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Five Mantras of Presence: Watering Positive Seeds for Personal and Global Reconciliation

Thich Nhat Hanh · June 6, 2010 · EIAB, Germany · Audio Only
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A mantra is a sentence pronounced with all your heart, body, and mind, requiring full mindfulness and concentration to have an effect. Practicing mindful breathing helps produce true presence, allowing one to recognize the wonderful things available in the here and now. There are five mantras discussed:

  1. Darling, I am here for you – offering your true presence is the most precious gift for a beloved one.
  2. Darling, I know you are there and I am so happy – recognizing and embracing the presence of another makes them bloom like a flower.
  3. Darling, I know you suffer. That is why I am here for you – offering presence and relief when noticing the other person is not happy.
  4. Darling, I suffer. Please help – used when one is suffering and needs support.
  5. This moment is a happy moment – pronounced when fully mindful of the conditions for happiness available in the present.

Consciousness consists of at least two layers: mind consciousness and store consciousness. Store consciousness holds seeds (bija) of both happiness and suffering, such as anger, fear, and jealousy. When touched by consumption or conversation, these seeds manifest in mind consciousness as mental formations. To renew relationships that have become sour, the practice of “flower watering” or selective watering is used. This involves recognizing positive seeds in the other person and avoiding the watering of negative seeds. A peace treaty can be signed where partners promise to water only the good seeds in each other. Loving speech and deep listening are used to reconcile, admitting one’s own lack of understanding and asking the other to share their suffering to correct wrong perceptions.

These practices apply to political conflicts and terrorism, which are founded on wrong perceptions that cannot be removed by violence. Peace negotiations should begin with practicing breathing, walking, and eating together to recognize shared humanity before engaging in compassionate listening. Brother Phap An provides an update on the European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB), detailing renovations and plans to build a meditation hall to heal the building’s energy by adding a perpendicular axis. This hall will allow for larger gatherings and the training of monastic and lay Dharma teachers.

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