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Monastics DT5
Moonlight floods the path, two people walk gently in silence because words become meaningless before the wondrous beauty of the moment. Even walking together, both still feel an inner sense of loneliness, for intimacy does not erase the wall of solitude. In the monastic environment, a senior or junior brother is not a private beloved but a representative of the Sangha, a symbol of the spiritual beloved; to ordain is to marry the entire Sangha, to be siblings sharing the same aspiration. The joint effort to build the Indonesia Plum Village International Center near the Borobudur relic is a vivid mark of the Sangha spirit: meeting, sharing, and supporting one another.
The English practitioner decided to give up her weekend glass of wine to keep the Fifth Mindfulness Training—not to use alcohol or intoxicants—not just for herself but for future generations. That act expresses the character of a Bodhisattva, helping others avoid the seed of addiction. The core point of the Dharma talk is how each step can bring joy and peace—walking meditation—from the monks’ residence to the kitchen, by letting go of the continuous stream of thoughts and nourishing joy and happiness with each breath. The precepts and mindfulness trainings are likened to reins and a whip, not to restrain but to protect freedom, helping practitioners master the energy of sexuality—a natural force—thereby transforming suffering and maintaining the aspiration of monastic life.
For the Sangha to remain bright, each person needs to recognize and transform the “garbage” within into “flowers” through three essential practices:
- Generating happiness in every step and breath, nourishing peace right in the present moment
- Protecting the Pure Land by limiting consumption of toxic products, keeping the practice environment pure
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Practicing the precepts and mindfulness trainings in every small detail, so that inner freedom is not bound by craving, anger, or ignorance.
The community exchanges together in Dharma sharing, supporting each other to recognize the garbage—frustrations, jealousy—and to find ways to turn them into flowers, building the Sangha as a source of hope for society through the art of transforming mud into lotus.
