được tạo nên từ các yếu tố khác, không có tự tánh (svabhava), mà biểu hiện dựa trên các yếu tố khác theo nguyên lý tương tác vạn vật (paratantra - y tha khởi), giống như cái bên phải biểu hiện nhờ cái bên trái.

Khoa học hiện đại đang đặt ra hai câu hỏi lớn:

1. Trong lĩnh vực khoa học nhận thức, liệu vật chất có phải là điều kiện cần thiết cho sự nảy sinh của tâm ý? Theo giáo lý duy biểu, vật chất cũng là một biểu hiện, đóng vai trò là đối tượng của tâm thức (sở duyên duyên - alambana pratyaya) chứ không phải nhân duyên hay tăng thượng duyên, bởi chủ thể và đối tượng nhận thức luôn biểu hiện đồng thời.
2. Bản chất thực sự của tâm thức khi không tương tác với đối tượng là gì?

Mỗi tâm thức và mỗi hạt giống trong số 51 tâm sở đều có thể được nhìn nhận qua ba phần:

1. Chủ thể nhận thức (kiến phần - darsanabhaga)
2. Đối tượng nhận thức (tướng phần - nimittabhaga)
3. Tự thể phần (svabhava bhaga hay svasamvitti) làm nền tảng cho hai biểu hiện trên, giống như thân của một con ốc sên nâng đỡ hai chiếc xúc tu của nó.

Skillfulness in our conduct helps us to maintain our integrity, to turn difficulties into successes, and to transform those around us into our companions on the path. To maintain a solid bodhicitta in the monastic life, we need to practice the fine manners and get in touch with our spiritual and blood ancestors in every moment. When our monastic practice has taken root and entered a simple and pure life, difficulties will gradually pass like the night to make way for favorable conditions, just as “the rooster has just crowed for the morning, and the sky has just dawned.”

The advice to continue learning and practicing the Dharma is expressed through two things: receiving more of the golden words and profound meaning of the Dharma; and practicing the offering of incense along with lighting the lamp of the Dharma teacher to help the world. The five kinds of incense we need to offer every day are:

1. The incense of Precepts
2. The incense of Concentration
3. The incense of Insight
4. The incense of Liberation
5. The incense of the Knowledge and Vision of Liberation

This process helps the practitioner fully practice the three aspects of study, reflection, and practice.

For a monastic facing the choice of whether to leave or to stay, the most important thing is to remember the initial Giving Rise to Our Aspiration and to focus on learning and practicing in order to build a solid foundation. When our roots are not yet solid, we should not rush to take care of other matters, because the opportunity to serve and repay our gratitude still stretches long before us.

Time is made for living and loving, and learning how to use it is an art. Maitri, this energy that allows us to generate our own happiness and that of others, is practiced notably through walking meditation, where every step nourishes, heals, and generates freedom, solidity, and peace in the present moment. Happiness is not a goal to be reached but the path itself, accessible here and now through looking deeply into our actions and our daily consumption.

True love is based on four interdependent elements:

1. Maitri, loving-kindness, which becomes maha maitri when it moves us to build a Sangha to act and listen collectively.
2. Karuna, compassion, which allows us to understand, remove, and transform the suffering in ourselves and in the other to become maha karuna.
3. Mudita, altruistic joy and the absence of jealousy, which consists of rejoicing in the happiness of the other, provided that this joy is true and does not destroy the body or the mind.
4. Upeksha, equanimity and nondiscrimination, which erases the boundary between the one who loves and the one who is loved, offering total freedom without possession or dependence, and allowing for reconciliation in a nonpartisan spirit.

This practice relies on the wisdom of non-self and the insight of interbeing taught in the Diamond Sutra. By looking deeply, we realize that a thing is made only of elements that are not itself, which allows us to transcend rigid notions and cultivate deep understanding, the indispensable foundation of true love.

The energy of mindfulness allows us to be aware of everything that is happening in the present moment, whether breathing, walking, brushing our teeth, or eating breakfast. Life is available only in the here and the now; the past is no longer here and the future is not yet here. By bringing body and mind together through mindful breathing, we can touch deeply the miracles of life, such as during the orange meditation, drinking tea, cooking, or driving.

True peace is the absence of violence, anger, and fear in us, and the presence of understanding and love. To transform negative energies like anger or despair, we must embrace them with the gentleness of mindfulness, without fighting them. To cultivate love and restore communication, there are four precious mantras to practice:

1. “Darling, I am truly here for you,” to offer one’s true presence.
2. “Darling, I know you are there, and I am very happy,” to recognize the existence of the other.
3. “Darling, I know you are suffering, that is why I am here for you,” to relieve the pain.
4. “Darling, I am suffering. Please help me,” to overcome pride and ask for help from the person we love.

True love is composed of four essential elements:

1. maitri: loving-kindness, the capacity to offer happiness and joy.
2. karuna: compassion, the capacity to transform suffering.
3. joy.
4. upeksha: freedom, non-discrimination, and equanimity, which consists of offering space to the other.

Questions from the audience:

• What is the place of humor and laughter in the practice?
• How do we apply non-violence?
• What to do when anxiety arises?
• Can you say a few words about the emotion of desire?
• How should we act when our beloved refuses to give space, time, dialogue, and connection?

1. How can I carry you in my heart when I go away?
2. What is the way of taking care of animals, plants, and trees?
3. What is the meaning and purpose of pain, hatred, and anger in the world?
4. Is the knowledge of what is to be transformed enough to change, or how much volition is needed to bring about the process?
5. How can one transform the painful feeling of not being mindful enough to truly encounter a dear Sangha friend before they died by suicide?
6. How can one help a very sick father who is afraid of death embrace his fear and touch his suffering when one feels helpless to do so for another person?