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The Beauty of a Simple Life
The three hamlets of Plum Village form a peaceful space, in contrast to a world full of conflict and violence, where practitioners come to seek a bit of peace, to sit and eat in silence, and to feel the brotherhood and sisterhood. Thay observes: the practice of mindfulness and the cultivation of proper conduct in the four postures—walking, standing, sitting, and lying down—generates the energy of peace, deeply imprints it into our brains and cells, and becomes a spiritual gift for our ancestors, our descendants, and for everyone in our daily steps.
Looking back at the first twenty-five years in Plum Village, the New Hamlet, Upper Hamlet, and Lower Hamlet had only muddy paths, no chairs, no central heating, just long benches and wood stoves, meager meals, and a jar of sesame salt or a few pieces of chocolate were precious. Thay washed his own robes, wrote “Old Path White Clouds” in a cold room with his hands warmed by the stove, and each day, two or three hours of writing was an hour of intimate conversation with the Buddha. Although conditions are now much improved, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and the precepts still require us to live with “three basic insufficiencies”—just enough food and clothing, simplicity, and humility—in order to maintain a simple and modest way of life, to serve life in the spirit of Bodhi, and to continue the work of Thay and the ancestral teachers.
- The four postures of practice—walking, standing, sitting, lying down—must all be maintained in mindfulness.
- Mindfulness generates the energy of peace, which is deeply imprinted as a habit energy in our brains and cells.
- The precepts are the foundation for peace, happiness, and serve as an example for other practitioners.