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Becoming a Buddha in Los Angeles with Diana Eck

Thich Nhat Hanh · January 18, 1993 · Los Angeles, United States
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The I is composed of non-I elements: our thoughts, feelings and the whole cosmos — like a flower made of sunshine, clouds and minerals. With the insight of non-self or interbeing, calling I or you is safe, for we see the roots of our sadness and learn to transform suffering. Likewise, impermanence is not merely a notion but a living meditation: by touching a cup of tea, an emotion or a flower in mindfulness, we experience change in the present moment and free ourselves from suffering.

Nirvana is the practice of letting go of all notions — even those of impermanence and non-self — so that we are not caught in ideas that become prisons. The Four Noble Truths unfold this path in two cause-and-effect pairs:

  1. suffering and its roots (ignorance, clinging to notions)
  2. the end of suffering (happiness, peace) and the way to the end (the Eightfold Path)
    Deep looking, or meditation, uproots ignorance and allows freedom and joy to arise.

Every being holds a Buddha nature — the capacity for understanding and loving — and taking refuge manifests as practice:
• in the Buddha (touching our own awakening)
• in the Dharma (mindful living as the true teaching)
• in the Sangha (a community that supports harmony, healing and growth)

Mindfulness turns ordinary acts — drinking tea, walking in an airport, cooking a meal — into meditation. The Five Precepts are the fruit of this mindfulness:

  1. protect life
  2. practice generosity (no stealing)
  3. respect personal integrity
  4. speak truthfully and compassionately
  5. refrain from toxins in body and mind

Building Sangha as a family, revisiting tradition, and practicing in daily life help these seeds of peace and joy to flourish.

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