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The 26th Mindfulness Training of Plum Village Teachings
In the Sangha, the Buddha body and the Dharma body are truly present; these three precious bodies – Buddha body, Dharma body, and Sangha body – collectively called the three bodies or the Three Jewels, exist right within the physical body of living beings. Seeking outside is not the spirit of the Buddha’s way; when we transcend the notion of inside and outside, we can touch the three bodies right in the present moment. The Dharma body and the Sangha body interweave to form the Buddha body, and within the Buddha body are contained both the Dharma body and the Sangha body. One who does not have a Sangha is like an orphan on the path of practice, for without the Sangha, the Buddha and the Dharma do not manifest.
Practice, or Bhavana, is to sow wholesome seeds in the mind so that the three bodies reveal themselves like fruit arising from Mother Earth. Just as a garden has both flowers and garbage, the true Sangha has both the flowers of wisdom and the weeds of affliction; we transform the garbage into green compost to nourish the flowers of enlightenment. Observing the precepts, mindfulness, and ease are the foundation to transform the Sangha body into the true Sangha, creating freedom and happiness. The measure of prosperity is not production or consumption, but the true happiness of the practicing community.
List of three elements that constitute the holiness in a practitioner
- Precepts – Sila brings freedom in every aspect (Pratimoksha)
- Ease – dwelling peacefully in the present moment without attachment
- Mindfulness – awareness of each step, word, and action