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Living Tradition of Zen Practice P G 24
Taking each step on the land of Plum Village: every step contains life, purity, joy, and ease; to walk like that is Earth-Conquering Miraculous Power, a simple miracle praised by Zen Master Linji. When suffering has ripened, just one mindful step can transform suffering into happiness. Happiness depends on the degree of ease, letting go of projects, nourishing mindfulness in every act: walking, drinking tea, washing clothes. Without wholehearted investment, we cannot taste peace; on the contrary, a step taken in ease naturally reveals the Dharma body, one with the Dharma body of the Buddhas.
The Fivefold Dharma Body grows as we practice, and is the most precious offering:
- the body of mindfulness trainings (Shila Kaya)
- the body of concentration (Samadhi Kaya)
- the body of insight (Prajna Kaya)
- the body of liberation (Vimokṣakāya)
- the body of knowledge of liberation
The body of mindfulness trainings begins with the Five Mindfulness Trainings:
- reverence for life
- social justice, not depriving other species of their conditions for life
- protecting happiness, avoiding sexual misconduct
- deep listening, skillful loving speech
- keeping body and mind free from toxins of delusive consumption
With mindfulness trainings, there is mindfulness; with mindfulness, there is concentration; concentration gives rise to insight; insight leads to liberation and the knowledge of liberation, that is, freedom from craving, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt. Offering incense, bowing, working, walking meditation, sitting meditation—all practices aim to nourish these five elements, so that the gentle joy transforms suffering, and the torch of the Dharma body shines brightly right in the present moment.
