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KT TN - Kim Son
In the traditional chanting ceremony, there are the Quy Mang and Khe Thu repentance verses that make the heart light and full of hope, helping us to recognize our weaknesses such as a polluted mind and unsteady practice, so that we may commit to greater effort. The Quy Mang verse reminds the disciple of the Buddha that, having gone against true nature and drifted in the stream of delusion, for many lifetimes we have not escaped birth and death, so today we bow down, open our hearts, and turn toward purity. The Huong Ve Kinh Lay verse gathers the essence of ancient words, acknowledges our karmic obstacles, fragile merit, and unsteady wisdom, and vows to prostrate with five limbs on the lotus dais, open the heart of loving-kindness, and express all our aspirations right in this present moment.
Each step, each smile, from cooking rice, washing dishes, washing clothes to walking meditation, reciting the Buddha’s name, lighting incense, and bowing to the Buddha, are all forms of meditation and mindfulness, bringing the Pure Land right here and now. The Pure Land is not somewhere far away but is the mind-only Pure Land, manifesting in every moment; when the mind is free from greed, hatred, and delusion, each step touches the Pure Land. When body and mind are one, fully present, walking on the true ground is stepping on the territory of ultimate reality, breathing in emptiness, aware that all phenomena are of empty nature.
According to the practice of Mindful Breathing, there are sixteen exercises divided into four groups, embracing and taking care of each part of ourselves like the segments of a tangerine, the five skandhas:
- The first four breaths take care of the body—recognizing the natural breath.
- The next four breaths take care of feelings—painful feelings, pleasant feelings, neutral feelings, and mixed feelings.
- The next four breaths contemplate perceptions—awareness of phenomena, distinguishing between illusions and reality.
- The last four breaths take care of mental formations—the mental states and mental factors that make up our actions and thoughts.