Today is the day of the Invitation Ceremony marking the end of the Winter Retreat. The Invitation Ceremony is conducted according to the tradition of mendicant monks, with the following main steps:

1. The procedure of karmavachana is performed to confirm that the Invitation Day is in accordance with the Dharma, keeping silence for several tens of seconds to inquire if anyone has objections or doubts.
2. Sending a representative of the bhikshuni sangha to request guidance; the representative of the bhikshuni sangha kneels down to ask for support and to receive care from the Sangha.
3. Nominating those who will receive the invitation through karmavachana (usually three people; if the assembly is larger, then six or nine are chosen). These individuals must possess five qualities:
   • not loving (with attachment)
   • not hating
   • not timid (courageous to speak directly)
   • the ability to contemplate deeply
   • knowing how to point out offenses according to the true Dharma and using loving speech
4. The most senior member (the elder) receives the invitation first, followed by the three (or six, or nine) invitees who perform the ceremony for each other, then the whole Sangha kneels down to perform the invitation three times, making vows to repent and to practice in order to transform.

Alongside the Invitation Ceremony, Plum Village has developed many practices throughout the year to nourish true happiness and instant awakening:

• Practicing mindful massage every day (head, shoulders, back, arms, legs) to circulate the blood, increase vitality, and reduce the need for medication.
• Writing about suffering and happiness, sharing in the collection commemorating 15 years of Plum Village (for example, “I find great happiness in not having any money”).
• Simple practices of instant awakening in daily activities:
  • When angry with each other in the ultimate dimension: close your eyes, breathe, contemplate “in 300 years, where will you be and where will I be?”
  • Sitting meditation in the ultimate dimension: “every moment is enlightenment, every tree is a Bodhi tree, every seat is the Jeweled Seat.”
  • Eating in the historical dimension: “miraculously, we nourish each other” (eating for our ancestors, for the future).
  • Dharma discussion in the ultimate dimension: “I look at you and smile, you are truly myself.”
  • Going out, walking meditation: “my hand holding your hand” as if walking with the Buddha.

These practices help the Eight Respectful Observances become gentle and lovely, nourishing peace and instantaneous insight in every moment of monastic life.

A flower vase offered on the Buddha’s altar contains both flowers and “garbage”—this is a metaphor for the capacity to transform: what we consider to be garbage, if we know the way, can be transformed into flowers. Some concrete examples of the time it takes for physical garbage to decompose and transform:

• dry leaves, banana peels… need only a few months to become soil and nourish flowers
• disposable diapers require at least 200 years to decompose enough to become soil
• nuclear waste takes tens of thousands of years to become harmless “flowers”—each nuclear reactor produces about 3 cubic meters of toxic waste per year

In daily life, whenever we shop or use something, we need mindfulness to recognize garbage and limit the creation of waste that is difficult to transform (such as plastic bags), while also managing and transforming psychological garbage—fear, sorrow, anxiety—so as not to let afflictions “pollute” the environment around us. At Plum Village, people use bamboo baskets and cloth bags instead of plastic bags, and practice the Five Mindfulness Trainings so as not to worship absolute doctrines and to reduce the “poisonous garbage” from the mistakes and fanaticism of the last century.

To step into the 21st century with love and understanding, we need to together “bury” the garbage of the 20th century—war, extremism, hatred, cowardice—in a “century’s grave,” so that the garbage may decompose and become fertilizer for the flowers of love to bloom on the soft meadows of the future, as illustrated in the song “Century’s Grave” by Pham Duy.

Letting go is not a rejection of everything, but rather letting go of wrong perceptions about the five sensual desires—wealth, sex, fame, food—when our insight into the value and the impermanent, non-self nature of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and objects of mind is solid enough. It is our wrong perceptions that drive us to chase after craving; only when we clearly understand the innocent yet impermanent nature of these objects can we enjoy them freely without being caught. The practice of Dwelling Happily in the Present Moment encourages us to use form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and objects of mind as doors to enter the ultimate dimension, called the ultimate reality or nirvana, instead of abandoning them.

In the Hindu tradition—which corresponds to the historical and philosophical context of Buddhism—the spiritual path is divided into four major stages, guiding us from chasing desires to renunciation:

• Stage 1: the five sensual desires (wealth, sex, fame, food)
• Stage 2: personal career, letting go of some desires to achieve success
• Stage 3: service, merging the individual self into a greater self
• Stage 4: renunciation, letting go of everything to seek the eternal

The teachings on Brahman also show two approaches:

• Saguna Brahman, through the three qualities of Sat-Cit-Ananda (being, consciousness, bliss)
• Nirguna Brahman, emphasizing the ultimate reality that cannot be described in words

At Plum Village, the insight of impermanence, non-self, and interbeing is combined with two main paths of practice:

• Jnana Yoga (the path of wisdom, direct contemplation)
• Bhakti Yoga (the path of devotion, intimacy in action)

All daily activities—from cooking, cleaning, to walking meditation—are practices of letting go and service, nourishing happiness and at the same time opening the door to the ultimate dimension through insight.

The method of mindful breathing restores our sovereignty by returning to the breath in mindfulness, preventing forgetfulness from pulling us into the past or the future. At first, it may be enough to simply have “pure breath,” paying attention to each in-breath and out-breath to stabilize body and mind. Once we are steady, the breath will embrace whatever is happening in the present moment (the sound of the bell, the color of the sky, the song of the birds…), helping us to recognize and sustain our presence for longer, while also supporting the practice of insight meditation (vipassanā) in order to look deeply, understand thoroughly, and avoid wrong speech or actions that cause suffering.

At Plum Village, meditation is not limited to sitting or holding the breath, but extends to mindful work (karma yoga) and walking meditation. All daily activities—cooking, washing dishes, carrying water, chopping wood—are practiced in mindfulness, transforming work into practice. The Lotus Bud Meditation Gatha Collection gathers verses that guide us from simple to profound practice, among which the following four basic gathas are practiced continuously, anytime and anywhere:

• in, out, deep, slow
• I have arrived, I am home
• going back, taking refuge
• this is the Pure Land

Each practitioner is encouraged to try the entire collection of meditation gathas to find the practice that suits them, and at the same time has the responsibility to share the techniques of breathing, walking, sitting, and mindful work with newcomers in their very first hour. Continuous practice with the breath and meditation gathas not only brings peace and happiness to oneself, but also contributes to healing the heart and the land around us.

Four conditions for mindfulness to arise and be nourished

1. seed condition (nhân duyên): the potential, the habit energy of mindfulness is already present in us but has not manifested until it meets the right conditions;
2. object condition (sở duyên): the object of mindfulness, for example, anger, love, the breath;
3. supportive condition (tăng thượng duyên): favorable or unfavorable conditions that help mindfulness to develop (rain and sunshine for the rice seed; health or sickness for the practitioner);
4. non-discontinuation condition (thứ đệ duyên): maintaining the continuous stream of mindfulness, without interruption, so that mindfulness of breathing becomes an unbroken stream of mindfulness.

The method of bare recognition in the Anapanasati Sutra

• breathing in, I know I am breathing in – breathing out, I know I am breathing out
• wait for a few breaths so that the breath naturally becomes deeper, slower
• when the breath has quality, use the energy of mindfulness to calm the body formation (embracing the shoulders, eyes, facial muscles…) and calm the mental formation (embracing anger, worry, sadness) with an attitude of neither suppression nor chasing away

Practicing noble silence to transform the habit energies of outbursts

• during a predetermined period, do not speak, but write down the sentences you wish to say, with the date and time clearly
• afterwards, read them again and contemplate to see the harm of hasty words
• two sentences are allowed to be spoken during three months:
  • Sister, is there anything you can do to help me?
  • Sister, when you do that, do you think it is alright for me?

Mindfulness is true presence in the present moment, and mindful breathing is the core method to nourish lasting mindfulness. This method was taught by the Buddha in the Anapanasati Sutra (Mindfulness of Breathing), recorded fully in the Pali Canon and with equivalents found in the Chinese Āgama. For nearly 2,600 years, both the Southern (Nikāya) and Northern (Āgama) traditions have preserved the teachings on mindfulness of breathing, demonstrating the indestructibility and timeless value of this Dharma door.

Practicing conscious breathing helps us “dwell at home” with the five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness), caring for body and mind as a king cares for the affairs of state. When there is mindfulness through the breath, we do not allow suffering, anger, or anxiety to arise chaotically, but instead welcome, recognize, and embrace them as a mother soothes her child. From the moment of waiting to hear the bell, sitting down to eat, walking meditation, to sitting meditation, simply breathing in—breathing out with awareness of the breath, body and mind become one, awakening inner security and happiness.

The process of practicing mindfulness of breathing

• Recognize the in-breath and out-breath (object of mindfulness – subject of mindfulness) without judging, simply being aware of the quality of the breath (short/long, coarse/subtle, noisy/quiet)
• Allow mindfulness to arise and continue naturally (successive conditions) on the foundation of the seed of mindfulness already present (primary condition), with the support of the sangha, the sound of the bell, and the practice environment (supporting conditions)
• Maintain continuous, simple recognition so that body and mind are in harmony, “dwelling at home” to care for the five aggregates, to transform suffering and nurture happiness that transcends time

On January 12, 1997, at Upper Hamlet, after two days of Western New Year, it was determined that the Ceremony of Vietnamese Chanting for the Year 2000 and Peaceful Steps must be completed in English before the end of 1997. We learned about the three prostrations (and the five prostrations at Plum Village). Prostrating is not to beg or to ask for something, but an act of returning to the ontological ground, like a wave remembering it is water. Each breath, each sound of the bell, each peaceful step… is an opportunity to return. When we prostrate with our five limbs touching the earth, we let go of the self (the nail that contains sorrow, anger, jealousy), embracing the stream of shared life with our parents, ancestors, brothers and sisters… so that the mind opens up according to three steps:

1. First prostration: a straight line from above to below—embracing “father, mother, ancestors, brothers and sisters” right in the act of touching the earth with five limbs.
2. Second prostration: a horizontal line from left to right—identifying with “Bodhisattvas, suffering beings,” starting from a concrete person and then expanding to the ten directions (four cardinal directions + above, below + four corners = ten directions).
3. Third prostration: a circular line—expanding infinitely, transcending time and space, becoming the endless ten directions, crystallizing the Four Immeasurable Minds (loving-kindness, compassion, joy, equanimity).

After that, an excerpt from M. 99 (The Water Simile Sutra, Middle Length Discourses 25; Pali Aṅguttara 3.186) was shared, in which Venerable Śāriputra teaches five methods to transform anger:

• Method 1: The action is unlovely but the speech is lovely—pay attention to the speech.
• Method 2: The speech is unlovely but the action is lovely—pay attention to the action.
• Method 3: Both body and speech are unlovely, but the mind still has some goodness—kneel down and drink the water that remains in the buffalo’s footprint.
• Method 4: Body, speech, and mind are all unlovely—give rise to compassion, and lead the destitute person to the healing village.
• Method 5: Body, speech, and mind are all lovely, but there is jealousy—like a cool lotus pond, joyfully enjoy and let go of anger.

The long road, you walk as if leisurely, thanks to recognizing the conditions of happiness right in the present moment and letting go of the burdens of sorrow, anger, hatred, and longing, so that each step of walking meditation becomes a joy. All phenomena of nature—the sun like a bright red heart, the cool green fields, the wind, the singing birds—can all give a Dharma talk if we stop, relax, and make contact with the happiness in the present moment.

Practice the three prostrations of meditation to open the door of liberation and peace:

1. The first prostration—subject, object, and the nature of emptiness: letting go of the notion of a separate self by contemplating our blood and spiritual ancestors as well as our descendants, dissolving the attachment to self.
2. The second prostration—touching non-self through space: bowing down to become one with the Great Bodhisattvas who have never turned back and are present here and now, and with all the suffering of living beings (pirates, boat people, animals…), giving rise to compassion.
3. The third prostration—releasing the notion of body and lifespan: letting go of the idea of form and limited life, realizing our true nature of no birth and no death, becoming immortal.

The second remote Dharma talk was given on January 28, 1996, from Plum Village to Cam Lo Meditation Hall in Australia, with about 100 listeners at Cam Lo and the Sen Bup Sangha. The content of the Dharma talk focused on “Living Joyfully in the World” (Cư Trần Lạc Đạo) by the Great Master Truc Lam, after introducing the Winter Retreat with the Zen Masters of the Tran dynasty:

1. Tran Thai Tong
2. Thuong Chieu
3. Tue Trung Thuong Si
4. Tran Nhan Tong (Great Master Truc Lam)

Thay reminded, for the 1,250th time, that love must be made of understanding: only when we have experienced suffering can our love not bring harm; true love is also the capacity to generate the energy of loving kindness for others. If we rush to serve without practicing with the sangha, we will easily suffer and fail.

Before studying the third section of Living Joyfully in the World, Thay offered these reminders:

• “Maintain your clarity, do not lose yourself in wrong paths” – that is, to contemplate in order to understand clearly and not be swept away by wrong views.
• “Transform yourself and study in the true lineage” – to practice mindfulness, precepts, concentration, and insight as taught by the Buddha.
• “Harmony in views, harmony in speech without contention” – to share a common understanding, to use loving speech so as not to hurt one another, the foundation for harmony and happiness within the sangha itself.

Mindfulness is a kind of energy that helps us to be clearly aware of what is happening within us and around us; it is the key to meditation practice and daily training. That energy is also called the energy of mindfulness, one of the Five Powers, which are

• faith
• diligence
• mindfulness
• concentration
• insight
  arising from simple recognition—being aware of the presence of each action without judging, praising, blaming, or rejecting. When we brush our teeth, walk, or eat, we only need to know that we are doing that action, smile, and stop in the present moment; the energy of mindfulness will naturally adjust everything, bringing relaxation, solidity, and peace.

Bodhicitta is both the mind of understanding and the mind of love; every ordinary action—chewing a mouthful of rice, sweeping the yard, answering the phone, or sitting meditation—becomes a gesture of love that nourishes not only ourselves but also our parents, ancestors, and descendants. Maintaining the practice of mindfulness twenty-four hours a day—from sitting meditation, walking meditation, eating, to precept ceremonies and mindful manners—is a way to nourish the energy of the Bodhi mind, to transform habit energies of haste, to restore freedom, and to bring happiness and peace to ourselves and to everyone.

Tue Trung Thuong Si’s real name was Tran Quoc Tung, the elder brother of General Tran Quoc Tuan, not Tran Quoc Tang as has been mistakenly believed for nearly 500 years due to the records in Hoang Viet Thi Tuyen (Le dynasty). In 1971, while in Paris, I discovered this error when researching the Thuong Tue Trung Thuong Si Ngu Luc, Tam To Thuc Luc, and Dai Nam Thien Uyen Truyen Dang Tap Luc in the temple, and then announced it at the Sorbonne in 1972 and in Saigon in 1973. The Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu, compiled by Ngo Si Lien, was influenced by Confucian bias and omitted many Buddhist details, so it is necessary to compare with temple records to accurately restore historical facts.

The core teaching of Tue Trung Thuong Si is to dissolve all dualistic views—dividing ordinary and sage, delusion and enlightenment, birth and death and nirvana—by contemplating the nature of non-signs, sunyata (emptiness), and non-craving. The three doors of liberation (the three gates of liberation) are presented as follows:

1. Signlessness: to touch the signless nature of the body and all things, to look without being caught by appearances.
2. Emptiness (sunyata): to realize there is no separate self-nature, all dharmas manifest together in interbeing in the present moment.
3. Aimlessness (apranihita): not grasping, not rejecting, dwelling peacefully in the present moment, happiness arises naturally.

Applying this method, just by letting go of dualistic eyes, the pure and inclusive dharma realm will reveal itself, bringing immediate peace and liberation.

Happiness in the Present Moment means living happily in the present moment with what is happening, instead of dreaming of happiness in the future. Suffering is not an obstacle but a necessary ingredient to experience happiness: if we do not know hunger, we cannot know fullness; without sickness or confinement, we cannot appreciate the joy of freedom. It is precisely the experience of suffering, impermanence, and non-self that gives rise to peace, relaxation, and liberation right in the present moment.

To practice dwelling happily in the present moment, first we need to

• maintain mindfulness in walking, standing, sitting, and lying down so that stability and relaxation radiate from us
• have deep awareness of impermanence and non-self as essential conditions of life
• see ourselves as a part of the Sangha, so that each step, each breath nourishes peace and happiness for ourselves and those around us.

Each practitioner must approach at least six people to offer them guidance with all their heart; these can be teachers, friends, or even someone not present at the retreat. After choosing a trustworthy person, write a personal letter expressing your wish to receive guidance, and ask them to nominate five more people. When you receive the letter of guidance, touch the earth three times before reading it, and receive the advice with a heart of gratitude. The community has fifteen days to practice this ancient tradition of self-examination.

Zen Master Thuong Chieu—belonging to the Vo Ngon Thong lineage but who also served as abbot of Luc To Temple (associated with the Ty Ni Da Luu Chi lineage)—made an important contribution to the history of Vietnamese Buddhism by collecting and transmitting materials that led to the compilation of the book “Thien Uyen Tap Anh.” He emphasized the study of mind: if, in practice, you understand clearly the workings of the mind (simple recognition), you will expend little effort and achieve great success; otherwise, you will become needlessly weary.

The steps of practice according to Thuong Chieu:

1. Simply recognize all psychological phenomena (joy, sorrow, anger, fear…) as they arise, just knowing “I am angry” or “I am sad” without judgment or suppression.
2. Use the energy of mindfulness to embrace and look deeply into the mental formation, as a mother holds her child, gradually transforming the roots of suffering.
3. Maintain mindfulness (of the breath, of the steps, of the Buddha) to invite wholesome mental formations to manifest and nourish them to grow strong, while preventing negative seeds from arising.

The Zen master concluded that the Way cannot be attained—seeking outside only leads to distraction—because the Dharma body (the mind as the Tathagata-garbha) shines throughout the ten directions right in the present moment.

The Manual of Meditation is a collection of meditation instructions that should be used daily, like a musical instrument in the hands of a musician. “The Lotus Bud Opens Gently,” with about 40 exercises combining in-breath and out-breath with a smile, allows the practitioner to select suitable verses and practice from 10–20 seconds to several weeks. For example, the “mountain solid” exercise: breathing in, visualize yourself as a mountain peak; breathing out, feel your solidity. The nourishing exercise includes the following gatha:

• Breathing in, I know I am breathing in
• Breathing out, I know I am breathing out
• In-breath becomes deep
• Out-breath becomes slow
• Breathing in, I feel healthy
• Breathing out, I feel light
• Breathing in, my mind is calm
• Breathing out, I smile
• Dwelling in the present moment
• This moment is a wonderful moment

Meditation is also food for body and mind (the joy of meditation as nourishment) and has a healing effect: when restless or sorrowful, the practitioner embraces that emotion with mindfulness — breathing in, knowing “I am restless/sorrowful,” breathing out, “I smile to my restlessness/sorrow” — to soothe and to transform.

The method of contemplating the four elements (earth, water, air, fire), the fifth element (space), and consciousness, then expanding to inside–outside, helps recognize interdependent co-arising, dissolving the separate self. Walking meditation and the three daily prostrations are also opportunities to break through the notions of birth and death, returning to the “homeland” of mindfulness in each breath.

The practitioner needs to have “The Lotus Bud Opens Gently” in hand to recognize the need for meditation practice, choose suitable exercises to encourage the intention to practice, strengthen mindfulness, concentration, and insight, ultimately leading to the transformation of suffering and liberation from birth and death.

Today at Upper Hamlet during the winter retreat, Tran Thai Tong – born in 1218, passed away in 1277 (at the age of 60) – is introduced as one of the important roots of the Truc Lam Zen lineage. Although he did not ordain from the beginning, the king abdicated the throne to his son, Tran Thanh Tong, at the age of 20 in order to devote himself to meditation practice. From the age of 20, alongside his political responsibilities, Tran Thai Tong diligently practiced and studied Buddhism, becoming a model for politicians: governing the people while also practicing and guiding meditation for many princes.

After once escaping to Yen Tu Mountain to seek ordination, the king was taught by the Great Master of Truc Lam that having become king, one must “take the will of the people as one’s own will,” but can still practice without interruption. From then on, Tran Thai Tong maintained a strict daily schedule of study and practice, recording and composing many Buddhist works, among which, at the age of 31, he published the “Zen Guide” – a guide to meditation, about which the Zen master remarked, “the heart of all Buddhas lies in this book.”

The daily practice initiated by the king is clearly expressed through the ritual of “Six Times Repentance Ceremony” – every four hours, six times a day, each session about 15 minutes, repenting for mistakes arising from the six sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind). The king also advocated combining eating slowly and chewing thoroughly with meditation phrases and gathas to enhance mindfulness, including the secret:

• chew 50 times for each bite of food
• breathing in – “I have arrived” / breathing out – “I am home”
• mindful smiling, dwelling happily in the present moment
  This teaching has been handed down to this day, becoming the foundation of meditation practice and the Truc Lam Sangha.

Dear community,

TTSĐCTTĐB stands for “The Living Tradition of Buddhist Meditation Practice,” a Dharma talk series given by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh between 1994-1997. Through this series, Thay guides us on a historical journey of Buddhist meditation practice from India to Vietnam and China. We discover that Buddhism was transmitted from India to Vietnam hundreds of years before it reached China, and then continued to China, contrary to the common belief that it came from China to Vietnam. We also learn about distinguished and profound Vietnamese Zen masters who are rarely mentioned. This is a long and fascinating journey.

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

Meditation practice, first of all, is to stop our wandering in order to return to our spiritual homeland, where our roots, ancestors, parents, and happiness reside. Each stable step, each mindful breath, is a practice that brings us back to the here and now—the point of contact with peace and our true mind.

The story of Mr. Seguin’s goat and the tale of the millet porridge dream show that just a little delusion, a misstep, or a small incident can pull us away from our homeland; once we have wandered, if we meet the wolf (suffering, danger), the call to return may already be too late. Meditation practice is to recognize our habitual energies, to let go of fear and worries about the past and future, to awaken the one true aspiration—to return to our ancestors, to our true home.

Practice at Plum Village emphasizes meditation in every activity, especially walking meditation—walking while stopping, stopping while walking—coordinating breath and steps with the phrase “I have arrived, I am home”; this is simply a means to:

1. eat in silence
2. practice walking meditation
3. engage in mindful work
4. sit in meditation
   in order to end our wandering at any moment during seven days, ten days, or three months of practice, to be solid, free, and to touch nirvana directly in each moment of the present.

The pure fragrance of the night, the trees and grasses do not distinguish between time and birth-and-death; each morning is always new, never repeating itself if we are fully present. The morning is not a page in a book or a path we can return to, but a melody that arises as we breathe, look at the color of the sky, smile, and let our awareness flow like sunlight caressing the branches and leaves. The new leaf bud is not measured by months and years, but is a sprout of mindful insight arising in each moment.

A flower does not bloom for anyone in particular, but for itself and for the whole cosmos; to recognize this, we need mindfulness. Each phenomenon—the rising sun, a child, a young leaf—is a “flower” of life. When a flower withers, it is because it lacks connection with the source of life; this is called alienation. The feeling of loneliness is the illusion of a separate self; the practice of the Three Prostrations helps us:

• The first prostration connects us with our spiritual and blood ancestors, accepting both their strengths and weaknesses as well as our own.
• The second prostration expands our relationship horizontally with all species, all beings in the present moment, seeing ourselves as elder brother, elder sister, child, oppressor, victim… all are ourselves.
• The third prostration releases the notion that this body is “me” and that birth and death are limited to fifty or seventy years, realizing that nothing is born, nothing dies—life is the ultimate dimension, boundless, touching nirvana with body and mind in harmony.

Dear community,

TTSĐCTTĐB stands for “The Living Tradition of Buddhist Meditation,” a series of Dharma talks given by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh from 1994 to 1997. Through this series, the teacher guides us on a historical journey of Buddhist meditation from India to Vietnam and China. We will discover that Buddhism was transmitted from India into Vietnam hundreds of years before it reached China, and then continued on to China, rather than coming from China to Vietnam as we often think. We will also come to know the outstanding and profound Vietnamese Zen masters who are rarely mentioned. This is a long and fascinating journey.

Dear community,

TTSĐCTTĐB stands for “The Living Tradition of Buddhist Meditation,” a Dharma talk series delivered by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh between 1994 and 1997. Through this series, the Zen Master guides us on a historical journey of Buddhist meditation practice from India to Vietnam and China. We will discover that Buddhism was transmitted from India to Vietnam hundreds of years before it reached China, and then continued to China, contrary to the common belief that it came to Vietnam from China. We will also learn about outstanding and profound Vietnamese Zen masters who are rarely mentioned. This is a long and fascinating journey.

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

The practice of being present is the essence of both walking meditation and sitting meditation, helping each step and each breath become freedom and ease, not only for ourselves but also for our ancestors, our family, those we love, and even those we have not yet been able to love. This freedom is the foundation of happiness, and each peaceful step or mindful breath is a victory, a glory. During 40–50 minutes of walking meditation or in a sitting meditation session, we sharpen our inner freedom, build mindfulness and concentration, so that each moment of dwelling in the present becomes the most vibrant moment.

While sitting and walking meditation, we use some of the sixteen methods of mindful breathing, combined with the gathas practiced at Plum Village, for example:

• Breathing in, I know I am breathing in – Breathing out, I know I am breathing out
• Breathing in, I feel healthy – Breathing out, I feel light
• Breathing in, my mind is calm – Breathing out, I smile
• Dwelling in the present moment, it is a wonderful moment
  When practicing, you may choose a single gatha to repeat until it becomes natural, use a meditation sheet as you would a musical score, or bring a small cup of tea for tea meditation, helping to orchestrate the music of presence and support the Sangha around you.

Unilateral disarmament is a Dharma door for beginning anew, to transform hatred and anger with anyone, even if they are very far away, through deep looking with mindfulness. To practice reconciliation, you do not need to meet face to face; you only need to dwell in the here and now, look deeply into the roots of suffering, let go of delusion, and you have already forgiven, already disarmed yourself, and sent the energy of compassion to the other person.

The historical premise marks two Zen masters of the Vinitaruci school:

1. Phap Thuan (died in 991), a scholar skilled in technology and literature, assistant to King Le Dai Hanh, who served the Song dynasty envoy and composed the Bodhisattva Repentance Text.
2. Van Hanh (ordained at 21, passed away in 1018), advisor to Le Dai Hanh, who advocated for Ly Cong Uan to ascend the throne, drew the plans for the citadel of Thang Long, contributed to 215 years of peace for Dai Viet, and was praised by King Ly Nhan Tong in the poem “Van Hanh embraces the three times, truly fulfills the ancient prophecies…”

Dear community,

TTSĐCTTĐB stands for “The Living Tradition of Buddhist Meditation Practice,” a series of Dharma talks given by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh between 1994 and 1997. Through this series, Thay guides us on a historical journey of Buddhist meditation practice from India to Vietnam and China. We discover that Buddhism was transmitted from India into Vietnam hundreds of years before it reached China, and then continued on to China, rather than coming from China to Vietnam as we often think. We also learn about distinguished and profound Vietnamese Zen masters who are rarely mentioned. This is a long and fascinating journey.

Dear community,

TTSĐCTTĐB stands for “The Living Tradition of Buddhist Meditation,” a series of Dharma talks given by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh between 1994 and 1997. Through this series, the master guides us on a historical journey of Buddhist meditation from India to Vietnam and China. We will discover that Buddhism was transmitted from India to Vietnam hundreds of years before it reached China, and then continued to China, not the other way around as commonly thought. We will also learn about distinguished and profound Vietnamese Zen masters who are rarely mentioned. This is a long and fascinating journey.

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

Dear community! TTSĐCTTĐB stands for “The Living Tradition of Buddhist Meditation Practice,” a Dharma talk series given by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh from 1994 to 1997. Through this series, the teacher guides us on a historical journey of Buddhist meditation practice from India to Vietnam and China. We will discover that Buddhism was transmitted from India to Vietnam hundreds of years before it reached China, and then continued to China, not necessarily from China to Vietnam as commonly thought. We will also learn about outstanding and profound Vietnamese Zen masters who are rarely mentioned. This is a long and fascinating journey.

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

The four breathing exercises in the section on mindfulness of objects of mind are divided into four groups, each group consisting of four breaths to address and take care of each aspect of the human being.

• Group 1 (body): coming back to the body, taking care of the body, becoming familiar with the body, contemplating the body
• Group 2 (feelings): coming back to the feelings, taking care of the feelings, contemplating the feelings, transforming the feelings
• Group 3 (mental formations): recognizing mental formations, watering and developing wholesome mental formations, contemplating and transforming unwholesome mental formations (unwholesome here means disadvantageous to the practice) – in total, there are 50 or 51 mental formations to take care of; if the last four breaths are assigned to the mental formation perception (tưởng), then there remain 49 mental formations
• Group 4 (objects of mind): contemplating objects of mind such as perception, meditating on the relationship between the breath and the objects of mind that are operating

Mindfulness of body–feelings–mind is likened to taking care of a territory, a garden where you are the king or president:
– taking care of the body, uniting with the body to generate joy and ease;
– taking care of feelings such as your own suffering and pain;
– tending and protecting the 49 or 51 mental formations, uncovering and watering wholesome mental formations such as

* faith  
* shame  
* modesty  
* non-greed  
* non-hatred  
* non-delusion  
* diligence  
* lightness  
* non-carelessness  
* equanimity  
* non-harming;  

– guarding against toxins from books, newspapers, television, alcohol, nightclubs by the capacity to “protect the six senses,” allowing or refusing what enters body and mind.

Practicing each breath with 100% of body and mind generates concentration and joy in every moment, transforming each step of walking meditation, each meal, each hour of washing pots and dishes into a festival under the shade of the Dharma. The basic meditation phrases can be varied with each step:

1. In–out–deep–slow (breathing in–out, deep–slow)
2. Here is the Pure Land–the Pure Land is here
3. I have arrived–I’m home

Thanks to this, even at Plum Village one can walk with peace and a value surpassing the festival on Vulture Peak; every moment is a miracle, every person has the capacity to create and share happiness.

The four conscious breaths related to feelings focus primarily on sensation, including:

• Joyful feeling: breathing in–out and experiencing a joyful feeling
• Happy feeling: breathing in–out and feeling happiness
• Awareness of feeling: being fully aware of the feeling in the present moment, whether it is pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral
• Calming feeling: breathing in–out and calming the feeling

According to the Vimuttimagga, mental formations are explained as feeling and perception, but in these four breaths, the main focus is on taking care of feelings. Feelings can arise from the body (for example, a toothache) or from perception (for example, sad news, fear of snakes). In the five skandhas, feeling lies between form and perception; feeling manifests as a mental formation, and deeply, as a seed in consciousness. Mindfulness needs to embrace, make contact with, and transform feelings, without separating the subject and object of contemplation.

“TTSĐCTTĐB” – The Living Tradition of Buddhist Meditation – is a series of Dharma talks given by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh during the period 1994-1997, guiding listeners through the historical journey of Buddhist meditation from India to Vietnam and then to China. The Dharma talks point out that Buddhism was transmitted directly from India to Vietnam hundreds of years before it spread to China, and at the same time introduce outstanding and profound Vietnamese Zen masters who have rarely been mentioned. This is a long, rich, and fascinating journey, helping practitioners discover new insights about meditation and the history of Buddhism.

Note: This description is automatically taken from existing YouTube descriptions and other sources. Please ‘Suggest an edit’ if it is inaccurate.

“TTSĐCTTĐB” – The Living Tradition of Buddhist Meditation – is a series of Dharma talks given by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh during the years 1994-1997, guiding listeners through the historical journey of Buddhist meditation from India to Vietnam before spreading to China, emphasizing that Buddhism arrived in Vietnam hundreds of years before it reached China. The series also introduces outstanding and profound Vietnamese Zen masters who are rarely mentioned, opening up a long and fascinating journey of practice.

Note: This description is automatically taken from existing YouTube descriptions and other sources. Please ‘Suggest an edit’ if it is inaccurate.