We sow karma every day through right thinking, right speech, and bodily actions, nourishing love and understanding in order to harvest wholesome fruits for the present and the future. Family life—each shared meal, moments of sitting silently together, or practicing mindful walking at Plum Village—are means to cultivate ease and brotherhood. Ease is not merely the absence of busyness, but the cutting off of the ropes that bind the soul—vimukti, or liberation—which arise from

1. busyness
2. worry
3. anger
4. craving
5. jealousy
6. fear
7. inferiority complex
8. delusion

Only when we sever these chains can we have inner freedom, perceive the simple beauty of each moment, and nurture happiness in every step, every breath, and every mouthful of food.

In the Buddha’s teaching, store consciousness (alaya) is the beginningless ground that nourishes all actions and phenomena—both the main manifestation (our form) and the environment—while mind consciousness (mano vijñāna) and the five sense consciousnesses are only the surface manifestations. When we practice mindfulness—sitting, walking, eating, chanting—mind consciousness creates “neural pathways” that penetrate deeply into store consciousness, transforming the practice into a living action and leading to liberation.