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Bôí Kieu
In response to a question on how to focus practice for the benefit of self and the assembly, the one hundred and sixth oracle advises remembering the pledge to establish a cloud hermitage, where fragrance wafts from a grass bed. This hermitage is not a physical structure but the island of self and the present moment. By returning to this refuge, one avoids losing oneself in daily duties, practicing mindfulness in every minute, every second, every step, every breath, every action, and every thought. This allows the fragrance of precepts, concentration, and insight to naturally manifest in activities like cooking, sweeping, or walking.
To deepen practice, the one hundred and thirty-ninth oracle speaks of sharing the same note of a string instrument; having trusted what came before, one can trust what follows. This signifies harmonizing with the community like a symphony rather than creating a cacophony. Faith is based on experience: if the practice transformed suffering in the past, it will do so in the future. One must enter the stream of the Sangha, viewing the needs of the collective as one’s own rather than practicing as an isolated individual.
Regarding the aspiration to help young monastics live close to the Buddha’s teachings, the forty-eighth oracle suggests entrusting the body to the cloud hermitage, whereby the private burden is lifted as if a full load is poured away. This private burden represents the deep inner concern for the next generation. The cloud hermitage symbolizes the path and method found to serve this cause. By taking refuge in the Sangha and entrusting one’s life to this path, the heavy weight of anxiety is removed, replaced by the happiness of fulfilling a noble vow.
