Thầy introduces the Samiddhi Sutta, in which a goddess finds a young monk on a riverbank at dawn and asks why he would give up the pleasures of youth to seek happiness in a distant future. Samiddhi replies that he has not abandoned the present moment: he has given up untimely pleasures for the deepest pleasure of this moment.

After the sūtra is read in English, Thầy fills in the background—who Samiddhi was, why the Buddha had asked him to be careful, and why, with the awareness of impermanence, the practice was offered to the young and not only to the old. He draws out two notions in the goddess’s question: that happiness lies in the five objects of sensual desire, and that spiritual practice means sacrificing happiness now for happiness later.

Thầy then explores three characteristics of the Dharma named in the sūtra: it deals with the present moment (sāndṛṣṭika), it transcends time (akālika), and it invites us to come and see for ourselves (ehipassika). The Dharma does not promise happiness in the future; practiced correctly, it brings relief and joy right away. When we hear the bell and return to our breathing, we can see the blue sky, the blooming flower, and the smile of a friend.

Turning to the Buddha’s first gāthā, Thầy compares the objects of sensual desire to bait with a hook inside, and shares the Buddha’s image of a dog that stays all day with a bare bone. He reminds us, “Happiness is there, but not in the object of sensual desire.” He looks at how seeking happiness through consumption leads us to destroy our bodies, our society, and the Earth, and asks us to wake up.

The recording closes as Thầy begins the second gāthā: it is not desire that harms us but the desiring mind, and he points instead to the mind of awakening and the mind of love.

This talk was given on a Day of Mindfulness during the Spring Retreat in the year 2000. Thầy offered this talk at the Lower Hamlet, Plum Village, France.