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Israeli Retreat No1
Thay explains that there are five elements that constitute our being: body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness, and in this talk he focuses particularly on the body (rūpa) and feelings. He offers the practice of body scanning as a technique for coming home to and healing our body. Thay also speaks of the three types of feeling: pleasant, neutral and painful and reminds us how, with mindfulness, neutral feelings can be transformed into pleasant ones, as in the example of non-toothache. So too can mindfulness enable pleasant feelings to become more wonderful and painful ones to be understood and transformed. Furthermore, Thay gives instructions on the practice of walking meditation as a way to return to and enjoy the present moment. Thay also offers the practice of mindful breathing, focusing on the abdomen, as a way of staying rooted when strong emotions arise. He concludes with the story of his own exile in the West and how he learned to transform his suffering and discover his true home.
This is the first of two talks offered during a short retreat on the Isreali Tour in the year 1997. Thầy offered this talk at Kibbutz Harel, near Latrun, in Israel.
Part of the following collections
Scanning the Body with Compassion