Sister True Dedication teaches on how to combine spirituality and action. When we have found a spiritual path, we realize that we are not alone, we walk the path with others. The Four Noble Truths enable us to see the heart of the situation and the way to better well being. Ill being is both and individual and collective matter. The path of well being (Noble Eightfold Path) is a path we walk where the means and the ends are the same, all actions that arise from us should already carry the energy of well being. With right mindfulness, all actions, no matter how mundane, can become sacred actions. With the Noble Eightfold path to guide us, we can sustain our work without burning out. We need to have a personal practice where we regularly touch the insights such as ‘non- self’, or ‘I am enough’. Touching our inner wisdom (or inner ‘hermit’) is where we can have the deepest relief and rest. Sr Hien Nghiem also talks about the Six Harmonies which enable groups to work well together.
4:09 There is a Path, a way forward for humanity, that combines spirituality & action
8:54 Telling the Truth of ill-being
14:30 Accepting the possibility of Well-being, for ourselves & the world
21:02 Spirituality & Action: how to not burn out?
22:03 The rough & rugged Path of the wise ones: first 3 elements
29:06 Mindfulness, Concentration & Insight help us touch the Ultimate & transcend the 4 wrong notions: of separate self, human being (as different from other beings), living beings (as different from inert matter) and the idea of a “lifespan”.
36:23 We need to be thirsty to touch the Ultimate *through* the historical
41:32 Invoking the Bodhisattvas: helping us bring the Ultimate dimension into the Historical dimension
54:09 The Bodhisattva Who is Ready to Laugh, Ready to Cry: engaged action with Sr Chan Khong
1:00:49 Engaged action with Thay: sacrifice & self-care. To eat or not to eat while working?
1:05:38 Actions of thought, speech and body (next 3 elements of the Path). What does right action look like in a time of Climate crisis & Planetary breakdown?
1:11:43 The “Six Harmonies” for collaborative communities. The most powerful kind of action is Collective Action.
1:17:38 Right Livelihood & Right Diligence (the final 2 elements of the Path). How do you want to live your life? What is your deepest Aspiration? Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha.
1:25:00 The 8-fold Path of the Wise Ones is the path of Wizards (Wizard. noun. meaning: “philosopher, sage,” from late Middle English wys (wise) + -ard. Literally: Wise One.)
1:28:11 Closing blessing by John O’Donohue:
May the nourishment of the Earth be yours
May the clarity of Light be yours
May the fluency of the Ocean be yours
May the protection of the Ancestors be yours
And may a slow wind work these words of love around you:
An invisible cloak to mind your life.
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