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Yunmen Temple Dharma Talk
The practice of Buddhism is the practice of mindfulness, which means being aware of everything going on, especially in the four positions of the body:
- Sitting
- Standing
- Lying down
- Walking
The Chinese character for mindfulness is made of Kim (present moment) and Tam (mind), representing the mind returning to the present moment so that body and mind become one. This practice frees us from regrets concerning the past and worries about the future. The opposite of mindfulness is thất niệm (forgetfulness), described in the Confucian teaching: “When your mind is not there, and then you look but you don’t see, you listen but you don’t hear, and you eat but you don’t know what you are eating.”
Buddhist meditation consists of three essential elements:
- Mindfulness
- Concentration
- Insight
In sitting meditation, we must become aware of our body, our breathing, our feelings, and our perceptions. By embracing these with mindfulness and looking deeply into them with concentration, we understand their true nature, which is impermanence and non-self. This understanding is enlightenment, which is not a matter of the future but is realized in the present moment. Everyday activities like drinking tea, eating breakfast, washing the bowl, chopping wood, and carrying water are all opportunities for enlightenment. The Buddha confirmed that we can live happily in the present moment, using the expression drstaDharma nirvana (nirvana in the here and now) and 現法樂住 (living happily in the present moment) at least five times in a sutra spoken to Anathapindika.
Walking meditation is the practice of walking so that peace, happiness, and enlightenment become a reality with every step. By coordinating our breath with our steps and using the gatha I have arrived, I am home, we establish ourselves in the here and now, which is the true address of the Buddhas and the Pure Land. During meals, we practice mindful eating by focusing on two objects of concentration:
- The food
- The Sangha sharing the meal
We chew our food at least 30 times to maintain mindfulness and concentration. Mindfulness also serves as the foundation of the precepts (Sila or Vinaya). When we are mindful of the consequences of our actions, we naturally refrain from wrong deeds, making the precepts a voluntary practice born of our own enlightenment rather than an external limitation of freedom.
