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Textual Commentary on The Sutra on Mindful Breathing (803) in the Chinese Canon (Part 1)

Thich Nhat Hanh · May 18, 2006 · New Hamlet, Plum Village, France
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Cultivating the Mind (Chitta Bhavana) begins with mindful breathing according to the two Agama Sutras, helping body and mind become solid, like sowing seeds on the soil of the mind to harvest the fruits of practice each day. In the tradition, the four kinds of fruits (the Four Fruits) symbolize the results of practice:

  1. The fruit of stream-entry – entering the stream of liberation
  2. The fruit of once-returning – only one more return to suffering
  3. The fruit of non-returning – no need to return to suffering anymore
  4. The fruit of Arhatship – cutting off the roots of samsāra, attaining freedom right in this moment

At Plum Village, these four fruits are understood concretely in daily life:

  1. Dwelling peacefully – the mind is at ease, not wanting to run elsewhere, joyful in the present moment (with a stage of “tendency towards dwelling peacefully”).
  2. Arrived, home – no longer seeking, happiness is right in the present moment, everywhere is home.
  3. Interbeing – realizing the nature of dependent co-arising, “I am you, you are me” (including both the tendency and the fruition stages).
  4. No birth – realizing the nature of no birth and no death, transcending all fear of living and dying, living with nirvana in the present moment.
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