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The Forest Sutra: Five Conditions for Staying or Leaving a Practice Center
In the Buddha’s teaching, tùng lâm (ancient forest) is the place where monastics gather to practice together, to listen to Dharma talks, engage in Dharma discussions, eat in silence, sit and walk in meditation, and learn how to face wild animals or snakes with mindfulness. In Vietnam, it is called sơn môn; in Thailand, monks bring mosquito nets to sleep; in Tibet, they often choose high mountains to build temples in order to preserve the sacred atmosphere. In the forest, the shade of trees, streams, and birds contribute to creating a quiet, fresh space, far from the noise of the city and the afflictions urban life brings.
From the Vanapattha Sutta (The Forest Discourse, Middle Length Discourses 108 – Pāli Majjhima Nikāya 17), the Buddha taught five questions for monastics (and lay practitioners) to decide on a place of practice, with five criteria:
- Have the necessary mindfulness trainings been established?
- Have the states of concentration (samādhi) been stabilized?
- Have the defilements (mental afflictions) that need to be abandoned been abandoned?
- Has peace of mind been realized?
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Are the material conditions (food, clothing, medicine, bedding) sufficient, even if only temporarily?
– If all five are negative, one must leave immediately.
– If only the fifth criterion is positive, it is also advisable to move to another place of practice.
– If criteria 1–4 are positive but 5 is difficult, one should stay.
– If all five are positive, make the aspiration to remain for life, regardless of being asked to leave or not.
The Buddha applied the same principles when choosing a city, a country, a spiritual friend, or a teacher – after six months or a year, if there is no progress, one must immediately seek a new place.
To establish mindfulness, we need to practice in four main domains:
• Body: mindfulness of posture (walking, standing, sitting, lying), movements (eating, drinking, putting on a robe), organs (lungs, liver, heart), and the four elements (earth, water, air, fire).
• Feelings: clearly knowing when there is unpleasant, pleasant, or neutral feeling.
• Mind: recognizing the 51 mental formations – sadness, joy, anger, love, boredom, etc.
• Objects of mind: contemplating impermanence, letting go (non-self), and cessation (nirvana).
Mindfulness is not only an individual effort but also the collective energy of the Sangha; each person both generates and receives it, supporting one another to transform afflictions. According to the Mahāgosinga Sutta (Majjhima Nikāya 32), whenever an affliction arises, sit in meditation and contemplate until it dissolves, then stand up – so that the “forest” of the mind radiates light throughout the great thousandfold world system. Ultimately, inner peace is the root of happiness, for “dwelling happily here, happiness radiates in all directions.”