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The Five Mindfulness Trainings and the Four Elements of True Love
This title has been reviewed for accuracy.
Thầy reminds us that meditating means to take the time to be calm and to look deeply into oneself and the world. He then describes “hand meditation,” in which we gaze at our hand and are able to see the hands of our parents. Through this practice, we find consolation if we are far from our parents or they have passed away.
Thầy advises that we must practice the second mantra with our parents and our loved ones while they’re still alive. This brings immediate happiness to us and those we love. We can also use the second mantra to connect with our ancestors, which can be life-changing and joyous. We can connect with our ancestors and our spiritual teachers through touch. Our hands embody non-discrimination—the right hand feels no superiority over the left hand.
The First Mindfulness Training is about protecting life. A human is made of non-human elements, and, therefore, to protect the environment and other species is to protect ourselves. This is deep ecology and a deep practice. The Second Mindfulness Training is about true happiness and its relationship to interbeing. The Third Mindfulness Training is about true love, which has four elements: kindness, compassion, joy, and non-discrimination. Only with true love can we reduce suffering, and true love is always expansive. The Fourth Mindfulness Training is about deep listening and loving speech, which can heal deep divisions between people and groups, recognizing that everyone has suffered. The Fifth Mindfulness Training is about mindful consumption.
By practicing the Five Mindfulness Trainings, we can become better Christians and avoid any discrimination, thus strengthening our Christian roots.
This is the third talk in a series of four given during the Mindful Living Today, family retreat in the year 2012. Thầy offered this talk at The Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland.