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Tet Oracle by Thay 1999
The practice of freedom is likened to taking refuge in a “hut among the clouds,” where personal burdens, conflicts, and worldly competitions are cast aside. By settling into this dwelling of liberty, one becomes free like a cloud, staying or traveling without constraint. Loving implies remembering the initial deep desire, or Bodhicitta, promised to oneself and the ancestors. There is no need to hurry or worry, as all conditions for realization are available in the present. Professional skills are not abandoned but transformed; an architect continues to build space and bridges between people. One must learn to flow like a drop of water in a river, establishing harmony with the group to reach the ocean, rather than maintaining private ideas of flowing alone.
Living in the Sangha is described as the safest outpost, where days are made of silver and time is valued as life itself. Intelligence alone is often insufficient to transform strong negative habit energies; a supportive community is required to protect the practitioner. To find true happiness, one must close the windows of the senses to external validation and light a fire of warmth within the inner heart. The original mind is a clear mirror that dust can never destroy. Practicing walking meditation as steps of the Golden Lotus reveals this inherent brightness, allowing one to embrace everyone with love and without effort.
Practice is a collective endeavor of building a “Spring Garden” that serves as a refuge for generations. There is no need for individual courage to confront fear or complexes; instead, one allows oneself to be transported by the boat of the Sangha. By accepting oneself and others without judgment, and performing daily actions like cooking and cleaning with the intention of building this garden, fear dissolves. The collective energy of love and compassion carries the practitioner like a current, harmonizing the historical and ultimate dimensions.