L’énergie de la pleine conscience nous permet d’être conscients de tout ce qui se passe dans l’instant présent, que ce soit en respirant, en marchant, en se brossant les dents ou en prenant le petit déjeuner. La vie est disponible uniquement dans l’ici et le maintenant ; le passé n’est plus là et le futur n’est pas encore là. En réunissant le corps et l’esprit par la respiration consciente, nous pouvons toucher en profondeur les miracles de la vie, comme lors de la méditation de l’orange, en buvant du thé, en cuisinant ou en conduisant.

La paix véritable est l’absence de violence, de colère et de peur en nous, et la présence de la compréhension et de l’amour. Pour transformer les énergies négatives comme la colère ou le désespoir, nous devons les embrasser avec la douceur de la pleine conscience, sans les combattre. Pour cultiver l’amour et restaurer la communication, il existe quatre mantras précieux à pratiquer :

1. « Chérie, je suis vraiment là pour toi », pour offrir sa présence véritable.
2. « Chérie, je sais que tu es là, et j’en suis très heureuse », pour reconnaître l’existence de l’autre.
3. « Chérie, je sais que tu souffres, c’est pourquoi je suis là pour toi », pour soulager la douleur.
4. « Chérie, je souffre. Il faut que tu m’aides », pour surmonter la fierté et demander de l’aide à la personne que l’on aime.

L’amour véritable se compose de quatre éléments essentiels :

1. maitri : la bonté, la capacité d’offrir du bonheur et de la joie.
2. karuna : la compassion, la capacité de transformer la souffrance.
3. la joie.
4. upeksha : la liberté, la non-discrimination et l’équanimité, qui consiste à offrir de l’espace à l’autre.

Questions du public :

• Quelle est la place de l’humour et du rire dans la pratique ?
• Comment appliquer la non-violence ?
• Comment faire quand l’angoisse arrive ?
• Pouvez-vous dire quelques mots sur l’émotion du désir ?
• Comment agir lorsque le bien-aimé refuse de donner l’espace, le temps, le dialogue et la rencontre ?

The practice of Buddhism is the practice of mindfulness, which means being aware of everything going on, especially in the four positions of the body:

1. Sitting
2. Standing
3. Lying down
4. Walking

The Chinese character for mindfulness is made of Kim (present moment) and Tam (mind), representing the mind returning to the present moment so that body and mind become one. This practice frees us from regrets concerning the past and worries about the future. The opposite of mindfulness is thất niệm (forgetfulness), described in the Confucian teaching: “When your mind is not there, and then you look but you don’t see, you listen but you don’t hear, and you eat but you don’t know what you are eating.”

Buddhist meditation consists of three essential elements:

1. Mindfulness
2. Concentration
3. Insight

In sitting meditation, we must become aware of our body, our breathing, our feelings, and our perceptions. By embracing these with mindfulness and looking deeply into them with concentration, we understand their true nature, which is impermanence and non-self. This understanding is enlightenment, which is not a matter of the future but is realized in the present moment. Everyday activities like drinking tea, eating breakfast, washing the bowl, chopping wood, and carrying water are all opportunities for enlightenment. The Buddha confirmed that we can live happily in the present moment, using the expression drstaDharma nirvana (nirvana in the here and now) and 現法樂住 (living happily in the present moment) at least five times in a sutra spoken to Anathapindika.

Walking meditation is the practice of walking so that peace, happiness, and enlightenment become a reality with every step. By coordinating our breath with our steps and using the gatha I have arrived, I am home, we establish ourselves in the here and now, which is the true address of the Buddhas and the Pure Land. During meals, we practice mindful eating by focusing on two objects of concentration:

1. The food
2. The Sangha sharing the meal

We chew our food at least 30 times to maintain mindfulness and concentration. Mindfulness also serves as the foundation of the precepts (Sila or Vinaya). When we are mindful of the consequences of our actions, we naturally refrain from wrong deeds, making the precepts a voluntary practice born of our own enlightenment rather than an external limitation of freedom.

The thirteenth exercise of mindful breathing is contemplating the nature of impermanence. Impermanence must not remain a mere concept, but must become a deep insight and concentration. Without this insight, we fail to cherish our loved ones, teachers, and parents while they are alive. True insight into impermanence acts like a flame that completely burns away the match of intellectual notions, leading to nirvana, which is the burning out of all notions. Impermanence is what makes life, growth, and healing possible; suffering arises only when we mistake the impermanent for the permanent. From the angle of time, this reality is impermanence, and from the angle of space, it is non-self and emptiness. Emptiness does not mean non-existence, but rather being empty of a separate self. Just as a sheet of paper contains the entire cosmos—including trees, clouds, sunshine, soil, and the paper mill worker—it lacks only a separate self.

The fourteenth exercise is contemplating the nature of no desire, which requires looking deeply into the objects of our craving. There are six primary objects of desire:

1. Wealth
2. Fame
3. Power
4. Sex
5. Food
6. Sleep

These desires act as obstacles to happiness rather than its foundation. Running after them is driven by a wrong perception of desire (dục tưởng). The practice is not to resist desire, but to understand its nature, which naturally dissolves its appeal. The Buddha compared the danger of these desires to three things:

1. A person holding a torch and walking against the wind, which burns their hand.
2. A small bird carrying a piece of raw meat that must release it or be killed by a larger bird.
3. A dog gnawing on a bare bone, which can never satisfy its hunger.

True freedom comes from releasing our cows—our possessions, positions, and attachments—and instead cultivating wholesome desires, such as the aspiration to practice, develop wisdom and compassion, and relieve the suffering of others.

The fifteenth exercise of mindful breathing focuses on looking into the nature of Nirvana, or nirodha, which means the cessation of all wrong perceptions and the afflictions born from them. Through deep contemplation, we see that the reality of things is neither the same nor different, and involves no coming and no going. Just as a flame manifests when conditions are sufficient and ceases when they are not, everything in the universe—whether a sheet of paper, a cloud, or a human being—is a continuation rather than a new birth or a final death. In the historical dimension, there appears to be birth, death, coming, and going, but in the ultimate dimension of Nirvana, the true nature of reality is:

1. No coming
2. No going
3. Not the same
4. Not the different
5. No birth
6. No death
7. No being
8. No non-being

To touch this ultimate dimension, we must look deeply into the world of phenomena. The practice of the huatou, niệm Phật thị thùy (who is reciting the Buddha’s name), serves as an invitation to embark on a journey of self-understanding. This requires looking deeply into ourselves, recognizing that we are made of five skandhas:

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

By realizing these five skandhas are empty of a self, we transcend the fear of birth and death, just as a wave realizes it is water. This mindfulness must be practiced continuously throughout the day, not just in the sitting hall, but in all four positions of the body:

1. Standing
2. Walking
3. Sitting
4. Lying down

In the West, there is a great hunger for the practical application of mindfulness to transform real suffering, such as anger, jealousy, and family conflict, rather than abstract theories or rituals. True Buddhist education should prioritize actual practice and self-understanding over academic diplomas. By ensuring monastics receive proper nourishment, sufficient sleep, and the conditions to grow in compassion and understanding, they can become happy practitioners capable of helping others transform their suffering.

The first twelve exercises of mindful breathing from the Sutra on Mindful Breathing are:

1. First exercise: Breathing in, knowing one is breathing in; breathing out, knowing one is breathing out. This stops thoughts of the past and future, bringing mindfulness, concentration, and the oneness of body and mind.
2. Second exercise: Knowing when the breath is short or long, simply recognizing the breath without intervention so it naturally becomes deeper, slower, and calmer.
3. Third exercise: Being aware of the body to come home and reconcile with it.
4. Fourth exercise: Calming and relaxing the body to allow it to rest and heal.
5. Fifth exercise: Feeling joy.
6. Sixth exercise: Feeling happiness.
7. Seventh exercise: Recognizing painful or difficult feelings and emotions.
8. Eighth exercise: Tenderly embracing and calming painful feelings.
9. Ninth exercise: Becoming aware of whatever mental formation manifests, such as anger, attachment, jealousy, or fear, and calling it by its name.
10. Tenth exercise: Gladdening the mind (tâm duyệt) by watering positive seeds in the store consciousness, such as faith.
11. Eleventh exercise: Concentrating on the mental formation, focusing entirely on a negative state to discover the root of suffering, practicing the first and second noble truths.
12. Twelfth exercise: Liberating the mind from the mental formation, practicing the third and fourth noble truths to achieve the cessation of suffering.

The Buddha and his monastics practiced sitting, walking, and breathing meditation to nourish themselves with the spiritual food of joy and happiness. True practice must focus directly on daily suffering, anger, and difficulties within the community rather than seeking enlightenment elsewhere. By looking deeply into anger and jealousy, the root of suffering is understood, displaying the path to the cessation of suffering and restoring harmony. Mindful breathing is a universal, non-religious healing practice that has been clinically shown in Western medical institutions, such as the Harvard Mind Body Institute, to reduce stress and generate elements favorable for physical and mental recovery.

A delegation of 32 monastics representing 11 countries, including five abbots and Sister Chân Không, continues the tradition of sharing these teachings. Practicing mindful breathing and walking meditation in daily life cultivates the necessary energy of mindfulness to embrace suffering and walk with the peace and dignity of the Buddha.

The daily practice is to create a Pure Land in the here and the now, bringing joy, nourishment, and healing to our body and mind. The four Brahmaviharas, or the four unlimited minds, are:

1. Loving kindness (maitri)
2. Compassion (karuna)
3. Joy
4. Equanimity

Loving kindness is the capacity to offer happiness, which requires deep understanding. To love others, we must first direct love and understanding toward ourselves, as we are often our own greatest enemy. We are made of five elements: body, feelings, perception, mental formation, and consciousness. Practicing maitri toward our body means understanding its needs, not abusing it, and allowing it to rest and heal. In the Sutra on Mindful Breathing, the third and fourth exercises teach us to embrace and calm our body, while the seventh and eighth exercises help us recognize and calm our feelings—whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral—including sadness, anger, fear, and jealousy. Studying the Sutra on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and the Sutra on Mindful Breathing (specifically combining Za Ahan sutras 803, 810, and 815) is essential for this practice.

Self-understanding is the foundation for understanding others. During sitting meditation, we observe our mind consciousness and store consciousness (alaya). We learn to recognize the 51 mental formations as they arise from seeds into manifestations. By calling mental formations like jealousy, anger, fear, or attachment by their true names and looking deeply into their nature, we understand how they grow and learn how to transform them, bringing genuine happiness and relief from suffering to ourselves and those around us.

People in the world care very much about three things:

1. Health
2. Relationship
3. Success

While worldly success is defined as wealth, fame, power, and sex, monastic success is transforming suffering, cultivating understanding and compassion, and becoming a teacher who helps others do the same. Leaving family is not to seek high positions or become an abbot, but to help people in society suffer less. A good Dharma talk is not a repetition of classroom learning, but the flower and fruit of one’s own practice. Transforming suffering leads to success in relationships and health. Monastics must live together as a family, cultivating daily brotherhood and sisterhood, which naturally improves physical health.

To resolve difficulties with others, two key practices are used:

1. Deep listening or compassionate listening: Listening to another’s suffering without reacting, arguing, or answering, even if their speech is bitter or full of wrong perceptions. This is modeled after Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Mindful breathing and walking keep compassion alive, which is the antidote to irritation and anger.
2. Loving speech: Using gentle language to acknowledge the other’s suffering, apologize for past mistakes, and invite them to share their heart. Correcting wrong perceptions should be done much later, spoon by spoon like medicine.

Like an orange tree producing blossoms and fruit, monastics must produce the flowers of understanding and compassion daily. The practice involves bringing joy to someone in the morning and helping someone suffer less in the afternoon, reflecting on this in a diary before sleep. To prevent the common monastic challenge of exclusive attachment or division, the practice of equanimity must be cultivated alongside loving kindness and compassion.

This 75-minute Dharma talk, given in French with a clear English translation, explores the four kinds of nourishment, mindful breathing, meditation practice, and karma. Thich Nhat Hanh offers specific guidelines on how to meditate, reminding us that we can be as Buddha today through mindfulness. He emphasizes the alliance between body and mind: the body can help the mind and the mind can help the body.

Note: this description was automatically sourced from existing YouTube descriptions and other sources. Please ‘Suggest Changes’ if it’s incorrect.

The Sangha is gathered for a question and answer session with Thich Nhat Hanh and Master Kien Khuong to address practical questions having to do with practice, suffering, and experiences.

1. In a world full of pains and sufferings, is there any meaning for our life, and are these pains and sufferings necessary?
2. When reading sutras, what is the most efficient way to read to get the most benefit for every time of the reading?
3. Can a Taoist share the practice and Buddhist philosophy, is there a relation between Taoism and Buddhism, and can we be sure we will go to the Pure Land when we die?
4. What are the reflections on practice, mindfulness, and meaning for women who are pregnant, particularly when considering non-birth and non-death?
5. What should someone do when their mother constantly blames them for their past and present, such as a broken marriage and unemployment, during visits to clean her house?
6. How can someone working in the media confront the suffering in their field, and how can society have compassion towards the media instead of turning away from it?
7. How can someone help a friend who likes sitting meditation but sees unwholesome things during practice and becomes very frightened?
8. How can we renew and renovate Buddhism to spread it to the younger generation, and how can one make a contribution?

1. Are monks and nuns allowed to sing or play the guitar?
2. What is the relationship between dependent co-arising and the karma of the three times (past, present, and future)?
3. How can someone who experiences very little suffering in daily life understand the First Noble Truth and make the teaching on suffering a motivation for practice?
4. How can we look at the teaching of non-self properly if it makes us feel depressed, masterless, and like a machine just waiting to die?
5. How can monastics overcome doubts and difficulties during very dark and difficult times on the path of practice?
6. What is the most essential gift that young monastics can emphasize and offer to people in the modern world?
7. How can we dwell happily and experience the lightness of being in the present moment when we are doing homework, working hard, and carrying many responsibilities?
8. If a person becomes blind, mute, and has their arms and legs chopped off, can they still practice sitting meditation and make a contribution to the world?
9. How can we bring together the cultivation of a great doubt and great concentration with maintaining calm and joy in Zen practice?
10. How can the Mahayana Bodhisattva spirit be combined and practiced with walking meditation?
11. What is the difference between the self in the teaching of non-self and the self in the Buddha’s birth statement, “Above heaven and below heaven, I alone am the honored one”?
12. How can we balance and combine the Mahayana view of an almighty Buddha with the original Buddhist view of the Buddha as an ordinary human being who gets sick and eats?
13. What is the most important experience or fruit of a seven-year solitary retreat in the light of the Bodhisattva vows, and how can it help others on the path of practice?
14. When we are disturbed by outer conditions and experience an uncontrollable outbreak of afflictions, how can we guide ourselves through these difficulties in our practice?

The Sangha is gathered at Gaomin Temple in China during a visit by Thich Nhat Hanh.

1. How can one listen from the heart, as opposed to listening from analysis and judgment?
2. How can one heal the lonely, unloved, and abandoned wounded child within so that joy comes as much from the center of one’s being as it does from the wonders of the world?
3. Is there any way to stop the suffering of the Albanians and the conflict of the war in Serbia without intervening with a war?
4. What is the purpose, hope, and desired achievement of the visit to China, especially to Gaomin Monastery?
5. How can one put one hundred percent attention into walking while also trying to pay attention to the breath, and is this not concentrating on two things at the same time?
6. Do you still dream?
7. Is the reason for having monasteries all over the world a desire to have them everywhere like Master Hsing Yun, and is there any connection with Fo Guang Shan?
8. What is your favorite food, what food do you hate most, and what are you famous for?
9. Is it healthy to dream, or do we dream because we are too nervous or have some mental disorder?
10. Why do some people feel very uncomfortable the next morning when they wake up after dreaming the night before?
11. Does the self of no birth and no death know that it is dreaming of doing walking meditation?
12. Why do Buddhists who train so much on compassion do relatively little in practice compared to other religions?
13. Can one take the Five Mindfulness Trainings if there is no Sangha in or near the place where they live?
14. What are the similarities and differences between the Plum Village style of practice and the practice done at Gaomin Monastery?

A question can benefit many people, helping us or our friends get out of difficult situations so we can practice accordingly.

1. How can we train ourselves with determination to climb steps mindfully without our minds wandering?
2. What is it like in the Pure Land, the land of happiness in the West?
3. How should we handle a difficult relationship between a mother-in-law and an unreasonable daughter-in-law to increase harmony?
4. How do we practice to see our true nature, what is it like when we are enlightened, and is having no discrimination and no attachment to forms the highest state?
5. How can someone overcome feeling uncomfortable, experiencing nose pain, and struggling to control the length of their breath when paying attention to their breathing?
6. How do we get along with younger brothers and sisters who are always dependent, and is it helpful to only give financial assistance to them?
7. How can we apply the teaching from the Diamond Sutra, “wherever there is a form, there is a deception; if you can see the formless nature of the form, then you see the true nature of everything”, in our daily life?
8. How can we calm down when facing unfair situations and feeling very angry?
9. How can a parent educate and support a daughter who suffers a lot and wants to change her major to psychology, or otherwise become a Buddhist nun or a Catholic nun?

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?

The Sangha is gathered at Fa Yuan Temple in China for a Question and Answer session with Thich Nhat Hanh, following a talk on the propagation of Buddhism in the United States and Europe.

1. What is the difference between your way of practice and teaching and Chinese Zen?
2. How do you resolve conflicts and maintain harmony within the Sangha?
3. What is the content of Zen meditation in your teaching, and what is your view on the practice of Zen meditation?
4. When will more of your translated books be made available in China?
5. Can you offer a personal blessing by touching my head?
6. What is the reason and condition for your visit to China, and is your purpose to introduce the Chinese population to the Pure Land of Plum Village?
7. What kind of Vinaya do you use in Plum Village to support the Sangha’s practice and life amidst the differences between Eastern and Western cultures?
8. What is your view on the traditional account that Shakyamuni Buddha was born from under his mother’s right arm?
9. What is the difference between the concentration of other teachers, which is like a rock pressing on grass, and the Buddha’s concentration, which completely uproots the grass?
10. What is your view on the Eight Respectful Rules for bhikshunis, and are they practiced in Plum Village?
11. Is the walking meditation practiced in Plum Village related to the walking samadhi of the Tiantai school of Chinese Buddhism?

The sangha is gathered at the New Hamlet on June 24, 1999, for a Question and Answer session to clarify the practice of the mindfulness trainings and past Dharma talks in English and Vietnamese.

1. What is meant by a long-term commitment regarding the third mindfulness training?
2. When we practice mindful manners, do we have to lose ourselves, our personality?
3. Is it timely for the residents and lay residents to know what is happening in the world in order to bring global suffering into the second touching of the earth?
4. How can we bring back and keep the peace found during retreats when returning to a busy and consuming life where the practice easily dissipates?
5. How can we deepen our understanding of our feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness as being organic?
6. How can we make progress on the spiritual path when we have a lot of expectations and demands on ourselves, feeling we have not done enough?

The sangha is gathered together at the New Hamlet on August 10, 2000, for a question and answer session.

We begin with a few questions from the children:

1. What can I do if I have the tendency to tease someone, and what should I do once I realize I have hurt somebody with my teasing?
2. What do you do when you see and hear a mosquito, and when it starts to bite you?
3. How many times do you meditate a day?

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

1. How can I embrace my parents’ positive aspects when I have never experienced them, accept them into my life, and reestablish links with a biological mother who abandoned, tortured, and threatened to kill me, and a father I have never known?
2. How can we help someone who has locked up all their suffering in the store consciousness, closed all the doors, and is afraid that if she opens one, she will be overwhelmed by the suffering?
3. How can I live through moments where emotions are very strong, like an earthquake, and I cannot come back to myself or practice conscious breathing?
4. When you were a novice in the beginning, how were you taught, what was the schedule of the day, did you have a lot of sitting meditation, and what kind of teachings did you learn?
5. What importance do we have to give to our night dreams, and can sitting meditation enable us with time to understand them?
6. How many hours do you usually sleep in the night?
7. Are there moments in your life when you would like to do something else than what you are doing, or being somebody else, or thoughts of rather being a novice or a monk and not have responsibility?
8. Can there be a right moment to leave a relationship, or will it always feel like running away?
9. How do I practice with a yearning toward becoming a nun when I am married with a husband and a two-year-old child?
10. What is there in order to recognize anger and to embrace anger, or is there just the energy of anger that makes us a victim where expressing it does more harm than good?
11. How do I practice when I often experience resistance to practice and do not enjoy my breathing?
12. What is right effort?
13. Could you please speak about the practice of non-violent action in the resolution of conflict, and how to overcome the suffering and hatred in Basque Country?
14. Does working with local police, helping them in difficult situations including when they have taken a life as part of their duty, affect the ability to practice the First Mindfulness Training?
15. What should a mother and daughter do when the daughter has left her husband because he beats her, and he does not accept their help?

The sangha is gathered at the New Hamlet on August 3, 2000, for a question and answer session.

We begin with questions from the children:

1. When we open our heart and feel a lot of joy and then a lot of sadness, how can we balance these feelings?
2. How can a child avoid being scolded and remain a good child?
3. Why do the monks and nuns wear brown clothes?
4. What comes first, the chicken or the egg?

Followed by questions from the adults:

1. If we are all part of a circle of life, how do we draw the line between which beings it is alright to kill for food and which beings we shouldn’t?
2. Why do we feel sad and unable to be happy when we open our heart and feel the suffering of others, and what can we do?
3. If we stick to a practice we have learned and find wonderful, does this knowledge become an obstacle?
4. How can a wife restore communication and handle anger and loneliness in a marriage where her husband has stopped talking to her?
5. What is the role of passion in a loving relationship, and how can we deal with passion making us less mindful?
6. How can we transform the anxiety and fear of dying?
7. How can someone recognize and transform the fear that makes them walk the streets for hours to avoid returning to their small, noisy apartment?
8. What is the difference between creation and manifestation?

Listening to a Dharma talk is not about taking notes or accumulating intellectual knowledge. It is an opportunity to allow the Dharma rain to penetrate the store consciousness, where the seeds of understanding, awakening, compassion, and love reside. Listening with the intellect alone is like using a sheet of nylon to catch rain, preventing it from reaching the soil of consciousness. To transform and heal, one must empty oneself of existing notions and Buddhist knowledge, allowing the teachings to touch the seeds of awakening within.

Buddhism is practiced in every moment of daily life, whether brushing teeth, washing dishes, going to the toilet, or walking. Mindfulness is the energy that unites body and mind, allowing us to dwell firmly in the here and the now where happiness is possible. The Pure Land, or the Kingdom of God, is not a future destination but a reality available in the present moment. By walking mindfully and enjoying each step, we co-create and maintain this Pure Land.

The practice of walking meditation utilizes gathas such as I have arrived, I am home and I am solid, I am free to cultivate presence and stability. This practice embodies the two aspects of Buddhist meditation:

1. Stopping (śamatha)
2. Looking deeply (vipaśyanā)

Cultivating these aspects brings true freedom from regrets concerning the past, anxiety and fear concerning the future, and afflictions such as fear, anger, and jealousy. Walking on earth with this freedom is the true miracle.

La méditation consiste à être vraiment là, le corps et l’esprit unis dans l’ici et le maintenant, l’adresse authentique de la vie. Par la respiration consciente, l’esprit revient au corps pour toucher la vie en profondeur et obtenir le premier fruit de la méditation : l’unicité du corps et de l’esprit. Méditer permet d’améliorer la qualité de notre présence par la paix, la fraîcheur, la solidité et la liberté. Cette présence véritable est le fondement de l’amour, car aimer, c’est être là. Pour cultiver cet amour véritable, il convient de pratiquer deux mantras :

1. Chérie, je suis vraiment là pour toi.
2. Chérie, je sais que tu es là et j’en suis très heureux.

L’être est la fondation de l’action. Avant d’agir pour changer le monde, il est indispensable d’établir la paix, l’harmonie et le bien-être dans son propre corps et son esprit. La pleine conscience se pratique à chaque instant : en mangeant, en arrosant le jardin, en préparant le repas, en conduisant ou en pratiquant la marche méditative. Marcher avec concentration, joie et liberté, comme un lion ou un Bouddha, permet de toucher le sol avec gratitude et de réaliser que le royaume de Dieu est disponible ici et maintenant.

La méditation repose sur deux aspects essentiels : l’arrêt et le regard profond. Pour guérir, il faut réapprendre l’art de se reposer, à l’image de l’animal blessé dans la jungle qui s’allonge et s’arrête pour laisser son corps se réparer. En s’arrêtant et en prenant refuge dans le Dharma et la Sangha, nous cessons de courir après le futur ou de regretter le passé, et nous nous offrons la possibilité de vivre pleinement chaque instant.

La méditation sur l’espace libre s’ajoute aux exercices de respiration consciente pour cultiver les qualités du bonheur :

1. La fleur, pour restaurer la fraîcheur.
2. La montagne, pour réaliser la solidité.
3. L’eau tranquille, pour refléter les choses telles qu’elles sont sans perceptions erronées.
4. L’espace, pour se sentir libre.

L’espace intérieur et extérieur est indispensable pour respirer et être heureux. La colère, le chagrin et la jalousie encombrent notre être, tandis que la liberté permet d’aimer en offrant de l’espace à l’autre. Ce que nous consommons — ce que l’on mange, ce que l’on boit, ce que l’on écoute, ce que l’on regarde — peut nourrir cet espace ou l’enlever. Afin de préserver ce calme, la méditation du téléphone invite à respirer consciemment trois fois pour retrouver sa fraîcheur avant de passer un appel, et à attendre la troisième sonnerie en respirant avant de décrocher.

Le verbe être implique toujours d’être quelque chose, tout comme la conscience est toujours conscience de quelque chose. Contrairement à la formule “Je pense, donc je suis”, se perdre dans les pensées, les regrets du passé ou les soucis de l’avenir empêche d’être véritablement présent. La pleine conscience consiste à ramener son attention sur un objet unique dans l’ici et le maintenant, qu’il s’agisse de la respiration, de la marche, ou des merveilles de la vie comme le coucher de soleil, le ciel bleu, les cerisiers en fleurs ou un enfant. Les concepts de vitakka, la pensée initiale, et de vicara, la pensée appliquée, aident à maintenir cette concentration pour percer le voile de l’ignorance et dissoudre la souffrance par la vision profonde.

Right Diligence, or Right Effort (chánh tinh tấn), is the fifth element of the Noble Eightfold Path. The practice of the path elements leads to the ultimate dimension: Right View ultimately removes all views; right thinking lifts us above all thinking; Right Speech transcends linguistic obstacles; and Right Action culminates in non-action, which is the quality of pure being and presence.

To practice Right Diligence, one must understand how consciousness operates. Consciousness consists of store consciousness, containing fifty-one categories of mental formations in the form of seeds (bīja), and mind consciousness, where these seeds manifest. The practice of Right Diligence consists of the four right efforts:

1. Preventing negative seeds in the store consciousness from being watered and manifesting in the mind consciousness.
2. Helping negative seeds that have already manifested to return to the store consciousness as soon as possible, using methods like changing the peg or embracing them with mindfulness.
3. Touching and watering the positive, wholesome seeds every day so they have a chance to manifest.
4. Maintaining and entertaining wholesome mental formations once they have manifested, keeping them in the mind consciousness as long as possible so the seeds can grow.

Mental formations are organic and can be transformed. Just as an organic gardener uses compost made of garbage to nourish flowers, a practitioner does not fight or repress negative emotions like anger, violence, or despair. Through the insight of non-duality, one generates the energy of mindfulness to recognize, embrace, and transform the negative into the positive, understanding that the lotus flower can only grow on mud.

August 24, 2010. 100-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh in Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, Dharma Cloud Temple during the Retreat for Young People with the theme Truly Alive. Thay begins by calling this a “dharma talk à la carte,” inviting about ten questions, writing them on the white board; after about twenty minutes there are far more than ten, and he happily continues to note them.

After the bell, we see that all the questions are linked; answer one and we can answer all. The remaining hour is devoted to peace, understanding, and compassion, exploring how even when we get what we need we still suffer. The central inquiry is how to understand one’s own suffering: it is the art of listening. One must train—practice mindful living—so as to listen to the suffering within; intention alone is not enough.

Note: this description was automatically sourced from existing YouTube descriptions and other sources. Please ‘Suggest Changes’ if it’s incorrect.

The young people’s retreat is gathered in the Upper Hamlet of Plum Village on August 27, 2010, with the theme Truly Alive. A good question of the heart can benefit many people, touching upon suffering, happiness, and aspiration.

1. Is it possible to have wholesome sexual activity without creating a baby, and if not, why not?
2. Is choosing to be alone rather than in a relationship running away from the opportunity to know oneself and learn how to communicate?
3. What is the sense of life when we are born, try to be happy, and then die?
4. How do we find the strength to love ourselves?
5. Why does humanity, surrounded by such beauty, create a world of suffering and destruction?
6. Is it possible to forgive everything, and how?
7. How can one keep their heart open and humble?
8. What is the source of mindfulness?
9. Why don’t things composed of many parts just fall apart, and what keeps them together?
10. How can one develop focus and concentration to follow an aspiration when distracted by worries, fear, emails, the internet, and Facebook?
11. How can we help another person without losing or forgetting ourselves?
12. Is meditation an act of solitude, and is solitude important?
13. Can meditation help us feel and be in touch with a deceased loved one?
14. Who is the one being aware of our habits, emotions, and reactions?
15. Do you often think about death, and what do you think about it?
16. How can one listen better to their heart, find a way to act concretely, and choose the right path of action to serve others?

Nhìn vào sự thật qua nhãn quan của Tứ diệu đế gồm bốn sự thật là khổ, tập, diệt và đạo, ta thấy rõ ba điều: người đi trên con đường lành (Bát chánh đạo) thì ít, người đi trên con đường tà (Bát tà đạo) thì nhiều, và Niết Bàn là nơi an toàn, hạnh phúc nhất. Khác với các cõi lành hay cõi ác vốn do nhân duyên tạo tác mà sinh lên hay đọa xuống, Niết Bàn là một pháp vô vi, không do nhân duyên tạo tác thành mà đã có sẵn. Công phu tu tập chính là nhân duyên giúp ta hiển lộ và tiếp xúc để hưởng Niết Bàn sẵn có đó.

Mỗi loài đều có nơi nương tựa để tự do và thảnh thơi: hươu nai nương đồng quê, chim chóc nương trời mây, các bậc chân nhân nương Niết Bàn để sống thảnh thơi, còn vạn vật nương vào sự phân biệt của tâm thức mà biểu hiện. Bản chất của thực tại vốn là bất khả đắc và bất khả tư nghị, không thể nắm bắt hay tư duy bằng các khái niệm của trí óc. Khi đợt sóng nhận ra mình là nước và an trú trong nước, mọi lo sợ về sinh tử, có không, cao thấp đều tan biến; cũng như vậy, người tu trở về nương tựa Niết Bàn sẵn có trong mình để đạt được sự thảnh thơi và an toàn tuyệt đối.

Nguồn gốc của khổ đau không nằm ở bản chất vô thường, vô ngã của các pháp hữu vi, mà nằm ở tâm hành—tức là những nhận thức sai lầm, tham, sân, si của con người về các pháp đó. Hiểu được điều này giúp người tu không bị kẹt vào các ý niệm về bắt đầu hay không bắt đầu, có hay không có, từ đó tiếp cận được Niết Bàn ngay trong giây phút hiện tại.

Sống trọn vẹn trong giây phút hiện tại để nhìn rõ đối tượng mình tìm kiếm, thay vì đi vòng vòng tìm kiếm ở những nơi khác. Sự tu tập là cội phúc cần được vun bồi, trong khi các tình cảm ràng buộc như thương, ghét, giận, buồn, nhớ nhung, hay chán bỏ là dây oan gây oan uổng cho một đời tu. Người xuất gia cần có quyết tâm lớn, tử thủ dưới cây bồ đề để trở thành một pháp khí độ đời bằng chính đời sống hằng ngày của mình.

Thông qua việc giải các quẻ Kiều, bài giảng hướng dẫn cách vượt qua khó khăn và thực tập chuyển hóa cụ thể:

• Trút bỏ gánh nặng trong tâm để nhìn rõ mọi việc, an trú trong hiện tại và xem mọi nơi đều là nhà.
• Nhận diện bóng tối của quá khứ đã qua để đón nhận bình minh mới, thực hiện lời nguyện ước xuất gia ngay trong hiện tại.
• Nương tựa các sư huynh và hiến tặng cho tăng thân sự tươi mát, hạnh phúc và chuyển hóa của bản thân.
• Thực hành thiền trà cạn nước hồng mai bằng cách đem hết một trăm phần trăm trái tim để thực tập và làm việc, từ đó chuyển hóa bản thân và giúp gia đình hướng về chánh pháp.
• Buông bỏ hoàn toàn các tập khí và chướng ngại của quá khứ để tạo ra sự chuyển hóa sâu sắc bên trong, biến sầu thảm thành vui vầy.
• Hằng ngày lau chùi những bụi bặm trong tâm như buồn, giận, lo, tủi để mang lại niềm vui cho cả tăng thân.
• Nhận diện rõ bản thân và nắm lấy cơ hội thực tập tinh chuyên để giúp đỡ những người xung quanh đang âm thầm kêu cứu.

This is a session of questions and answers in English, French, and Vietnamese.

1. What should I do when my boyfriend gets angered very easily, is bothered by the littlest things I do, is incredibly stubborn, and it is difficult to talk to him because I cannot put how I feel into words?
2. How can I use my time to have a non-discriminative attitude towards information knowledge and experience knowledge so that I can help myself and help others, especially when my habit energy is to gather information but I want to practice more?
3. What is the relationship between the store consciousness and the physical body?
4. How can I stay in equanimity and not fall into indifference when practicing letting go of ideas and feelings?
5. What do we do with our dead, and do we bury them, expose them, or burn them on a funeral pyre?

Mindfulness is the energy that helps us realize what is going on, beginning with our in-breath and out-breath. By focusing entirely on the breath, smiling to it, and allowing it to relax, the breath becomes deeper and more harmonious, which directly improves the quality of our body and feelings. The first eight exercises of mindful breathing proposed by the Buddha are:

1. Recognizing the breath
2. Relaxing the breath
3. Recognizing the body
4. Relaxing the body
5. Bringing about a feeling of joy
6. Bringing about a feeling of happiness
7. Recognizing the painful feeling
8. Relaxing the painful feeling

Feelings are mental formations, or saṃskāra, and are among the fifty-one kinds of mental formations. Our consciousness consists of store consciousness, which contains seeds or bīja, and mind consciousness. When a negative seed like anger manifests in the mind consciousness, we generate the energy of mindfulness to recognize and embrace it tenderly, rather than suppressing or fighting it. Mindfulness functions through:

• Recognizing what is there
• Embracing the painful feeling
• Bringing relief
• Bringing insight into the roots of the pain
• Liberating us from the pain

Suppressing blocks of pain creates stagnation and bad circulation of the psyche, which can lead to symptoms of mental illness. By practicing mindful breathing and walking, we strengthen the seed of mindfulness so we can unlock the door of our store consciousness, allowing our pain to come up and take a bath of mindfulness. Practicing the fifth mindfulness training on mindful consumption prevents negative seeds of craving, fear, despair, and violence from being watered by toxic items of consumption, allowing positive seeds to grow and facilitating the transformation of suffering.

Concentration and mindfulness on a dharani, meditation, chanting, or prayers generate energies of mindfulness, concentration, and insight that have the power of healing and transforming. These energies can be cultivated through daily practices such as incense offering, mindful breathing, mindful walking, and mindful eating. Mindful walking establishes us in the here and now, free from worries about the future and regrets about the past, bringing solidity and freedom. Mindful eating, utilizing the five contemplations in silence, allows joy and relaxation to become possible.

The contemplation of the body in the body is a practice of scanning the body with the ray of mindfulness, recognizing and embracing different parts of the body with compassion to allow deep relaxation and self-healing. When anger arises, we should not say or do anything, but return to mindful breathing or walking. To restore communication, we can practice compassionate listening and loving speech, which is free from accusing, judging, and blaming. When angry, we can write a note to the other person within 24 hours containing three sentences:

1. Dear one, I am very angry, I suffer, and I want you to know it.
2. I am trying my best in order to take care of my anger.
3. Please help me.

Our true nature is the nature of no birth and no death, much like a cloud that cannot die but only transforms into rain, ice, or snow. We are reborn in every moment of our daily life through our three kinds of karmas: thought, speech, and physical action. The six destinations of rebirth can be experienced in the present moment:

1. The destination of the gods
2. The destination of man
3. The destination of the asuras
4. The destination of hell
5. The destination of animals
6. The destination of hungry ghosts

Our thoughts, speech, and actions are our continuation, and practicing right mindfulness, right concentration, and Right View ensures we are reborn in more beautiful forms.

Le Bouddha n’est pas un dieu, mais un être humain né il y a environ deux mille six cents ans sous le nom de Siddhartha Shakya. Ayant choisi de devenir moine pour consacrer tout son temps à transformer la souffrance, la peur, la jalousie et la colère, il a atteint l’éveil sous l’arbre Bodhi. Chacun possédant la nature de Bouddha (Buddhata), il est possible de saluer autrui en formant une fleur de lotus avec ses deux paumes tout en inspirant et en expirant en pleine conscience, reconnaissant en l’autre un Bouddha à devenir. Cette salutation, tout comme l’acte de serrer la main, doit être pratiquée non pas de manière automatique, mais avec la pleine conscience que la personne en face de nous est vivante dans le moment présent.

La méditation de l’étreinte est une pratique profonde de réconciliation et d’amour, particulièrement utile lors des départs, des retours ou en cas de colère. Pour la pratiquer, il convient de :

1. Respirer consciemment trois fois en inspirant pour se calmer et en expirant pour sourire, afin d’établir sa propre présence et sa solidité.
2. Saluer l’autre avec une fleur de lotus pour lui permettre de se préparer et de respirer également trois fois.
3. Ouvrir les bras et prendre l’autre personne dans ses bras de manière pleinement présente.
4. Pratiquer trois respirations en étant conscient que la personne aimée est vivante et en ressentant du bonheur.

À travers les récits d’un père et de son fils à Montréal rétablissant le dialogue après deux ans de silence, et d’un couple de médecins à Chicago, cette pratique démontre le pouvoir de l’énergie de la pleine conscience. Une minute ou deux de cette étreinte silencieuse et consciente suffit à transmettre un message profond de pardon, à transformer les relations et à nourrir la gratitude d’être ensemble.

Mindful breathing, walking meditation, and sitting meditation are forms of music that can calm our fifty-one mental formations, such as anger, jealousy, depression, worries, and despair. Utilizing a bell of mindfulness in the home helps families stop conflict, release tension, and return to the present moment through the practice of breathing and smiling. Establishing a dedicated breathing room or happiness room in every home provides a sanctuary to care for the nervous system, where family members can support each other’s practice.

The last four exercises of mindful breathing suggested by the Buddha are:

13. Contemplating Impermanence (quán vô thường): Looking deeply to discover non-self, interbeing, and emptiness, realizing that nothing can exist by itself alone.
14. Contemplating Non-craving (quán vô dục): Letting go of the objects of craving—money, fame, power, and sex—by touching the wonders of life and the Kingdom of God in the here and now.
15. Contemplating Nirvana (quán diệt): Experiencing the extinction of all notions, which is the cessation of suffering and the realization of great joy.
16. Contemplating Letting Go (quán phóng khí): Releasing all concepts, including the four basic notions of the Diamond Sutra:
    • The notion of self (ngã)
    • The notion of human being (nhân)
    • The notion of living beings (chúng sinh)
    • The notion of lifespan (thọ giả)

Happiness is born from the practice of letting go (ly sinh hỷ lạc), which means giving up ideas, prejudices, and attachments rather than running away from relationships or commitments. When an enterprise, a relationship, or even the body becomes a source of suffering, releasing means freeing oneself from the habit energy and attachments that transform these objects into cows. The second stage is happiness and joy born from mindfulness (niệm sinh hỷ lạc), which allows us to stop running toward the future and touch the conditions of happiness already available in the present moment. The third stage is happiness and joy born from concentration (định sinh hỷ lạc), where the joy of meditation becomes daily food (thiền duyệt vi thực), allowing us to stay with conditions of happiness and eventually go deeper into the practice of looking deeply.

Building a Sangha is building a pure land, which is a collective creation of our minds. We make the land pure through thoughts of loving-kindness, loving speech, and caring actions, while thoughts of discrimination, fear, and unmindful actions pollute it. To support this, the first eight exercises of mindful breathing are practiced:

1. Breathing in and out
2. Following the breath as long or short
3. Being aware of the body
4. Relaxing the body
5. Creating joy
6. Creating happiness
7. Recognizing a painful feeling
8. Calming and relaxing the feeling

When handling a painful feeling, it must be recognized and embraced with nonviolence, like a mother taking care of her baby. It is crucial to prevent the second arrow from striking, which is the anger, fear, frustration, or imagination that exaggerates a physical or mental pain and makes it ten times more intense. Practicing relaxation of the body, mind, and feelings brings about relief and healing, allowing us to handle the river of feelings skillfully.

There are two kinds of truth: conventional truth and absolute truth. Conventional truth offers halfway teachings (bất liễu nghĩa), which are caught in pairs of opposites:

1. Birth and death
2. Same and difference
3. Coming and going
4. Being and non-being
5. Eternalism and annihilation
   Absolute truth (liễu nghĩa) hits the bottom of the truth, where these notions are removed. When the notions of birth and death die, perfect silence and great joy are realized.

To understand what happens after the body disintegrates, one must observe what is happening in the present moment. To be means to become, and we are reborn in every moment through three kinds of action, or karma:

1. Mind action (thinking)
2. Speech action (mouth)
3. Bodily action (body)
   These actions exist as karma cause (karma-hetu) and karma fruit (karma-phala). Our views, thinking, speech, and action are our true continuation, and no action is ever lost.

Liberation from fear, despair, and attachment to forms is achieved through three doors of liberation:

1. Apraṇihita (aimlessness), which means no searching, running, or attainment.
2. Animitta (signlessness), which allows us to recognize our continuation and our loved ones in different forms, like seeing the cloud in the rain or tea.
3. Śūnyatā (emptiness).
   By practicing mindfulness and concentration, we can use the keys of impermanence, non-self, interbeing, emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness to unlock the doors of reality and touch the ultimate in the here and the now.

Tất cả những gì tập hợp và biểu hiện ra đều gọi là hành (formations), bao gồm thân hành thuộc về vật chất, sinh lý và tâm hành thuộc về tâm lý. Có tất cả 51 tâm hành được chứa đựng dưới dạng hạt giống (chủng tử) trong tàng thức và biểu hiện thành năng lượng trên ý thức. Để chuyển hóa các hạt giống xấu và nuôi dưỡng các hạt giống tốt, chúng ta thực hành phương pháp tưới tẩm có chánh niệm (selective watering), không tưới tẩm hạt giống xấu của mình và của người khác, chỉ tưới tẩm những hạt giống từ, bi, hỷ, xả.

Tri giác sai lầm (vọng tưởng) là nguyên nhân gây ra phần lớn nỗi khổ niềm đau. Qua câu chuyện oan khuất của thiếu phụ Nam Xương do tri giác sai lầm và sự tự ái của người chồng là chàng Trương, bài giảng chỉ ra rằng nhận thức sai lệch có thể phá tan hạnh phúc. Khi nhận ra tri giác sai lầm, nỗi khổ vẫn cần thời gian để lắng dịu và chuyển hóa hoàn toàn, giống như cánh quạt vẫn tiếp tục quay một lúc sau khi đã tắt điện.

Để vượt qua những cơn bão lòng, chúng ta cần thực hành bốn bước:

1. Có mặt và công nhận sự có mặt của nỗi khổ niềm đau bằng chánh niệm, hơi thở và bước chân.
2. Nhắc nhở bản thân rằng nỗi khổ niềm đau là vô thường và cắt đứt nguồn thực phẩm của nó là những vọng tưởng điên đảo.
3. Sẵn sàng ở lại với nỗi khổ niềm đau, cho phép nó có thời gian để yếu đi và chết từ từ.
4. Đào sâu vào bản chất của tri giác để bứng tận gốc vô minh, không để tự ái ngăn cản sự truyền thông.

Bài giảng cũng giải thích về bốn loại cảm thọ bao gồm khổ thọ, lạc thọ, xả thọ và hợp thọ.

This 74-minute dharma talk in the Ocean of Peace Meditation Hall takes place on Sunday, February 1, 2004, during the 2004 Rainy Season Retreat at Deer Park Monastery. The monastic and lay community are practicing together from January 4 to March 14. In the process of renewing Buddhism, many people disagreed with me. Today, Thay offers some words on renewing Christianity. The teaching of living deeply in the present moment is also very clear in the gospel. We should take care of today. Living happily in the present moment is possible. Our basic practice during this Rainy Season Retreat is this: living happily in the present moment. If the Buddha is there, the pure land is there too. If God is there, then the kingdom of God is there too. This practice is not difficult. Mindfulness will help us be in the present moment. Thay proposed that theologians and Christian teachers offer us the teaching and practice to help us live in the present moment. The same is said to Buddhist teachers. Walking and contemplating in the pure land or the Kingdom of God, we no longer have to run after fame, power, wealth, and sex.

The teaching should be embodied by the teacher. The life of the teacher can then be authentic. If you are Dharma Teacher, you have to embody the teaching of living happily in the present moment. Every moment of our daily life can be seen as a miracle. If you are a beginner, there are brothers and sisters who are more experienced, and these more experienced practitioners can show how we can live in the present moment. Mindfulness and concentration bring about happiness, solidity, understanding, and compassion, and this will nourish us and the other people around us. Practicing is helping the sangha. Anyone can be the teacher. Our teacher is a little bit everywhere. Signlessness: not caught by the form. As members of the Order of Interbeing, our real value is how we practice the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings. We have a duty of setting up a sangha. The sangha is protecting and supporting us.

Daily Practice worksheet: there is a column for each day, and in the evening before you go to sleep, you can evaluate your practice—waking up, putting on your shoes, folding your blanket, opening and closing the door. During this retreat we have been learning about how to take care of our body and our feelings through the Exercises on Mindful Breathing proposed by the Buddha. We are learning how to handle our feelings, whether they are pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. We have learned how to produce a feeling of joy and a feeling of happiness. In the Buddhist teachings, we learn there are 51 categories of mental formations—confidence, compassion, diligence, joy, anger, despair, jealousy—and mindfulness is one of the fifty-one. These all exist in our consciousness and are of an organic nature; they can change and transform. How do we cultivate understanding and compassion?

In this short teaching video from Deer Park Monastery (February, 2004), Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh guides us on how to take care of emotions when they come up. Every time a painful feeling is born, we go home and take good care of our feelings with the practice of mindfulness. Mindfulness here is like a mother coming to hold and embrace the pain that is crying out to us. This is the practice of love: telling our painful emotions, “Darling I know you suffer. That is why I am here for you.” Thay teaches four practical steps to help us: 1. Recognize our pain, 2. Embrace the pain, 3. Bring Relief, 4. Touch Insight and transformation.

Note: this description was automatically sourced from existing YouTube descriptions and other sources. Please ‘Suggest Changes’ if it’s incorrect.

The story of David, a lonely young man unable to communicate with his family and friends, illustrates the suffering of isolation and the transformative power of mindfulness. After losing his companion Angelina due to his anger and inability to listen, David is saved from despair by remembering a temple teaching on restoring communication through three kinds of incense:

1. The incense of the precepts or mindfulness trainings
2. The incense of concentration
3. The incense of understanding or wisdom
   By practicing these, he recognizes his past behavior, reconciles with his family, and restores his relationship.

The sixteen exercises of mindful breathing proposed by the Buddha are reviewed to guide practitioners in working with the body, feelings, and mind:

1. In/out (xuất tức nhập tức)
2. Long/short (trường đoản)
3. Aware of body (toàn thân giác tri)
4. Relaxing body (toàn thân hữu tức)
5. Feeling joy (hỷ giác tri)
6. Feeling happiness (lạc giác tri)
7. Aware of feeling (thọ giác tri)
8. Calming the feeling (thọ hữu tức)
9. Aware of mental formations (tâm giác tri)
10. Gladdening the mind (tâm duyệt giác tri)
11. Concentrating the mind (tâm định)
12. Liberating the mind (tâm giải thoát)
13. Contemplation on impermanence (quán vô thường)
14. Concentration on non-craving (quán vô dục)
15. Concentration on extinction (quán tịch diệt)
16. Concentration on letting go (quán phóng xả)

Special attention is given to gladdening the mind by watering positive seeds like love, forgiveness, and joy in ourselves and others. Concentration acts like a lens, focusing the mind to burn afflictions and bring about the insight that leads to true liberation. Ultimately, happiness is found not in acquiring things, but in the capacity of letting go of our ideas and attachments.

When you show your pain to the Buddha within, you are helped to generate the energy of compassion. Sitting and looking deeply reveals that not only do you suffer, but the person you want to punish or consider your enemy suffers as well. Embracing yourself and your so-called enemy with understanding and compassion stops the cycle of trying to punish each other. Everyone is a Buddha-to-be, and a wise course of action includes and embraces both sides, transforming enemies into friends.

True giving, or dāna pāramitā, is based on understanding and compassion without expecting anything in return or using political maneuvering. It can be the offering of food, medicine, comforting words, or a path. Practicing the mindfulness trainings, or śīla pāramitā, such as the Fifth Mindfulness Training on mindful consumption, is also an act of giving that protects the body, consciousness, society, and the Earth.

Just as an orange or a log of wood stores sunshine during the summer to provide warmth in the cold winter, we must live mindfully to store the energy of understanding and compassion. During difficult times, such as the Vietnam War or being in a re-education camp, having this stored energy prevents us from giving in to despair. By absorbing and storing this sunshine of understanding and compassion in our daily lives, we become a strong refuge for ourselves and others.

During the 2004 Rainy Season Retreat at Deer Park Monastery (January 4 – March 14), the monastic and lay community gathered in the Ocean of Peace Meditation Hall for a 76-minute Dharma talk on Wednesday, January 28, 2004. This session is devoted to questions and answers from retreat attendees:

1. A dream and a sacred story—“practice means enjoyment”—raised by an author of children’s books.
2. How to remain in the Pure Land and cultivate merits: Sister Dang Nghiem asks about continuing as a monastic and what offerings monastics can bring. Thầy speaks on the three kinds of offering—money, Dharma, and non-fear—and the four kinds of pleasures.
3. Sangha-building and conflict: where individual practice meets collective practice, harmony within the Sangha, the seven steps of reconciliation, and using the Vinaya to build a lay Sangha.
4. Working with children and adults with severe disabilities: handling the negativity that arises and whether to include it when writing about their experiences.
5. Engaged action: our role and contribution in reducing suffering, especially through social-justice work.

Note: this description was automatically sourced from existing YouTube descriptions and other sources. Please ‘Suggest Changes’ if it’s incorrect.

The realm of the mind and its fifty-one categories of mental formations are accessed through the exercises of mindful breathing proposed by the Buddha:

1. Breathing in and out
2. Following the breath all the way through, aware of its length as long or short
3. Being aware of the body
4. Calming and relaxing the body
5. Bringing about the feeling of joy
6. Bringing about the feeling of happiness
7. Becoming aware of the unpleasant or painful feeling
8. Embracing and relaxing the painful feeling
9. Recognizing and being aware of the mental formation that is there
10. Gladdening the mind by watering positive seeds
11. Concentrating on the mind and looking deeply into the nature of pain
12. Liberating the mental formation through deep understanding
    Joy and happiness are born from the capacity of releasing, letting go, and practicing mindfulness, concentration, and true love. True love in Buddhism is maitrī, which means friendship, originating from mitra. It respects freedom rather than trying to possess.

Building a solid lay Sangha is essential for the fourfold Sangha, which consists of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen. Lay practitioners must organize their own Sangha and conduct precept recitations separately. Before a recitation ceremony can take place, reconciliation must occur, as established by five traditional questions and statements:

1. Has the whole community assembled?
2. Is there harmony in the community?
3. Is there anyone absent who has asked someone to represent them and declare they have not broken any precepts?
4. What is the purpose of the meeting today?
5. Confirming that it is the right moment and there is harmony to authorize the recitation.
   A solid fourfold Sangha can collaborate to run an Institute for Applied Buddhism, offering courses on Buddhist psychology, training for couples preparing for marriage, and retreats for business leaders, politicians, and police officers.

The legendary singer Thái Thanh visits the Sangha to perform songs by Phạm Duy, including Giọt Mưa Trên Lá, Ngậm Ngùi, and My Dream, which is based on a poem written by Thay in 1964 about peace, reconciliation, and brotherhood during the war in Vietnam.

The Buddha sought liberation from afflictions like craving, anger, despair, jealousy, and delusion, realizing that building a Sangha is essential for transformation and healing. The fourfold community consists of:

1. Monks
2. Nuns
3. Laymen
4. Laywomen
   Taking refuge in the Sangha protects, supports, and guides us. To become a member, one practices mindfulness, concentration, and insight (smṛti, samādhi, and prajñā), concretely expressed through the Five Mindfulness Trainings:
5. The First Mindfulness Training: Protecting the life of humans, animals, plants, and minerals.
6. The Second Mindfulness Training: Sharing time, energy, and material resources, and refraining from stealing or exploiting.
7. The Third Mindfulness Training: Protecting the integrity of individuals, couples, and families from sexual misconduct and abuse.
8. The Fourth Mindfulness Training: Restoring communication through loving speech and compassionate listening.
9. The Fifth Mindfulness Training: Mindful consumption of food, drink, and cultural items to avoid ingesting toxins of hate, violence, fear, and anger.

Lay practitioners (upāsaka and upāsikā) must organize themselves to recite the trainings at least twice a month to help their training body (śīlakāya) grow in purity (trưởng tịnh). The trainings consist of both chỉ (refraining from doing) and tác (doing), which together constitute trì (holding the precepts). During the recitation ceremony (upoṣadha), the community performs saṅghakarma by asking three questions:

1. Has the community assembled?
2. Is there harmony in the community?
3. Is anyone absent that has asked to be represented, and has he declared that his śīla body is clear?
   If there is discord, the recitation cannot take place until the community practices reconciliation and Beginning Anew.

The monastic community is practicing during the Rainy Season Retreat from January 4 to March 14 at Deer Park Monastery with the lay community. This 83-minute Dharma talk in the Ocean of Peace Meditation Hall takes place on Sunday, January 18, 2004, at the beginning of the third week.

About five minutes are spent working through technical difficulties before the talk begins. During that time Thầy reflects on the freshness of the air in Deer Park and the upcoming Year of the Monkey. The monkey is in the mind; our practice is not to force the monkey to stop but to become aware of the movement of the mind. We don’t try to suppress our mind.

Last time we spoke about how to become fully present and fully alive. The practice is so easy that it would be a pity if you don’t do it. The power and energy of mindfulness is available because we all have the seed of mindfulness in our consciousness. If we keep the energy of mindfulness, concentration, and insight then we are good continuations of the Buddha. But we also live in forgetfulness, and we can transform this with the flower of mindfulness. Garbage and flowers: we are like organic gardeners who can produce the flowers of peace and happiness. Our happiness arises from elements of affliction, and we don’t need to be afraid of the garbage. We don’t need to run away from our pain and sorrow.

Mindful Breathing Exercises. The Buddha offered very simple and effective methods of practice. We can master these methods and no longer be afraid of sickness, fear, despair, or even death.

1. The first exercise is simply breathing in and out—simple identification and awareness. When mindfulness is there, concentration is there too; concentration is born from mindfulness. This practice is a gift, and when we practice mindfulness, we are a Buddha.

2. The second exercise is long and short breathing, following our breath all the way through. Breathing in a long breath, I know I am breathing in a long breath; breathing in a short breath, I know I am breathing in a short breath. Don’t try to force your breath; just turn on the light of mindfulness. It is like the sunshine and the flower: our in-breath and out-breath are like a flower. Body, mind, and breath are interconnected; they can become one, inheriting the energy of mindfulness and concentration brought about by mindful breathing. Enjoy your in-breath and out-breath from beginning to end.

3. The third exercise is awareness of the whole body. Breathing in, I am aware of my body; breathing out, I am aware of my body. This is a practice of going home to your body and being present, reconciling with your body. Awareness is already enlightenment. We recognize our body as a formation, and this practice can help to heal the body. Practice with a smile—it’s yoga of the mouth.

Awareness of feelings is the fifth exercise. Breathing in, I feel joy; breathing out, I feel joy. Joy and happiness are mental formations for our nourishment and healing. We start with these seeds before moving to feelings that cause suffering. This is not auto-suggestion; joy and happiness can be born if we know how to touch the seed. One way to bring joy is to let go—maybe something we believe to be crucial to our happiness.

Thầy offers very specific methods to practice meditation using these exercises. Everyone can succeed with these exercises.

Note: this description was automatically sourced from existing YouTube descriptions and other sources. Please ‘Suggest Changes’ if it’s incorrect.

The monastic community is practicing during the Rainy Season Retreat from January 4 to March 14, 2004 at Deer Park Monastery with the lay community. This 55-minute Dharma talk, offered by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in the Ocean of Peace Meditation Hall on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 during the second week of the retreat, reminds us of the gatha learned in the prior talk, a verse we can use while sitting, standing, walking, and lying down to listen to the music of our breathing in and breathing out.

The teaching explores the practice of Stopping (samatha) and Looking Deeply (vipasyana), “the two wings of a bird.” Stopping is not only for the mind; it also applies to the body, which often has a habit of running and a feeling of restlessness. Helping the body to stop is also helping the mind to stop. In a retreat environment the first insight is to stop running: with our practice of walking, each step is a healer, allowing us to totally surrender ourselves to the present moment and to the power of healing that is inherent in our body.

In the Plum Village tradition we offer the practice of total and deep relaxation, using the techniques of mindful breathing to allow the body to rest and embracing the body with tenderness: “Darling, I am home.” Thay guides meditations on the body and presents exercises from the Sutra on Contemplation of the Body in the Body. This practice can be very pleasant and healing.

Stopping means to be fully present, in the here and the now, and when you are fully present you are fully alive. Vipasyana helps us to see this. Another function of samatha is to recognize what is happening in the present moment; when we are able to recognize, the “blue sky” is always there. We come to Deer Park so that we can learn to practice stopping.

Note: this description was automatically sourced from existing YouTube descriptions and other sources. Please ‘Suggest Changes’ if it’s incorrect.

In early 2004, Thich Nhat Hanh and about two hundred monastics came to Southern California to spend several months at Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, California for the Rainy Season Retreat from January 4 to March 14, practicing together with the lay community. This 80-minute dharma talk was given on Sunday, January 11, 2004, at the beginning of the second week in the recently opened Ocean of Peace Meditation Hall.

Thay begins with an overview of how to begin the day in the monastery—the bell, walking meditation, sitting meditation, and chanting. How much time should we allow for these activities? Do we need to wait to begin meditation? When you hear the bell announcing sitting meditation, you begin right away with your walking. What is our practice when we are walking? What is our practice when we arrive at the meditation hall? Thay shares and outlines the Plum Village practice.

What can the dharma teacher do to contribute to the practice? The dharma teachers have a responsibility to be present for the orientation, to help support those who have newly arrived, and to assure that people truly practice in the practice center so we don’t become a “non-practice” practice center.

A reporter recently asked Thay, what happens after we die? The question is kind of a trap. What happens in the present moment? The answer to both these questions is the same. If we can answer the second question, there is no need to answer the first. What is our practice to be fully present in the here and now—to become a free person—and, with our practice, to free our ancestors?

What is the role of the sangha in helping with sitting meditation? Practicing with the wonders of life in the practice center with the support of the sangha. Thay reflects on the meaning of the kingdom of God: transforming our homes, sanghas, and practice centers into a pure land, a place of refuge where we can experience brotherhood and sisterhood and enjoy deeply every moment of our daily life.

The practice of walking, sitting, and chanting is for the care of the present moment; it is not for the future. There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way. There is no way to enlightenment, enlightenment is the way. We don’t sit for anything and do not expect anything. Just be present in the here and now. That is good enough. Don’t be caught by the idea of the Buddha that is outside of you—you are already a Buddha.

Living and working in harmony with nature, plants and animals, at Deer Park Monastery, even though we are many hundreds, we can walk in the pure land in harmony with nature. How do we practice walking meditation?

I have arrived.
I am home.
I am solid.
I am free.
In the ultimate I dwell.

Note: this description was automatically sourced from existing YouTube descriptions and other sources. Please ‘Suggest Changes’ if it’s incorrect.

The sound of the bell is the voice of the Buddha from within, calling us back to the present moment where life, the Pure Land, and the Kingdom of God are available. Going home to the present moment frees us from regret concerning the past, fear concerning the future, worries, projects, and business, which is essential because happiness is not possible without freedom. Stopping our running and riding on the sound of the bell allows us to get in touch with life and all its wonders within and around us.

The sổ công phu, or kung fu notebook, is used to evaluate our daily mindfulness. At the end of each day, we evaluate our practice using three signs:

1. Zero: if we forgot or failed to practice mindfulness.
2. One: if there was even just one flash of mindfulness.
3. More than one: if we succeeded more than one percent.

These signs are applied to a series of daily practices:

• Toothbrushing: brushing in such a way that peace, happiness, solidity, and freedom are possible, stopping the habit energy of running.
• Urinating and defecating: practicing so that joy, happiness, stability, and liberation are present.
• Using running water: opening the faucet mindfully and appreciating the wonder of water.
• Putting on clothes and shoes: coming home to oneself, putting them on mindfully, and walking for our ancestors.
• Serving food: holding the plate mindfully and nourishing compassion.
• Eating: eating like a Buddha to generate peace, joy, freedom, compassion, and loving-kindness.
• Washing the bowl: washing the dishes as if giving the baby Buddha a bath, smiling to our habit energy.
• Sitting: being fully present for our body, feelings, and emotions, and contributing to the collective energy of the Sangha.
• Taking care of feelings: going home to recognize and tenderly embrace pleasant and painful feelings.
• Washing hands: appreciating the water and seeing our hands as the continuation of our ancestors and the Buddha.
• Taking a shower: enjoying the act fully and deeply with concentration.
• Being in a meeting: organizing meetings so that the Pure Land is always there.
• Sweeping the ground: mopping the floor or sweeping outside with compassion.

Practicing these daily activities as acts of awakening allows us to be the Buddha in every moment. The talk concludes with instructions on practicing walking meditation by touching the earth with the Feet of the Buddha, followed by sharing a silent formal meal in thundering silence, full of the collective energy of mindfulness, concentration, and compassion.

Practicing mindfulness of being in the Deer Park Monastery, feeling the fourfold Sangha, and recognizing the Sangha builder within. The theme of the winter retreat is Sangha building, inviting everyone to participate in establishing a real fourfold Sangha consisting of:

1. Monks
2. Nuns
3. Upasaka (laymen)
4. Upasika (laywomen)
   These groups recite the mindfulness trainings and perform Sangha karman to continue the practice of mindfulness in daily life.

Lay members of the core Sangha share their experiences of transformation, gratitude, and community service during the retreat. These include practicing mindfulness throughout the day through sitting, walking, and eating meditation, as well as working on the soy milk, breakfast, and dishwashing teams. Practitioners describe learning to look past personal ideas to see the goodness in others, caring for sick community members, and shifting their attitude toward meetings to view them as opportunities to simply be together.

The community shares songs on the impermanence of formations and the compassionate heart, alongside reflections on the Sangha acting as a lighthouse where each person reflects the others. The talk concludes with instructions on eating in mindfulness and practicing the Five Contemplations:

1. This food is the gift of the whole universe, the earth, the sky, all species, and much hard work.
2. May we eat with gratitude and mindfulness so as to be worthy to receive this food.
3. May we recognize and transform unwholesome mental formations, especially our greed.
4. May we take in only foods that nourish us and prevent illness.
5. We accept this food so that we may nurture our sisterhood and brotherhood, build our Sangha, and nourish our ideal of serving living beings.

The monastic and lay community are practicing together during the 2004 Rainy Season Retreat (January 4 – March 14) at Deer Park Monastery. This 95-minute outdoor event, filmed on Saturday, January 31, 2004 in San Dieguito County Park, Solana Beach, opens with a slideshow of the alms round, followed by chanting and Thay’s introductory words on asking questions.

Practitioners pose questions such as: Are we supposed to spend all our time in the here and now? How can we help someone transform anger? How do we practice to do the right thing when it is difficult? How do we practice when someone we love dies? Can anger ever be beneficial? How do we balance practice with professional fulfillment? How do I forgive myself and believe in myself? What if my son wants to marry outside our tradition? What do you think of humans living in this place and time?

In response, Thay explains that the past is already gone and the future is not yet here; true life is available only in the present moment. Being present does not prevent us from learning from the past or planning for the future—both can become objects of practice here and now. He illustrates how a deceased grandmother is still alive in every cell of our body, showing that nothing is lost.

Addressing anger, Thay teaches that its roots lie in the things we consume. Mindful consumption and the Fifth Mindfulness Training protect us and our families. We should not suppress anger but recognize and embrace it with mindfulness, then use loving speech to communicate. Although some see anger as a powerful tool, it can be dangerous without understanding and compassion.

Thay discusses integrating mindfulness with career: business leaders suffer like everyone else, and if they suffer less they can succeed more. Mindfulness at work—walking, breathing, caring for employees as family—helps harmonize practice, family, and professional life.

On grief, he points to our true nature of no-birth and no-death, illustrated by the image of a cloud. He closes with the story of a Vietnam veteran who, through practice, transformed deep suffering after having killed children during the war, showing that personal transformation can lead to societal healing.

The gathering ends with the sangha practicing walking meditation.

Note: this description was automatically sourced from existing YouTube descriptions and other sources. Please ‘Suggest Changes’ if it’s incorrect.

The sound of the bell helps to calm the body, speech, and mind, bringing us back to our true home. Deep in our store consciousness, or ālayavijñāna, we carry both positive seeds, such as compassion, joy, and understanding, and negative seeds, such as anger, fear, and violence. Taking care of our mind like a garden requires the practice of selective watering, where we make a commitment to water only the positive seeds in ourselves and in others, while refraining from watering the negative ones.

Nothing can survive without food, including love, hate, anger, and depression. To transform suffering, we must look deeply into its nature to identify and cut off its sources of nutriment. There are four kinds of nutriments:

1. Edible food: What we eat and drink. We practice mindful eating using the five contemplations: first, recognizing food as a gift of the sky, earth, living beings, and labor; second, eating with mindfulness and gratitude; third, preventing negative mental formations like craving; fourth, eating only what brings well-being and prevents illness; and fifth, determining to practice transformation, healing, and compassion.
2. Sensory impressions: What we consume through our six sense organs, including television, music, books, and conversations. We must guard our sense organs to prevent toxins like craving, anger, and violence from entering our consciousness.
3. Volition: Our deepest desire, intention, and motivation. Wholesome volition aims to bring relief and cultivate compassion, whereas desires for revenge, fame, power, or wealth lead to suffering. True happiness is found by living happily in the here and now, or dṛṣṭaDharmasukhavihāra.
4. Consciousness: Individual and collective consciousness. We must protect ourselves from toxic collective consciousness, such as collective anger and hate, and instead nourish ourselves with environments of harmony and brotherhood.

Transformation and healing are cultivated through mindful breathing, mindful walking, and the practices of compassionate listening and loving speech. These practices allow us to recognize the suffering of others, which gives rise to compassion and enables reconciliation, even among groups in deep conflict like Palestinians and Israelis. On a global scale, violence and hatred cannot remove violence and hatred; they only create more. The root of terrorism and conflict lies in wrong perceptions, which can only be resolved through deep listening and gentle, compassionate speech to understand the suffering and misunderstandings of all sides.

Questions from the audience:

• How do you approach nationalism with our responsibility for global understanding, global brotherhood and sisterhood, and how do we deal with national identity?
• Is there another way, without eating the flesh of their son, they can cross the desert?
• What directions and intentions should a scientist have when scientific knowledge could potentially be used in a dangerous, deadly way?
• How can one avoid watering the seed of fear, and once fear is present, how do we deal with it?
• What was the collective consciousness of those who participated in the Buddhist movements in Vietnam in the 1960s, and who holds responsibility for causing the release of poisons during the war?

A three-month retreat has concluded with about 240 monks and nuns practicing alongside lay people. Moving forward, Sunday morning Dharma talks in English will address real difficulties of our time concerning individual, family, and community life, as well as daily life, the workplace, and school. Listeners are invited to contribute topics by dropping written suggestions into the donation box or the bell of mindfulness. These talks will be offered by Dharma teachers Sister Annabel Laity (Chân Đức), a scholar and translator who is the abbess of Green Mountain Dharma Center, and Brother Pháp Dung, a former architect and the abbot of Deer Park who focuses on youth and family practices.

Monastic practice for young people and families emphasizes friendship, space, and acceptance rather than trying to fix anyone. During family retreats, parents practice non-parenting by breathing to recognize and smile at the parent seed when it arises. The basic tool for handling boredom, irritation, self-judgment, and peer pressure is following the breath at the nostrils, observing the cool inbreath and the warm, damp outbreath to calm and relax the body and mind.

To bridge communication gaps across different ages and cultures, one must first feel connected in oneself through mindful breathing or walking before reaching out to others. When verbal communication is difficult, the Meditation on Loving-Kindness is practiced to understand others and enter the garden of their heart. This meditation involves wishing three specific things, first for oneself and then for another person:

1. To be happy and peaceful in body and spirit.
2. To be safe and free from accident.
3. To be free from anger, craving, and confusion.

A recipe for renewing yourself when you do not feel solid, happy, or ready is found in the discourse on the “Practice of Mindfulness of Breathing In and Out.” This practice consists of five exercises:

1. In, out: focusing attention on the in-breath and out-breath, recognizing and enjoying them without cerebral effort.
2. Deep, slow: noticing that the in-breath naturally becomes deeper and the out-breath becomes slower, which is healing and refreshing.
3. Calm, ease: allowing the body to relax and calm, and taking the time to be at ease with everything.
4. Smile, release: smiling to relax the facial muscles and releasing tension in the body, feelings, and emotions.
5. Present moment, wonderful moment: establishing oneself in the here and now, which is the only moment to be truly alive and touch the wonders of life.

The foundation of all Buddhist teaching and practice is the Four Noble Truths:

1. Ill-being: pain and suffering, which is noble because understanding it is the foundation of happiness and the path of liberation.
2. Cause, nature, making of suffering: discovering the source of nutriments that have brought suffering.
3. Cessation of ill-being: the presence of well-being, which is possible in the here and now.
4. Path of cessation: the path of transformation, healing, and well-being.
   Artists, writers, and filmmakers can use their talents to reveal these truths, helping people to understand their suffering and touch the wonders of life.

Suffering and well-being are understood in terms of consumption through the four nutriments:

1. Edible food: physical sustenance.
2. Sensory impressions: consumed through the six sense organs of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, which can either bring toxins or nourish physical and mental health.
3. Volition: the deepest desire or motive of life, which should be bodhicitta, the mind of awakening and love, rather than the craving for fame, power, wealth, or sex.
4. Consciousness: both individual and collective consciousness, which can create a prison of views or be a source of awakening, non-discrimination, and love.

The foundation of happiness is the capacity of understanding and compassion, which is cultivated through the energy of mindfulness in the here and now. True love requires looking deeply to understand the difficulties, pain, and deepest aspirations of the person we love. To restore communication and remove wrong perceptions, we practice deep, compassionate listening—listening without judging, criticizing, or reacting, with the sole purpose of helping the other person empty their heart—and loving speech, or Right Speech.

The greatest gift we can offer is our true presence, which is realized by bringing the mind back to the body through mindful breathing and walking. This presence is expressed through two love mantras:

1. Darling, I am here for you.
2. Darling, I know you are there, and I am very happy.
   Self-love and self-understanding are the foundations for loving another. By going home to ourselves, we accept ourselves as we are, care for our own anger and fear, and stop craving external recognition.

Establishing ourselves in the present moment allows us to get in touch with the three times: the past, the present, and the future. By handling the present moment with Right Thinking, Right Speech, and Right Action, we can heal the past and build the future. To protect our well-being, we must practice mindful consumption of the first two of the four nutriments:

1. Edible food, which must be consumed mindfully to preserve compassion and avoid destroying ourselves and the environment.
2. Sensorial impressions, which include what we see, hear, read, and think, requiring the skin of mindfulness to protect us from toxins and water only our positive seeds.

When breathing in, the stomach rises, and when breathing out, the stomach falls. The sound of the bell, whether from a temple bell, a telephone, a clock, or a computer, is a reminder to stop all thinking and talking, and go home to the here and the now. Breathing in and out at least three times while listening to the sound helps us return to our true home within. When feeling unstable, fearful, or in despair, we can take refuge in the island of self, closing the windows of our eyes and the doors of our ears to tenderly embrace our feelings of anger, fear, anxiety, or despair like a mother holding a crying baby.

Consciousness consists of two layers:

1. Store consciousness, the basement where all seeds are stored.
2. Mind consciousness, the living room where seeds manifest as mental formations when touched or watered.

Through the practice of selective watering, partners can sign a peace treaty to refrain from watering negative seeds like anger, fear, and despair, and instead water positive seeds such as joy, tolerance, happiness, compassion, self-esteem, non-fear, and understanding. Taking refuge in the Sangha, a community of practice, provides a collective energy that acts like a boat, supporting us and keeping us from sinking into the river of suffering.

Mindful walking is the art of non-thinking that establishes us in the present moment, liberating us from the past and the future. By coordinating steps with the breath—such as making two steps on the in-breath and two or three steps on the out-breath—we touch the earth with freedom and solidity. This practice allows us to arrive in the here and the now, establishing ourselves in the ultimate reality where we are solid and free.

The sangha is gathered at Deer Park Monastery on March 21, 2004, for a retreat for artists, writers, and entertainers.

Questions:

1. How can awareness be raised about the destruction caused by political leaders while only watering positive seeds, and how can protesting be sustained without anger or fear?
2. What social responsibility do artists have during times of war and despair?
3. Can nudity and sexuality in art, photography, and film be approached with loving mindfulness, or should it be avoided altogether?
4. What advice would you give to leaders and individuals in the entertainment business to fortify the nutriment provided through media, and would you be on a children’s television program?
5. How can one reconcile the practice of deep listening and gentle, loving speech when dealing with abusive, manipulative, or overly negative situations?
6. How can someone transform self-hatred from sexual abuse or low self-esteem from childhood emotional turmoil into self-love, trust, and usefulness?
7. How can artists deal with media, societal, and personal censorship, indifference, and neglect?

Khóa tu mùa đông hướng tới việc xây dựng một tăng thân hùng tráng, vững chãi, hòa điệu và hạnh phúc. Tăng đoàn gồm đầy đủ bốn thành phần:

1. Nam xuất gia
2. Nữ xuất gia
3. Nam cư sĩ
4. Nữ cư sĩ

Nghệ thuật xây dựng tăng thân được thực tập dựa trên tài liệu “Sống chung an lạc” (“Joyfully Together“) với các phương pháp chính:

• Buổi họp hạnh phúc: Buổi họp hàng tuần ứng dụng sự lắng nghe và lời ái ngữ để giải quyết khó khăn và nâng cao mức hạnh phúc cho đoàn thể.
• Soi sáng (shining light): Đương sự lạy xuống ba lạy để tăng thân soi sáng ưu điểm nhằm khen ngợi, khuyến khích và chỉ ra những khuyết điểm để chuyển hóa bằng lòng từ bi.
• Làm mới (beginning anew): Ý thức những lầm lỡ, vụng về để sửa lại nhận thức, thói quen và làm mới tâm mình thông qua tài liệu Sám pháp địa xúc.

Bên cạnh đó, thực tập ngồi và đi giúp chữa lành thương tích trong thân tâm. Ngồi là để đem tâm trở về với thân, chăm sóc khu vườn thân tâm và có mặt cho người thương. Thực tập đi từng bước chân an lạc để dẫm trên Tịnh độ hiện tiền thông qua bốn yếu tố:

1. Hơi thở có chánh niệm
2. Bước chân có chánh niệm
3. Chánh niệm
4. Mặt đất

Trong cuộc sống, mỗi người đều có những Giáng Kiều của mình, đó có thể là người bạn đời, con trai, con gái, cha hay mẹ. Vì không có khả năng lắng nghe những khổ đau, bế tắc, luôn buộc tội, chỉ trích khắt khe và không biết sử dụng ái ngữ, ta làm cho Giáng Kiều của mình khổ và tự làm mình khổ. Sự thực tập là thiết lập lại truyền thông, khơi mở dòng suối của hiểu và thương bằng cách ngồi lại quán chiếu hai sự thực đầu của Tứ Diệu Đế:

1. Khổ Đế
2. Tập Đế

Theo tâm lý học Phật giáo, tâm thức có hai phần:

1. Tàng thức
2. Ý thức

Trong tâm thức chứa các chủng tử (hạt giống) tốt đẹp lẫn tiêu cực; khi biểu hiện trên ý thức thì gọi là tâm hành hay hiện hành. Để chuyển hóa khó khăn và tái lập truyền thông, Đức Thế Tôn hiến dâng các phương pháp tu tập, trong đó có hai phương pháp:

1. Tưới tẩm hạt giống tốt (selective watering): Thực tập chánh ngữ (right speech), nói những lời có tác dụng tưới tẩm hạt giống tốt nơi mình và người khác, đồng thời áp dụng giới thứ tư và giới thứ năm.
2. Lắng nghe với tâm từ bi (đế thính hay bi thính, compassionate listening): Dùng từ nhãn lắng nghe để giúp người kia trút bỏ niềm đau nỗi khổ, sau đó từng bước dùng ái ngữ giúp điều chỉnh tri giác sai lầm (vọng tưởng điên đảo) và phục hồi hạnh phúc.

Tập thơ Tiếng Địch Chiều Thu ra đời năm 1949 tại Sài Gòn đánh dấu sự gặp gỡ giữa đạo và thơ. Đạo và thơ không có khoảng cách mà là một; chỗ nào có đạo là có thơ, chỗ nào có thơ thiệt là có thi đạo. Trà cũng vậy, uống trà trong thanh tịnh thì trà chính là đạo. Qua những bài thơ như Thi Tứ của Trụ Vũ hay Thược Dược của Quách Thoại, chất thiền hiển hiện khi tâm con người có sự tự do, không bị chìm đắm trong phiền não hay giận hờn, từ đó tiếp xúc được với sự mầu nhiệm của bản môn và cõi tịnh độ.

Kinh trong chùa mang âm hưởng nhạc kinh trầm sâu, giúp nâng cao hoặc lắng đọng tâm hồn. Trước giờ ngồi thiền, các bài kệ hô canh được xướng lên để giúp đại chúng thâu lắng ba nghiệp thân, khẩu, ý và đi vào chánh niệm:

1. Bài buổi sáng: Pháp thân tỏa sáng buổi ban mai / Tĩnh tọa lòng an miệng mỉm cười / Ngày mới nguyện đi trong tỉnh thức / Mặt trời trí tuệ rọi muôn nơi.
2. Bài buổi chiều: Vững thân ngồi dưới cội bồ đề / Ba nghiệp lắng rồi hết thị phi / Thu nhiếp thân tâm vào chánh niệm / Rõ soi diện mục thoát bờ mê.

Âm nhạc trong nhà thiền đóng vai trò như một dạng âm nhạc liệu pháp giúp chuyển hóa sầu đau, mang lại sự thảnh thơi và an lạc cho thân tâm. Nhiều bài kinh và lời thơ được phổ nhạc, tiêu biểu như bài kinh sám hối: Con đã gây ra bao lầm lỡ / Khi nói, khi làm, khi tư duy / Đam mê, hờn giận và ngu si / Nay con cúi đầu xin sám hối… Khi tâm được đổi mới và trở nên thanh tịnh, các dấu vết lỗi lầm sẽ tiêu trừ, giúp lòng người trở nên nhẹ nhõm như mây bạc thong dong trên rừng xưa.

Tác phẩm Biển sau giông tố của nhạc sĩ Lê Thương nói lên niềm đau của dân tộc và thảm trạng của 75.000 thuyền nhân tử nạn dưới lòng đại dương. Niềm tuyệt vọng là kẻ thù lớn nhất của con người khi lâm vào cảnh bế tắc. Để giúp các văn nghệ sĩ và học giả trong nước vượt qua sự tuyệt vọng để tiếp tục sáng tác, cộng đồng tu học tại Phương Vân Am đã gởi thuốc Tây cùng những lá thư nâng đỡ tinh thần thông qua các hóa thân như Phương Hương, Angelina, cô Chín, dì Năm và Đào Thị Mây.

Để cứu trợ người vượt biển, chiến dịch Máu chảy ruột mềm đã được tổ chức tại Singapore từ cuối năm 1976, sử dụng các chiếc tàu:

1. Roland
2. Leapdal
3. Koozara
4. Saigon 200

Sự có mặt của người Việt tại Tây phương mang hai mục đích:

1. Học hỏi những cái hay, cái đẹp của thế giới bên ngoài để truyền nó về cho quê hương, cho tổ quốc.
2. Đem chia sẻ với người bên này những cái hay, cái đẹp thuộc về nền văn hóa của chúng ta.

Thực tập bắt đầu ngày mới với hai mươi bốn giờ tinh khôi bằng bài thi kệ trong sách Bước Tới Thảnh Thơi: “Thức dậy miệng mỉm cười. Hai mươi bốn giờ tinh khôi. Xin nguyện sống trọn vẹn. Mắt thương nhìn cuộc đời.” Để sống với ba điều:

1. Đẹp
2. Thảnh thơi
3. Tình thương

Cần phải có trí tuệ, tức tuệ giác hay chánh kiến. Tuệ giác đó bao gồm cái thấy phi nhất phi dị, vô thường, vô ngã và vô phân biệt trí (Nirvikalpa jñāna).

Từ chánh kiến, chúng ta chế tác:

1. Chánh tư duy
2. Chánh ngữ
3. Chánh nghiệp

Mỗi cái thấy, tư duy, lời nói và hành động là sự cống hiến và tiếp nối của con người trong từng giây phút. Sự tiếp nối và luân hồi không chờ đến khi xác thân tan hoại mà diễn ra ngay trong hiện tại qua sát na vô thường và nhất kỳ vô thường. Với con mắt vô tướng và tuệ giác vô sinh bất diệt, vô khứ vô lai, phi hữu phi không, con người có thể sống thảnh thơi, tự do và tràn đầy tình thương.

Pour devenir un enseignant du Dharma monastique, il faut un minimum de cinq ans de pratique, la fin de la quatrième année permettant de devenir un enseignant du Dharma apprenti. Onze monastiques deviennent apprentis enseignants du Dharma :

1. Thầy Pháp Độ
2. Sư chị Trí Giác
3. Sư chị Thiều Nghiêm
4. Sư chị Phúc Nghiêm
5. Sư chị Giới Nghiêm
6. Sư chị Thục Nghiêm
7. Sư chị Hà Nghiêm
8. Sư anh Pháp Hiền
9. Sư chị Hỷ Nghiêm
10. Sư chị Thắng Nghiêm
11. Sư chị Từ Nghiêm

La Sangha doit également décider de la transmission de la lampe pour quatre autres apprentis : Thầy Pháp Trí, Soeur Thuần Nghiêm, Soeur Bích Nghiêm et Thầy Pháp Hướng.

Le regard profond permet de voir tout le cosmos dans une fleur de lotus ou un morceau de pain, transformant les actes simples de la vie quotidienne en une pratique profondément spirituelle. Rien n’est une création tirée du zéro ou du non-être ; tout est manifestation issue de la convergence de nombreuses conditions.

Chacun possède la nature de la non-naissance et de la non-mort (vô sinh bất diệt). En touchant la nature de la non-naissance et de la non-mort, la peur se dissipe pour faire place à la non-peur, fondement de la paix et du bonheur véritables. Voir sa propre nature se nomme kiến tánh, et voir sa vraie nature permet de devenir un Bouddha (kiến tánh thành Phật).

Bài Lâm Tế Tín Yếu tóm tắt phần khai thị của Tổ Lâm Tế, giúp hiểu tinh thần an trú trong hiện pháp, không đi tìm cầu ở ngoài như Bụt, Pháp, Tăng, bát nhã, giải thoát hay Tịnh độ. Pháp môn Làng Mai bổ túc các phương pháp cụ thể để hướng tới con người lý tưởng của thiền Lâm Tế là con người vô sự, tự do, sống thảnh thơi và có chủ quyền trong giây phút hiện tại. Thành công trong đời sống tu học còn nhờ vào phước đức; người có phước đức mỏng cần tu tạo thêm bằng cách thường xuyên bái sám tiêu trừ nghiệp chướng và phục vụ tăng thân hết lòng.

Tập khí luôn đi tìm kiếm sự công nhận, khen ngợi hay thán phục từ người khác sẽ làm mất đi hạnh phúc và gây tổn hại cho không khí chung của tăng đoàn. Mọi hoạt động thực tập như đi thiền hành, ngồi thiền, chấp tác, dọn dẹp hay rửa chén trước hết là để tự nuôi dưỡng, đem lại sự buông xả, an lạc cho chính mình thay vì phụ thuộc vào sự đánh giá của người xung quanh.

Kinh Người Biết Sống Một Mình (Bhaddekaratta) là văn kiện dạy về nghệ thuật sống hạnh phúc trong giây phút hiện tại với các nội dung chính:

• Không luyến tiếc quá khứ
• Không lo lắng về tương lai
• Trở về an trú trong hiện tại với sự vững chãi và thảnh thơi
• Phân biệt giữa sống một mình (solitude) có khả năng truyền thông sâu sắc và chế tác an lạc, với sự cô đơn (loneliness) do thiếu khả năng truyền thông.

Những kỷ niệm từ năm 1946, 1947 tại Phật học đường Báo Quốc với các học tăng như Hòa thượng Đức Tâm, Hòa thượng Thanh Trí, Chơn Trí, Hòa thượng Minh Châu, Hòa thượng Viên Giác, Trí Không, chú Phùng Xuân và các bạn đồng học. Cuộc trò chuyện nhắc lại giai thoại về bài thơ của cụ Chánh án Lê Văn Định dành cho các nhà tu làm thơ: “Ngâm vịnh nhà tu muốn trổ tài, Lời vàng nhiếp niệm để khuyên ai? Phun châu lả chả trên trần cảnh, Nhả ngọc lô nhô trước Phật đài. Bến giác đã nguyền sang gác mặt, Mà tao đàn cũng ước muốn chen vai. Danh thi bá thơm tho mấy, Lỡ bước đường tu thật cũng hoài.” và bài thơ đáp lại: “Trọng đức người tu chẳng kể tài, Thị phi thôi cũng mặc lòng ai. Mong người mạt thế lìa sầu hải, Khuyên bạn tao nhân hướng bửu đài. Ngược nước ngược thuyền bền một dạ, Vì đời vì đạo nặng hai vai. Pháp môn phương tiện không lo học, Nhắm mắt sờ voi thật cũng hoài.”

Hành trình tu học tại Nhật Bổn, sự nghiệp hoằng pháp quốc tế cùng những hồi tưởng về Ni sư Trí Hải, tác phẩm Ánh Đạo Vàng, Thử Thách Kinh của Võ Đình Cường, cũng như câu chuyện lịch sử về vua Asoka. Các tập thơ được đề cập gồm có:

1. Thơ không bến hạn
2. Hương trần gian
3. Không gian thành chiếc áo
4. Mây trắng thong dong
5. Kẻ lữ hành cô độc

Sự thực tập tư tưởng here and now, ý nghĩa thiền quán qua các câu chuyện thiền môn và hình ảnh người lữ hành trên con đường phục vụ đạo pháp, kết thúc bằng bài ca thực tập chánh niệm: “Ta hạnh phúc liền giây phút này, Lòng đà quyết dứt hết âu lo, Không đi đâu nữa, có chi để làm, Học buông xả, sống thong dong nhẹ nhàng.”

Pháp môn thực tập là sống đời sống hằng ngày để cảm thấy đang ở trong tịnh độ ngay trong giờ phút hiện tại, gọi là tịnh độ hiện tiền hay hiện pháp tịnh độ. Nhờ thực tập hơi thở ý thức và bước chân có ý thức, tịnh độ có mặt ngay bây giờ và ở đây. Theo giáo lý Phật sinh bất nhị của tông Lâm Tế, Bụt và chúng sanh không phải là hai thực tại riêng biệt. Trong mỗi người đều có tâm sáng chói, chỉ cần trở về lột bỏ những lớp vỏ phiền não, si mê và hờn giận thì có thể sống an lạc, thảnh thơi.

Mỗi con người có hai dòng truyền thống, hai gia đình:

1. Gia đình huyết thống: trao truyền gia tài di truyền, các gen và kinh nghiệm của tổ tiên, cha mẹ có mặt trong từng tế bào cơ thể.
2. Gia đình tâm linh: trao truyền khả năng hiểu, thương, tha thứ và con đường đi tới tự do hoàn toàn, vượt thắng sầu khổ.

Để chuyển hóa đau khổ và chế tác hạnh phúc ngay trong hiện tại, người thực tập làm lớn lên ba năng lượng:

1. Niệm (smṛti): trở về với giây phút hiện tại, nhận diện và tiếp xúc với tâm sáng chói cùng hạt giống của hiểu và thương.
2. Định (samādhi): sự chuyên chú, tập trung tâm ý vào một đối tượng.
3. Tuệ (prajñā): cái thấy, cái hiểu sâu sắc, nền tảng để phát sinh tình thương, thể hiện qua từ nhãn (con mắt thương) và ái ngữ (lời nói thương).

Bài thơ “Con đã đi tìm Thế Tôn”, tuyệt tác của Sư Ông Làng Mai, được phổ thành nhạc kinh và trình bày tại Tu Viện Lộc Uyển (Escondido, California, 25/01/2004) với giọng đọc của Sư Ông cùng Tăng Đoàn Làng Mai. Tác phẩm thuật lại hành trình từ thuở ấu thơ lắng nghe tiếng gọi Thế Tôn, rong ruổi qua vạn nẻo đời hiểm trở, nếm trải đau khắc khoải, đói lạnh, khát khao, để cuối cùng nhận ra Thế Tôn luôn hiện hữu trong trái tim, khoảng cách không dài hơn một nhịp tâm đầu. Những hình ảnh lá thu rơi, vầng trăng treo ngõ, mưa cam lộ, bão tố rồi tan biến nhường chỗ cho bình an cho thấy khi soi mình trong gương nguyệt, người con thấy chính mình và thấy Thế Tôn, nụ cười không sinh không diệt. Thế Tôn ngồi đó vững như núi Tu Di, bình an như hơi thở, chưa từng vắng mặt; tìm ra Thế Tôn cũng là tìm ra chính mình. Với nước mắt hạnh phúc, người con nguyện nuôi dưỡng và truyền trao chất liệu thảnh thơi, vững chãi cho hôm nay và ngày mai.

Lưu ý: mô tả này được tự động lấy từ các mô tả YouTube hiện có và các nguồn khác. Vui lòng ‘Đề xuất thay đổi’ nếu nó không chính xác.

Đi thiền hành là đi từng bước an lạc, thảnh thơi, có hạnh phúc trong từng bước chân và đi như trong cõi Tịnh Độ. Chúng ta không suy nghĩ về quá khứ, không dự tính về tương lai mà hoàn toàn an trú trong giây phút hiện tại. Ta Bà hay Tịnh Độ đều là những biểu hiện của tâm thức. Khi tâm có an lạc, nhẹ nhàng, thương yêu thì cõi này trở thành Tịnh Độ, ngược lại khi tâm chứa đựng lo lắng, giận dữ, tuyệt vọng thì cõi này trở thành địa ngục. Khi thở vào bước hai bước và xướng con đã về, khi thở ra bước hai bước và xướng con đã tới để dừng lại sự chạy nhảy và sống trọn vẹn trong hiện tại.

Buổi thực tập cổ Phật khất thực tái hiện lại phương pháp hành trì của Đức Thế Tôn và tăng đoàn ngày xưa. Người cư sĩ cúng dường trong sự im lặng, theo dõi hơi thở và duy trì chánh niệm. Cúng dường cho một vị xuất gia cũng chính là cúng dường cho toàn thể tăng đoàn, Bụt và Pháp. Khi thọ trai theo phương pháp nhất tọa thực, người thực tập không đứng dậy trong suốt bữa ăn và chỉ tập trung vào hai điều:

1. Thức ăn.
2. Tứ chúng đang ngồi ăn chung.
   Trước khi ăn, đại chúng cùng thực tập năm phép quán niệm để nhìn thấy công phu lao tác cùng các yếu tố đất, trời, mây, mưa trong thức ăn, giúp nuôi dưỡng cả thân lẫn tâm.

Tình thương giống như một bông hoa, nếu không biết cách chăm sóc thì hoa sẽ héo và tình thương có thể biến thành hận thù. Sự thiếu truyền thông giữa cha con, mẹ con hay vợ chồng gây ra rất nhiều tổn thương và khổ đau. Để tái lập truyền thông và phục hồi hạnh phúc, người thực tập cần làm dịu cảm xúc qua hơi thở chánh niệm, sử dụng ái ngữ và thực tập lắng nghe sâu. Việc chủ động nhận lỗi, lắng nghe những khó khăn của người thương mà không trách móc sẽ giúp mở cửa trái tim và đem lại sự hòa giải trong gia đình.

Cư sĩ Cấp Cô Độc (Sudatta Anathapindika) là một thương gia giàu có, hết lòng giúp đỡ người nghèo khổ, mồ côi, bệnh tật và cúng dường tu viện Kỳ Viên cho Đức Bụt cùng tăng đoàn. Gia đình ông có sáu người tất cả:

1. Ông Cấp Cô Độc
2. Bà Cấp Cô Độc
3. Subhada chị
4. Subhada em
5. Sumagada
6. Kāla

Nhờ sự khuyến khích của ông Cấp Cô Độc, người con trai Kāla đã đi nghe thuyết pháp và chứng quả Nhập lưu. Sự tiếp nối của một người không chỉ nằm ở con cái hay đệ tử, mà còn thể hiện qua từng tư duy, lời nói và hành động (thân, khẩu, ý). Mỗi hạt giống tư tưởng, ngôn ngữ và hành động đều đi về tương lai, tạo nên kiếp sau ngay trong giây phút hiện tại.

Khi ông Cấp Cô Độc bệnh nặng, thầy Xá Lợi Phất và thầy A Nan đã đến thăm và cùng ông thực tập bốn phép tùy niệm:

1. Niệm Bụt
2. Niệm Pháp
3. Niệm Tăng
4. Niệm Giới

Thầy Xá Lợi Phất tiếp tục hướng dẫn ông quán chiếu thân này không phải là tôi, quán chiếu bốn đại gồm đất, nước, lửa, gió, cùng giáo lý tương tức, không sanh, không diệt, không tới, không đi. Ông Cấp Cô Độc vô cùng cảm động và tha thiết yêu cầu trao truyền giáo lý sâu sắc này cho người cư sĩ tại gia trước khi qua đời an lạc. Việc tưới tẩm các hạt giống hạnh phúc và tâm linh giúp xoa dịu đau nhức, mang lại sự an lành cho người đang hấp hối.

Quê hương đích thực là sự sống trong giây phút hiện tại, nơi không có sự phân biệt, kỳ thị hay hận thù. Quê hương không bị giới hạn bởi vị trí địa lý, văn hóa hay chủng tộc, và không nằm ở quá khứ hay tương lai. Đứng về phương diện chủng tộc, một con người được làm bằng nhiều yếu tố khác nhau, bao gồm bốn yếu tố:

1. Indonesian
2. Melanesian
3. Mongolic
4. Negritos

Thái độ cố chấp vào giá trị văn hóa hay tư duy của riêng mình sẽ tạo thành ngục tù giam hãm và gây ra sự cô lập. Việc buông bỏ mặc cảm ưu thắng giúp mở rộng lòng ra học hỏi các nền văn hóa, cách hành xử và lề lối tư duy khác. Thực tập chánh niệm và an trú trong hiện tại giúp tiếp xúc với Tịnh Độ ngay bây giờ và ở đây, chấm dứt sự lo lắng, tìm cầu hay hối hận.

Sự thiền quán giúp nhận diện rằng mỗi người vừa là nạn nhân, vừa là người gây ra tổn thương; vừa là em bé nghèo, vừa là người chế tạo bom đạn; vừa là em bé nạn nhân, vừa là người hải tặc. Khi đạt tới trí vô phân biệt và nhìn tất cả bằng “Từ nhãn thị chúng sanh”, sự căm giận và trách móc sẽ biến mất, nhường chỗ cho năng lượng từ bi. Khi không còn kẻ thù hay tâm kỳ thị, tâm sẽ nhẹ nhàng như mây khói và đạt tới hạnh phúc đích thực.

Trịnh Công Sơn sinh năm Kỷ Mão, tiếp nhận từ thân phụ hạt giống của sự yêu nước và lòng dũng cảm để nói lên những cảm nghĩ trung thực qua các bài hát về tình người và sự vô lý của chiến tranh huynh đệ tương tàn. Thân mẫu là một Phật tử thuần thành đã trao cho ông hạt giống từ bi, nhân ái và sự thực tập giới thứ nhất về bảo vệ sinh mạng. Năm 15 tuổi, sau khi cha mất, ông quy y tại chùa Phổ Quang với pháp danh Nguyên Thọ, ở chùa học tụng kinh và tán với Hòa thượng Chánh Pháp và Hòa thượng Hiếu Quang, đưa âm hưởng kinh kệ vào trong máu huyết và nhạc phẩm của mình.

Âm nhạc của Trịnh Công Sơn chứa đựng tuệ giác hiện pháp lạc trú, sống tỉnh thức trong từng sát na của cuộc sống hàng ngày. Ông quý trọng tình bạn vì tình bạn có khả năng cứu chuộc, sự có mặt im lặng của bạn bè giống như một dấu lặng trong âm nhạc. Dù trải qua nỗi cô đơn và sự ám ảnh bởi cái chết do chưa thực tập thiền quán để tiếp xúc với tự tánh vô sanh bất diệt, ông đã để lại sự tiếp nối qua ba nghiệp:

1. Thân
2. Khẩu
3. Ý

Trịnh Công Sơn không từ hư vô tới và không trở về hư vô, tự tánh là không sinh không diệt như đám mây biến thành mưa hay dòng suối. Những thiện nghiệp thể hiện qua tư duy, lời ca và hành động ứng xử đầy tình thương của ông vẫn đang tiếp tục có mặt, tiếp nối sứ mạng chuyên chở thông điệp của thương yêu và hy vọng.