Thay reflects on his upcoming return to Vietnam after thirty-eight years of exile. He then shares the story of the baby Buddha, who, upon his birth, took seven mindful steps. Thay emphasizes that, although the Buddha lived over 2,600 years ago, he continues to live within each of us. Through the practice of mindfulness, we become the Buddha’s continuation, carrying his teachings and presence wherever we go.

This is the first talk in a series of fourteen given during The Feet of the Buddha, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2004. Thay offered this talk at the New Hamlet, Plum Village, France.

Thay speaks about the four layers of consciousness and how they interrelate. He notes that brain and body are two aspects of the same thing. Consciousness involves the brain but originates from deeper awareness. Store consciousness (Bhavaṅga) is continuously present and always storing seeds (bija) of information, whereas mind consciousness is often interrupted; for example, when we have dreamless sleep or when experiencing samadhi. When organ, object, and background consciousness come together, a mental formation results. There are fifty-one mental formations, of which touch is the first. Store consciousness operates independently, shaping decisions and preferences, and it’s influenced by the store consciousness of others and the collective consciousness. Surrounding oneself with compassionate communities positively impacts consciousness. We must practice not only with mind consciousness but with store consciousness. The concept of a separate self is deeply seated in store consciousness. Store consciousness operates without discrimination and is always neutral in terms of feeling. There’s no need for a thinker, a self to do the thinking. Thinking is enough. Mind consciousness is the screen on which the fifty-one mental formations are displayed.

This is the second talk in a series of fourteen given during The Feet of the Buddha, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2004. Thay offered this talk at the Lower Hamlet, Plum Village, France.

This talk details the reverence for all beings and mindfulness embodied by the Buddha, emphasizing effortless walking and the practice of non-practice from the sutra of 42 chapters. Walking meditation, honoring ancestors, and connecting deeply with the earth are highlighted as paths to joy, freedom, and healing. The Buddha nature within each person can guide through difficulties, cultivating love, compassion, and understanding. The lover consciousness, influenced by attachment and misconceptions, contrasts with direct access to reality. Understanding the five universals—mental formations, touch, attention, feelings, perceptions, and volition—is crucial. Surrounding ourselves with wise companions and practicing mindfulness nurtures positive seeds in consciousness. The wisdom of non-discrimination transforms love into true love, characterized by insight. The interconnectedness of touch, feeling, and attention influences consciousness, guiding mindful actions. Cultivating appropriate attention nourishes consciousness, fostering healing and peace. Recognizing perceptions shaped by past experiences and cultivating wisdom and compassion influences volition, guiding beneficial actions.

This talk details integrating Buddhist meditation practices into various fields without overt Buddhist terminology, emphasizing mindfulness and compassion. Concepts like store consciousness can be explained using subconscious and unconscious terms. The essence of Buddhism transcends labels, encouraging compassion and understanding. Happiness stems from clarity on one’s path, practicing mindfulness, and embodying compassion. The Noble Eightfold Path and Four Noble Truths are crucial teachings, adaptable to contemporary language. Engaged Buddhism integrates these principles into daily life, fostering renewal and transformation within traditions. Recognizing shared suffering aids healing, and mindful eating nurtures compassion. Taking refuge in a supportive sangha nurtures growth and belonging.

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Thay shares how we can transform our suffering and heal ourselves so that we can build Sangha in our personal relationships, our family, our workplace and the community. We do this by cultivating mindfulness, understanding, compassion, friendship and harmony.

Thay describes store consciousness, the base of all the other seven consciousnesses. Store consciousness stores all experiences in the form of bījas or seeds. Our transformation happens when, with the help of mind consciousness, we go back to our store consciousness and take care of these seeds. Thay outlines the five characteristics of bījas.

Thay expands upon Henri Bergson’s image of consciousness having a “cinematographic” nature: forever changing, being born and dying in every moment, never the same thing in two consecutive moments. The nature of reality is constructed by our minds; it is like a dream, an illusion; not a “thing” but a “process.”

Practicing meditation and mindfulness helps release our suffering as we bring our awareness to the true nature of reality.

This is the fourth talk in a series of fourteen given during The Feet of the Buddha, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2004. Thay offered this talk at the Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, France.

Thay begins by recounting a dream in which he enrolls in a music class and comes face-to-face with his double.. Thay connects this dream to the ancient story of the Tripitaka Master Xuanzang’s quest for Buddhist scriptures, where Master Xuanzang and three students embark on a symbolic boat journey, encountering transformation and shedding their fears. Thay delves deeply into teachings on consciousness, including store consciousness (sarvabījaka) and the seven evolving consciousnesses, such as the sixth, mano-vijnana and the seventh, manas. Thay explores how the interconnected cycle of karma shapes our destiny through our actions, illustrating the different levels of consciousness: store consciousness, mentation, and mind consciousness. Returning to the subject of dreams, Thay highlights how the first five evolving consciousnesses can bypass mind consciousness and go directly to store consciousness.

This is the first talk in a series of fourteen given during The Feet of the Buddha, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2004. Thay offered this talk at the New Hamlet, Plum Village, France.

Thay shares about scientific developments in relation to understanding consciousness and the importance of watering wholesome seeds in our store consciousness through the practice of mindfulness, proper/positive attention and supportive environments.

This is the sixth talk in a series of fourteen given during The Feet of the Buddha, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2004. Thay offered this talk at New Hamlet, Plum Village, France.

Thay highlights our interconnectedness, showing us how we can look upon ourselves and our environment in terms of an individual and collective manifestation. Explaining key functions of store consciousness, through the concepts of appropriation/preservation of information (upādhi) and our affiliation to place/environment (sthāna), Thay shows how most of our actions (karma) are governed by the unconscious but, that with practice, we can shed light on this process.

This is the seventh talk in a series of fourteen given during The Feet of the Buddha, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2004. Thay offered this talk at the Lower Hamlet, Plum Village, France.

This talk details the practice of mindful breathing with the bell in Plum Village, emphasizing the bell as a reminder to pause, breathe, and be present. The bell master invites the bell guided by intention, influenced by subtle brain activities. Mindfulness during meals and walking meditation reflects implicit learning and spontaneous movements. Consciousness shapes perception, influenced by realms of existence and karma. Visualization connects deeply with qualities like compassion, aiding meditation. Visualization transcends duality, connecting deeply with Buddha. Artists innovate using imagination, shaped by consciousness. Conviction, intention, mindfulness, concentration, and insight are interconnected. Direct perception and reasoning help understand reality, trained through mindfulness and meditation. Practicing mindfulness liberates from suffering, inviting peace and joy.

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Thay speaks about the nature of interdependence, the importance of training the mind to recognize the true nature of reality, the importance of the transformation bodies, sameness and otherness and the process of cognition by store consciousness.

This was the ninth talk in a series of fourteen given during The Feet of the Buddha, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2004. Thay offered this talk at the Dharma Cloud Temple, Upper Hamlet, in Plum Village, France.

Independent or Mind Consciousness

Thay explains the various ways that independent or mind consciousness functions. He discusses how dispersion leads to unwholesome actions and thoughts while concentration results in right mindfulness and the uniting of the mind with the other sense consciousnesses. Thay then describes the system of Buddhistic logic named hetu vidya, showing how syllogism uses induction to explore propositions. Thay ends the talk by saying he’ll soon be able to return home to Vietnam after thirty-nine years of exile and invites practitioners to accompany him.

This is the tenth talk in a series of fourteen given during The Feet of the Buddha, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2004. Thay offered this talk at the New Hamlet, Plum Village, France.

The Freedom to Make One Happy, Peaceful Step

Thay reminds us that in order to succeed in the practice, we need to be able to take one happy and peaceful step, he then discusses various mindfulness practices that can help us recognize when we are not doing so. Thay then expands on the previous day’s discussion of hetu vidyā with explanations of analogy and contrast. He also discusses how habit energies form and how they are the foundation of suffering. Thay ends with an explanation of the Kalaka Sutta and the limits that scientists have when exploring whether the mind and the brain are separate entities.

This is the eleventh talk in a series of fourteen talks given during The Feet of the Buddha, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2004. Thay offered this talk at the New Hamlet, Plum Village, France.

This talk details the Four Reflective Inquiries, focusing on nama paryesana, which examines how names evoke thoughts and emotions, recognizing the fluid nature of existence and the deceptive stability of names. It emphasizes transcending labels, recognizing interconnectedness, and understanding continuous transformation akin to clouds and streams. Reflecting on karma, interconnectedness, and Buddhist teachings on impermanence and no-self, it challenges conventional notions of birth, death, and permanence. Through meditation and letting go of dualistic thinking, one can perceive reality clearly, embracing non-duality, interconnected emotions, and collective happiness, promoting unity and fostering global peace.

This talk details the continuation of the retreat on “The Feet of the Buddha,” focusing on the “four reflective inquiries”: understanding names, grasping reality, contemplating entities beyond distinctions, and uncovering essence through reflection. Entities rely on interconnectedness, like reeds in a bunch, and conventional labels like Buddha or Bin Laden are composed of non-self elements. Understanding interconnectedness prevents anger and reveals the essence of entities. Buddha emphasized the conventional nature of labels and the interconnectedness of all things, leading to insight and freedom from attachment. Practice involves recognizing impermanence, shaping our existence through mindful actions, and transcending dualities like individuality and collectivity. Understanding vipaka, karma, and interconnectedness shapes our destiny, emphasizing continuous transformation and interconnected existence.

Response provided by Thich Nhat Hanh to a written question on June 20, 2004 at Plum Village during the 21-Day Retreat with the theme of The Feet of the Buddha.

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This talk details reflecting on the Buddha’s footsteps and teachings, focusing on mindfulness and compassion. Siddhartha declined King Bimbisara’s kingdom to pursue enlightenment, forming a Sangha of over 1,000 monks. Walking meditation, practiced by Buddha, connects us to wisdom and the Pure Land. Happiness stems from compassion and understanding suffering. The Pure Land resides within us, achievable through mindfulness. Homo sapiens evolved upright, embodying Buddha nature inherent in all humans. Cultivating mindfulness, compassion, and practicing generosity, like the six paramitas, transforms suffering into well-being. Embracing mindfulness training offers protection and happiness, expanding our hearts to alleviate suffering. Diligence involves nurturing wholesome seeds and transforming negative thoughts, focusing on positive consciousness.