We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track. If this problem persists help us by reporting it so we can investigate it.
Watch this talk
Login or create a free account to watch this talk and discover other teachings from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Log in or create an account
Living from Ālaya-Vijñāna: The Practice of No Birth, No Death
Practice looking at yourself and those you love—alive or deceased—in terms of ālaya-vijñāna, the store consciousness from which all things manifest. Manifestation does not mean birth or death: you manifest, cease manifesting, and manifest again. To see this non-dual reality is to grasp the Buddha’s dialectics of emptiness—realized in statements like “the leaf is not a leaf, that is why it is a real leaf”—and to look deeply into:
- the topsoil and the trees that feed it,
- a leaf as cloud, sunshine, ancestor, stem (the umbilical cord linking leaf and tree),
- body and mind as energy wavicles born of store consciousness, not separate entities.
Nothing is created or destroyed—rien ne se crée, rien ne se perd—but only manifests in endless forms. By learning to look deeply (meditation), you recognize your nature of no-birth and no-death, touch the ultimate reality (Tathāgata, suchness, nirvana), and see every fallen leaf, every river, cloud, or loving presence as a continuing manifestation. This practice frees you from grief and fear, revealing the living Buddha, the living Christ, and your own timeless wonder.
