Transcript
[1:01] Good morning, dear friends,
[1:04] Today is the 7th of October
[1:10] in the year 2012
[1:13] and we are in the
[1:16] Still Water Meditation Hall, Upper Hamlet.
[1:22] Today is the first day of the Fall Retreat
[1:32] the second day of the Fall Retreat.
[1:41] I hope you slept well last night.
[1:46] 46 years ago,
[1:54] I was invited by Cornell University
[1:58] in Ithaca New York
[2:02] to come and give a series of lectures
[2:06] on the situation in Vietnam.
[2:14] The war in Vietnam was ravaging...
[2:19] very destructive,
[2:30] and many of us in Vietnam did not want
[2:35] the war to go on,
[2:39] but we did not have the right
[2:46] to say so.
[2:50] The majority did not want that war to go on.
[3:05] The Vietnamese were fighting each other,
[3:14] using foreign ideologies
[3:17] and foreign weapons.
[3:20] One side is Marxism/Leninism
[3:23] and the other side is capitalism,
[3:36] anti-communism.
[3:40] So we imported ideologies from the outside,
[3:45] and we also imported weapons
[3:47] - deadly weapons - from outside.
[4:00] You were not allowed
[4:03] to voice your desire for peace,
[4:09] because both warring parties
[4:11] wanted to go on with the war
[4:14] and destroy the other side.
[4:17] The communist side was backed
[4:19] by the Soviet Union and China
[4:22] and the anti-communist side
[4:27] was backed by America
[4:33] and other allies.
[4:36] So we were caught.
[4:42] There was a peace movement in Vietnam,
[4:44] but under ground.
[4:49] Because you risked your life
[4:51] if you speak out about peace.
[4:59] Thay was in Vietnam
[5:01] working with a group of young people,
[5:04] trying to diffuse peace literature.
[5:14] Thay wrote anti-war poetry
[5:22] that was not allowed to be published,
[5:26] but a young group of students
[5:28] that followed Thay
[5:30] tried to publish them anyway.
[5:39] The title of the book of poetry is
[5:42] "Let us joins our palms and pray
[5:46] so the dove - the white dove... peace
[5:51] will appear in our country."
[5:58] And...
[6:05] The book of poetry is sold very well...
[6:10] ... underground...
[6:13] and you risk
[6:18] being arrested if you have one copy.
[6:23] And also Thay wrote a book
[6:28] calling for the cessation of the hostilities.
[6:34] And the title of the book is
[6:38] "A Lotus in a Sea of Fire"
[6:43] That book was also published by Hill & Wang
[6:46] in New York.
[6:49] Sister Chân Không (True Emptiness),
[6:54] who is here today with us,
[6:57] she was arrested in Hue
[6:59] because she had one copy of that book.
[7:04] We just wanted to say that we do not want
[7:07] the war to go on.
[7:09] We want reconciliation.
[7:21] At that time Thay already set up
[7:28] an institute of higher buddhist studies
[7:33] also a buddhist university,
[7:38] called Van Hanh University,
[7:42] and the School of Youth for Social Service
[7:46] is to train young workers to help rebuild
[7:51] villages that have been destroyed
[7:53] by the bombing.
[7:56] and organize / setup refugee camps
[8:04] new villages in order to help people
[8:12] to reorganise their lives.
[8:18] We trained many young social workers to do the work,
[8:23] to care for the wounded people,
[8:25] to take care of the orphans.
[8:39] And we also organised pilot villages
[8:44] where we taught peasants how to organise themselves
[8:51] in matters of health, education,
[8:59] and so on.
[9:06] So we trained young social workers,
[9:09] among them young monks and nuns,
[9:11] and lay people,
[9:13] very dedicated to the work of peace and
[9:19] reconstruction.
[9:21] And many of our workers,
[9:24] during the time of service
[9:27] were kidnapped,
[9:29] eliminated by the warring parties.
[9:41] So many disciples of mine disappeared
[9:44] during service. Missing in Action...
[9:50] They carried with themselves not a gun,
[9:53] but a heart of love and service.
[10:04] And they assassinated many of our social workers.
[10:09] We only worked for reconciliation
[10:14] but they did not like us.
[10:19] In a situation of war like that,
[10:22] if you want to be safe,
[10:24] you have to belong
[10:27] to one of the warring parties.
[10:29] You have to take sides.
[10:33] If you take sides,
[10:35] then you'll be protected
[10:36] at least by one side.
[10:40] But if you do not take sides,
[10:42] then you are exposed to the persecution
[10:44] of both sides.
[10:46] The peace movement that we initiated in Vietnam
[10:50] was in that kind of danger.
[10:54] We were persecuted by both sides.
[10:59] And there was a lot of suspicion
[11:02] that we are working for the other side.
[11:08] One day they came
[11:09] to the School of Youth for Social Service
[11:12] and attacked us.
[11:15] We are only social workers
[11:19] trying to help the peasants
[11:21] to rebuild their destroyed villages,
[11:24] and yet they suspect us
[11:26] to be with the other side.
[11:31] Fanatical catholics,
[11:34] fanatical communists,
[11:43] they came and they killed
[11:46] a number of our social workers
[11:49] in the School of Youth for Social Service,
[11:51] and they threw a grenade into my room.
[12:03] Because they had made research before,
[12:09] they knew where I slept.
[12:12] That was at Pháp Vân temple.
[12:16] The temple is like a chapel for the whole
[12:24] School of Youth for Social Service.
[12:30] The School of Youth for Social Service
[12:34] was built by ourselves -
[12:36] by social workers.
[12:38] We made bricks,
[12:42] we built our classrooms,
[12:45] we built our living quarters,
[12:48] we did everything.
[12:50] And we did not dare to ask
[12:54] for the support from any government,
[12:56] because if we did,
[12:59] we would have belonged to one warring party.
[13:01] So we based on the grassroots people
[13:06] in order to have materials,
[13:10] and food and other things,
[13:12] in order to organise
[13:14] the School of Youth for Social Service.
[13:22] So that night they threw a grenade into my room.
[13:27] Fortunately I was not there.
[13:29] I had left one day before
[13:32] for the United States of America
[13:34] to give a series of lectures
[13:37] in Cornell University.
[13:40] Otherwise I would not be here today.
[13:51] And you know that since I was
[13:54] trying to tell the United States of America,
[13:59] and Europe,
[14:01] that we did not want the war
[14:05] - Trying to speak for the majority -
[14:09] that is why the government
[14:11] did not allow me to go home
[14:14] after the tour.
[14:25] And I began my exile in the West.
[14:31] 40 years of exile.
[14:38] It's very difficult.
[14:41] All my friends were in Vietnam,
[14:44] all my work was in Vietnam,
[14:46] and suddenly I found myself alone here,
[14:52] not being able to continue.
[15:01] So with my practice,
[15:03] I tried to survive,
[15:07] tried to make new friends,
[15:09] and try to share my practice of meditation.
[15:19] After the tour,
[15:20] speaking tour,
[15:22] I came to Paris trying to seek
[15:26] political asylum in France,
[15:33] and set up a peace delegation
[15:36] in order to speak the voice of the people
[15:41] in Vietnam, who did not have a chance
[15:45] to express themselves.
[16:02] We didn't have a place large enough
[16:05] in order to do sitting meditation,
[16:12] so we asked our quaker friends
[16:15] to allow us a place to practice
[16:25] sitting meditation.
[16:28] There's a Quaker Centre in Paris
[16:31] Rue Vaugirard
[16:33] And we know that working for peace
[16:40] we may burn out if we do not maintain
[16:45] a spiritual practice
[16:49] that is why to continue
[16:52] the practice of meditation
[16:55] is very crucial for you to continue
[17:00] with your peace work or social work.
[17:08] In the School for Youth of Social Service also
[17:11] we know that if you want to serve
[17:14] for a long time, we have to
[17:23] get a spiritual dimension
[17:28] in our daily lives.
[17:31] If you do not have a spiritual practice,
[17:33] you can lose yourself in despair
[17:36] or anger or frustration,
[17:39] and you can't continue very long.
[17:43] So in Paris,
[17:45] I did the same,
[17:46] trying my best to convince the people
[17:51] to help end the war in Vietnam
[17:56] and we tried to
[17:58] follow a practice that can sustain us
[18:04] as a peace worker.
[18:13] Professor George Kahin
[18:15] is a professor of government, politics,
[18:19] it was he who wrote the letter,
[18:26] invited me to come and give a series of lectures
[18:30] in Cornell University
[18:35] And thanks to that letter I could get
[18:38] a passport and a visa.
[18:42] But when they gave me the passport,
[18:45] they said "Don't say anything about peace!"
[18:48] And my purpose is to go and talk about this.
[18:54] I didn't say anything, I just smiled.
[19:02] That's 1966. Many of you hadn't been born...
[19:12] and I was still a young monk.
[19:21] A little bit more than 40.
[19:28] And professor Kahin offered me hospitality.
[19:33] I stayed in their house -
[19:36] a very beautiful house.
[19:39] And one day he asked me
[19:43] "Thay, what do you do when
[19:46] you practice sitting meditation?"
[19:53] This is a very good question.
[19:56] He saw me practice sitting every day,
[19:59] and he was curious!
[20:01] "What do you do
[20:03] when you practice sitting meditation?"
[20:12] It means that sitting meditation is "doing things".
[20:18] But in fact,
[20:20] sitting meditation is not doing things.
[20:26] Sitting is a kind of being -
[20:30] and not doing.
[20:34] You sit in such a way that peace
[20:44] is possible...
[20:48] harmony is possible...
[20:53] joy is possible...
[20:56] and healing is possible.
[21:00] And you don't have to strive,
[21:03] to fight,
[21:05] in order to do that.
[21:09] So sitting is an art.
[21:12] Sitting should not be hard work,
[21:16] hard labor.
[21:20] Sitting must be a pleasure.
[21:25] It's like walking.
[21:28] Or breathing.
[21:30] If you suffer when you practice
[21:36] mindful breathing,
[21:38] if you suffer while you practice
[21:41] mindful walking,
[21:45] your practice is not good.
[21:48] Your practice should be pleasant,
[21:55] your practice should bring healing
[21:57] transformation and nourishment
[22:03] not in the future,
[22:05] but right during the time you practice.
[22:11] So sitting,
[22:15] if you know how to sit,
[22:18] you get the healing during
[22:21] the sitting.
[22:22] you get the nourishment
[22:25] during the sitting.
[22:28] And sitting like that
[22:30] is a privilege,
[22:38] because many of us do not have
[22:39] the privilege of sitting.
[22:43] Remember Nelson Mandela,
[22:48] the ex-president of South Africa,
[22:54] when he came to Paris,
[22:58] for the first time visiting the French President,
[23:06] Francois Mitterrand,
[23:08] the press asked him many questions.
[23:14] He had been in prison for a long time.
[23:19] So they asked him:
[23:21] "Mr. President, what do you want to do the most now?"
[23:29] And he said:
[23:30] "What I want to do the most now
[23:33] is to sit down and do nothing."
[23:39] He felt the need to sit.
[23:41] "Since the time I was released from prison,
[23:47] I was so busy... so many things to do..
[23:55] and I feel the need... my deepest desire
[23:57] is to have the time to sit down
[24:01] and not to worry about anything,
[24:03] not to do anything."
[24:07] And it was reported in Le Monde -
[24:11] the French Newspaper.
[24:22] And when Thay read that interview,
[24:28] Thay had some reflection.
[24:32] All of us need the time to sit down
[24:37] and do nothing.
[24:42] But sitting down and doing nothing
[24:45] is not that easy.
[24:50] When you are used to be doing something,
[24:53] always.
[24:57] Without doing something, you cannot stand it,
[25:00] you cannot bear it. It has become a habit.
[25:08] So sitting and doing nothing is a challenge.
[25:14] And that is sitting meditation.
[25:19] So sitting is an art.
[25:22] You sit in such a way that you feel relaxed,
[25:30] happy, peaceful.
[25:38] There is no need to do anything at all.
[25:42] You are not pulled away by a project,
[25:49] a desire to do something.
[26:06] So I tried to explain to George Kahin
[26:10] about sitting meditation.
[26:18] It's not much... it should not be described
[26:24] in terms of doing something when you sit...
[26:28] but being... how to be.
[26:32] And you do that not only with your mind,
[26:36] but also with your body.
[26:38] Because mind and body are
[26:41] connected to each other in such a way
[26:43] that you cannot take mind out of body
[26:46] and body out of mind.
[27:03] And you do not need to make an effort.
[27:10] You don't have to fight or to strive.
[27:18] It is an art rather than a labor.
[27:28] If you happen to become aware that you have a body,
[27:36] that is not something so difficult.
[27:44] In the third exercise of mindful breathing,
[27:46] the Buddha proposed:
[27:48] "Breathing in, I know I have a body."
[27:56] So the body becomes the object of your mind.
[28:02] You are aware of your body.
[28:13] In our modern times,
[28:15] sometimes we spend two hours or three
[28:17] with our computer. We are completely lost,
[28:22] and we completely forget that we have a body.
[28:31] We are pulled away,
[28:36] there is no awareness that the body is there.
[28:50] Many of our brothers and sisters
[28:54] here in Plum Village.
[28:56] they programmed a bell of mindfulness
[28:59] on their computers.
[29:02] Every quarter of an hour,
[29:07] the bell sounds.
[29:12] And when the bell of mindfulness is heard,
[29:17] you stop working,
[29:20] you stop thinking,
[29:23] you go back to your inbreath
[29:26] you breathe in and you get in touch
[29:29] with your body.
[29:34] When mind is not with body,
[29:37] you are not truly there
[29:39] to live your life.
[29:46] And in our daily lives,
[29:52] very often our mind is not with our body.
[30:01] Our mind might be caught in the past,
[30:05] we are drowned in our regrets or sorrows
[30:09] concerning the past.
[30:11] the past becomes a prison for you,
[30:14] you cannot get out.
[30:18] Many of us are not free from the past.
[30:23] We are caught by our regret and sorrow.
[30:27] We are not able to live our lives
[30:29] because we are in prison.
[30:36] So breathing in mindfully
[30:38] might pull us out of the past
[30:42] so that we can be free to be with our body.
[30:47] Because when mind and body are together,
[30:55] you can be established in the present moment.
[31:01] If mind and body are not together,
[31:03] you are not in the present moment,
[31:06] in the here and in the now.
[31:09] And life - real life - is available
[31:13] only in the present moment.
[31:17] Because the past is no longer there
[31:20] and the future is not yet there.
[31:23] Life, and all the wonders of life,
[31:26] can be found only in the present moment.
[31:30] So... one mindful inbreath
[31:34] may be enough
[31:35] to pull you out of the prison
[31:38] of the past
[31:40] and bring your mind back to your body
[31:44] so that you can come home to the here and the now
[31:48] where life is available.
[31:53] and you can touch the blue sky,
[31:56] touch the rain,
[31:59] touch the clouds, touch the trees,
[32:02] touch the songs of the birds.
[32:07] And the first thing you touch is your body.
[32:13] And the third exercise of mindful breathing
[32:15] proposed by the Buddha is
[32:17] "Breathing in, I am aware of my body."
[32:21] of the existence of my body.
[32:25] It's so simple. And you don't have
[32:28] to strive, to fight in order to do so.
[32:33] And it can be very pleasant too
[32:39] because breathing in can be very pleasant.
[32:47] When you do not have asthma,
[32:50] when your nose is not stuffed,
[33:00] then breathing in the fresh air can be very pleasant.
[33:05] Breathing in, I enjoy breathing in...
[33:10] Breathing in, I am aware that I have a body.
[33:16] So that is not hard work.
[33:29] And then many of us...
[33:32] if we are not caught in the prison of the past,
[33:37] then we are caught in the prison of the future.
[33:43] Many of us worry about the future.
[33:50] We don't know what will happen to our future.
[33:54] So we spend our time to worry about the future.
[34:02] and there is fear about the future,
[34:06] there is anxiety, uncertainty about the future,
[34:13] these kinds of negative energies
[34:17] are not nourishing and healing.
[34:27] and most of us
[34:33] sacrifice the present moment
[34:35] for the sake of the future.
[34:40] Many of us are good to prepare for the future,
[34:43] but are not got to live the present moment.
[34:49] We can prepare for the future,
[34:50] but we are not capable
[34:53] of enjoying the present moment.
[34:59] and you are caught in the fear,
[35:03] in the uncertainty about the future -
[35:04] and the future becomes a prison.
[35:11] We are not truly living our lives.
[35:16] Because we do not have freedom.
[35:21] And we know that freedom is the foundation
[35:24] of true happiness.
[35:27] Not political freedom,
[35:30] but freedom vis a vis the past,
[35:32] vis a vis the future,
[35:34] the sorrow, the regret,
[35:38] the complex, the fear,
[35:41] the anxiety,
[35:43] we are slaves,
[35:44] we are bounded by these kinds of energies.
[35:47] We are not free.
[35:48] That is why joy and happiness is not possible.
[35:53] Happy life is not possible.
[35:59] So sitting is a way in order to be free.
[36:04] And you may like to handle your body,
[36:08] your breath, your mind in such a way
[36:13] that you can restore freedom.
[36:17] Because one inbreath made mindfully
[36:24] can pull you out from the prison
[36:33] of the past and the future.
[36:37] Just to become aware that you have a body.
[36:42] and you smile to your body.
[36:47] it helps you to be fully present
[36:50] in the here and now.
[36:52] so that you can live you life deeply.
[37:04] And when you are in touch with your body,
[37:10] you might get the insight:
[37:14] mindfulness and concentration
[37:17] directed to your body.
[37:21] Your body becomes the object of your mindfulness,
[37:24] because mindfulness is always
[37:26] mindfulness of something.
[37:30] When you breathe, that's
[37:33] mindfulness of breathing.
[37:36] When you drink:
[37:39] mindfulness of drinking
[37:42] When you walk:
[37:43] mindfulness of walking
[37:45] When you're angry - and you know you're angry:
[37:48] mindfulness of anger.
[37:51] So mindfulness is always
[37:53] mindfulness of something.
[37:56] So this is mindfulness of body.
[38:00] Breathing in, first of all,
[38:03] the object of mindfulness is your inbreath.
[38:08] And your inbreath brings you home to your body,
[38:11] and becomes mindfulness of body.
[38:16] And if you are very mindful of your body,
[38:20] then you are concentrated also,
[38:23] Because mindfulness and concentration
[38:25] they go together,
[38:28] When you are mindful of something,
[38:31] and very mindful of that something,
[38:34] you are concentrated somehow on that.
[38:38] Concentrated means that
[38:40] you only pay attention to that,
[38:42] and not to other things.
[38:44] You release everything else,
[38:45] and just retain one object.
[38:50] And that object might be your inbreath,
[38:54] maybe the tea you are drinking,
[38:57] or maybe your body -
[38:59] mindfulness of body.
[39:03] And the Buddha gave us
[39:06] one whole sutra on the practice of
[39:08] mindfulness of body -
[39:11] the contemplation of the body.
[39:25] And when you are mindful of your body,
[39:27] and you are truly concentrated on your body,
[39:33] you may find out
[39:35] - easily and very quickly -
[39:37] that your body is a wonder,
[39:42] is a mystery.
[39:49] I think biologists, many of them,
[39:57] are capable to see that our body is a wonder.
[40:03] It's so well organized.
[40:14] Biology tries to understand the body,
[40:16] but our understanding of the body
[40:19] is not enough, is not complete yet.
[40:28] It's a wonder.
[40:32] And you possess a wonder.
[40:34] Your body is a wonder.
[40:42] Yesterday, during a conversation
[40:47] between Thay and brother David,
[40:54] I said that "that flower, that you see,
[41:02] on your path,
[41:05] is a wonder.
[41:10] It is a mystery.
[41:13] the presence of that tiny flower is a wonder.
[41:18] And you may say that this flower
[41:20] belongs to the kingdom of God.
[41:27] You cannot explain with your human mind
[41:31] how that flower is there.
[41:43] If that flower
[41:45] does not belong to the kingdom of God,
[41:51] Where should it belong to?
[41:59] And if you put mindfulness and concentration
[42:04] you can get in touch with that flower,
[42:07] and you may get right away the insight
[42:10] that this is something that belongs
[42:13] to the kingdom of God... that it is part
[42:15] of the kingdom of God.
[42:22] And if you can really touch that flower,
[42:25] you touch the kingdom
[42:27] in the here and the now.
[42:29] You don't have to die in order to
[42:31] touch the kingdom of God.
[42:42] And if the kingdom of God is available
[42:48] because not only that flower
[42:50] belongs to the kingdom,
[42:52] but this plant also
[42:54] belongs to the kingdom.
[42:57] And your body also
[43:00] belongs to the kingdom.
[43:01] Do not have any complex.
[43:04] Your body is a wonder.
[43:10] It is a mystery.
[43:13] You cannot explain with your speculative mind.
[43:21] So everything that you touch,
[43:26] in you and around you, that all
[43:28] belongs to the kingdom of god,
[43:30] they are wonders.
[43:32] not only the lotus flower is a wonder,
[43:36] but the mud that helps
[43:38] to produce the lotus
[43:40] is also a wonder.
[43:44] Without the mud, there would not be a lotus.
[43:57] So it is possible,
[43:59] with the practice of mindfulness,
[44:02] to get in touch with the Kingdom of God -
[44:06] every moment of your daily life.
[44:10] In the Buddhist tradition, we do not use
[44:13] the phrase "kingdom of God"
[44:19] We use the term "dharmakaya"
[44:26] the body of the cosmos.
[44:34] Or we use the word "suchness"
[44:54] Suchness
[45:03] Suchness
[45:08] Tathātā
[45:26] It means reality as it is.
[45:35] the ultimate reality.
[45:38] reality as it is.
[45:41] You cannot describe reality as it is
[45:45] in terms of being or non-being,
[45:54] good or evil, birth and death,
[46:02] because these are notions
[46:06] these are mental categories
[46:09] that are not capable of describing
[46:12] the ultimate.
[46:15] You cannot use notions and concepts
[46:17] to describe God.
[46:26] And we have the word "dharmabody":
[46:45] the body of the cosmos.
[46:58] And sometimes we use the word "Nirvana".
[47:21] Sometimes we use "bhutakoti, that té" -
[47:37] there are many words.
[47:41] We do not use the words "God"
[47:43] or "kingdom of God"
[47:45] but they are equivalent.
[47:48] So the flower, the cloud, the rain,
[47:58] your body, are expressions, are manifestions
[48:02] of the wonderful suchness,
[48:05] of the wonderful dharma body,
[48:07] of the wonderful Nirvana.
[48:20] So Westerners, many of them belong
[48:27] to the Christian tradition, are using the term
[48:31] "kingdom of God." It is easier.
[48:34] If the kingdom of God is available
[48:36] in the here and the now, then God is
[48:40] available also in the here and now.
[48:44] If you can touch the kingdom,
[48:46] you can touch God.
[48:51] So during walking meditation,
[48:53] I picked up one tiny flower
[48:55] and offered it to brother David,
[48:58] I offered him the kingdom of God.
[49:07] And with the energy of mindfulness,
[49:10] concentration powerful enough,
[49:13] you can touch the kingdom of God
[49:17] in everything. Not only in the lotus,
[49:23] but also in the mud,
[49:28] because in the kingdom of God,
[49:30] there is no discrimination.
[49:38] And yesterday we spoke about the relationship
[49:40] between suffering and happiness.
[49:44] Suffering is a kind of mud,
[49:47] happiness is a kind of lotus,
[49:50] and if we know how to make
[49:52] good use of suffering, we can produce
[49:55] the beautiful lotus of happiness.
[49:58] So everything inside of you and around you
[50:01] can be seen as a manifestation
[50:08] of the kingdom.
[50:09] The kingdom is available 24 hours a day.
[50:18] The problem is whether you are
[50:20] available to the kingdom.
[50:22] You are caught
[50:24] in the prison of the past,
[50:28] in the prison of the future,
[50:30] of your worries,
[50:32] so you cannot touch the kingdom.
[50:34] It is not that the kingdom is not available -
[50:37] It is you who are not available to the kingdom
[50:40] because you do not have freedom.
[50:46] And the practice of mindfulness and concentration
[50:48] helps you to get out of the prison
[50:53] in order to touch the kingdom.
[50:58] if the kingdom is available 24 hours a day,
[51:05] and God is available 24 hours a day, now,
[51:10] you don't have to die in order to see God.
[51:14] It may be too late.
[51:19] We have to be very alive
[51:22] in order to get in touch with God,
[51:25] and to be alive,
[51:26] you should have that energy in you,
[51:29] energy of awareness, mindfulness, concentration,
[51:34] and these energies are in you.
[51:40] You can generate energy of mindfulness,
[51:43] concentration and insight.
[51:46] When you drink the tea, you can choose
[51:50] to drink it in mindfulness.
[51:56] It means that
[51:58] with mindfulness and concentration,
[52:02] when you breathe in mindfully
[52:06] and bring your mind home to your body,
[52:09] and then you are established in the here and the now.
[52:12] And you become fully present in the here and the now,
[52:17] and you become fully alive in the here and the now.
[52:21] Just one inbreath.
[52:24] No hard labor.
[52:28] And when you're really fully present
[52:31] then the tea you hold in your hand
[52:34] becomes also real.
[52:38] And drinking tea in that way,
[52:41] you are drinking in the kingdom of God.
[52:49] And you can do everything in your daily life in that way.
[52:54] And the kingdom of God,
[52:58] the ultimate truth, reality,
[53:00] can be available to you at every moment.
[53:11] Sometimes we despise our body,
[53:14] we hate our body.
[53:17] It means we hate the kingdom of God,
[53:20] we despise the kingdom of God,
[53:22] because our body is a wonder.
[53:26] We are thinking of our body
[53:28] in terms of good and evil,
[53:32] we are caught
[53:34] by the complex of superiority and inferiority.
[53:36] All these are created by your mind.
[53:40] They prevent you to touch the kingdom of God,
[53:44] to the suchness.
[53:49] Suchness translated into French is "ainsité":
[54:04] Things are, what they are.
[54:12] And your idea about it might be wrong.
[54:20] It is your way of seeing
[54:24] that allows it to reveal itself to you.
[54:39] So the first exercise of mindful breathing is
[54:46] "Breathing in, I know I am breathing in."
[54:53] Breathing in, I know that this is an inbreath
[54:58] that I produce, I enjoy.
[55:06] We breathe all the time, but not mindfully.
[55:12] But when you bring your attention
[55:14] to your inbreath,
[55:15] that's called mindful breathing.
[55:19] And your inbreath becomes the object of your mind -
[55:25] the ONLY object of your mind.
[55:27] You forget everything else -
[55:29] you release everything: worries, projects,
[55:32] regrets, everything.
[55:35] So just breathe in mindfully,
[55:37] and you become a free person.
[55:41] It takes three seconds or four.
[55:47] Just breathe in and focus your attention
[55:50] only on your inbreath.
[55:54] And you release the past, the future,
[55:56] your worries, your projects.
[55:59] It's a one-minded mind, one minded thing.
[56:03] Ekaggata - one-pointed mind.
[56:08] And we use to think too much.
[56:13] So breathing in is not thinking.
[56:17] The words "breathing in, I know I am breathing in"
[56:20] is not a thought, it is a practice.
[56:23] And you don-t have to use the words.
[56:26] You just focus the attention on your inbreath
[56:28] and you breathe in and you focus all
[56:31] your attention on your breathing.
[56:35] And it may be pleasant too.
[56:39] and if you enjoy your inbreath,
[56:42] and you feel wonderful,
[56:46] and you touch the wonder of life.
[56:50] And one inbreath, even if it is short,
[56:55] as short as two or three seconds,
[56:58] can produce a miracle,
[57:01] can bring you insight, understanding.
[57:08] Breathing in mindfully,
[57:13] you might discover
[57:15] the truth that you are there,
[57:19] you are alive
[57:23] because someone who is already dead
[57:25] does not breathe in anymore.
[57:28] And seeing that you are breathing in,
[57:31] you know that you have a body,
[57:33] you are alive.
[57:37] And that is already insight,
[57:42] that is already awakening, enlightenment!
[57:49] Please do not think of enlightenment
[57:52] as something far away,
[57:53] that you get after ten years of practice. No.
[57:57] Enlightenment can be immediate.
[58:01] Because the energy of mindfulness
[58:04] carries within itself the energies of
[58:06] concentration and enlightenment.
[58:10] Look at this logo:
[58:14] "Smrti, Samadhi, and Prajna"
[58:18] Smrti is mindfulness.
[58:21] Mindfulness is the energy that allows you
[58:26] to be there in the here and the now,
[58:31] allows you to know what is going on
[58:33] in the here and the now.
[58:36] And everyone of us
[58:37] is capable of generating that energy.
[58:41] That's a holy energy.
[58:45] When you breathe in mindfully,
[58:48] you are a holy person
[58:50] and I can call you "your holiness."
[58:58] And if you are truly very mindful,
[59:02] you are concentrated on that object
[59:05] of mindfulness. And that is "samadhi."
[59:10] Samadhi means concentration.
[59:13] Samadhi also means calm, peace.
[59:24] And when the energy
[59:28] of smrti and samadhi are there,
[59:32] the energy of prajna, which is wisdom,
[59:36] enlightenment, deep vision, insight,
[59:40] is available also.
[59:43] It can just happen like this.
[59:46] Breathing in, you get enlightened.
[59:53] And to know that you are there, still alive,
[59:59] is already an enlightenment.
[1:00:02] It's not something far away.
[1:00:08] It's not wishful thinking, hope for the future.
[1:00:12] Enlightenment is available
[1:00:14] - may be available -
[1:00:16] in the here and the now,
[1:00:19] if smrti and samadhi are there.
[1:00:24] So breathing in three seconds mindfully,
[1:00:29] you enjoy breathing in.
[1:00:33] And the energy of mindfulness allows you to get
[1:00:36] the insight that "Ah! I'm there, I'm alive!
[1:00:40] the fact that I'm here, sitting here,
[1:00:44] making steps on this beautiful planet
[1:00:47] is a wonder!"
[1:00:51] And you touch the kingdom of God.
[1:00:56] And breathing in mindfully can set you free.
[1:01:01] Freedom. Freedom is possible.
[1:01:07] You know, if you are to make a decision,
[1:01:12] you are forced to make a decision,
[1:01:15] and sometimes you have to make it quickly...
[1:01:20] there is a deadline...
[1:01:28] the other person calling you on the telephone
[1:01:32] and asks you,
[1:01:35] or expects you to make a decision.
[1:01:39] And if you are caught by the regret, or
[1:01:44] or the sorrow about the future,
[1:01:48] if you are caught by the
[1:01:50] energy of fear and uncertainty,
[1:01:52] then you are not free.
[1:01:55] And in that situation your decision
[1:01:59] cannot be a good decision.
[1:02:02] Because your decision is conditioned,
[1:02:06] influenced by your fear, your anger,
[1:02:08] your uncertainty, your sorrow.
[1:02:10] This is not a good decision.
[1:02:13] So don't make a decision.
[1:02:15] Breathe in first.
[1:02:17] Breathe in, and you release all this
[1:02:20] past and future, and you become freer,
[1:02:23] and there will be a variety of decisions
[1:02:27] available to you.
[1:02:29] and you can make a better decision.
[1:02:34] Breathing in, releasing all these feelings
[1:02:40] that can infringe you, you become free,
[1:02:46] and any decision you make
[1:02:50] is a better decision.
[1:02:53] It makes a big difference
[1:02:56] with mindfulness, concentration and insight.
[1:03:01] Your decision will be more compassionate,
[1:03:05] intelligent, beneficial for you and for him.
[1:03:17] And if you make a decision under the pressure
[1:03:21] of anger, fear, worries,
[1:03:25] that's not good for you and for her.
[1:04:02] The practice recommended by the Buddha
[1:04:08] may look very simple,
[1:04:12] he tried to make it simple, so that we can
[1:04:16] put it into practice.
[1:04:19] Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.
[1:04:26] That is mindful breathing.
[1:04:30] And you can do it at any time.
[1:04:37] You don't have to go to the meditation hall
[1:04:40] and sit down in order to do that.
[1:04:43] While you are washing the dishes,
[1:04:46] you may like to enjoy
[1:04:48] breathing in and out mindfully,
[1:04:50] and be yourself, and enjoy dishwashing.
[1:04:55] When you drive your car, why don't you practice
[1:04:58] mindful breathing, mindful smiling,
[1:05:02] and make the driving pleasant.
[1:05:07] When you take a shower,
[1:05:10] when you cook your breakfast,
[1:05:14] and it can only bring you more joy,
[1:05:17] and happiness and life, true life,
[1:05:20] because if you are really there,
[1:05:24] then life is real.
[1:05:27] Why cooking breakfast
[1:05:29] if you are caught by your worries,
[1:05:31] your planning.
[1:05:35] That's not the best way of making breakfast.
[1:05:41] Eating breakfast also.
[1:05:45] Mindfulness and concentration help you
[1:05:48] to enjoy every moment of breakfast making.
[1:05:53] When you open the water tap,
[1:05:55] mindfulness tells you that water
[1:06:00] has come from high up in the mountain.
[1:06:06] Water has come from the depth of the earth
[1:06:10] to your kitchen. That is a wonder.
[1:06:16] So you enjoy water.
[1:06:20] When you wash your face, your hand,
[1:06:25] allow your fingers to be in touch with the cool,
[1:06:29] refreshing water.
[1:06:33] The feeling is very pleasant.
[1:06:35] And when you wash your eyes with that
[1:06:39] fresh, cold, water, it can be very pleasant!
[1:06:43] You cherish the fresh water
[1:06:49] and you cherish your eyes.
[1:06:52] You have two eyes still in good conditions.
[1:07:00] So many wonderful things.
[1:07:04] And that is possible thanks to mindfulness.
[1:07:09] Mindfulness is a source of happiness.
[1:07:13] You recognize that so many
[1:07:16] conditions of happiness,
[1:07:18] so many wonders of life
[1:07:24] are available, refreshing and healing.
[1:07:28] And mindfulness is not something
[1:07:30] you have to ask from a God.
[1:07:32] Mindfulness is something you can generate
[1:07:36] by just walking, breathing,
[1:07:40] or doing anything.
[1:07:44] Mindful driving, mindful dishwashing,
[1:07:50] mindful walking,
[1:07:52] generating energy of mindfulness.
[1:08:01] So the first exercise,
[1:08:05] "Breathing in, I know I am breathing in"
[1:08:10] an inbreath is happening.
[1:08:23] What is happiness?
[1:08:25] Mindfulness is the energy that allows you to...
[1:08:30] to be aware of what is happening.
[1:08:34] What is happening is: you are breathing in.
[1:08:38] What is happening is that you have a body.
[1:08:42] What is happening is that
[1:08:43] there is fresh air available.
[1:08:52] And everyone is capable of being mindful.
[1:08:59] The second exercise is:
[1:09:01] "Breathing in, I follow my inbreath
[1:09:03] from the beginning to the end."
[1:09:09] Suppose this is the length of your inbreath.
[1:09:14] Three, four, five, six seconds.
[1:09:21] There was a time when I would enjoy
[1:09:25] a very looong inbreath.
[1:09:28] It may last 12 seconds!
[1:09:40] And when your inbreath lasts 12 seconds,
[1:09:45] your whole breath can last 18 seconds,
[1:09:52] So in one minute,
[1:10:03] there are only two inbreaths and two outbreaths.
[1:10:13] Deep breathing, with your belly,
[1:10:17] it helps bring a lot of oxygen
[1:10:22] into your body,
[1:10:24] it helps bring out the...
[1:10:37] the polluted air from your lungs.
[1:10:44] But we don't need to try
[1:10:48] to make our inbreaths and outbreaths longer.
[1:10:51] We just breathe in such a way that
[1:10:54] makes us... that can be pleasant.
[1:11:02] Two seconds / three seconds is ok.
[1:11:06] three seconds / five seconds,
[1:11:08] four seconds / six seconds, it depends
[1:11:12] the essential is that you feel pleasant,
[1:11:15] you feel happy while breathing in and out.
[1:11:20] So the second exercise is
[1:11:23] "Breathing in, I follow my breathing
[1:11:26] from the beginning to the end."
[1:11:29] No interruption. Continued mindfulness.
[1:11:33] No thinking, no planning interfere.
[1:11:39] So breathing like that,
[1:11:41] you allow your concentration
[1:11:43] to become stronger.
[1:11:46] And as your concentration becomes strong,
[1:11:49] you get insights... more insight.
[1:11:55] And so the practice is just to generate
[1:11:58] these three kinds of energies
[1:12:02] that can transform our suffering
[1:12:06] and bring happiness.
[1:12:14] This is not an act of devotion,
[1:12:17] this is not prayer, this is practice.
[1:12:28] And the third exercise you already know.
[1:12:31] "Breathing in, I know I have a body."
[1:12:39] If you want to put the bell of mindfulness
[1:12:42] in your computer,
[1:12:44] Thay Phap Nguyen will tell you how.
[1:12:55] You know in Plum Village,
[1:12:57] every time the clock plays music,
[1:13:03] every quarter of an hour,
[1:13:07] we stop talking, we stop thinking,
[1:13:10] we stop eating, and we just go back to our body,
[1:13:14] and we enjoy.
[1:13:21] The present moment becomes alive again.
[1:13:27] If we have lost our awareness
[1:13:31] during the time of eating lunch,
[1:13:38] mindfulness helps us
[1:13:40] to be aware of two things:
[1:13:42] the food that we eat,
[1:13:45] which is a gift from the cosmos.
[1:13:54] In the christian tradition, the bread is
[1:13:58] is the body of Jesus Christ.
[1:14:03] In this tradition,
[1:14:05] the bread you hold in your hand
[1:14:07] is the body of the cosmos.
[1:14:11] Everything in the cosmos is in there.
[1:14:15] Wind, rain, cloud, sunshine -
[1:14:22] everything has come together
[1:14:25] to produce that piece of bread you are eating.
[1:14:28] And if you chew your bread in mindfulness,
[1:14:34] you are in touch with the whole cosmos.
[1:14:39] You are not alienated,
[1:14:41] you are not isolated anymore.
[1:14:53] So it's very important that you come back
[1:14:59] to your body
[1:15:02] and you touch
[1:15:05] that wonder of life which is your body.
[1:15:14] You are more than your body.
[1:15:28] And the fourth exercise
[1:15:34] is also a play and not a hard labor.
[1:15:40] It's to release the tension in your body.
[1:15:47] "Breathing in, I calm my body
[1:15:51] I release the tension in my body."
[1:16:01] And these are the things we enjoy doing
[1:16:08] during sitting meditation. Just the beginning.
[1:16:13] Learn how to handle our respiration,
[1:16:18] how to handle our body,
[1:16:20] how to handle our mind.
[1:16:23] You don't have to do anything,
[1:16:25] just handle them skillfully, with art.
[1:16:29] And you have peace, pleasure,
[1:16:36] healing, nourishment.
[1:16:40] That's the first four exercises of mindful breathing,
[1:16:46] dealing with the body.
[1:16:49] And the next four is the four exercises
[1:16:53] on how to handle our feelings and emotions.
[1:17:00] So the first exercise is to be
[1:17:05] with your inbreath and your outbreath.
[1:17:13] To recognize, to be aware.
[1:17:18] And while breathing in,
[1:17:21] you identify yourself
[1:17:23] with your inbreath.
[1:17:28] The one who breathes and the breath
[1:17:32] that is being breathed, are one.
[1:17:37] And you enjoy. You are your own breathing.
[1:17:42] There is no distinction anymore between
[1:17:45] you, the breather, and the breath.
[1:17:52] You cannot take the breather out of the breath,
[1:17:55] and you cannot take the breath
[1:17:57] out of the breather.
[1:18:00] And that may be also another insight
[1:18:05] that can happen during your practice
[1:18:08] of mindful breathing.
[1:18:13] This is me doing something like a breathing.
[1:18:18] That is not be best way of saying it.
[1:18:21] The best way is:
[1:18:23] "There is a breathing going on."
[1:18:32] So the first exercise is to be aware
[1:18:36] of your inbreath and outbreath,
[1:18:39] to be one with your inbreath and oubreath.
[1:18:42] No discrimination.
[1:18:47] The second one is to follow
[1:18:55] your inbreath and outbreath
[1:18:58] all the way through.
[1:19:04] And that is pleasant also.
[1:19:09] So let us learn the habit of being happy
[1:19:18] while breathing in and breathing out.
[1:19:20] Whether you are sitting on the grass,
[1:19:23] or driving your car,
[1:19:25] or washing your dishes:
[1:19:28] enjoy your inbreath.
[1:19:32] The reason why you can enjoy your inbreath
[1:19:35] is that you are alive.
[1:19:39] You have enough conditions of happiness,
[1:19:44] and dishwashing is something wonderful
[1:19:52] Also:
[1:19:55] Washing dishes is not only
[1:19:57] to have clean dishes -
[1:20:00] washing dishes is to ENJOY washing dishes -
[1:20:06] it's not dirty work.
[1:20:11] And you wash your dishes in such a way
[1:20:13] that the kingdom of God is available
[1:20:17] during the whole time of dishwashing.
[1:20:23] It is possible.
[1:20:26] You can enjoy.
[1:20:31] During the time I was a novice,
[1:20:35] in the temple there was no soap,
[1:20:38] no detergent, no hot water,
[1:20:43] no running water, no electricity.
[1:20:52] And sometimes we had to wash dishes
[1:20:54] for one hundred monks.
[1:20:56] And you use kitchen ash,
[1:21:01] because we cooked with wood,
[1:21:06] and we use the ash in order
[1:21:10] to clean the dishes.
[1:21:12] Every time the novices
[1:21:17] prepared to wash the dishes,
[1:21:19] they had to heat water,
[1:21:22] especially in winter,
[1:21:24] so that they would have warm water
[1:21:28] to wash the dishes.
[1:21:30] And they used ash, and then the coconut,
[1:21:36] you know, the coconut fruit,
[1:21:39] there is a skin outside,
[1:21:41] we used it to scratch
[1:21:44] and make the pan and the pot clean.
[1:21:50] We also did not have toothbrushes;
[1:21:53] we cleaned our teeth with Areca fruit.
[1:22:03] Areca fruit and betle. Many of us chewed.
[1:22:10] It's good for
[1:22:14] keeping your teeth strong and healthy.
[1:22:19] Now still there are who chew betel,
[1:22:25] a kind of leaf,
[1:22:26] together with a kind of nut,
[1:22:30] and when they spit it is red.
[1:22:37] And it is equivalent to chewing gum.
[1:22:46] You chew and chew and chew
[1:22:49] and you exercise.
[1:22:56] So at that time when I was a novice
[1:22:59] we did not have hot water,
[1:23:02] we didn't have detergent, soap,
[1:23:07] and yet three, four novices washing dishes very joyfully.
[1:23:15] There was brotherhood in that.
[1:23:21] I remember we did not have enough wood to cook.
[1:23:29] So we brought some rakes
[1:23:35] to the hills with pine trees,
[1:23:39] and we gathered the pine needles
[1:23:45] and made a big heap.
[1:23:54] And we can cook a pot of rice with pine needles.
[1:24:00] I can do it very well.
[1:24:07] Sometimes you bring pine needles,
[1:24:09] and I will make a demonstration to cook.
[1:24:16] So happiness does not depend on the outside,
[1:24:20] it depends on our way of looking at things.
[1:24:26] You suffer because of your way of thinking,
[1:24:28] your way of seeing.
[1:24:34] So if you just lost your job,
[1:24:40] you know that you can still be happy.
[1:24:45] These are the ways of living.
[1:24:51] We can live more simply,
[1:24:56] if we know how to look at things
[1:24:59] in such a way
[1:25:02] that can help us recognize
[1:25:03] the many conditions of happiness
[1:25:05] that are still available.
[1:25:07] You know, in the world,
[1:25:09] there are so many areas
[1:25:11] where there is no water.
[1:25:13] They have to go 5 km
[1:25:15] in order to fetch some water.
[1:25:19] And that is not the best kind of water.
[1:25:24] And we are very lucky,
[1:25:26] we have many good things,
[1:25:30] and yet we suffer...
[1:25:32] we suffer much more than these people
[1:25:35] who are poor,
[1:25:37] who do not have enough resources.
[1:25:43] So to follow your inbreath and outbreath
[1:25:47] can be very pleasant.
[1:25:49] It develops your concentration.
[1:25:54] Concentration: samadhi.
[1:26:04] Mindfulness...
[1:26:07] the word mindfulness written in Chinese
[1:26:10] is very interesting.
[1:26:17] The upper part means
[1:26:19] "the present moment."
[1:26:23] And the lower part means "mind."
[1:26:28] Your mind goes home to the present moment.
[1:26:34] And you get free from the past and the future.
[1:26:39] So that you can live that moment of your life deeply.
[1:26:44] And touch the wonders of life that
[1:26:46] that can heal, that can nourish.
[1:26:49] It's so simple.
[1:26:53] The third exercise: aware of body -
[1:27:05] which is a wonder.
[1:27:10] And maybe you have accumulated
[1:27:15] tension, stress, and pain in your body.
[1:27:21] You may have worked your body too hard.
[1:27:26] You run after something else,
[1:27:28] and you do not take care of your body.
[1:27:32] You have not been kind,
[1:27:35] compassionate with your body.
[1:27:39] So it's time to go back and reconcile,
[1:27:43] and have compassion with your body.
[1:27:47] So if you go back to your body,
[1:27:48] you may get the insight
[1:27:50] that there is a tension and pain.
[1:27:54] And that is why we need the fourth exercise:
[1:28:01] Releasing tension in the body.
[1:28:17] And this is a direct teaching from the Buddha.
[1:28:23] The sixteen exercises of mindful breathing
[1:28:26] begin with the four dealing with the body.
[1:28:32] If you allow the tensions to be accumulated,
[1:28:35] the healing will be difficult,
[1:28:42] and peace will be difficult also.
[1:28:48] So we have to take care of ourselves,
[1:28:50] we have to love ourselves,
[1:28:53] we have to feel
[1:28:56] ease and lightness in ourselves.
[1:29:01] So in a sitting position,
[1:29:04] or even in a walking position,
[1:29:10] you are capable of releasing tensions.
[1:29:14] There's a worry in you,
[1:29:19] you are attached to your project,
[1:29:24] you have been carried away by your project,
[1:29:28] your anger, your fear,
[1:29:31] so you are not free,
[1:29:33] and these continue to put more tension
[1:29:40] in your body.
[1:29:43] So from the parking lot
[1:29:48] to the office where you work,
[1:29:51] walk in such a way that every step
[1:29:55] helps release tension.
[1:29:59] Walk like a Buddha.
[1:30:04] Enjoy every step.
[1:30:08] Because you have a body.
[1:30:12] And you know that the miracle is not
[1:30:16] to walk on thin air. Or on burning charcoal.
[1:30:24] The miracle is to walk on earth.
[1:30:29] To be still alive
[1:30:31] and to be walking on this planet
[1:30:34] is a wonder.
[1:30:35] And if you don't enjoy every step,
[1:30:39] that is a waste. We waste our lives.
[1:30:46] So learn to walk in such a way
[1:30:49] that pleasure and freedom
[1:30:53] and healing and nourishment
[1:30:56] is possible with every step.
[1:31:02] You don't have to set aside some time
[1:31:04] to do the practice.
[1:31:11] From your tent to the meditation hall,
[1:31:17] every step is a pleasure,
[1:31:21] every step is the kingdom of God,
[1:31:24] every step is peace,
[1:31:26] every step is release.
[1:31:30] This is possible,
[1:31:33] and if your mind chooses to do it,
[1:31:36] you can do it,
[1:31:38] And if you live in a community
[1:31:40] where there are many people
[1:31:41] who know how to do it,
[1:31:43] then you can profit
[1:31:45] from the collective energy,
[1:31:49] and you can do it easily.
[1:31:51] Looking at a brother walking:
[1:31:54] he is in the kingdom of God.
[1:32:03] Every step should keep us
[1:32:05] in the kingdom of God.
[1:32:10] Every step should help us
[1:32:12] touch the wonders of life.
[1:32:14] Otherwise we waste our lives.
[1:32:20] What have we done with our lives?
[1:32:24] How have we used the past years or months?
[1:32:38] We have been wasting our lives.
[1:32:42] We allow anger and fear
[1:32:46] and hate and worries to take over.
[1:32:50] We did not truly live our lives.
[1:32:53] And every moment given to us to live,
[1:32:57] we don't cherish, we don't treasure.
[1:33:00] So mindfulness helps us to treasure
[1:33:03] every moment that is left for us to live.
[1:33:08] And that can be done here and now.
[1:33:14] No matter what, how
[1:33:17] economic and social conditions are,
[1:33:20] you can still do it.
[1:33:28] Walk in such a way that you become aware
[1:33:33] of the contact between your foot
[1:33:37] and the ground.
[1:33:38] Mother Earth. Mother Earth is holding you.
[1:33:43] Mother Earth is in you.
[1:33:45] You can surrender to her.
[1:33:48] She has the power to heal you.
[1:33:53] Have trust in Mother Earth.
[1:33:57] She is not oustide of you. She is in you.
[1:34:05] Why don't you pray to mother Earth.
[1:34:11] Mother Earth is not the environment only.
[1:34:16] Mother Earth is the mother of all Buddhas,
[1:34:21] all the saints, all the bodhisattvas.
[1:34:25] And you are a child of Mother Earth.
[1:34:28] Trust her, surrender yourself to her,
[1:34:32] allow her to heal you.
[1:34:42] And walking meditation is
[1:34:44] one of the good ways to heal.
[1:34:47] And every step can be healing.
[1:35:06] Your body is a formation.
[1:35:13] "Formation" is a buddhist technical term.
[1:35:22] Samskara.
[1:35:34] Formation.
[1:35:42] Samskara may be translated by
[1:35:48] "phenomena, things"
[1:35:56] This marker is a formation.
[1:36:00] It is made by many things.
[1:36:05] It is a formation.
[1:36:07] A flower is a formation.
[1:36:09] When you look into a flower,
[1:36:12] you see that a flower is made of many things:
[1:36:16] the earth, the seed, the rain, the sunshine.
[1:36:24] Something that is being formed by many things
[1:36:29] is called a formation.
[1:36:39] A table is a formation.
[1:36:43] A curtain is a formation.
[1:36:49] Conditioned thing.
[1:36:55] Your anger is a formation.
[1:36:58] Your anger is made of wrong perceptions
[1:37:01] and things like that.
[1:37:04] It's called a mental formation.
[1:37:07] And your body is a physical formation.
[1:37:13] This marker is a physical formation.
[1:37:17] Your body is a physiological formation.
[1:37:25] So your body is called "Tang Han."
[1:37:34] Body formation.
[1:37:36] A formation that is called body.
[1:37:39] So... calming the body formation.
[1:37:50] Kaya samskara.
[1:37:54] So the fourth is to calm down
[1:37:59] the formation called body.
[1:38:06] In the original Chinese,
[1:38:13] it is called tang han tuc,
[1:38:24] "the formation called body."
[1:38:28] Tuc means to calm down, to stop,
[1:38:35] to give it a chance to rest.
[1:38:39] Tuc also has the meaning of resting, of calming,
[1:38:46] and interestingly enough,
[1:38:48] tuc also means breathing.
[1:38:53] This is the classical Chinese
[1:38:55] of the 3rd, 4th century.
[1:39:00] This is the old translation.
[1:39:03] Tang han tuc means
[1:39:04] calming the formation called body.
[1:39:08] So breathing in, you allow the tension
[1:39:11] to be released.
[1:39:13] This is relaxation.
[1:39:17] So relaxation is possible in the sitting position.
[1:39:21] So while sitting,
[1:39:24] you breathe in such a way
[1:39:26] that you release the tension in your body,
[1:39:32] in the muscles.
[1:39:34] There are hundreds of muscles on your face.
[1:39:39] And when you are afraid,
[1:39:41] when you are angry,
[1:39:43] there is a lot of tension in your face.
[1:39:46] When you look into the mirror,
[1:39:48] you can see the tension in your face.
[1:39:54] But if you know how to breathe in
[1:39:58] and smile,
[1:40:00] you release all the three hundred
[1:40:02] or more muscles on your face,
[1:40:06] and you look much better, more beautiful.
[1:40:13] So in the car, there is something
[1:40:19] that can hide the sunshine.
[1:40:30] Behind that, there is a mirror,
[1:40:35] and you look into that to see
[1:40:38] whether your face is relaxed or not.
[1:40:46] And you smile to yourself.
[1:40:49] Every time you wash your face,
[1:40:53] you brush your teeth,
[1:40:55] look into the mirror,
[1:40:57] to see whether there is a tension
[1:40:59] on your face.
[1:41:01] Look at your face, with compassion,
[1:41:07] and breathe in and smile.
[1:41:16] And the other person will appreciate
[1:41:19] your presence more.
[1:41:20] Your presence now is more fresh,
[1:41:24] more pleasant, more beautiful.
[1:41:27] Release the tension.
[1:41:30] So in sitting meditation, you allow
[1:41:33] the muscles on your face to be released
[1:41:37] and your shoulder
[1:41:38] - especially on your shoulder -
[1:41:40] when you make so much concentration,
[1:41:42] it is stiff... here...
[1:41:46] So allow it to release.
[1:41:51] And there are many Dharma teachers,
[1:41:54] especially sister True Emptiness, who can
[1:41:59] offer you a session of total, deep relaxation.
[1:42:07] In the lying position.
[1:42:12] And the Buddha also suggests that.
[1:42:16] In the sutra called
[1:42:19] "Contemplation of the body in the body"
[1:42:28] he talks about the farmer
[1:42:31] who went up to the cellar
[1:42:34] and brought down a bag of seeds,
[1:42:38] and he opened one end of the bag
[1:42:41] and allowed all the seeds in the bag
[1:42:44] to flow on the floor.
[1:42:48] And with eyes in good condition,
[1:42:51] he recognized each kind of seed.
[1:42:55] This is a seed of corn,
[1:42:56] this is a seed of mung beans,
[1:42:58] this is seed of kidney beans and so on.
[1:43:04] And he recognized all kinds of seeds
[1:43:06] that are on the floor.
[1:43:09] So the practitioner is like that...
[1:43:12] does like that.
[1:43:15] In a sitting position or lying position,
[1:43:18] she recognizes different parts of her body.
[1:43:23] Breathing in, I am aware of my eyes.
[1:43:26] Breathing out,
[1:43:27] I smile to my eyes with compassion.
[1:43:30] Recognizing eyes,
[1:43:33] like mung beans and kidney beans.
[1:43:38] And you go from the hair on your head
[1:43:43] to your toes, to your heels.
[1:43:52] And you pass in review all parts of your body.
[1:43:58] You go down to the heart, to the lungs,
[1:44:02] kidneys, small intestine and so on,
[1:44:07] you go dooown.
[1:44:09] It's like scanning the body -
[1:44:12] not with the X-ray,
[1:44:14] but with the ray of mindfulness.
[1:44:16] And you need 20, 15 minutes
[1:44:20] in order to go through your body,
[1:44:24] and you recognize and smile
[1:44:26] to every part of your body
[1:44:29] with compassion and allow them to relax.
[1:44:34] And when you come to a place
[1:44:37] that seems to not be working very well -
[1:44:43] suppose you have some trouble with your liver -
[1:44:46] and then you can stay longer.
[1:44:50] Breathing in, I am aware of my liver.
[1:44:53] My liver has some difficulty.
[1:44:57] And you use the energy of mindfulness,
[1:44:59] generated by mindful breathing,
[1:45:03] to recognize and embrace your liver,
[1:45:06] send compassion to your liver,
[1:45:09] and stay longer with your liver.
[1:45:12] And it helps the healing.
[1:45:15] Of course you can continue
[1:45:18] your medicine, but you can help greatly
[1:45:23] with using mindfulness
[1:45:26] to release tension in your body
[1:45:28] and facilitate, make it easier
[1:45:31] for your body to heal.
[1:45:33] You have to trust mother Earth,
[1:45:35] you have to trust nature,
[1:45:37] not only the medicine.
[1:45:42] And that is why the fourth exercise
[1:45:47] is very necessary for healing.
[1:45:53] It favors, it gives conditions for,
[1:45:57] it allows the body to heal more quickly.
[1:46:04] And all these things are not hard labor,
[1:46:08] they can be very pleasant.
[1:46:12] So while we are together as a sangha,
[1:46:15] let us support each other
[1:46:18] with the practice.
[1:46:22] And we can, right here and right now -
[1:46:26] the healing, the transformation,
[1:46:29] the nourishment can be possible
[1:46:32] with every step, with every breath.
[1:46:36] Our time is very precious,
[1:46:41] and we can enjoy the practice.
[1:46:45] We do not say:
[1:46:46] "I practice in order to heal...
[1:46:48] to get the healing in a week or so."
[1:46:53] Because the healing should take place
[1:46:55] right during the practice -
[1:46:57] not one week later.
[1:47:00] The moment when you breathe in mindfully,
[1:47:04] and enjoy your inbreath,
[1:47:07] the healing already begins.
[1:47:13] And let us support each other...
[1:47:16] we do not use our time to talk
[1:47:19] about politics and other things like that.
[1:47:22] But to be aware of the many conditions
[1:47:25] of nourishment and healing
[1:47:28] that are available in the here and in the now.
[1:47:30] This is a very good environment
[1:47:32] for us to do so.
[1:47:37] So the teaching of the Buddha
[1:47:41] is not to abandon the present moment
[1:47:45] and hope for something in the future
[1:47:47] like Nirvana, like enlightenment.
[1:47:52] The Buddha said:
[1:47:53] "Happiness is possible. Here and now."
[1:47:57] That teaching is ignored by many buddhists.
[1:48:04] drstadharmasukhavihara
[1:48:26] "Vihara" means to dwell, to live.
[1:48:35] translated as "kuh" or "toh":
[1:48:42] "to live, to dwell."
[1:48:46] "Sukha:" happy, happily.
[1:48:55] You know "dukha" is suffereing,
[1:48:58] but "sukha" is happiness.
[1:49:01] "drstadharma" is what is happening
[1:49:04] in the present moment.
[1:49:06] "Drsta" means "right there, you can see"
[1:49:10] "Hien Phap" means the present moment.
[1:49:19] "You can live happily in the present moment."
[1:49:24] And this expression is used in many sutras,
[1:49:29] especially in a sutra the Buddha gave
[1:49:31] to a group of businessmen.
[1:49:36] At the time of the Buddha,
[1:49:38] there was a businessman
[1:49:40] who was a disciple of the Buddha.
[1:49:43] One time he brought
[1:49:44] a few hundred businessmen to the Buddha.
[1:49:48] And the Buddha knew that businessmen
[1:49:51] think too much about the future,
[1:49:53] the success in the future,
[1:49:55] they sacrifice the present moment for the future,
[1:49:58] so the Buddha said:
[1:49:59] "Gentlemen, happiness is possible
[1:50:02] here and now, if you practice
[1:50:05] the five mindfulness trainings
[1:50:07] and mindfulness.
[1:50:09] So the phrase:
[1:50:14] "living happily in the present moment"
[1:50:18] is repeated several times in that discourse.
[1:50:23] So we are not sacrificing the present moment
[1:50:25] for the sake of a nirvana or enlightenment
[1:50:31] in the future.
[1:50:33] Because enlightenment and nirvana
[1:50:35] is available right here,
[1:50:37] in the present moment.
[1:50:43] And when we practice together,
[1:50:45] we support each other.
[1:50:47] We create a collective energy of mindfulness,
[1:50:51] that can penetrate into
[1:50:52] the body and mind of everyone.
[1:50:55] Every time you hear the bell,
[1:50:58] everyone stops thinking,
[1:51:01] everyone begins to enjoy
[1:51:03] breathing in and out.
[1:51:05] And that simple practice
[1:51:07] generates a very powerful energy
[1:51:09] of mindfulness and peace and healing
[1:51:13] that can be healing, transforming.
[1:51:20] And that is the advantage of practicing together:
[1:51:25] you profit from the collective energy -
[1:51:29] because there are many of us in the sangha
[1:51:32] who know how to breathe in happily
[1:51:36] and to feel happy in the here and the now
[1:51:41] just by breathing and sitting there.
[1:52:27] Subtitles by the Amara.org community
