Thầy asks what is the most precious thing we can offer the people we love. Through the story of an eleven-year-old boy whose wealthy father offers to buy him anything for his birthday, he points to our true presence, and to the first mantra practiced in Plum Village: “Darling, I am here for you.”

The first part of the talk is offered to the children at the retreat, though everyone can enjoy it. Thầy teaches pebble meditation, with four pebbles representing a flower, a mountain, still water, and space, and invites the children to find their own pebbles and lead a session themselves.

Thầy then turns to the sixteen exercises of mindful breathing proposed by the Buddha. The first four concern the body: recognizing and following the in-breath and out-breath, coming home to the body, and releasing tension. Along the way, he recalls a recent day of practice with people at Google who spend long hours at their computers, and the wisdom of a wounded animal that lies down in a quiet place to heal. He describes the Buddha’s practice of scanning the body with the ray of mindfulness, smiling to each part with compassion.

The next four exercises concern our feelings. Before learning to handle pain, Thầy explains, we learn to generate joy and happiness. He tells of Anāthapiṇḍika, who brought hundreds of fellow businessmen to hear the Buddha teach on living happily in the present moment, and shows how mindfulness and concentration are sources of happiness. Letting go is another: the story of a farmer who has lost his cows invites us to call our own cows by their true names, including our ideas of happiness, and to have the courage to let them go.

Once we are nourished by joy, Thầy says, we are strong enough to go home and take care of our pain, supported by the collective energy of the Sangha. The talk closes with recognizing a painful feeling and embracing it tenderly, as a mother holds her crying baby.

This is the second talk in a series of three given during Cultivating the Mind of Love retreat in the year 2011. Thầy offered this talk at Magnolia Grove Meditation Practice Center, Batesville, Mississippi.