Learn to sit like a Buddha—upright, relaxed, smiling—in lotus or half-lotus so you feel “light, peaceful, free,” as if on a lotus flower. Practice Sitting Meditation to cultivate peace and joy, and create Noble Silence together: a powerful, nourishing “thundering silence” that feeds both mother and baby in the Dharma Hall with two kinds of milk—mother’s milk and Dharma milk.

Happiness is possible right here and now—dṛṣṭadharma-sukha-vihāra, dwelling happily in the present moment. Bring the mind back to the body with mindful breathing or walking (“I have arrived. I am home.”) to stop running toward future conditions. All afflictions need food to survive; to uproot them see the Second Noble Truth in terms of four kinds of nutriment:

1. edible food
2. sensory impression
3. volition
4. consciousness
   Mindful consumption of wholesome nutriments leads to the cessation of ill-being and opens the path of liberation.