Thay poses the following question for reflection: should we exclude military people from the practice of mindfulness? The talk broadens this question to apply also to corporate, law enforcement, correctional, and health care contexts. Thay’s overarching teaching here is that mindfulness may be taught beneficially to all people of all professions as long as it is taught as Right Mindfulness. This he defines as one of the eight pillars of the Noble Eightfold Path and, therefore, inextricably interconnected with Right View, free from all discrimination, hate, violence, exploitation, and fear. It can be understood, Thay explains, in contrast to “wrong mindfulness,” taught as separate from Right View and given the purpose of an instrument, in order to do a better job of military killing or corporate profit-making. Thay affirms that Right Mindfulness is not a means to an end but is–and by definition must be–the end itself. He concludes that we should not exclude anyone from the practice of mindfulness, as long as it is taught rightly, which is the responsibility of the Sangha and its trained and supported Dharma teachers.

This is the tenth talk in a series of thirteen given during the What Happens When We Die?, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2014. Thay offered this talk at the Lower Hamlet, Plum Village, France.