The Buddha has spoken about Mother Earth as patience and equanimity, the two great virtues of the planet. Our society is very sick and many of us need healing; our body and mind contain many poisons. Mother Earth can heal herself and help us if we know how to take refuge in her. When we walk we can be aware that the earth is holding our steps; Mother Earth is also inside us. Walking meditation allows the earth to be in us and around us. We are the earth. Healing begins when you are not trying anything: the practice of non-practice.

There is a dimension of reality called the historical dimension, in which we see things as separate. Classical science, represented by Newton, operates here. A deeper science such as quantum physics reveals another truth that seems to contradict the historical dimension. In meditation there are also two kinds of truth: conventional truth and ultimate truth. The Buddha taught, “This is because that is.” Using a sheet of paper we can illustrate co-arising / inter-arising, the path that leads from the historical to the ultimate.

In the ultimate dimension we use words like Emptiness, the absence of notions and concepts, equivalent to God. The teaching of interbeing shows that nothing can exist by itself. Rebirth, karma, and retribution are possible without a self; believing a self is required is a deluded view influenced by pre-Buddhist teachings. The deep teaching is no-self.

The classical presentation of the Twelve Nidanas explains the chain of samsara:
Avidya (delusion); Sanskara (impulses, actions, dispositions); Vijñana (consciousness); Namarupa (body and mind); Sadayatana (six sense organs and objects); Sparsa (contact); Vedana (feelings); Trsna (craving, attachment); Upadana (grasping); Bhava (existence); Jati (birth); Jara-marana (old age and death). The first two links belong to the past, the next eight belong to this life, the present.

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Peace is relative and available in the present moment, but the capacity to enjoy it is more important than peace itself. Without this capacity, peace may seem boring, leading to the pursuit of excitement through harmful means. The practice of mindfulness is to recognize elements of happiness already present, such as a non-toothache or the gift of eyesight. By calling things by their names and stopping the habit of thinking too much, we encounter reality directly, much like Mahākāśyapa smiling at the Buddha’s flower. Thinking is often less than being; as seen in the cartoon of Descartes saying “I think, therefore I am,” the horse asks back: “You are what?” The present moment is the only moment available to repair the past or take care of the future; therefore, each activity, from eating a cookie to washing dishes, should be treated as an end in itself rather than a means to a destination.

The Sutra of Conscious Breathing provides exercises to live peacefully. Conscious breathing serves three functions:

1. To stop thinking, which is often less than being.
2. To allow real touch with life and its refreshing, healing aspects.
3. To provide a chance to rest and restore oneself.

In Walking Meditation, each step is for walking itself, not for arriving. This is the realization that there is no way to peace; peace is the way. Similarly, the Bell of Mindfulness is a signal to stop talking and thinking to return to the true self with the thought: Listen, listen, this wonderful sound brings me back to my true self. Greeting others is also a practice of mindfulness, forming a flower with the palms and saying: A lotus for you, a Buddha to be. A specific gāthā is used to deepen the practice:

1. In, out: recognizing the in-breath and out-breath to help concentration.
2. Deep, slow: improving the quality, depth, and peacefulness of the breath.
3. Calm, ease: calming the body and mind to feel light and free.
4. Smile, release: relaxing facial muscles and letting go of worries or the tendency to rush.
5. Present moment, wonderful moment: dwelling fully in the now to make it the best moment of life.

April 19, 2012. A 65-minute Dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh in Lower Hamlet, Plum Village, during a Day of Mindfulness after the sangha’s return from the UK and Ireland Tour. The session begins with chanting and moves into a teaching on the first two verses of the Discourse on Happiness. Thay explores well-being, saying, “Spring is a messenger,” and speaks about dreaming, having a path, and making tofu.

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