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Walking in the Kingdom of God
This title has been reviewed for accuracy.
This is the Dharma talk by Thay on Sunday, 23 March 2014. Let us look at these beautiful flowers. In spring time many flowers are blooming and I hope that your heart will bloom like a flower also. When I look at a flower, I can see it is a wonder. It is a true wonder of life.
The nature of a flower, the nature of a cloud, the nature of a rock, the nature of things is the nature of no birth and no death. In the beginning we may think of a cloud as something that will die. So we talk about the birth and death of a cloud. What does that mean, the death of the cloud?
It is spring and many flowers are blooming. Don’t be afraid to love and open your heart. A flower is a true wonder of life. When we walk, we encounter so many wonders of life. Where does the wonder come from? Your body too is a wonder of life. Do we have time to be with a wonder? In the Buddhist tradition, we don’t speak of creation. We have another answer. With meditation, we look at the true nature of things and see their nature is no birth and no death. Teaching on the cloud illustrates this teaching. The scientists also see this teaching of no birth and no death.
Getting in touch with the wonders of life. We can go outside and step away from our computer, our business, our worries. A day without a computer. How happy I am! We can use our breathing to go home to our body. When body and mind are together, we are home in the here and the now. Then we can touch the wonders of life.
What is the “dharma” versus the “Dharma”? What is the realm of the Dharma? The Dharma is the teaching. A practitioner has three bodies: physical body, Dharma body (our practice), and our Sangha body. We need a community. You need a Sangha body to nourish your Dharma body. The dharmakáya is equivalent to the kingdom of God. Can we hear the Dharma talk given by the flower, the creek, the cloud, the pebble? This is the teaching in the Mahayana tradition. When we listen to the body, we listen to the Dharma. Impermanence. The kingdom is now or never. In the kingdom, there is sunshine and there is also rain.
Every wonder is happening right here and now. We can stop and train ourselves how to live. Mindfulness is through our practice, breathing and walking. Waking up in the morning, we smile.
I have arrived. I am home.