We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track. If this problem persists help us by reporting it so we can investigate it.
Watch this talk
Login or create a free account to watch this talk and discover other teachings from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Log in or create an account
Wednesday Morning Dharma Talk
Svasti, an untouchable buffalo boy, encounters Siddhartha practicing meditation in the forest. Despite the rigid caste system, Siddhartha treats Svasti with friendship, breaking the barrier of untouchability, and accepts an offering of kusha grass for a meditation cushion. Svasti later meets Sujata, the village girl who saved Siddhartha with rice milk after his harsh asceticism. Siddhartha teaches the children to overcome discrimination by sharing food and water from the same bowl. Upon attaining enlightenment, the Buddha spent his first seven weeks teaching the children. The Sutra on Herding Water Buffaloes draws a parallel between the eleven ways to tend a herd and the eleven ways to be a good monk, starting with the ability to recognize one’s own elements.
The Sutra on Mindful Breathing and the Sutra on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness serve as the basis for meditation, addressing real life issues rather than personal problems. The four foundations are the contemplation of the body in the body, the feelings in the feelings, the mind in the mind, and the objects of mind in the objects of the mind. Looking deeply into a flower reveals it is made only of non-flower elements, such as sunshine and compost. The flower is on its way to the garbage, and the garbage is on its way to the flower. Impermanence is not a cause for suffering but the very basis of life. Just as an organic gardener preserves garbage to transform it into compost, a practitioner accepts and transforms internal formations like anger without fighting them, embodying the non-dual insight that “this is because that is.”
Anger is a seed that can be transformed through the energy of mindfulness, much like cooking raw potatoes with the fire of concentration. True love is understanding; without understanding another’s suffering and aspirations, it is impossible to love them. The hand of the Bodhisattva contains an eye, symbolizing that action (Samantabhadra) must be guided by understanding (Mañjuśrī) to result in true compassion (Avalokiteśvara). Reconciliation becomes possible when one admits a lack of understanding and asks for help to love properly. Recognizing the suchness, or true nature, of oneself and others is essential for peace, a lesson illustrated by the story of a man who believed he was a grain of corn.
