Thầy teaches that a deep desire, an aspiration, is a kind of food: “Without a deep desire, a person is not very much alive.” Not every desire brings suffering, he explains—the wish to transform our suffering and help others can only bring happiness. He recalls the deep desire that led him to become a monk at the age of sixteen, and points out that most of the bodhisattvas helping the world today are laypeople.

How do we keep such an aspiration alive? Thầy presents the Four Nutriments in an order for the spiritual life, beginning with volition and followed by the collective energy of a Sangha, which keeps our aspiration from being eroded. He speaks of the young monastics of Prajñā Temple doing their best to preserve their Sangha, and of how, with a strong aspiration, walking meditation itself becomes a kind of consumption. He also proposes that, from now on, those receiving the Five Mindfulness Trainings first make a formal request, since the trainings are the path of a bodhisattva.

Thầy offers a way of looking at Sangha members who are still having difficulties. Touching the Earth, he explains, is a meditation rather than an act of devotion: we see ourselves as a continuation of our ancestors, with nothing to be proud of, and the insight of no-self frees us from both superiority and inferiority. He recalls being taught as a young monk to visualize the one who bows and the one who is bowed to as both empty.

A newly ordained novice can already contribute to the Sangha with every step, and with the gāthā for opening the water tap. Thầy speaks of a Dharma teacher who has trained thousands of police officers—peace officers—in this spirit. Turning to the pāramitās, he shows how understanding and giving can bring us to the other shore right away, with some practical advice about a hidden gift. He closes with patience: bearing what comes from outside and from within, not as passive acceptance, and the patience it takes to touch our true nature of no-birth and no-death.

This talk is from a series given during the Fall Retreat in the year 2009. Thầy offered this talk at the New Hamlet, Plum Village, France.