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Nirvana Is Here and Now
This title has been reviewed for accuracy.
Thay structures this talk to move purposefully back and forth between the one and the all: from the physical body to the cosmic body, with the Dharma body and the Sangha body in between; from formal practice, such as retreat-based bell ringing and walking meditation, to continued practice throughout everyday civilian life; from one’s current birth, lifetime, and passing to one’s continuation apart from the dualism of being and non-being. Thay’s overarching point is the continuity and ultimate unity of the one and the all. The talk begins with the Dharma body, the Buddha’s teaching and “spiritual dimension of our life,” and, as part of that, Thay’s own “continuation body,” the embodiment of his lifetime of teachings in all who learned from them. He then focuses on how to properly wake and invite the bell, which calls us back to our “true home” in the here and the now, and his request that we all become bell masters in our own homes. Thay transitions through a story about a dream he had about the Buddha’s intention for the music of the bell to consideration of what Nirvana is and is not: it is not an after-death reward and it is available to all, as it was for the Buddha, in every present moment. There is no birth from nothing and no annihilating death; Nirvana is our always available home in the here and the now—this is “the cream of the Buddha’s teaching.” Thay then shifts back to walking meditation and a story about the Sangha’s mindful walk up a mountain in China. He wraps up with his instruction for after the retreat ends to keep generating joy, peace, and happiness for ourselves and for all others.
This is the last 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 New Hamlet, Plum Village, France.