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Mindfulness Is the Key to the Practice
Over the last three weeks we’ve alternated teachings for children and adults on topics such as:
- the eight exercises on mindful breathing, perception, deep listening and loving speech;
- the Noble Eightfold Path and the Five Mindfulness Trainings as discovered by teenagers;
- pebbles meditation, retribution, two diligences, Four Elements of True Love;
- the first five mantras and the four nutriments; plus Dharma talks in French, English, Spanish, German and Vietnamese.
True spiritual practice brings a spiritual dimension into every moment through mindfulness and concentration. We each have:
- a physical body;
- a Dharma body (our practice, nourished by daily tasks);
- a Buddha body (the seed of awakening in us);
- a Sangha body (the living Dharma we generate together).
By simple acts—breathing, walking, drinking tea, brushing teeth, closing a door—done mindfully and with gathas, we generate the living Dharma, support our Dharma body, and allow insight to liberate suffering. In walking meditation each step, when accompanied by “I have arrived. I am home,” brings us fully into the here and now, where true peace, solidity, freedom, and joy arise.
