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Practice Recognizing Mental Formations
In Plum Village every practice—before meals, tea meditation or a Dharma talk—begins with collective mindful breathing, guided by the bell and by sung or played gathas (Being an island unto myself…, in English, Vietnamese, French or set to violin or accordion). Thay shows how to adapt the gatha to two-, three- or four-step patterns (splitting lines for in- and out-breaths), and suggests recording sung and music-only versions on tape—shorter for children, deeper for adults—so that a single musical cue brings forth the image needed for concentration (flower, mountain, still water, space).
Mindful breathing is “the Dharma protecting body and mind.” Body (rūpa) and mind (nāma) are two aspects of our person, like water and its waves, or H₂O and its ice, cloud and steam. Mental formations (feelings, irritations) arise from and return to the base of consciousness (bīja, seed); mindfulness is the nourishing energy that embraces and transforms these formations without fighting—“Breathing in, I know my irritation; breathing out, I smile to it.”
Sangha practice means building a field of support: learn to lullaby painful energies to sleep so you can touch dormant seeds of peace, joy and hope in calm moments, alone or with a friend. Suffering becomes compost for happiness when you don’t run but instead water the positive seeds in yourself and help newcomers learn to breathe, walk and sit in peace—each mindful step, each caring gesture, a celebration of life from which we all benefit.
