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Inner Nonviolence and the Four Miracles of Mindfulness

Thich Nhat Hanh · April 18, 1999 · Plum Village, France · Audio Only
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I begin the day with the offering of incense and conscious breathing, making the vow to live each moment with beauty, freedom, and solidity. The practice is based on non-violence:

  1. Towards the natural breath, without forcing or altering it.
  2. Towards the physical body, through sitting meditation, walking meditation, or total relaxation.
  3. Towards emotions and pains (anger, jealousy, despair), which we tenderly embrace like a child, because they are part of us and can be transformed into a “flower” thanks to the benevolent energy of mindfulness.

Mindfulness generates concentration and insight; it allows us to:

  1. Establish our true presence (the first miracle).
  2. Recognize the presence of the other (the second miracle), whether it is a person, our own heart, or a landscape.
  3. Maintain this presence to nourish what is wholesome and to soothe what causes suffering (the third miracle).
  4. Look deeply into the interbeing nature of phenomena — a flower, a sunset, a human breath — and thus touch our nature of no-birth and no-death (the fourth miracle).
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Previous Talk April 17, 1999
1h 33m

Arrived, Home — True Presence and the Transformation of the Five Rivers

Next Talk April 19, 1999
1h 21m

Transforming the Past, Healing the Ancestors: Mindfulness and Deep Listening