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Coming Home at Christmas: Touching the Dharma Body and Awakening the Five Powers
Christmas and New Year are opportunities to practice going home, yet the true home is available in the here and now. A wave looking deeply into herself realizes she is made of water and all other waves, and thus she is never cut off. Similarly, the trees, the blue sky, and the people around us are our home. Jesus and Buddha are not merely ideas but realities that serve as our home. In Buddhism, a human being possesses three bodies: the physical body, the Dharma body (Dharmakaya), and the Buddha body. The story of the monk Vakkali illustrates that the physical body is not the most important thing; by touching the Dharma body—the body of the teaching—one finds peace and transcends the fear of birth and death.
God and Nirvana are the ground of being, to which notions of being and non-being, or person and non-person, cannot be applied. Looking deeply into the evolution of species reveals that in former times we have been rocks, trees, and animals, and these elements remain within us today. Meditation is the act of being still to realize we are already home. Jesus practiced meditation on the mountain to nourish the Holy Spirit, just as mindfulness nourishes Buddhahood. Taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha is the practice of going home to the island of self. Mindful breathing serves as the vehicle to return to this home, where ancestors and future generations are also present.
Faith is a living thing that must grow, nourished by understanding (Tuệ) and experience rather than notions. Knowledge can be an obstacle (sở tri chướng), and one must be willing to let go of current understandings to reach higher ones, akin to climbing a ladder. Master Linji’s teaching to “kill the Buddha” emphasizes releasing rigid concepts to advance on the spiritual path. The practice involves cultivating the five powers (Ngũ lực):
- Faith (Tín)
- Diligence (Tấn)
- Mindfulness (Niệm)
- Concentration (Định)
- Insight (Tuệ)