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You Are the Buddha
Thầy explores the gift of presence as a profound act of love, teaching the pebble meditation to help us reclaim our freshness, solidity, calm, and freedom as offerings to those around us.
In the Mahāyāna tradition, we learn that Buddha nature is not limited to humans. We practice so that all beings and every species may attain Buddhahood. As cells in the Sangha body, we each contribute to a collective energy of mindfulness, concentration, and insight. When we practice together, this shared energy becomes a powerful force for healing and transformation.
A true Sangha radiates the living Dharma. By generating compassion and awareness, we nourish the “Body of the Buddha.” This is the heart of the retreat theme: Together We Are One. Our collective practice is to nurture the beloved community as a living expression of the Buddha’s presence.
Thay also continues his teaching on Store Consciousness and Mind Consciousness, recommending that we rest from thinking to restore our health. He identifies the delusions of manas—the part of our consciousness that tends to seek pleasure and avoid suffering by suppressing difficult emotions. Thay warns that suppressing our pain creates “bad circulation” in the psyche, which can lead to mental illness.
To restore “good circulation,” Thay introduces the practice of the Mindfulness Bath. Instead of blocking our fear, anger, or despair, we allow these mental formations to manifest so they can be embraced by the energy of mindfulness, “like a mother holding her baby.” Through this tender care, our painful seeds lose their strength and are gradually transformed, making true happiness possible.
This is the fourth talk in a series of five given during the Together We Are One, Nurturing the Beloved Community retreat in the year 2011. Thầy offered this talk at Deer Park Monastery, Escondido, California, in the United States.