We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track. If this problem persists help us by reporting it so we can investigate it.
Watch this talk
Login or create a free account to watch this talk and discover other teachings from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Log in or create an account
Basic Dharma 05 - The Five Universal Mental Formations - Stopping and Looking Deeply 01
The first 32 women ordained as Anglican priests after 20 years of advocacy (with 66% of delegates in agreement), while the Buddhist tradition has accepted bhikshunis for 2,600 years. The Spring Retreat at Lower Hamlet will open its doors to women from traditions without a bhikshuni sangha, with a Great Ordination Ceremony planned for July at Plum Village and an international Buddhist women’s conference in the West in 1995.
Although we are sitting here in peace, our minds can also share in the efforts to protect peace in Sarajevo, South Africa, the Middle East, and the work of the sisters and brothers helping hungry children in Vietnam. Through the practice of mindfulness, each breath, each step, each silent meal, or each cup of tea in meditation is an opportunity to nourish peace and to offer energy to those who are quietly working to end discrimination and to reach for freedom and understanding.
The core of the practice: cultivating the energy of mindfulness in order to
- Stop (samatha – stopping) to generate concentration
-
Look deeply (vipassanā – deep looking) to give rise to insight
– Applied in walking meditation, sitting meditation, silent meals, tea meditation
– To clearly see the six sense organs, six sense objects, and six consciousnesses (the eighteen elements)
– Following the example of Bodhisattva Manjushri (the eye), Avalokiteshvara (the ear), and Samantabhadra (the hand) to listen, to understand, and to act for the benefit of all beings.