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 Energy of Practice
Whether one is ordained or a layperson, one can belong to “the lineage of holy beings” thanks to mindfulness and concentration, not because of one’s place of birth. The substance of holiness is created by the energy of mindfulness and concentration, bringing solidity, freedom, and love—three elements that make up true happiness. Each day, we need to practice mindful breathing, eating, and working in silence in order to continue, clarify, and maintain the holy lineage, and to avoid its interruption. In the fourfold sangha—
- monks
- nuns
- laymen
- laywomen—
everyone has the responsibility to preserve and help the holy lineage endure through the practice of mindfulness, concentration, and insight.
When the mind is filled with the energy of restlessness, a person loses solidity and cannot be at ease in the four postures of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down; this is a sign of lacking the five powers (pañca bala):
- faith
- diligence
- mindfulness
- concentration
- insight
Faith can be right faith when it arises from insight and true experience; otherwise, it is wrong faith and superstition. Insight breaks through wrong perceptions, helping faith become right faith, avoiding violent and hateful beliefs, and at the same time nourishing the precept of non-killing.
Right faith and insight are the energies to overcome despair, to transform wrong perceptions in ourselves and others, and to spread peace through dialogue instead of violence. Each person, even just one, who understands and practices the path of the five roots and five powers, especially right faith, can help awaken, share peace, and continue the mission of enlightenment from this generation to the next.
