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The Treatise on the Stages of Yoga Practice 13

Thich Nhat Hanh · January 19, 2012 · Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, France

In Upper Hamlet, the practice of breathing in—breathing out with the phrases “Breathing in, I feel alive” and “Breathing out, I smile to life in me and around me” helps us to touch deeply the wonders of life, but is often accompanied by the fear of death. Instead of avoiding this fear, we are encouraged to contemplate it directly: “I have the nature to die; I cannot escape death,” so that this fear becomes a motivation to live more fully.

The practice of contemplating death consists of four parts:

Aging – recognizing the fear of growing old, smiling to it, and facing it directly.
Sickness – facing our pain and weakness so that they no longer have power over us.
Death – accepting the certainty of death with a calm and peaceful mind.
Letting go – learning to leave behind our position, fame, possessions, and loved ones, carrying only our actions with us.

Looking deeply into impermanence and the interbeing nature of birth and death, we see that there is no true birth, no true death—there is only transformation, as Lavoisier said, “rien ne se crée, rien ne se perd, tout se transforme.” When we understand “no birth, no death,” our fear of dying calms down, our joy of living becomes complete, and Nirvana—the nature of no birth and no death—manifests right in each breath.

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1h 40m

The Treatise on the Stages of Yoga Practice 12

Next Talk January 22, 2012

1h 18m