Buddha, Sangha, Dharma Are Your True Home

Thầy invites us to return to the simple miracle of mindful breathing and the supportive presence of community. When we breathe, walk, and sit together, we touch the wonders of life available in each moment. From this ground of mindfulness, he reflects on time, impermanence, and how our practice shapes the quality of our days. A year becomes truly new only when we renew ourselves—learning to generate joy, care for suffering, and transform anger into understanding.

Nothing truly disappears—not a year, not our childhood, not our ancestors. Like clouds becoming rain, everything continues in new forms. Through this insight of interbeing, Thầy encourages us to touch the Earth, recognize our shared destiny, and look deeply into the suffering of those who hurt us. This is the heart of mindful living: returning home to our body, feelings, and mind, and taking gentle care of what we find there.

Our true home is an inner refuge built through mindfulness and compassion. When each of us cultivates this home, we help create a collective home, a Sangha where peace and understanding are generated together. Such a community becomes a refuge not only for its members but for all who come near it. In this way, the living Dharma is found in the way we breathe, speak, listen, and walk alongside one another.

This talk was offered during the Christmas and New Year Retreat in the year 2013. Thầy offered this talk at the Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, France.