Br Phap Huu teaches on how to bring the practice home after a retreat in Plum Village.
Bodhicitta is the mind of love and it also the beginner’s mind. It is a source of energy that pushes us to understand ourselves. The mindful breathing we learn at Plum Village teaches us how to imbue our breath with spirituality, nourishing our mind of love. Stopping helps us to gain stillness of mind, and the mindful breath then guides us into the here and now.
In the here and now, we can recognize our suffering and call it by its true name. We begin to have compassion for ourselves and to understand our suffering. He recommends we write down a short list of our day-to-day sufferings, identify its causes and a spiritual practice we can use to relieve the suffering. If we can be friends with the daily occurrences in everyday life (e.g. being at a stop light), we start to take control of our surroundings. When we can ‘change the CD’ in our mind, we have more control of our own lives. We touch peace. At that point, peace in the world is then possible.
We need to reflect on how we live as an individual and as a society. We need to take responsibility for our way of life without waiting for others to act. What we consume is our choice and we should take steps to protect the environment. We can decide to have a no car day or reduce our meat consumption for example.
Br Phap Huu suggests some Plum Village practices we can continue to do at home, such as mindful breathing, setting up a breathing space or doing sitting meditation. He ends his talk by teaching us how to invite the bell and demonstrates hugging meditation.
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