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Mindfulness, Concentration, and Insight

Thich Nhat Hanh · January 3, 2002 · Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, France
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The Four Recollections include

  • the Buddha
  • the Dharma
  • the Sangha
  • the Precepts
    with the aim of bringing these objects back into the present moment. The seeds of Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and Precepts exist deeply in the store consciousness, present in every cell and in the five skandhas (form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, consciousness). Looking at the body with the eyes of insight, we can see the depth of life—each cell is “the one containing the all” (the Avatamsaka teaching). Modern science, through cloning, has shown that from one cell, the whole body can be created.

Mindfulness is the central energy in the five faculties, the five powers, and the noble eightfold path, especially in right mindfulness, right concentration, and right view. To be fully present is for body and mind to be one, not caught in the past, the future, or the afflictions of the present. Mindfulness and concentration always go together: mindfulness of breathing helps us attain freedom, happiness, and solidity; mindfulness in every daily action such as eating, drinking tea, brushing our teeth (for 2–3 minutes), or even urinating is also the practice of mindfulness, nourishing freedom, awareness, and happiness.

The space for practicing mindfulness needs the support of the Sangha to maintain collective energy, creating an environment for the joy of practice. The foundational sutras include

  1. the Discourse on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness (body, feelings, mind, objects of mind)
  2. the Discourse on Mindful Breathing
  3. the Discourse on the Snake Catcher
    which help us directly realize and experience, bringing concentration, insight, and liberation right in the present moment.
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