Thầy tells the story of a Zen master who raises his finger while teaching, and a novice who loves the gesture so much that he copies it. What is the finger for? Thầy shows how it brings us home to the present moment, and how the sound of the bell, the clock, the birdsong, and even the telephone can do the same. The Buddha spoke of this as appropriate attention, and Thầy invites each of us to become the teacher who raises a finger for ourselves and for others—as a Sangha builder, an artist, a writer, or simply through the way we walk.

Thầy describes walking to the Dharma hall as a free person, enjoying the wet grass and the rain, and how living each moment deeply can free our parents and ancestors in us. He tells of a Catholic priest who asked how to continue the practice back home in America, and of the simple answer he received: listen to the church bell with mindfulness, and bring mindfulness to the tea his parish already shares. Thầy recalls the temple bells of the villages of Vietnam, which gave even a thief a chance to turn his mind in a better direction.

Holding a small bell in the palm of his hand, like a jewel in a lotus flower, Thầy shows how to become a true bell master: bowing to the bell, breathing with a short poem, and gently waking the bell before inviting a full sound.

Thầy then points to the key that opens the door of the Kingdom of God and the Pure Land of the Buddha, and to the wonders already available to us—our lungs, our feet, a piece of bread that is a gift of the cosmos. He speaks of the habit of running, always waiting for more conditions in order to be happy, that our parents may have passed on to us, and of the Buddha’s teaching of dwelling happily in the present moment. “Mindfulness tells us that to be there, alive, is a wonder.”

This talk was given during the Christmas and New Year Retreat in the year 2005. Thầy offered this talk at the New Hamlet, Plum Village, France.