Within each of us lies the energy of habit—habit energy—formed over many lifetimes and stronger than our will, causing suffering and separation. The practice is to recognize habit energy as soon as it arises, and then use the energy of mindfulness to take care of it, to embrace and to transform it. For example, after a few weeks at Plum Village, an American practitioner had accumulated enough energy of mindfulness so that, when the energy of rushing arose at the Saint Foy market, she only needed to breathe in and out, smile, and call its name—“mommy” (her mother’s habit energy of rushing)—so that it would calm down. Mindfulness is present in every step, every breath, and even the smallest action such as walking, eating, or sitting, helping us not to be carried away by habit energy.

Diligent practice of mindfulness is further strengthened by making a “treaty” with a staircase or a familiar stretch of path (about twenty or thirty meters). Each step up or down, or each step on that path, must be solid, relaxed, and mindful; if in the middle we lose our mindfulness, we stop, return, and begin again. In this way, we form a new habit energy—the habit energy of mindfulness—which can transform old habits, even those accumulated over thousands of lifetimes.

Mindfulness of the Three Jewels—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—is not just calling their names but touching the deep energy of each:

• The Buddha is the fully awakened one, radiant in appearance, perfect in compassion.
• The Dharma is the bright path that guides us to live mindfully in every action.
• The Sangha is the community of practice and liberation, the embodiment of solid and relaxed mindfulness.

Mindfulness of the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha, or reciting the 500 names of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva is to sow the seeds of compassion, understanding, and mindfulness in our consciousness, helping us to recognize and transform habit energies so that we may live peacefully in the present moment.