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Orientation: The Healing Power of Compassionate Presence
This title has been reviewed for accuracy.
The centerpiece of this talk is the practice of chanting the name Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion, who has mastered the ability to listen to his own suffering and that of others. Only when we see and understand deeply our own suffering and the suffering of others are we able to heal it. The collective energy of the Sangha can heal emotional and physical pain. By touching any aspect of life in depth—even a flower—we touch the wonders of the Kingdom of God. Each of us is a wonder. Walking meditation allows us to enter the Kingdom of God in just one step. Everything we do can be done with mindfulness—drinking tea, walking, breathing—and this brings us into the here and the now. Life is only available in the present moment. When mindfully taking a breath, you can say, “I have arrived,” which means you have arrived in the here and the now. We all have the conditions to be happy in the present moment; we don’t need to always be running into the future or stay trapped in the past. One mindful step can liberate us from the prison of the past. You don’t need a teacher or a Buddha to tell you if your practice is correct. If you feel joyful, light, and free, your practice is correct.
This is the first talk in a series of five given during the Awakening the Heart retreat in the year 2011. Thay offered this talk at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.