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Questions and Answers
The session takes place in the New Hamlet of Plum Village. Thay begins by contrasting “I think, therefore I am” with “I breathe, therefore I am,” explaining that thinking disperses and separates the body from the mind, whereas mindful breathing brings the mind back to the body to live in the present moment. He then addresses the notion of inter-being through the image of the flower composed of non-flower elements, the transcendence of being and non-being, and defines nirvana as the extinction of notions and afflictions, accessible here and now through the practice of mindfulness.
Here are the questions asked during this session:
- How do you feel about, and what explanation do you give for the fact that many monastic brothers, Francophone or Western, are leaving the Village?
- What do you think of the interpretation from Christian mysticism where the word being is written with a capital letter to express the ultimate reality that never ceases?
- How should one educate one’s child, knowing that it is perhaps with them that we most easily touch inter-being?
- What is your secret for becoming powerful in opening the heart and the capacity to love one’s brothers and sisters, despite the difficulties felt in inter-being with them?
- What is your insight for the members of the Order of Interbeing regarding the phrase “The lotus does not grow on marble”?