Thầy shares how pebble meditation can help one become more fresh, solid, peaceful and free. He teaches that the most precious gift we can offer to others is our true presence. When we practice mindfulness—bringing our mind and body together—we are truly present. “To love is to be there for him or for her.” He introduces the first mantra of love, “Darling, I am here for you,” and the second mantra, “Darling, I know you are there and it makes me happy.” Pebble meditation can help us practice with these mantras. He teaches a gāthā or poem on telephone meditation as a practice of loving speech.

Thầy presents the concept of karma as action and is the product of our body and mind and the environment. We are responsible for our actions. He emphasizes that our thoughts, speech, and actions are energies that cannot be destroyed. This is our retribution. “You continue always with your karma, with what you have produced in terms of thought, speech and action.”

Thầy discusses the Noble Eightfold Path, focusing on Right View, Right Concentration, Right Mindfulness, Right Livelihood and Right Diligence. Practicing mindfulness helps us recognize the conditions of joy and happiness that are available in every moment of our daily lives, whether we are walking, sitting, washing dishes, brushing our teeth, or preparing breakfast.

The talk concludes with the four steps of Right Diligence as taught by the Buddha: preventing negative seeds from manifesting, helping negative seeds that have manifested return to store consciousness, giving good seeds the opportunity to manifest, and maintaining the manifestation of good seeds. This practice is known as “transformation at the base.”

This the seventh talk in a series of sixteen given during the Summer Opening in the year 2014. Thầy offered this talk at the New Hamlet, Plum Village, France.