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Pou Tai Temple 2nd Day Dharma Talk

Thich Nhat Hanh · November 3, 2002 · Pou Tai Temple, Macau · Audio Only
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In Plum Village, mindful breathing is practiced when the telephone rings. Everyone stops thinking and talking to go back to the breath for at least three sounds. If in charge of the telephone, one practices walking meditation to the phone without running. If making a call, one breathes in and out three times, making a vow to use loving speech. Mindfulness means the mind goes back to the present moment, uniting mind and body to become fully alive. This energy of concentration allows one to recognize and treasure the presence of a dear friend or family member, generating happiness from mindfulness rather than material wealth.

Like a candle offering light, heat, and fragrance, a person offers thought, speech, and physical action to the world. This output is Karma. Thinking is the foundation; if thinking is characterized by anger or fear, it is not right thinking. Right thinking has the nature of love and understanding. What is produced today as Karma-hetu (action as cause) becomes Karma-phala (action as fruit). By looking at the value of this output, one knows their future among the six destinations: the God, the Man, the Asura, Hell, Animal, and Hungry Ghost. To improve this output, one must care for their input, focusing mindfulness on wholesome objects to generate right insight.

Maha Prajna, the great understanding, reflects the insight of impermanence, non-self, and Nirvana. Looking deeply reveals that a son is the continuation of his father, with the father present in every cell; realizing this non-self transforms anger into compassion. Visualizing a beloved one 300 years from now reveals the truth of impermanence, aiding the crossing from the shore of suffering to the shore of well-being. Finally, the practice aims to touch Nirvana, the nature of no birth and no death. Like a wave realizing it is water and losing all fear of height or death, touching Nirvana removes fear, the foundation of true happiness. Right mindfulness and right concentration focus on:

  1. Impermanence
  2. Non-self
  3. Nirvana
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