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The Capacity for Reconciliation and Mutual Support
King Trần Thái Tông, despite being occupied with countless affairs of state, still devoted himself to six meditation sessions each day, each lasting fifteen minutes starting from five o’clock in the morning, to demonstrate that being a king and practicing meditation can go hand in hand. His successor, King Trần Thánh Tông, continued this tradition of diligent practice and wise leadership, while King Trần Nhân Tông went up to Yên Tử Mountain to establish the Trúc Lâm Zen school, taking the Dharma name Hương Vân Đại Đầu Đà. He also walked to Champa to give Dharma talks and married Princess Huyền Trân to maintain peace. From the 2nd–3rd centuries up to the Trần dynasty, the Zen lineage of Tăng Hội merged with the following schools:
- Tỳ Ni Đa Lưu Chi
- Vô Ngôn Thông
- Thảo Đường
-
Trúc Lâm
flowing together like a spiritual river nourishing the nation.
The habit of talking a lot about the teachings without real practice is a major obstacle, which needs to be transformed through mindfulness in every breath, every step. At Plum Village, learning is not just sitting and listening to Buddhist Studies theory, but requires hours of practice outside the classroom: meditation, Dharma sharing, eating in silence, driving, watering vegetables in mindfulness. The true meaning of “Buddhist Studies” is to both study and practice; it takes thousands of hours for the techniques of mindful breathing and walking meditation to succeed and to transform suffering into peace.
In the family, the example set by one’s actions is more important than words: parents walk and stand in mindfulness to be a living example for their children. From the question of how to maintain peace when angry to the practice of Hugging Meditation—just fifteen minutes of holding each other in silence—many father-child pairs have dissolved resentment and healed their relationship. The story of the century plant blooming after sixty years reminds us of the power of patience and the sacrifice of all its energy for the next generation, just as parents give their whole body, speech, and mind to nourish their children and grandchildren.