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The Flower Contains Everything
This title has been reviewed for accuracy.
Thay focuses on the exercises of mindful breathing from the Ānāpānasati Sutta, including identifying and following the breath, generating joy and happiness, and embracing painful feelings. He also explores the Three Doors of Liberation: Emptiness, Signlessness, and Aimlessness, providing detailed explanations for each. Thay emphasizes that emptiness does not mean non-existence, using the analogy of an empty glass, sharing that even thought it may be empty, the glass still has to be there. He explained that to be empty is always to be empty of something specific, and that everything is interconnected. For instance, a flower is full of non-flower elements like clouds, sunshine, and earth, illustrating the concept of interbeing. He also discussed the nature of no coming and no going, using the example of a match requiring action to manifest a flame, paralleling how our existence manifests under certain conditions.
This is the final talk in a series of five given during the Awakening the Heart retreat in the year 2011. Thay offered this talk at the War Memorial Gym of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.