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Three Sentences for Anger, Three Steps to the Pure Land

Thich Nhat Hanh · November 15, 2002 · Hainan, China · Audio Only
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To transform suffering and heal, the energy of mindfulness and concentration is required. When anger manifests, one should not say or do anything, but return to breathing and embrace the anger tenderly. If verbal communication is difficult, a note should be written to the other person within twenty-four hours containing three sentences: “Dear one, I am very angry, I suffer, and I want you to know it”; “I am trying my best in order to take care of my anger”; and “Please help me.” This practice allows for the restoration of communication and harmony.

The Buddha teaches meditation on death to understand life. While there are six destinations—gods, man, Ashura, hell, animals, and hungry ghosts—rebirth occurs in every moment of daily life through the three kinds of karma: thought, speech, and physical action. Using the imagery of a corn seed sprouting or a cloud transforming into rain, the nature of reality is revealed as no birth and no death; nothing dies, it only transforms. We continue through our children and our actions. The Sutra of the Forty-Two Chapters states life lasts only in one in-breath or out-breath.

Suffering is essential for cultivating understanding and compassion; without it, spiritual growth is impossible. The Pure Land is defined not as a place without suffering, but as a place filled with understanding and compassion, found right here on Earth. Walking meditation establishes one in the here and the now to touch the wonders of life. The practice involves coordinating steps with breathing using specific phrases: “I have arrived, I am home” to signify dwelling in the present moment, followed by “I am solid, I am free,” and “In the Pure Land I walk, in the Pure Land I dwell.”

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