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Tet Tan Muy & First Dharma Talk of the Year 91
The moon and the rock live alone—solitary yet serene, unborn and undying—while we are restless, unable to sit or stand in peace. Only when we practice walking meditation, sitting meditation, and lying-down meditation do we learn how to “live like the moon and the rock” in the midst of life, and rediscover the silence within our body and mind.
Before chanting, we perform the ceremony of offering to our ancestors with four prostrations, not using votive paper but offering our sincere heart through cakes and fruits. The four prostrations are directed toward our roots—our ancestors and teachers—reminding us that “a tree has roots, a person has ancestors,” and when we are at peace, our ancestors are also joyful.
In the Chapter on the Ten Great Practices of the Avatamsaka Sutra, the ten practices that the youth Sudhana learned and put into practice are:
- The Practice of Joy (joy—generosity)
- The Practice of Benefiting (helpful action)
- The Practice of Non-Anger
- The Practice of Non-Exhaustion (perseverance)
- The Practice of Freedom from Delusion (dispelling ignorance)
- The Practice of Good Manifestation (beautiful expression)
- The Practice of Non-Attachment (not clinging)
- The Practice of Good Dharma (practicing the true Dharma)
- The Practice of Truthfulness (precepts—concentration—insight)
- The Practice of Sharing the Merit (offering the fruits of practice equally to all beings)