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Nourishing Dharma and Sangha Bodies: Mindful Breathing for Joyful Relationships

Thich Nhat Hanh · June 4, 2010 · EIAB, Germany · Audio Only
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A fruitful relationship is one where people are happy on both sides. If we make another suffer, it is due to unskillfulness rather than intention, and we must ask for help to understand their suffering and our own. Understanding oneself is crucial for understanding another person; happiness and suffering are no longer individual matters. Meditation offers the time to look deeply, recognizing difficulties within to suffer less. In Buddhism, Dharmakaya means Dharma body, which is simply one’s spiritual practice. A robust Dharma body allows for taking care of oneself and others, growing solid through the support of the Sangha.

Mindful walking generates the energy of peace, joy, and healing. We walk not just for ourselves, but for all blood and spiritual ancestors within us. This practice is the living Dharma, which makes a Sangha authentic. A true Sangha contains the living Dharma, the collective energy of mindfulness and concentration. With the Sanghakaya (Sangha body), we nourish our Dharma body and Buddha body. Establishing a local Sangha allows practice to continue long after a retreat.

The Sutra on Mindful Breathing offers specific exercises to master the art of recognizing the breath, body, and feelings. The first eight exercises are:

  1. Identify the in-breath and out-breath.
  2. Follow the in-breath or out-breath all the way through.
  3. Become aware of the whole body.
  4. Release the tension in the body.
  5. Produce a feeling of joy.
  6. Produce a feeling of happiness.
  7. Become aware of the painful feeling.
  8. Release the tension and bring relief to the painful feeling.

There is a difference between joy and happiness; joy contains hope and excitement, like seeing water in a desert, while happiness is the actual drinking of the water. A good practitioner uses mindfulness to bring in moments of joy and happiness to be strong enough to handle pain. Strengthening the Dharma body ensures we can take care of ourselves, our relationships, and the world.

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