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Peace Begins in Us, Begin Anew
This title has been reviewed for accuracy.
Awareness of Breathing Leading to Peace and Reconciliation
Teaching the first eight exercises of mindful breathing, Thay describes how these are fundamental to a solid practice and lead to an awareness that allows peace in ourself first, and then in our relationship those around us. Thay emphasises the practice of deep relaxation of the body, and its importance for personal health and also societal peacefulness. He speaks about the three kinds of practice that can bring us happiness: letting go, mindfulness and concentration.
Thay also highlights the need for reconciliation at different levels: within ourself and with our inner child, in personal relationships, in our communities and in wider society—from professionals to politicians. He talks about the essential and fundamental need for similar understanding within societal groups, so that this can lead to more open and non-violent communication between groups who are opposed to each other, which in turn leads to better understanding and conflict resolution. Thay calls this engaged Buddhism as a way of life or art of living with a universal value, and states that this takes Buddhism beyond the limits of a religion.
In this talk, Thay refers to the Buddha’s sixteen exercises on mindful breathing, and the sutra that outlines these as the Sutra of Mindful Breathing. He mentions that the first twenty-one-day retreat in 1998 covered this topic in detail, and that a book was subsequently published: The Path of Emancipation. In Plum Village this sutra is now referred to as the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing, and the book is titled Breathe, You are alive!—The Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing.
After the talk Thay invites three couples to individually demonstrate the practice of Beginning Anew for the community.
This is the eleventh talk in a series of thirteen given during The Hands of the Buddha, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2002. Thay offered this talk at the Lower Hamlet, Plum Village, France.