Taking refuge in Sangha is a very deep practice. You trust the Sangha. You become the Sangha. If you are a drop of water, you might wonder whether you have the capacity of going to the ocean or not. But when you become a river, you are sure you don't have to worry. You will certainly come to the ocean. The problem is that you still want to be a drop of water or you want to become a river. That solves the problem. That is the real meaning of taking refuge in Sangha. Becoming a Sangha, consider the Sangha body as your body. In Plum Village, we try to practice like that. We don't want to be a drop of water. We want to be a river. And by practicing becoming a river, we suffer much less. Individual suffering can be transformed very easily when we share the concern of the Sangha, the happiness of the Sangha, the dedication of the Sangha.

And that is why when we come and sit together, when we come and walk together, when we come and eat together, and work together, there's a powerful energy in us. That energy is the energy of mindfulness, that is embracing the pain, looking deeply into the pain in order for us to understand the pain and to have the kind of insight that will lead to the transformation of the pain. On the individual level, your deepest concern becomes the object of your practice, of your mindfulness. In the Zen circle, there is a practice of kung an [Chinese], koan. In Japanese, koan.

This is the deepest concern.

The koan should be something that you are deeply interested in. Your deepest concern.