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Climbing the Mountain of Happiness
In each step, there is peace and happiness right in the present moment: from climbing the stairs to the meditation hall, walking through the park and the apple orchard, to climbing the mountain three times and going down to the sea four times in Hong Kong (over about four or five hundred stone steps), or nearly two thousand steps up Mount Wutai with the rhythm of “breathing out—stepping up, breathing in—stepping on”—each step is healing, nourishment, happiness, and ease. In France, going up and down the eighteen steps to the second floor is also a practice to cultivate joy in every step, not waiting until reaching the destination to be happy.
The retreat and the Sangha are likened to a long flight: Bat Nha for four or five years, the School of Youth for Social Service for eleven years, Plum Village for nearly thirty years, together with four brothers and six sisters aiming for 125 monastics. There is no host or guest; everyone is the owner of this “flight,” observing the “seat belts”—the five, ten, 250, or 380 precepts—to protect the safety and happiness of all. We offer not only our labor (washing dishes, cooking, guiding) but also our love and joy, so that every action, every moment in the retreat is a gift of peace for ourselves and for the community.