Now, returning to the winter retreat schedule with full participation in sitting meditation, walking meditation, Dharma discussions, repentance ceremonies, and meetings, today we study the thirty-seventh training: the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (pháp niệm xứ). This practice helps us to recognize and transform habit energies, to fulfill the seven factors of awakening (Thất Bồ Đề Phần) and the Noble Eightfold Path, and at the same time, it is an indispensable source for both the Zen and Mahayana traditions.

Practicing the Four Foundations of Mindfulness is to bring our whole body and mind—without separation—into contemplation in three main areas:

1. Body (the breath, the form, the lungs, the two legs…)
2. Feelings (sensations belonging both to the body and to the mind)
3. Mental formations (states such as anger, love, passion)

Returning to the original stream of Plum Village—which combines Zen, Pure Land, and Vajrayana—aims to preserve the essence of the Buddha’s teaching, using the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as the foundation to water wholesome seeds, to transform unwholesome habit energies, and to live happily right in the present moment.