Thầy shares Pebble Meditation for children, inviting them to find five beautiful pebbles, wash them, and keep them in a small bag to support their practice. He explains how to enter the meditation hall quietly, bowing to symbols of beauty, recognizing Buddha-nature, and walking mindfully to one’s cushion. Sitting upright yet relaxed, we focus on our breathing.

In Pebble Meditation, we breathe in and silently call the name of someone we love; breathing out, we affirm our presence—and with each cycle, we move a pebble.

Meditation, Thầy teaches, is a practice of stopping (śamatha) and looking deeply (vipaśyanā), cultivating calm and bringing about healing. We practice mindful breathing, rest deeply, and touch the happiness available in the present moment.

Walking meditation is expressed through each mindful step, affirming, “I have arrived, I am home.” Eating meditation invites us to enjoy our food and the presence of our community, to recognize our interbeing with all beings, and to savour each bite with gratitude.

This is the first of two talks, given on the first day of the Summer Opening, in the year 1996. Thầy offered this talk at the Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, France.