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Reflective Inquiries, Karma Retribution
Thầy guides us through the “Four Reflective Inquiries” to deconstruct our reliance on labels and conventional designations (prajñapti). He explains that while we use names for selves and entities, they are not solid realities. Even the concept of a “nature of interbeing” can become a trap if we grasp it as a fixed idea. Therefore, Thầy introduces the “non-nature nature” (vô tính): the insight that the true nature of things is to have no fixed, separate nature at all. This “non-nature” is what allows for the infinite flexibility and interconnectedness of life.
Using the metaphor of a wave, Thầy illustrates that birth and death are merely shifts in the “Triple Action” of thought, speech, and deed. This energy is our real signature, pushing us forward as a continuous force (vipāka). Like a candle emitting light and heat, we are not contained solely within our skin; we are projecting ourselves into the environment in every moment. By recognizing the cinematographic nature of our consciousness, we see that we are not a static “self,” but a flowing stream of manifestation that exists both inside and outside our physical form.
The core of the teaching is the “good news” of sovereignty. Because retribution matures in every moment—not just at the end of a life—we have the power to transform our trajectory in the here and now. We are not victims of genetic or karmic determinism; we can “remediate” past mistakes by producing new, compassionate actions that catch up to and modify the old. By treating the teachings like a raft rather than a destination, we use these insights to reclaim our free will and ensure a beautiful, “non-nature” continuation for ourselves and the world.
This is the thirteenth talk in a series of fourteen given during The Feet of the Buddha, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2004. Thầy offered this talk at the Lower Hamlet, Plum Village, France.
Part of the following collection
Questions and answers, Formal letter of invitation to Vietnam, Ôn Giác Quang, Ôn Hải Ấn