Thầy continues on the Four Nutriments, focusing on the third—volition—and the fourth—consciousness. Volition is our deepest aspiration: what we most want to do with our life. He invites us to sit with our partner, or parents, and ask, “What is your dream?” A new kind of volition can be born—one oriented toward helping people come home to themselves, their families, and nature, rather than helping them run away.

Thầy directs his teachings at those in leadership—corporate, political, and therapeutic. The process of growth Thầy outlines moves from the inside out: first come home to yourself; from that foundation, help your partner, then your family, and only then are you in a position to reach out further. Plum Village itself operates as a kind of corporation—without personal bank accounts, salaries, or private property—demonstrating that happiness is possible with simple living, brotherhood, and shared purpose. Corporations, Thầy suggests, can be transformed in the same spirit. He shares the example of the Now Watch — a timepiece he designed with a young monk that shows only the word “Now” whenever you check the hour—as an illustration of the kind of product that helps people come home to themselves rather than run away.

The practice of deep listening and loving speech is central throughout. Thầy recounts his conversations with Martin Luther King, who spoke not of a Sangha but of “the beloved community”—the same insight expressed in a different language. Without a Sangha, even the Buddha could not do much; the same is true for a corporate leader, a therapist, or a politician.

On consciousness as nutriment, collective consciousness nourishes or poisons us—a neighborhood full of anger and despair feeds those qualities into everyone who lives there, including children.

The talk closes with the four practices of Right Diligence: not watering negative seeds in ourselves or others; embracing what has already arisen with mindfulness rather than suppression; inviting positive seeds to manifest; and keeping wholesome mental formations alive as long as possible.

This is the third talk in a series of five given during the Finding Our True Home retreat in the year 2013. Thầy offered this retreat at Deer Park Monastery, California, in the United States.