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Manifestation Only
The Liberian general once sought revenge for five family members by killing his enemy, but after three months of practice at Plum Village, he experienced a deep transformation. He called to persuade the enemy’s wife, and later directly convinced his former enemy to let go of hatred and together build peace. Earlier, during the Lunar New Year, he asked how to let go of the past and not cling to the future. He was answered that the suffering of the past can be beneficial; if we know how to embrace our suffering, we can transform garbage into flowers, just as an American veteran who once killed five Vietnamese children now saves the lives of five other children to transform hatred.
The practice of sitting meditation focuses on peaceful sitting (sitting in stillness), from which joyful sitting (the joy of sitting) and happy sitting (the happiness of sitting) arise. Every moment of sitting to eat, sitting in meditation, or sitting in Dharma discussion is an opportunity to generate these three energies. Sitting still in an age where time is considered money has become a luxury, but it is the foundation for regulating the breath, body, and mind, and to transform the energy of craving into compassion.
The entire consciousness develops from the basic to wisdom; the five consciousnesses are not enemies but need each other for practice:
- Store consciousness (A-laya-vijñāna)
- Manas consciousness
- Mano-vijñāna (the sixth consciousness along with the five sense consciousnesses)
- The Wonderful Observing Wisdom (the mind practicing with mindfulness, concentration, and insight)
- The Wisdom of Equality
Realization arises from mindfulness, concentration, insight, and precepts, sublimating the energy of afflictions into the energy of practice, transcending craving and delusion.