We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track. If this problem persists help us by reporting it so we can investigate it.
Watch this talk
Login or create a free account to watch this talk and discover other teachings from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Log in or create an account
The Cases of Consciousness and Manas Consciousness
The practice of touching the earth is a meditation method through three breaths and the unification of the three karmas (body, speech, and mind), bringing about powerful concentration in every detail: from the way we invite the bell, recite the name of the Buddha or Bodhisattva, to the way we move our hands, bow our body, and let our forehead touch the earth. When we prostrate, each person is not only themselves but at the same time is able to touch at least four “figures” within themselves and in the continuous stream of birth and death: father, mother, Buddha (and the ancestral teachers of the Buddha), teacher (and the ancestral teachers of the Dharma), and then extending to blood and spiritual ancestors as well as future generations. Practicing in this way is not a matter of belief or supplication, but is meditation that helps to expand our freedom, to bring clarity, and to cherish every moment of the present.
Wisdom and concentration both arise from mindfulness, with mind consciousness as the operating software, directing the six main states of mind:
- Dispersed mind consciousness (scattered mind)
- Isolated mind consciousness (internal restlessness)
- Dream mind consciousness (dreaming mind)
- Disturbed mind consciousness (pathological mind)
- Five-fold mind consciousness (mind in contact with the five senses)
- Concentrated mind consciousness and insightful mind consciousness (focused and lucid mind)
It is also necessary to clearly see the six characteristic features of manas (the root of deluded mind)—which lives perpetually in primordial fear and craving for pleasure—in order to transform them through the Four Right Efforts and appropriate attention. Only then can each breath, each step, each word, and each gesture truly transmit the essence from the Buddha, our ancestors, and our teachers to future generations.
