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The Practice of Interbeing
This title has been reviewed for accuracy.
Universal Mental Formations, the Three Trainings, and The Three Natures
Thay discusses the five universal mental formations, the three “special” (“particular”) mental formations which comprise the “Triple Training” (Mindfulness, Concentration, and Insight), and the three “worlds” or natures of parikalpita, paratantra, and pariniṣpanna (mental construction, interdependence, and reality-in-itself). He tells us that the most precious gift we can offer Thay is a simple promise we can keep for our whole lives, and shares his vision for the planned film Buddha, which depicts the life of the Buddha as a love story for a love that is very wide and deep. Thay describes how mindfulness can intervene in the operation of the universal mental formations, and allow us to use the contemplation of interdependence to transform the world of mental construction into the world of reality-in-itself. Thay uses several concepts from quantum physics (quantum fields, lasers, Bose-Einstein Condensates, and superconductors) to help deepen our understanding of the operation of the mind, and the transformative capacity of mindfulness and concentration.
This is the ninth talk in a series of fourteen given during The Breath of the Buddha, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2006. Thay offered this talk at the Lower Hamlet, Plum Village, France.
Many of the topics in this teaching are discussed in the book: Understanding Our Mind