We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track. If this problem persists help us by reporting it so we can investigate it.
Watch this talk
Login or create a free account to watch this talk and discover other teachings from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Log in or create an account
The Necessity of Understanding - The Necessity of Love - Tet
We practice breathing in to make contact with the “unborn, undying,” breathing out to dwell peacefully in it—that is nirvana, or the ground of no-birth that underlies all birth and death, being and non-being, coming and going. The Dhammapada, the chapter on Nirvana, the chapter on Complete Stillness in the Essential Dharma Collection, and passages in the Udana and Itivuttaka all emphasize “no birth, no death, no coming, no going, no being, no non-being.” When we touch God, or contemplate a flower or a cloud, we see that birth and death, being and non-being, coming and going are only on the surface, while inside is the unborn. The practice of Mindful Breathing teaches us to breathe in and let go of all dualities (birth and death, being and non-being, subject and object), to breathe out and merge into the reality of non-discrimination. Mystics call this “resting in God,” dwelling in the metaphysical ground that transcends human form yet is as intimate as the wave is to water.
In the mind there are many mental formations, among them desire (chanda) is the mental formation of waiting, of wanting something to arrive to make life happier. When we clearly recognize right and wrong, good and evil, we call that comprehension (thắng giải). For example, the habit of checking email even when we know there is nothing new is an expression of the mental formation of waiting. Among the fifty-one mental formations, the mental formation of waiting together with the feeling of emptiness creates a thirst to fill up, especially in young people. The practice of mindfulness helps us observe and recognize these mental formations so we can live more peacefully.
In the story “When We Are Young” by Phan Thi Vang Anh, Thanh An shares her experience of ten days of Tet away from her lover Luong through eighty love letters. The feeling of waiting, of emptiness, observing friends and family during Tet, appears in every detail: sweeping cobwebs, pickling vegetables, the Tet market, the plate of candied fruit on New Year’s Eve, going to the temple, lucky money, firecrackers, the six-petaled apricot blossom. The old love turns out to be an illusion; friendship is the simple truth. From this, we see two deep needs of human beings: to be understood and to be loved. Living mindfully with each breath and each step, we can fill that emptiness right in the present moment.