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The Treatise on the Stages of Yoga Practice 8
During the Winter Retreat at the Hall of a Thousand Stars, Cam Lo Temple, each hamlet has its own drum call and recitation, expressing tradition and reverence. Adding the word “Great” to the name of the Bodhisattva is to expand the boundless compassion of Mother Earth, reminding us that Mother Earth herself is the embodiment of the Bodhisattva. The multilingual prayer (Vietnamese, English, French, German, Japanese) reminds us that thanks to telescopes capturing infrared, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma rays, we can see the wondrous universe and realize that human consciousness is one with the mind of Mother Earth and the cosmos. Mindfulness and concentration are likened to miraculous powers of observation, accessible to anyone who practices.
The venerable titles in Sanskrit, kept intact to preserve their full meaning:
- Namo Shakyamuni Buddha, our Original Teacher
- Namo Manjusri Bodhisattva
- Namo Samantabhadra Bodhisattva of Great Action
- Namo Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva of Great Compassion
- Namo Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva of Great Aspiration
Mindfulness is practiced in every activity: walking meditation, eating, drinking tea, washing clothes, cooking… in order to give rise to dharma joy—the happiness born from mindfulness, concentration, and insight. In every moment, mind and body are constantly changing; there is no fixed “self,” only the stream of interdependent arising. All phenomena are energy, waves of electricity, magnetism, and light of the same nature, supporting one another. When we die, body and mind do not disappear but only transform, continuing the chain of causes, conditions, and karmic results. Up to now, 25 out of 44 practice sessions have been completed; the path of practice continues onward.