Thầy teaches that the most precious gift we can offer the people we love is our true presence. It takes only a few seconds of mindful breathing, or one or two mindful steps, to bring our mind home to our body and be truly there. He tells of a busy father who asks his son what he would like for his birthday, and of the boy’s reply: “Daddy, what I want is you.” Thầy offers two mantras, one for being present and one for recognizing that our loved ones are still here, and speaks of each of us being born as a flower in the garden of humanity, with a practice that helps us keep our freshness.

He encourages families to set aside a small room with a few cushions and a bell, where children can begin the day with mindful breathing and go to restore themselves when they are upset. Meditation needn’t wait for a special time: taking a shower, brushing your teeth, or eating lunch can all be meditation. Holding a piece of bread, we can see the whole cosmos in it, and Thầy draws a parallel with the Eucharist in the Christian tradition.

Thầy then turns to the Four Nutriments taught by the Buddha: edible food, sensory impressions, volition, and collective consciousness. He relays the Buddha’s story from the Sutra on the Son’s Flesh, of a young couple crossing a desert, and the Buddha’s teaching that we eat in a way that preserves our compassion. He also speaks of eating less meat to help hungry children and the planet. For sensory impressions, the Buddha’s image is a cow without skin, and Thầy shares how, as guest editor at The Times of India, he answered the editors when news of a bombing arrived. He invites us to identify our deepest desire, and to notice the collective energy we take in from where we live.

The talk closes with the Sangha: a community of practice produces a collective energy that no single teacher can, and Thầy hopes these practices will be taught in schools, since you don’t need to be a Buddhist to breathe in and out. He ends by inviting everyone to a mindful lunch, with the insight that this bread is the body of the cosmos.

This talk was given on a Day of Mindfulness during the North American Tour in the year 2011. Thầy offered this talk at Deer Park Monastery, Escondido, California.