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The Four Dharma Seals and the Four Reliances
The details of this talk mark the beginning of the winter retreat 2012-2013 at Plum Village, where Thich Nhat Hanh shares about the origin and meaning of the ten mindful movements from Herbert Spencer, which he has adapted to be gentle and incorporate breathing. He emphasizes that mindfulness brings immediate happiness and that life is impermanent, precious in each present moment. He encourages everyone to practice mindfulness 100%, keeping the mind awake, focusing on the breath and steps to achieve peace and freedom from the past and future. He also shares about brotherhood, equality, and independence in society, emphasizing that happiness does not depend on external factors but lies in the ability to be free from afflictions. He explains that correctly understanding the Buddha’s teachings requires flexibility and suitability to each capacity, using the method of the Four Siddhantas and the four standards of truth, including Worldly Siddhanta, Individual Siddhanta, Therapeutic Siddhanta, and Ultimate Siddhanta. He notes that suffering and happiness inter-are, studying the Buddha’s teachings needs to be based on definitive sutras, clearly distinguishing between this and that, and applying the four reliances: rely on the Dharma, not on the person; rely on the meaning, not on the words; rely on wisdom, not on consciousness; and rely on definitive meaning, not on non-definitive meaning.