Dear friends, yesterday Thầy spoke to you about the first exercise proposed by the Buddha concerning mindful breathing. Breathing in, I am aware that I am breathing in. Breathing out, I am aware that I am breathing out.

Recognizing the in-breath and recognizing the out-breath, that is the practice of the first exercise. There are four exercises of mindful breathing that relate to the body. We must always begin with our physical body. This is because our physical body also needs peace, harmony, and rest, so that our mind can concentrate, can also have peace and harmony. So walking meditation, sitting meditation, deep relaxation, these are practices that are very much related to our physical body.

And we must make it so that rest can become something real, something possible for our body. It is because we have lost our capacity to rest, concerning our body. Of course, we all need holidays so that we can rest. But resting is an art.

And many of us do not know how to rest. You know that our body needs rest in order to heal itself. There are wounds in our body, just as there are in our mind, and rest is essential. And the practice of mindful breathing allows us to realize this rest.

You know that animals in the forest, whenever they have a wound, whenever they are injured, they know how to rest. They look for a very quiet place. And they stay like that, without moving, for several days. It is because they know very well that this is the best way for the body to heal from illness. And during those days, they do not think about eating, or chasing after their prey.

And this wisdom is still alive in animals. But we, human beings, we have lost the capacity to rest. Of course, we know that we need holidays, we need rest. But we cannot, we do not know how to use the time that is available to us in order to rest.

And sometimes after a vacation, we feel more tired than if we had not taken a vacation. So we must learn how to rest. Deep relaxation here is one of the methods to be able to rest. Walking meditation as well.

Sitting meditation is also a way for us to rest. In order to do this, we need to know how to use our breathing. The first exercise offered by the Buddha, of course, you know it: breathing in, I am aware that this is my in-breath. Breathing out, I know that I am breathing out. Recognizing the in-breath as in-breath, the out-breath as out-breath.

Second exercise. Breathing in, I am aware of the length of my in-breath. Breathing out, I am aware, I am conscious of the length of my out-breath. In the second exercise, we pay attention to the length of the in-breath and the out-breath. That means, we only focus on that. We only pay attention to the in-breath and the out-breath. If your in-breath is long like this, then you are aware of that in-breath throughout its duration, and if your in-breath is long like that, you are aware of that in-breath throughout its duration. It does not mean that a long in-breath is better than a short in-breath. No, not at all.

What matters here is mindfulness. It is not the length of the in-breath or the out-breath. If the in-breath is long, you know it. If the in-breath is short, you know it, that is all. There is no need to try to make the in-breath or out-breath longer.

You should let it be natural. If your in-breath is short, then let it be short. Do not interfere.

You only need to light up the lamp of mindfulness in order to recognize what is happening. In this case, it is the in-breath with its length. In this case, it is the out-breath with its length. Turn on the light, light the lamp of mindfulness so you can realize that this is an in-breath. And this is a rather long in-breath. That is all.

And during the practice, we stop thinking. We touch deeply our in-breath and our out-breath and we know how long the in-breath is, how short the out-breath is. We do not need to interfere, only to become aware of everything that is happening. And in this case, it is the in-breath and the out-breath.

The third exercise concerning the body is... [Thay writes on the board.] In, out. Breathing in, I go inside, breathing out, I go outside. In English, in, out.

Second, long or short. Short, long. In this exercise, we are aware of the length of our breath. Breathing in or breathing out. Third, breathing in, I am aware of my whole physical body. That means, when you breathe like this, you generate the energy of mindfulness, and with the energy of mindfulness, you embrace your body, you recognize that your body is there. You become aware of your whole body, the entirety of your body. Whether you are sitting, lying down, standing, or walking.

So the breath is there to generate the energy of mindfulness. And the object of mindfulness here is the whole body. You know that here, the object of mindfulness is the in-breath or the out-breath. Here, the object of mindfulness is the length of the in-breath and out-breath. Pure breathing.

Now, the breath is there to embrace, to make contact, to touch. Something that is more than the breath, which is the physical body. The physical body is the foundation of the breath.

So you begin with pure breathing and you arrive here at your physical body. Breathing in, I am aware of my whole physical body. Breathing out, I am aware of my physical body. Then we come back, we make peace, we begin to recognize the existence of our physical body, we embrace our physical body, we make peace with it.

Breathing in, I'm aware of my whole body. Breathing in, I am aware of my whole body, of my whole physical body. This seems like a very simple thing, but it is extremely important.

We started with the breath. Coming back to the breath, and after having become one with our in-breath, now we identify with the body, with the physical body. It is a return. We have wandered, we have been lost in the past, now we are determined to come back to ourselves. And the first destination is the breath, now it is the body. And later, feelings, perceptions, and consciousness.

So take another step to come back to yourself as a physical body. Breathing in, I am aware of my whole physical body. This is already the practice of the meditation of love.

You must really take an interest in your physical body. I recognize you, my physical body. I have abandoned you, abandoned you too much. Now, I am back and I recognize your existence.

And the fourth exercise. Breathing in, I calm the activities of my physical body.

Breathing in, I calm the activities of my body. It is because there is not enough peace in your physical body. There is not enough harmony in your physical body. There is war, or perhaps sorrow, pain in your physical body, so you need to be there for your physical body. My physical body, I am here for you. Take care, be interested in your physical body, and begin to take care of your physical body.

Breathing in, I calm my physical body. While lying down, practice deep relaxation. You can experience rest, relaxation, and restore the well-being of your physical body. You have a living room in your home. You can use this living room and practice deep relaxation every day. You can practice as a family. A member of the family can guide the practice of mindful breathing, of total relaxation.

Here at Plum Village, the brothers and sisters can show you how to practice deep and total relaxation. You need to learn this well so you can do it at home. And teach your children to do it as well. And it is very possible to practice as a family. The family is also a kind of Sangha. So, a member of the family can guide the practice. And for fifteen or twenty minutes, we can restore ourselves, we give ourselves the opportunity to renew, to dissolve stress.

And it is very important to practice as a Sangha, as a family. And this will create a good habit in your children. So, the third exercise is to recognize the presence of your physical body. The fourth exercise is to calm the activities of your physical body by paying attention to your body as a whole. And after that, to pay attention to different parts of your physical body.

[Thay writes on the board.] You know, these are the four exercises to take care of your physical body. The next four exercises will be about sensations. But today we speak only about the first four exercises. In the Satipatthana Sutta, the Discourse on the Establishment of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the Buddha said this.

Like a farmer who climbs up to the attic and brings down a sack of seeds, who opens this sack and lets the seeds spread out on the floor. Then, with eyes still in good condition, the farmer can distinguish, and he can say, these are wheat seeds, here are green bean seeds, and so on.

So when you generate mindfulness, with that mindfulness, you will recognize the different parts of your body. Breathing in, I am aware of my eyes. Breathing out, I smile to my eyes.

It is because your eyes are part of your physical body, and you can very well begin with your eyes. You go down to your nose, to your mouth. You pay attention to your brain, to your ears. You need to call the different parts of your physical body by their name. And you need to send your smile to that part. Your smile in mindfulness is the energy of love. And attention. Attention is everything. First attention, and then the love that comes with it.