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Basic Buddhist Teachings 03 - Five Minds, Six Minds, Three Practices - Practice

Thich Nhat Hanh · March 6, 1994 · Plum Village, France
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Mental formations, or “mental concomitants,” are the current contents of the mind, manifesting in every moment. There are two main groups:

  1. Universal (sarvatraga – universally present):
    1. contact (xúc)
    2. attention (tác ý)
    3. feeling (thọ)
    4. perception/ideation (tưởng)
    5. volition/determination (tư)
  2. Particular:
    1. desire/intention (dục)
    2. determination/resolve (thắng giải)
    3. remembrance/mindfulness (niệm)
    4. concentration (định)
    5. wisdom/understanding (tuệ)

Each mental formation can be wholesome, unwholesome, or neutral.

A key factor is appropriate attention (yoniso-manasikāra), which is the opposite of inappropriate attention, to recognize and “replace the peg” (vitakka-saṇṭhāna) of unhelpful intentions. Applied in the meditation on the breath (Anapanasati), mindfulness is expressed through six miracles:

  1. to be present – bringing body and mind together
  2. to acknowledge the presence of the other
  3. to relieve suffering
  4. to nurture
  5. to look deeply (quán chiếu)
  6. to see/insight (tuệ) → to transform (chuyển hóa)
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Previous Talk March 3, 1994
1h 55m

Basic Dharma 02 - Five Minds, Six Practices - Five Minds, Six Objects of Cognition

Next Talk March 10, 1994
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Basic Dharma 04 - Five Fears, Four Modes of Practice, Touching and Healing