You Are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh | UNABRIDGED AUDIOBOOK

[Music] you are here discovering the magic of the Present Moment by tick Han read by Chris Allen one happiness and peace are possible every 24-hour day is a tremendous gift to us so we all should learn to live in a way that makes joy and happiness possible we can do this I begin my day by making an offering of incense while following my breath I think to myself that this day is a day to live fully and I make the vow to live each moment of it in a way that is beautiful solid and free

this only takes me 3 or 4 minutes but it gives me a great deal of pleasure you can do the same thing when you wake up breathe in and tell yourself that a new day has been offered to you and you have to be here to live it the way to maintain your presence in the Here and Now is through mindfulness of the breath there is no need to manipulate the breath breath is a natural thing like air like light we should leave it as it is and not interfere with it what we are doing

is simply lighting up the lamp of awareness to illuminate our breathing we generate the energy of mindfulness to illuminate everything that is happening in the present moment as you breathe in you can say to yourself breathing in I know that I am breathing in when you do this the energy of mindfulness Embraces your in breath just like sunlight touching the leaves and branches of a tree the light of mindfulness is content just to be there and embrace the breath without doing it any violence without intervening directly as you breathe out you can gently say breathing

out I know that I am breathing out Buddhist practice is based on nonviolence and non-dualism you don't have to struggle with your breath you don't have to struggle with your body or with your hate where with your anger treat your in breath and out breath tenderly non-violently as you would treat a flower later you will be able to do the same thing with your physical body treating it with gentleness respect nonviolence and tenderness when you are dealing with pain with a moment of irritation or with a bout of anger you can learn to treat them

in the same way do not fight against pain do not fight against irritation or jealousy embrace them with great tenderness as though you were embracing a little baby your anger is yourself and you should not be violent toward it the same thing goes for all of your emotions so we begin with the breath be nonviolent with your breathing be tender with it respect it and let it be as it is you breathe in and there's an in breath that's all if the INB breath is short let it be short if the INB breath is long

let it be long do not intervene or Force either your in breath or your out breath it's like looking at a flower letting it be as it is mindful of the fact that it is there a kind of Miracle see the flower as it is see the breath as it is we let the flower be as it is and we should not do violence to our breath either then we move to the physical body in practicing sitting and walking meditation in practicing total relaxation you embrace your physical body with the energy of mindfulness with great

tenderness and non-violence this is the practice of true love in relation to your body in Buddhist Meditation you do not turn yourself into a battlefield with good fighting against evil both sides belong to you the good and the evil evil can be transformed into good and vice versa they are completely organic things if you look deeply at a flower at its freshness and its beauty you will see that there is also compost in it made of garbage The Gardener had the skill to transform this garbage into compost and with this compost he made a flower

grow flowers and garbage are both organic in nature so looking deeply into the nature of a flower you can see the presence of the compost and the garbage the flower is all also going to turn into garbage but don't be afraid you are a gardener and you have in your hands the power to transform garbage into flowers into Fruit into vegetables you don't throw anything away because you are not afraid of garbage your hands are capable of transforming it into flowers or lettuce or cucumbers the same is true of your happiness and your sorrow sorrow

fear and depression are all a kind of garbage these bits of garbage are part of real life and we must look deeply into their nature you can practice in order to turn these bits of garbage into flowers it is not only your love that is organic your hate is too so you should not throw anything out all you have to do is learn how to transform your garbage into flowers in the practice of Buddhism we see that all mental formations such as compassion love fear sorrow and despair are organic in nature we don't need to

be afraid of them because transformation is possible just by having this deep insight into the organic nature of mental formations you become a lot more solid a lot calmer and more peaceful with just a smile and mindful breathing you can start to transform them if you feel irritation or depression or despair recognize their presence and practice this Mantra dear one I am here for you you should talk to your depression or your anger just as you would to a child you embrace it tenderly with the energy of mindfulness and say dear one I know you

are there and I am going to take care of you just as you would with your crying baby there is no discrimination or dualism here because compassion and love are you but anger is too all three are organic in nature so you don't need to be afraid you can transform them let me repeat in the practice of Buddhist Meditation we do not turn ourselves into a battlefield of good versus evil the good must take care of the evil as a big brother takes care of his little brother or as a big sister takes care of

her little sister with a great deal of tenderness in a spirit of non-duality knowing that there is a lot of Peace in you already the Insight of non-duality will put a stop to the war in you you have struggled in the past and perhaps you are still struggling but is it necessary no struggle is useless stop struggling so I take care of my breath as if it were my tender little baby I breathe in and I let my in breath proceed naturally I rejoice in the fact that my Brea breathing is there breathing in I

know that I am breathing in breathing out I know that I am breathing out I smile at my out breath this is how you can practice you will get a great deal of joy out of it right away and if you continue for a minute you will see that your breathing is already different after a minute of practicing breathing mindfully without discrimination the quality of your breathing improves it becomes calmer longer and the gentleness and Harmony generated by your breathing penetrates into your body and into your mental formations try to breathe in this way when

you experience joy for example when you are looking at a Sunset and are in contact with the beauty of nature practice mindful breathing touch deeply the beauty that is before you I am breathing in What happiness I am breathing out the sunset is lovely continue that way for a few minutes getting in touch with the beauty of nature makes life much more beautiful much more real and the more Mindful and concentrated you are the more deeply the Sunset will reveal itself to you your happiness is multiplied by 10 by 20 look at a leaf or

a flower with mindfulness listen to the song of a bird and you will get much more deeply in touch with them after a minute of this practice your joy will increase your breathing will become deeper and more gentle and this gentleness and depth will influence your body body mindful breathing is a kind of bridge that brings the body and the mind together if through mindfulness of the breath you generate Harmony depth and calm these will penetrate into your body and mind in fact whatever happens in the mind affects the body and vice versa if you

generate peacefulness in your breathing that peacefulness permeates your body and your state of mind if you have practiced meditation you have already discovered this if you have been able to embrace your in breath and your out breath with tenderness you know that they in turn embrace your body and your mind peace is contagious happiness is also contagious because in the practice of meditation the three elements of body mind and breath become one so as you breathe in respect the INB breath light up the lamp of mindfulness so that it illuminates your in breath breathing in

I know that I am breathing in it's simple when the in breath is short you take note of the fact that it is short that is all you don't need to judge just note very simply my INB breath is short and I know that it is short do not try to make it longer let it be short and when your INB breath is long you simply say to yourself my INB breath is long you respect your in breath and your out breath your physical body and your mental formations the in breath moves inward the out

breath moves outward in and out it's Child's Play but it provides a great deal of Happiness during the time you are doing it there is no tension at all you are here for life and if you are here for life life will be here for you it's simple the first miracle of mindfulness presence the first miracle brought about by mindfulness is your own presence your real presence with this energy dwelling in you you become completely alive when the energy of mindfulness is dwelling in you Buddha is dwelling in you the energy of mindfulness is the

energy of Buddha it is the equivalent of the Holy Spirit where the holy spirit is there is all also understanding life healing and compassion where mindfulness is true life solidity freedom and healing also manifest we all have the ability to generate this energy of mindfulness do walking meditation breathe mindfully drink your tea mindfully and cultivate this energy that dwells in you that illuminates you and makes life possible the miracle of mindfulness is first of all that you are here being truly here is very important being here for yourself and for the one you love how

can you love if you're not here the fundamental condition for love is your own presence in order to love you must be here that is certain fortunately being here is not a difficult thing to accomplish it is enough to breathe and let go of thinking or planning just come back to yourself concentrate on your breath and smile you are here body and mind together you are here alive completely alive that is a miracle some people live as though they are already dead there are people moving around us who are consumed by their past terrified of

their future and stuck in their anger and jealousy they are not alive they are just walking corpses if you look around yourself with mindfulness you will see people going around like zombies have a great deal of compassion for the people around you who are living like this they do not know that life is accessible only in the here and now we must practice resurrection and this is an everyday practice with an in breath you bring your mind back to your body in this way you become alive in the Here and Now joy peace and happiness

are possible you have an appointment with life an appointment that is in the here and now it is necessary to come come back to the present moment in order to touch life in a deep way we all have the ability to walk in the kingdom of God to walk in the pure land of Buddha every day you have all you need legs lungs eyes and mind and with a little bit of practice you can generate the energy of mindfulness within you just like lighting a lamp once you have become truly alive take a step and

you will enter the pure land you will enter into the kingdom of God the kingdom of God is not a mere notion it is a reality that can be touched in everyday life the kingdom of God is now or never and we all have the ability to touch it not only with our minds but with our feet the energy of mindfulness helps you in this with a one mindful step you touch the kingdom of God for me the kingdom of God is where mindfulness exists and it is a kingdom where there is compassion the kingdom

of God the pure land is not a place where there is no suffering many people aspire to go to a place where pain and suffering do not exist a place where there is only happiness this is a rather dangerous idea for compassion is not possible possible without pain and suffering it is only when we enter into contact with suffering that understanding and compassion can be born without suffering we do not have the opportunity to cultivate compassion and understanding and without understanding there can be no true love so we should not imagine a place where there

is no suffering where there is only happiness that would be a very naive idea we have spoken of the organic nature of things suffering is also organic it is from garbage that we produce flowers and similarly it is from suffering that we produce understanding and compassion I would not want to live in a place where there is no suffering because in such a place I would not be able to cultivate understanding and compassion which are the basis of my happiness happiness is a function of compassion if you do not have compassion in your heart you

do not have any happiness the first Noble Truth of Buddhism is about recognizing the existence of suffering we must get deeply in touch with suffering to develop understanding one day when you are looking deeply at the nature of suffering you will see the way that leads to transformation to healing and to happiness for it is precise ly through touching suffering that we discover the fourth Noble Truth the path to Healing the first Noble Truth is Dua suffering the fourth Noble Truth is Maga the path that transforms suffering into well-being things inter exist they inter are

they are organic there is no path to the cessation of suffering without suffering the Buddha told us to embrace our suffering and to look at it deeply in order to understand its nature we should not try to escape from our pain we should look at it directly looking at suffering deeply we will have deep insight into its nature and the path of transformation and healing will present itself to us to me the definition of hell is simple it is a place where there is no understanding and no compassion we have all been to Hell we

are acquainted with hell's heat and we know that hell is in need of compassion if there is compassion then hell ceases to be hell you can generate this compassion yourself if you can bring a little compassion to this place a little bit of understanding it ceases to be hell you can can be the bodic satva who does this your practice consists in generating compassion and understanding and bringing them to hell hell is here all around us hell is in us like a seed we need to cultivate the positive within us so we can generate the

energy of understanding and compassion and transform hell hell is a matter of everyday life like the kingdom of God the choice is yours we can touch the kingdom of God in everyday life there is no need to travel a great distance to touch the kingdom of God because it is not located in space or time the kingdom of God is in your heart it is in every cell of your physical body with a single mindful breath a single Insight that is deep enough you can touch the kingdom of God when you are practicing mindful walking

that is exactly what you are doing touching the kingdom of God walking in it mindfully with compassion and understanding the kingdom of God becomes your kingdom not a day goes by without my walking in the pure land I see suffering but I have compassion in me this is something everybody can do don't underes estimate yourself you have the ability to wake up you have the ability to be compassionate you just need a little bit of practice to be able to touch the best that is in you Enlightenment mindfulness understanding and compassion are in you very

simple practices such as meditative walking mindful breathing or washing dishes mindfully make it possible for you to leave hell and touch touch the positive seeds that are within you you can live in such a way that you are in the kingdom of God every moment this is not just a wish and it is not a promise of some future happiness this is a reality an hour of mindfulness practice even 15 minutes is already enough to prove to you that mindfulness is possible that real life is possible a beautiful sunset is something that exists the song

of a bird in the blue sky also exist the paradise of forms and colors is always accessible your eyes may be in good condition but do you know it breathing in I am mindful that I have eyes that are still in good condition breathing out I smile to my eyes that are still in good condition in this practice you touch your eyes with your mindfulness and you have this simple Insight your eyes are in good shape and they still exist you only have to open them to make contact with the paradise of forms and colors

a true Paradise some people wait until they have lost their sight to appreciate their eyes blind people may hope that someone will help them to recover their sight so they can be in Paradise once more you all you have to do is open your eyes and the paradise of forms and colors is available to you you are in Paradise already but you don't pay any attention to your eyes even though they are a condition of happiness you should recognize that your eyes are there for you they are so very precious they are more precious than

pearls your heart is also there for you your heart works Night and Day in order to maintain your well-being you take time to sleep and to rest but your heart Works non-stop to supply all the cells in your body with blood have you touched your heart with the energy of mindfulness breathing in I am mindful that my heart is working night and day for me breathing out I smile to my heart your heart is like a flower is it still refusing to open is it still refusing to love you must ask my heart are you

ready to open as flowers do you must ask at that when you touch and embrace your heart with the energy of mindfulness you are already practicing love when you touch your heart with your mindfulness you see that you have not been very friendly with it you have eaten and drunk in ways that put great stress on it you have not done everything you could to keep it in good health even though it is one of the basic conditions of your well-being the Buddha taught us to meditate on the body he suggested that we lie on

the ground and begin to breathe begin with breathing mindfully while recognizing each part of your body you can start with your brain then you turn your attention to your eyes your ears your nose and your tongue touching them with mindful awareness and smiling as you touch each one you can send energy tenderness and gratitude to the various parts of your body my heart you say I know that you were there for me and I want to be there for you too in this way you will stop drinking alcohol and you will stop smoking because they

are harmful to your heart with mindfulness these things will appear to you clearly what is love love is treating your heart with a great deal of tenderness with understanding love and compassion if you cannot treat your own heart this way how can you treat your partner with understanding and love my heart I am here for you my eyes I am here for you you embrace your body with a great deal of tenderness you know that your body needs you you should be there for it and generate the energy of mindfulness to bring it Harmony peace

and relaxation this is how you practice love meditation toward your body we all all need to learn the techniques of deep relaxation so we can deal with the stress of life's ups and downs you should practice this technique of total relaxation every day in your living room with your partner with your children it is the way to love your body it is the way to take care of your nervous system this is very important the basis of practice is to be here I am here for my breathing I am here for my body I am

here for my troubles for my depression and for my suffering the second Miracle of mindfulness the other the first miracle of mindfulness is our true presence being here present and totally alive then if you are really here something else will also be here the presence of the other you are here and the other is here what is the other it could be your heart your eyes your body or your in breath the other is the sunset the song of the birds or it could be your lover your partner your son your daughter or your friend

the other is the kingdom of God if you are really here solid and free the kingdom of God will also be here for you the fundamental condition for recognizing the presence of the other is your own true presence what is loving it is recognizing the presence of the other with your love this is not a theory it is a practice whether the object of your love is your heart your in breath your physical body or your baby whether it is your son your daughter or your partner your Declaration of Love is always the same it

is dear one I am here for you please try this practice you can practice mindfulness of the breath for a minute or walk mindfully toward the person you love most in the world then you are truly here truly present you open your mouth and you utter the magic words of the Mantra dear one I am really here for you you embrace the presence of the other with the mindfulness that is within you if the other person is far away from you you still can do this practice the other will still be accessible to you with

this practice there is no need to use the telephone or the fax machine when you are truly present the other is present too you are both included within the kingdom of God when the other person realizes that his or her presence has been recognized and confirmed he or she will Blossom like a flower to be loved is to be recognized as existing have you looked at others in this way if you embrace them with the energy of mindfulness with your true presence this energy is completely nourishing it is like water for a flower a flower

needs water to live and the person you love needs your presence your presence is the most precious gift you can give him or her dear one I am here really here for you all of us can practice this Mantra it really works even one minute of walking meditation or mindful breathing will make it possible for you to be present and offer your true presence to your loved one if you ignore the person you love your loved one will not have the impression of being loved by you he is ignoring me he is paying no attention

to me he doesn't love me she will say to herself if you are not paying attention to her I knew a boy whose father said to him one day tomorrow is your birthday I want to buy you a present the boy was at a loss he knew that his father was very rich that he could buy him anything but the one thing the boy truly needed was his father's presence his father spent all his time in energy staying rich and as a result he had no time to give to his family he could give them

lots of money and lots of presents but the thing that was most precious of all he was unable to give his child that is why the child was sad and after a moment he said I don't want any present it's you that I want have you offered your presence to the person you love are you so busy that you cannot be there for that person if you are a father or a mother or a partner generate your own own presence because that is the most precious gift you can offer you know how to generate your

own presence so now you can make a gift of it to the one you love this is something very practical it is easy to do it costs nothing and it can be done very quickly you do not have to practice for years to see the results one minute will do so you should put what you have learned into practice right away the third Miracle of mindfulness working with a positive and negative elements the third Miracle of mindfulness involves maintaining your own presence and your mindfulness of the other you are truly present and the other is

truly present you have to maintain both presences you achieve this through the practice of mindful breathing or mindful walking if the presence of the other is refreshing and healing to you keep hold of this presence and nourish yourself with it if there are negative things around you you can always find something that is healthy refreshing and healing and with your mindfulness you can recognize its presence in your life perhaps you are in contact with too many negative elements you have looked at listened to and touched things that are negative in nature such as fear and

despair these negative forces are everywhere when you turn on the television for instance you run the risk of injecting harmful things such as violence despair or fear at that moment you say to yourself with mindfulness I don't need these things I already have suffering violence anger and despair in me I refuse to watch these programs I am going to seek out things that are refreshing in nature healing and helpful things I will practice walking meditation I will make contact with the blue sky with spring with the song of birds I will play with my little

girl my little boy I'll do those kinds of things you need to recognize that these kinds of positive elements exist and that you can benefit from their refreshing and helpful presence if you are facing a sunset a marvelous spectacle give yourself a chance to be in touch with it give yourself five minutes breathing deeply and you will be truly there touch the beauty of nature in a deep way that will do your body and mind a great deal of good this is the third Miracle of mindfulness maintaining this precious presence in order to benefit from

it if something negative comes to the surface such as your Despair and anger or the Despair and anger of your spouse you need the energy of mindfulness to embrace it breathing in I know that anger is there in me breathing out I care for my anger this is like a mother hearing her baby cry out she is in the kitchen and she hears her baby wailing she puts down whatever she has in her hands goes into the baby's room and picks it up in her arms you can do the exact same thing embrace the pain

that is coming to the surface breathing in I know that you are there my dear anger my dear despair I am there for you I will take care of you you can do mindful walking or setting meditation at the same time that you were embracing your pain because this energy of mindfulness will help you hold your pain where does this energy come from it comes from your daily practice that is why you should practice walking washing the dishes watering the vegetables and any other activity with mindfulness when you begin the practice the seat of mindfulness

is quite small but if you cultivate it every day it becomes much bigger and stronger every time you need this seed touch it with mindful breathing then the energy of mindfulness will make its appearance and you will be able to embrace the pain that is within you even when you are driving your car you can practice take advantage of that moment to cultivate mindfulness in fact you can practice quite well while you are driving a car breathe in and breathe out and remain aware of everything that goes on inside you when for example you come

to a red light you look at the red light and you smile the red light is not your enemy it is a friend who is helping you come back to yourself about 10 years ago when I was in Montreal I noticed that the license plates on the cars had the the phrase Jan I remember I turned to my friend who was driving the car and I said dear friend I have a gift for you every time you're driving and you see the phrase J come back to yourself and practice mindful breathing with the thought I

remember to come back to the here and now since that day my friends in Montreal practice mindfulness of the breath every time they see a license plate J A Car license plate can be a bell of mindfulness even when you are driving your car you can generate the energy of mindfulness when you make breakfast that is also a moment to cultivate mindfulness be mindful of the act of pouring hot water into a teapot you breathe and you say I know that I am in the process of pouring hot water into the teapot and you smile

it is not only in the meditation Hall that we practice meditation so the third Miracle of mindfulness is drawing benefit from the freshness of positive elements and embracing the negative elements within and around you in order to pacify them there are moments when your breathing is not harmonious when you are frightened or angry your breathing is of poor quality you can notice this through mindfulness smile at your breathing and embrace it with the energy of mindfulness breathing in I know that I am breathing in breathing out I know that I am breathing out you will

need a minute to improve the quality of your breathing and then fear and despair will be transformed and anger also touch your breathing with mindfulness and your breathing will improve the state of your body and your mind you can be sure of it two the heart of practice the heart of Buddhist practice is to generate our own presence in such a way that we can touch deeply the life that is here and available in every moment we have to be here for ourselves we have to be here for the people we love we have to

be here for life with all its wonders the message of our Buddhist practice is simple and clear I am here for you in daily life we are often lost in thought we get lost in regrets about the past and fears about the future we get lost in our plans our anger and our anxiety at such moments we cannot really be here for ourselves elves we are not really here for Life practice makes it possible for us to be free to rid ourselves of these obstacles and establish ourselves firmly in the present moment practice gives us

methods we can use to help us live fully in the present practice makes it possible for us to say I am here for you the Buddha said the past no longer exists and the future is not here yet there is only a single moment in which we can truly be alive and that is the present moment being present in the Here and Now is our practice the five elements I am here for you it sounds very simple but we should ask ourselves what does I actually mean the Buddha taught that I is a combination of

the the following five elements one our form physical body two our feelings three our perceptions four our mental formations five our Consciousness these are called the five elements or Aggregates scas in Sanskrit literally heaps they are the five elements that make up the person personality that make up our eye suppose I peel an orange and divide it into five sections this orange represents our personality physical form is the first section of the orange followed by our feelings our perceptions our mental formations and finally our Consciousness we need to learn to see our physical form as

a river our body is not a static thing it changes all the time it is very important to see our physical form as something impermanent as a river that is constantly changing every cell in our body is a drop of water in that River birth and death are happening continuously in every moment of our daily lives we must live every moment with death and life present at the same time both death and life are happening at every instance in the river of our physical body we should train ourselves in this vision of impermanence when we

look deeply at the nature of things we see that in fact everything is impermanent nothing exists as a permanent entity Everything Changes it is said that we cannot step into the same river twice if we look for a single permanent entity in a river we will not find it the same is true of our physical body there is no such thing as a self no absolute permanent entity to be found in the element we call Body in our ignorance we believe that there is a permanent entity in us and our pain and suffering manifest on

the basis of that ignorance if we touch deeply the non-self nature in us we can get out of that suffering the second element the second section of the Orange is our feelings some feelings have their root in the physical form for example if you have a toothache you have unpleasant feelings and you go to the dentist to get relief from the pain other feelings arise from perceptions perceptions can be accurate or inaccurate and every time we have a false perception suffering occurs we should train ourselves to see our feelings also as a river in that

River each feeling is a drop of water feelings are born take shape last for a few moments and then disappear as with the physical form birth and death of feelings occur in every moment in meditation we look mindfully at this River of feelings we contemplate their arising their remaining and their disappearance we witness their impermanence when we have an unpleasant feeling we say to ourselves this feeling is in me it will stay for a while and then it will disappear because it is impermanent just by seeing the impermanence of feelings in this way we suffer

a lot less this is true for both the feelings that arise from physical form and those that arise from perceptions the third section of the Orange is perception perception is a river too it is impermanent when I perceive something I have an idea or an image of that thing when I look at a person a cloud or a dog I have an image of that person that cloud or that dog that is the river of perceptions the Buddha said that our perceptions are very often false and since error is there suffering is there also we

must pay very close attention to this we have to learn to look at our perceptions without getting caught by them we must always ask ourselves the question is my perception accurate just asking that question is a big help in most cases our perceptions are inaccurate and we suffer because we are too sure of them look at your perceptions and smile to them breathe look deeply into their nature you will see that there are many errors in them for example that person you are thinking about has no desire to harm you but you think that he

does it is important not to be a victim of your false perceptions if you are the victim of your false perceptions you will suffer a lot you have to sit down and look at perceptions very calmly you have to look into the deepest part of their nature in order to detect what is false about them the fourth section of the Orange is the 49 mental formations such as fear hate jealousy love understanding compassion hope and so on formation is a slightly technical word we use to mean things conditional phenomena there are physical formations and mental

formations a flower for example is a physical formation let us consider a flower if we really look into its nature we see Sun clouds rain minerals soil and the gardener we see all the conditions that came together to manifest in a Thing Called flower the flower is conditioned by what could be called the non-flower elements the sun is a non-flower element and the clouds as well the non-flower elements have helped the flower to manifest when conditions are sufficient something manifests that is what we call a formation the flower is a formation and so are the

cloud and the Sun I am a formation and you are a formation your anger and your hope are mental formations in my tradition of Buddhism we speak in terms of 51 mental formations when I was a novice I had to learn them by heart the elements of feelings and perceptions are considered mental formations but these two are considered to be so significant that they are treated as their own separate scas that leaves another 49 our fear compassion anger and mindfulness are among the 49 remaining mental formations finally there is The Fifth Element Consciousness Consciousness is

like the soil in which the seeds of the mental formations are preserved each one of the 51 mental formations lies buried in the soil of Consciousness in the form of a seed Bea in Sanskrit when the conditions are sufficient these seeds manifest as mental formations such as perceptions feelings anger compassion and so on the seeds of negativity are always there but very positive seeds also exist such as the seeds of compassion tolerance and love these seeds are all there in the soil but Without Rain they cannot manifest our practice is to recognize and water the

positive seats if you recognize the seat of compassion in yourself you should make sure that it is watered several times every day so the practice consists of looking deeply into the ground of Consciousness to identify the seeds that are there these seeds were transmitted to us by our ancestors including most recently our parents and were planted during our youth they are our genetic and spiritual Heritage and we need to be aware of them through the practice of deep looking we can identify the positive seeds that we want to water every day and train ourselves not

to water the negative ones this is called selective watering the Buddha recommended methods for doing this and even a few days of this practice can bring about a transformation in summary the eye is made up of the body and mind namarupa in Sanskrit the physical form is body and all the other elements are mind when when we look deeply into these five elements we do not see any absolute permanent identity the five rivers are impermanent if you practice in such a way that Harmony is established in the realm of the five elements then joy peace

and happiness will be possible through breathing through bringing your mind back to your body through the method of deep looking you will reestablish Harmony and peace in the realm of the five elements you will become a happy formation pleasing to encounter and you will be able to bring happiness to the living beings around you Unity of body and mind I am here means doing what is necessary for the five elements of your personality to be fully established in the present moment I am here is a practice not a mere assertion the verb to be here

means to generate your own presence your real presence you must be here with your body and mind United in our daily life we lose ourselves all the time the body is here but the mind is somewhere else in the past in the future Carried Away by anger jealousy fear and so on the mind is not really present with the body we are not really here to be truly here we have to bring the body back to the mind and the mind back to the body we have to bring about what is called the unity of

body and mind this is very important in Buddhist Meditation often the body and the mind Go in different directions and so we are not fully here therefore we have to do what is necessary for them to come back together again Buddhism teaches us methods for doing this such as mindfulness of the breath the breath breath is like a bridge that links our body and mind if you come back to your breathing your body and your mind begin to come back together again to breathe mindfully you can say silently to yourself breathing in I know I

am breathing in breathing out I know I am breathing out it only takes a few seconds of mindful breathing for your body and mind to begin to come back together again it is very easy a child can do it you just concentrate on your in breath and on your out breath you don't think about anything else the past the future your worries your anger and your despair are not there anymore only one thing is there your in breath and your out breath you have to deeply experience breathing in and breathing out in a sitting position

you can really enjoy breathing in and breathing out go ahead and enjoy breathing for 20 minutes just being here you are here and you have nothing to do except enjoy mindful breathing this practice can really be very pleasant I'm breathing in great it's enjoyable very pleasant imagine that you have a stuffy nose or that you have asthma there is no air in your room and you are suffering now your nose is clear you do not have asthma and you have plenty of air that's wonderful you breathe out and you smile this is a practice we

can all do even children of five or six can begin training in mindfulness of the breath in the summertime lots of young people come to Plum Village our Monastery and Practice Center in France and many of them practice mindfulness of the breath deart said I think therefore I am in light of the Buddhist teaching you might say I think therefore I am not here you are lost in your thinking so you are really not here for you to truly be here thinking has to stop as you are practicing mindfulness of the breath the object of

your attention is simply the breath you stop thinking about the past the future your pain your plans and so forth and you start to be really here body and mind United when Nelson Mandela made his first visit to France the Press asked him what he would most like to do he said sit and do nothing ever since I got out of prison I haven't had time to just sit down and do nothing sitting on a cushion and doing nothing but breathing is something Nelson Mandela cannot do you can do it for him be there with

your breath use mindfulness of the breath to unite your body and mind establish yourself in the here and now so that you can touch life in a deep way in this moment joy and happiness become real through mindfulness of the breath the address of life you can practice I am here through mindful breathing and mindful walking when you walk you should be here when you walk it is not for the future it is not in order to get somewhere with each step you take you arrive in the here and now you can walk very slowly

or you can walk fast it's up to you but take your steps mindfully as you are walking you can coordinate your steps with your breath for slow walking meditation one step is enough one step I breathe in one step I breathe out as you breathe in you practice arriving you have arrived your destination is the here and now in daily life you are in the habit of running because you think happiness is impossible in the present this is a habit that was handed down to you by your ancestors by your parents have does not seem

possible to you in the here and now so you look for it in the distant future the practice consists of stopping that habit of running remember the words of the Buddha the past no longer exists the future is not yet here the only moment in which you can be truly alive is the present moment the present moment is the destination the point to arrive at every time you breathe in and take a step you arrive breathing in I arrive breathing out I arrive the address of the Buddhas and the bodic satas is here and now

that is the address of Happiness the address of Life the Buddha said life is accessible only in the present moment life with all its wonders is accessible right now so we train in coming back to the present moment when you are sitting on your meditation cushion you are established in the present moment at that moment you touch life deeply during walking meditation you do the same thing each step brings you back to your true home the home of your spiritual ancestors the present moment it is in the present moment that life peace Joy Happ happiness

and well-being are possible we can also practice I am here when we are eating we have to establish ourselves in the here and now in order to truly eat all through the meal we should really be here with the people at the table as we chew our food we should really be here with what we are eating we can get deeply in touch with the food which is a gift from the Earth and Sky I use goth practice poems during meals when I chew I say I have arrived I am home then happiness becomes a

possibility it is a great joy to be able to be here and have a meal with family or friends we have nothing to do except to eat in such a way that peace and life become possible do not think about anything do not do anything be truly here for the meal and for the others who are present there are two things that should be the objects of your attention when you are eating a meal they are the food and the people around you touch these two deeply and live completely in the present moment so that

you can experience peace joy and happiness you can be extremely happy eating this way you have to eat like a free person don't allow worries thoughts and plans to drag you away from the here and now having a meal is a very deep practice you can eat it in such a way that you touch the ultimate dimensions of life everything you are seeking you should seek in the present moment to put it in Christian terms the kingdom of God is in the present moment we do not need to die in order to enter the kingdom

of God in fact we have to be very much alive with a mindful breath with a step taken mindfully we can enter the kingdom of God the kingdom of God is now or never stopping and deep looking here is a practice poem you can learn by heart it can also be sung I have arrived I am home in the here and in the now I am solid I am free in the ultimate I dwell you can use this poem during sitting meditation or during walking meditation as you breathe in or take a step you say

I have arrived here and now I am not running anymore I have been running all my life but now I am deciding to stop because I have learned that life is here when you stop happiness starts to be possible stop the street sign reminds you stop running because life is here in the present moment we have to train in that as you breathe out you say I am home I am already home I don't have to run I am at home in my true home the idea of my true home is clear life here and

now peace is something something that becomes possible the moment you stop stopping is an essential aspect of Buddhist Meditation if you look into Buddhist Meditation you will find that it has two aspects first stopping and then deep looking when you achieve stopping you become solid and concentrated that allows you to practice looking deeply into what's here and looking deeply into the nature of things brings Insight this understanding will liberate you from suffering stopping shatha and Sanskrit and deep looking basana are the elements of Buddhist Meditation deep looking is possible once stopping is taken place on

the cushion we must stop during walking meditation we must stop even when we are in the kitchen washing the dishes we must watch the dishes in such a way that stopping is possible every moment of dishwashing should give you joy peace and happiness if it doesn't you are not washing dishes as a practitioner the kitchen is a place of practice the monks and nuns and lay people of Plum Village always wash the dishes with mindfulness when we wash dishes it is not only to get the dishes clean it is to live to every minute of

the washing so wash each bowl and each plate in such a way that joy peace and happiness are possible imagine you are giving a bath to the baby Buddha it is a sacred act I have arrived I am home through these two phrases you can experience a lot of joy and happiness when I walk over to the table to pick something up I remain concentrated on my steps the whole way in that way peace and life are possible when I walk I don't hurry to arrive why because I arrive every moment I have already arrived

we should train in that I have arrived I am home in the here and in the now I am solid I am free in the ultimate I dwell the fourth line of this little poem means the same thing as the first and second lines you arrive in the here and now the Ultimate Reality this is truly the practice of stopping and it is very important we have been running all our lives as well as in our previous lives that is in the form of our ancestors and our parents now we have to train ourselves in

stopping we can learn to stop and touch each moment of the day when you walk mindfully each step you take can heal and nourish you it can put you deeply in touch with life and life's refreshing and healing elements will be fully available to you get deeply in touch with the Positive elements that are present in yourself and around you after walking for a few minutes with the words of this poem you will see that you are much more solid the past and the future can no longer grab you and pull you away from Life

as a result you are much more yourself you have more sovereignty taking back your sovereignty is the practice you are more solid and more free the greater your freedom the greater your happiness we are not talking about political Freedom here we are talking about freedom from distress from attachment from Anger from Fear you are free from all that your happiness comes from that freedom through the practice of stopping you cultivate that solidity and freedom through the practice of stopping you will achieve it in the ultimate I dwell there are two Dimensions to reality one is

called the historical dimension Dimension and the other is called the ultimate Dimension suppose we are looking at the ocean on the surface we see waves rising and falling from the point of view of the Waves there is birth and death high and low rising and falling there are distinctions between waves but each wave is made of a substance called water it is a wave but at the same time it is Water Concepts such as birth and death higher and lower rising and falling apply only to the waves not to the water itself so the waves

represent the historical Dimension and the water represents the ultimate Dimension when we look deeply at our own nature we can get in touch with its Ultimate Reality this ultimate nature is free of birth free of death free from any notion such as high low this that and so forth in Buddhism we call this Nirvana or suchness Nirvana is the extinction of all Concepts such as existence non-existence death and birth you have this Dimension called the ultimate within you in fact you are free from birth and from Death free from existence and from non-existence your true

nature is the nature of Nirvana if you are from the Christian tradition you could say that this ultimate Dimension is God the kingdom of God is free from birth and death free from high and low free from existence and non-existence you know very well that the wave does not need to die in order to become water it is water in the Here and Now you think you are subject to birth and death but if you touch your nature deeply you will see that it is the nature of no birth and no death this is something

that can make your fear disappear and true happiness can only exist when fear is no longer there touching the ultimate Dimension is very important the wave can live the life of a wave but it can also do better it can live every moment of its life life deeply touching its nature of no birth and no death that is its nature as water if the wave realizes that it is water its fear disappears it enjoys its rising and falling much more Rising is joyful and falling is too there is no birth and there is no death

this is the highest level of the teaching practicing with a group when we practice with a community a sa we should take advantage of the group energy everybody is breathing mindfully everybody is walking mindfully we can see the sa as a boat we have bricks of suffering in us and without a boat we are in danger of sinking in the river of suffering if you throw a stone in the river it will sink but if you have a boat you can transport tons of Pebbles and Stones the same thing is true for your pain and

suffering if you know how to use the boat made of the energy generated by the S you will not be drowned in your suffering because you put your trust in the sa you can have confidence you can say to yourself I am surrounded by the SAA the sa is generating the energies of compassion and mindfulness I have confidence in that The Vow I take refuge in the S is a practice not a declaration of faith we need to trust in the sa it is made up of people who are practicing mindfulness who generate the collective

energy of mindfulness every moment of the day you should put your trust in that energy the energy of mindfulness is the energy of the Buddha and it can be produced by anybody Buddha is the ability to be mindful every time you take a step or breathe mindfully you generate the energy of the Buddha this protects you and heals you but if you are a beginner the energy you generate may not be strong enough to handle the suffering in you you need to combine your energy with the energy of the group in that way healing and

transformation can take place very quickly so taking refuge in the song is very important even if you still have a lot of suffering and pain in you you need to place your trust in the S you should say dear sa I entrust all of my suffering and all my pain to you learn to walk learn to sit down and breathe and let the sa help you cultivate solidity you are somebody you are something you are a positive factor for your family for Society for the world you have to recover yourself to be yourself you have

to become solid again you can practice solidity in everyday life every step Every Breath You Take should help you become more solid when you have solidity freedom is there too freedom is the basis of all happiness without Freedom there is no happiness this means freedom from despair freedom from resentment freedom from jealousy and fear genuine practice is a practice that helps you become Freer and more solid every step you take Every Breath You Take every minute of sitting meditation and every Bowl you wash should give you more solidity and freedom if your practice does not

bring you that it is not genuine it is not working you should consult a brother or sister in the S to change your way of practicing the S is always there to provide you with support I am here means that my body and mind come together in mindful breathing in Walking meditation our motto is body and mind together when you achieve that your presence is genuine and you are truly alive this this genuine presence is the most beautiful gift you can offer the sa and your brothers and sisters are doing their best to offer you

their genuine presence as well so take advantage of their real presence and respond to them in kind offer them your presence and do not lose yourself anymore in the past in the future in worries or despair come back to yourself breathe properly walk properly touch the Earth as a miracle touch Life as a miracle realize the unity of body and mind in this way you will offer something very precious your genuine presence in the here and now three practicing skillfully with our past our appointment with life takes place in the present moment does that mean

we are against the past and the future if we look deeply at the present moment we see the past and the future in it the Insight of interbeing also applies to time we see that the present is made up of nonpresent elements that is of the past and the future the past is always there accessible we can enter into deep contact with the past through the present that is true for the future too normally we say that the future is not here yet but we can touch it right now by getting deeply in touch with

the present moment because it is of an interbeing nature the present cannot exist by itself it inter exists with the past and the future it's like a flower that cannot exist by itself it has to inter exist with the Sun and the Earth this is true for time too the present is made up of of material called the past and the future and the past and future are here in what we call the present the budha said that we should not be afraid of the past but he did warn us not to lose ourselves in

it either we should not feed our regret or pain over the past and we should not get carried away by the past we do need to study and understand the past however because by looking deeply into the past we learn a lot of things that can benefit the present and the future future the past is an object of our study of our meditation but the way to study it or meditate on it is by remaining anchored in the present moment we may say that the past is already dead but ultimately the truth is deeper than

that the past is still here in the form of the present we may think that there isn't anything we can do about the past anymore but there is perhaps we have done negative things in the past that we regret it's a mistake to think that it is no longer possible to change the situation that it is impossible to correct the past we can correct the past the past is here and if we get deeply in touch with the present we can touch the past as well and transform it transforming the past is possible thanks to

meditation practice suppose you said something not very nice to your mother while she was alive you regret this but she is no longer here for you to say to her mom I'm sorry I feel terrible that I said such a thing what can you do you should get deeply in touch with the present and see that your mother is still alive in you a mother lives on in her children it is a scientific fact we are a continuation of our mother as a rose is a continuation of the rose bush you are the continuation of

your father and your mother if your mother is no longer alive you can touch her in yourself because she exists in every cell of your body and Consciousness we are the recipients of a genetic inheritance that comes from our mother our father and all of our ancestors if you have a grandfather who lived to be 90 this grandfather is still alive in you if you are weak if there are cells in you that are not functioning properly you should call on that grandfather in yourself and say grandfather come help me your grandfather will manifest immediately

and you will know that your grandfather is not just a notion he is a reality within you every one of yourselves has your grandfather in it this is a miracle that we can touch by practicing meditation so if in the past you said something to your mother that was not kind today you can practice mind p f breathing call on your mother and say to her I said these unkind words to You and I promise not to do it again at that moment you will see your mother smiling because your mother is still here in

you alive our ancestors are still alive in us and we can call upon them anytime we like your spiritual ancestors are also within you some of these ancestors ERS are still quite young your brothers and your sisters in the Dharma and the person who guided your first steps in the practice are your very young ancestors your teacher is your ancestor and your teacher teacher the Buddha Christ the matriarchs and Patriarchs are your spiritual ancestors and they too exist in every cell of your body and your Consciousness so we don't need to travel through time or

space to get in touch with our spiritual and genetic ancestors if we dwell in the present moment we can touch them in the here and now through mindful breathing and deep looking it's amazing how we can do so many wonderful things while sitting on our meditation cushions when you see your mother smiling in every cell of your body you will find that your regrets and complexes have been transformed if you behaved badly in the past if you have been destructive you can do something about it by touching the present deeply you can transform the past

the wounds and injuries of the past are still there they are within your reach all you have to do is come back to this present moment and you will recognize the wounds and injuries that you have caused in the past and those that other people have caused you you should be here for these wounds and injuries you can say to them I am here for you with your mindful breathing with your deep looking and your determination not to do the same thing again then transformation is possible beginning A New Beginning a new is a very

serious practice in our s we are always practicing this beginning a new means being determined not to repeat the ne negative things we've done in the past a new era begins when we commit ourselves to living in mindfulness when we vow to ourselves I am determined not to behave as I did in the past transformation occurs immediately to make a fresh start like this we need to study the five mindfulness trainings a set of real and concrete methods for living our daily life in mindfulness for instance in the past we have eaten and drunk toxins

unmindful bringing poisons into our bodies and our Consciousness now we want to eat and drink with mindfulness practicing according to the fifth mindfulness training is a highly effective method for cutting out food and drink that have bad effects on us and have caused us a lot of suffering Enlightenment Awakening is possible for all of us the Buddha was an enlightened person and we all have this seed of Enlightenment in us when we get in touch with the Dharma when we meet a Dharma brother or sister Enlightenment is happening already Enlightenment is possible maybe even today

when we are enlightened we know where to go and when to go there if we see our path and know what direction to take peace appears in us immediately I know where I am going this is a very important realization then there is no more confusion a participant at one of our meditation Retreats was an American who had fought in the Vietnam War this former Soldier had suffered a lot one day during the war he found out that many of his friends had been killed by guerillas he was overcome by tremendous anger and wanted to

avenge his friends so he put explosives in some sandwiches and left them at the entrance to a village some children found these tasty looking sandwiches and they ate them these children wried and screamed in pain and finally died right before their parents eyes the young man went back to America but that day continued to haunt him he was unable to find peace and he could not even stand being in a room with children this went on for years when I met this man during the retreat I told him that transform was possible you killed five

children that's a reality I said to him each of these children is crying right now in every cell of your body I know that that's why you have had no peace so you must continue to look more deeply children are dying right now as we speak because of War they are dying for lack of food and medicine at this very moment and you can do something to help those children why do you remain immobilized dwelling on your guilt and pain you are intelligent you know that every day 40,000 children die of malnutrition you can do

something you can save a child two children five children every day you must find the will to live a new way you have to make a fresh start he made the decision to devote his life to helping children and the moment he decided to live a new way the wound in him began to heal beginning a new is a wonderful practice we can all practice beginning a new we can always start over with the help of deep looking we can illuminate the present and gain a better understanding of the past the past is within our

reach and we can transform it through meditation it is possible for us to touch the future in the present moment the future is being made out of the present so the best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment this is logical and clear spending a lot of time speculating and worrying about the future is totally useless we can only take care of our future by taking care of the present moment because the future is made out of only one substance the present if you are anchored in the

present you can prepare well for the future although we should not lose ourselves in fear of the future we can make plans for the future if we enter into the present moment to do it this is what the Buddha recommends building a s reorganizing our family reorganizing Society these are things we need to do if we establish ourselves in the present moment we understand that the past and the future are here accessible in the present moment and we can do these things this is because time has the nature of inner being ruling the kingdom of

the five elements of course we have difficulties in our relationships with our families with Society but we also have difficulties in our relations with ourselves our tendency is to believe that while things are not going well outside of us everything is just fine within ourselves that's an idea we need to reexamine we have conflicts and suffering inside sometimes we have the impression that we are unable to get in touch with ourselves we feel alienated and we always want to escape from ourselves we hate ourselves and we have no confidence so we just pretend that everything

is fine with us we should not think that the problem lies outside us we have accumulations of suffering and conflict within us we have a war going on inside the territory of the five elements scas is vast it contains physical form feelings perceptions mental formations and Consciousness every one of us is a king or a queen reigning over this territory but not necessarily a responsible king or queen in this territory there are a lot of conflicts suffering and darkness that we are always trying to run away from According to the teaching of the Buddha we

have to go back to the territory of the five elements to set things right we have to repair the mistakes of the past and create Harmony among the five elements this is the practice the Buddha recommends the gateway to this practice is through the breath we can all always go in through that door in the beginning we enter somewhat timidly because we are constantly trying to run away from ourselves we fear that if we come back to ourselves all the suffering we have accumulated inside us all the Despair and conflict will be right there waiting

for us our Universal tendency is to try to stay away from all this suffering so we are always trying to escape from ourselves Society offers us all kind of ways to do this television radio novels magazines cars telephones and so on WE abandon our territory just like that leaving it in a state of disorder and pain we want to run away from it our culture and our civilization are characterized by this tendency toward Escape but the Buddha advised us to do just the opposite we have to come back to our territory so we can bring

order and Harmony to it we must be responsible kings and queens you are responsible for your territory your kingdom do not look for the kingdom of God outside of it we are afraid to face our inner pain so we run away but the Buddha says with great compassion do not be afraid my friend armed with the energy of mindfulness you can cradle your pain like a baby you can say my pain my distress I am here I am back and I am going to take care of you we can come back to ourselves via mindfulness

of the breath that is the main door the Buddha left us precise instruction on this practice called the anapanasati sua I have written a commentary on this suta entitled breathe you are alive it is accompanied by another Sutra the Sati patana sutta on which I have commented in the book Transformation and healing Sutra on the four establishments of mindfulness this Sutra describes the four basic practices of mindfulness the contemplation of the body in the body the contemplation of feelings in the feelings the contemplation of the Mind in the mind and the contemplation of the objects

of the Mind in the objects of the Mind these are very deep and practical teachings that help you come back to to yourself you should recognize your pain and cradle it like a baby you should embrace your suffering in order to soothe it calm it and transform it you can do that with the support of your brothers and sisters in the S which is a powerful instrument even the Buddha needed a s the sa holds and contains the Buddha and the Dharma it is necessary to take refuge in the s in order to deeply touch

the Buddha and Dharma your physical body and feelings can be transformed by the practice community in Walking meditations you can harmonize the activities of your body feelings and perceptions you take a step and you smile walking like this brings you a sense of freshness and pleasure in Walking meditation you cultivate the unity of body and mind just as you do in sitting meditation listening to a Dharma talk is also a practice when you are hearing a teaching you should sit in such a way that peace relaxation and ease are possible don't struggle just open yourself

to allow the Dharma to penetrate you the way rain penetrates soil you should not use intellect to receive Dharma instead open your physical body to the Dharma so that it can penetrate every cell of your body intellect is not everything the intellect can be like a sheet of plastic covering the Earth preventing the rain of Dharma from penetrating the ground of your being the ground of your being contains lots of seeds and it needs the rain to penetrate deeply into it so do not use only the intellect do not compare and discriminate just open up

to the Dharma rain and let it penetrate you let the Dharma enter into you freely and the positive seeds in you will be be touched and have a chance to sprout give your intellect a vacation and let your body and the depths of your Consciousness receive the Dharma the practices of walking meditation and mindful breathing help us to generate the energy of mindfulness this energy allows us to come back to ourselves to recognize and care for our pain and despair the S can help us cultivate mindfulness if you need a Dharma bre mother or a

sister to help call on them my brother my sister I have a little energy of mindfulness but not enough to care for my pain I need you to help me your Dharma brother or sister will help you they can sit down and breathe deeply with you to provide you support when you are with the sa take advantage of its energy putting your trust in the S is a positive thing and when you have recovered a little bit of fresh freshness and Harmony you will be able to do something to improve the quality of your relations

with other people too but if you do not have this freshness in you if you do not have understanding and compassion then do not try to fix anything because you will fail in the past you may have failed to improve a relationship that was causing you trouble that's because you did not start from the right place the right place to start is in your body your feelings and your perceptions you must begin at the beginning and give yourself some time to care for yourself to cradle and care for your pain then you will begin to

generate the energy of compassion and understanding caring for your pain have you ever written yourself a letter have you ever had a talk with yourself have you spoken with the little girl or little boy who was there still alive in you this little girl or little boy is suffering and carrying a lot of wounds now it is time to come back and embrace her or him take the time to come back to the little girl or little boy and say dear one I am here for you I know you have a great deal of grief

in you I can feel there are wounds I am sorry I abandoned you for such a long time thanks to mindfulness of the breath I am back this is an indispensable practice writing a letter like this creates genuine transformation I am here for you for you means first of all for ourselves there is pain and suffering in us and we have tried to get away from it we have not practiced the true presence that allows us to soothe the suffering that is in us we turn on the television we pick up a novel we make

a phone call so we can escape from ourselves we do this every day we have to change this habit we have to come back to ourselves so we can take care of the situation I am here for you really means I am here for myself I am here for my suffering for my pain you should look at your pain as though it were an abandoned baby you should come back to yourself so that you can take care of this suffering baby your fear your depression your despair that is the baby in you it is yourself

my dear one I have come back I am here for you breathe in so that you generate the energy of mindfulness with that energy cradle your baby baby in your arms my suffering and my pain I am here for you this is the practice developing true presence has two purposes the first is to make contact with everything that is beautiful refreshing and healing we need that we need the nourishment of a gorgeous sunset a child's smile the song of a bird the company of a friend all of these things are precious and we should be

there to touch them this is the first thing that mindfulness lets us do the second thing that mindfulness does is allow us to come back to ourselves and embrace our pain most people are afraid to come back to themselves because that means having to face the pain inside of them with the practice of mindfulness the situation changes we come back to our pain but now we are well equipped with the energy of mindfulness that has been generated by mindful breathing and by meditation we use that source of energy to recognize and embrace our pain this

is very important if you are unable to take care of yourself how can you take care of anyone else how can you take care of the person you love when you are here for yourself when you have reestablished some basic order and peace within yourself then you can take care of the person you love it could be your son your daughter your partner or your friend but if you are not able to be here for yourself it will not be possible for you to be here for them that's why you must come back to yourself

there is a third thing that mindfulness does which concerns our environment and Society if you are an environmental or peace activist your work will be much more meaningful if you have peace peace solidity and freedom in yourself then you will serve society and the environment much more effectively I am here for you means that I bring myself back to the present moment so that I can reestablish order Harmony peace and joy in myself after that I am here to soothe suffering and to offer joy and happiness to someone else beyond that I am here for

the environment for societ for all those who are suffering the practice of Shining Light the Dharma is here to support and Enlighten you at Plum Village we have a practice called Shining Light in which we shine the light of our mindfulness on a situation we shine light on the situation of our body our feelings perceptions mental formations and consciousness I you must look deeply at the state of your territory of the five elements to see what should be done there and what should not be done this is very important if you live in a community

you can ask for the help of the S they have observed you you are their brother or sister after all and they can tell you things about your physical body your feelings and your perceptions you need their insights about you at least once a year in Plumville vill every monk kneels down before his brothers and asks them to shine light on him meaning to tell him how they see him to express themselves concerning his body his feelings his perceptions his strengths and weaknesses his brothers come together to provide him with the advice he needs after

having received the recommendations of his brothers the monk prostrates deeply before them three times in thanks and in the days that follow he tries to practice in the light of their recommendations this kind of love letter from your can help you see more clearly what you should do and what you should not do and you can do the same thing with your family your parents or your partner you have a need for illumination and the other person does too so you can say to them my dear one you must help me I have areas of

strengths and weaknesses I want you to help me to see them more clearly I have Within Me positive seeds such as hope understanding compassion and joy and I try to water them every day I would like you to recognize the presence of these seeds in me and try to water them several times a day too that will be a pleasure for me and if I Blossom like a flower that will be a pleasure for you too for my part I promise you that I will will do my best to recognize and water the positive seeds

in you you have very positive seeds in you and I appreciate them a lot every time these seeds manifest I am very happy because at such times you are wonderful you are so full of love and joy that I vow to water these seeds in you every day I see as well that there are seeds of suffering in you and I will make every effort not to water these in that way I will not make you suffer and I will not make myself suffer either that is the practice the other person might be your son

your daughter or your partner the two of you have to make a treaty you have to have a sense of solidarity making such a treaty is a wonderful practice to make peace and happiness reign in a community or in a family deep listening there is a being called avalokitesvara he is a bodh SAA a remarkable being whose characteristic feature is his ability to listen he practices deep compassionate listening listening is an art we must cultivate first you have to be able to listen to yourself before you can listen to someone else you must not run

away from yourself but rather be very compassionate toward yourself the practice of mindfulness will generate The Compassion you need to cradle your own pain and suffering then when you begin to understand and love yourself you are ready to understand and love another person there is pain and suffering in the other person they should have the chance to express it and you can transform yourself into a bodic SATA in order to listen knowing how to listen requires patience and compassion and fortunately we can train ourselves in this as I have said you should not try anything

before you feel sure that some freshness and compassion have Arisen in you even a few days of practice will begin to establish compassion and understanding in your heart the practice of deep listening consists of keeping compassion alive in your heart the whole time that you were listening you do not listen in order to judge criticize or evaluate you listen for one reason alone to offer the other person a chance to express him or herself that person is going to say things that irritate you he or she might express disapproval of you heat blame on you

say things that are false you have to be ready to listen to anything you have to say to yourself I'm listening to this person not to criticize or judge him I'm listening to give him a chance to express himself to provide him with some relief that's all this is called compassionate listening if you keep this intention alive in your heart you will act as a bodh SVA practice mindfulness of the breath the whole time you are listening and maintain this intention I am listening in order to make it possible for her to suffer less if

you can do that then her negative words will not affect you what she says might be wrong it might be sarcastic it might be intended to hurt you or to put you at fault but as long as compassion is alive in you you are immunized against suffering and that is a wonderful thing this has always been true for me when you are able to keep compassion alive in you you do not suffer anymore you see that the person you are listening to is suffering very much with his wrong perceptions anger and confusion and what he

is saying is coming out of his pain you yourself are not affected because compassion continues to fill you this compassion is the fruit of the understanding that comes from the practice of mindfulness and deep looking in Buddhism it is said that love and compassion are made out of one substance which is called understanding if you understand you can love but if understanding is not there it is impossible for you to accept and love someone why did he act that way why did he say those things you should look deeply into these questions and then you

will see the causes of what you are dealing with with this understanding you stop blaming and criticizing your compassion is born of your understanding of the situation for instance a girl who was sexually abused by her father has suffered a great deal if she is very reactive later on if she says things that are not completely normal it is because she was abused during her childhood if you can understand that you will stop taking a critical view of her she has suffered so much you will say I should help her I should not be critical

of her and compassion will fill you because understanding is there deep looking directed toward the other person is what will bring you understanding poor thing he has suffered so much as a child he was mistreated by Society even by his own parents he needs help with this understanding compassion begins to be aroused and with this compassion alive in you you can practice deep listening a good psychotherapist knows how to listen in fact all psychotherapists should regard avalokitesvara as a model avalokitesvara is an excellent listener he knows how to listen with a great deal of compassion

some psychotherapists suffer so much themselves that they are unable to really listen to The Suffering of the other person deep and compassionate listening is important training for psychotherapists and for all of us in order to help another person suffer less and to provide him or her with some relief you have to behave like a bodic SATA of compassionate listening with training and mindfulness you will be able to do this I am sure of this because I have confidence in the Buddha that is in you the Buddha is always in you you only need to bring

him out to provide him the opportunity to manifest the Buddha appears in anyone who is enlightened and the substance of Enlightenment is mindfulness I remember once when a group of us was listening to a woman's speak about her life most of us were MKS when the woman was a little girl she had been abused by her father and her brother then she had been sold into the sex industry you cannot imagine the depth of her pain there were eight of us listening but at a certain point she was unable to continue with her story she

sat there immobilized her pain had increased until it reached the point where it blocked her speech we were all trying to be there for her with deep and compassionate breathing we stayed like that for 40 minutes it was only after after this long time that she was able to speak to us again this shows that deep listening is possible there are people who have suffered so much that they are not capable of expressing themselves so we need to practice compassionate listening to give them the opportunity to do so we can all act like the bodh

satva Avala dvara and listen to other people you actually could be the best psychotherapist for the person you love because you know him better than anyone to do that you have to take a fresh look at your view of him and look deeply at the situation there is a lot that needs to be done in society work against War social injustice and so on but first we have to come back to our own territory and make sure that peace and Harmony are reigning there until we do that we cannot do anything for society let us

begin immediately what I recommend for all all of us is to come back to ourselves and take care of the little boy or little girl who inhabits the depths of our wounded Souls then we will be calmer more understanding and loving and the environment will begin to change other people will benefit from our presence and we will be able to influence them and our society four healing our wounds and pain here is a practice poem that you can use in everyday life at any time no matter where you are in out deep slow calm ease

smile release you can recite this no matter what you're doing while you're driving your car while you're Watering your garden while while you're cooking or before falling asleep as well as during walking or sitting meditation in out this phrase comes to us directly from the Buddha what it means is breathing in I know that I am breathing in breathing out I know that I am breathing out that's the whole thing it's simple recognition of what is happening an in breath and then an out breath mindfulness is first of all the ability to recognize what is

happening in the present moment it is simple recognition without judgment or criticism without suppression or attachment I breathe in and I am aware that the INB breath is here I breathe out and I am aware that the out breath is here there is no criticism or struggle there is no effort either to reject anything or grab on to it breathing in breathing out the breath is flowing in the breath is Flowing out you could also say in breath out breath or even just in out it's very simple yet you can regard this practice as a

recognition of everything that is happening in the present moment I am breathing in this is an in breath I am breathing out this is an out breath during this time all thoughts stop the past the future your memories and plans you drop everything you are your in breath and as you become one with your INB breath concentration occurs this will give you a great deal of pleasure breathing in I know that I am breathing in let me remind you again that this practice comes to us directly from the Buddha you are free of any intention

to judge find fault reject or cling and you maintain that freedom in relation to whatever is happening when you get angry or depressed it is the same you simply recognize what is there anger depression and so forth without any sense of disapproval or rejection if you recognize emotion as existing in the moment you will not feel upset there is no battle to win or lose this is Buddhist Meditation when you drink whiskey learn to drink it with mindfulness drinking whiskey I know that it is whiskey I am drinking this is the approach that I would

recommend I am not telling you to absolutely stop drinking I propose that you drink your whiskey mindfully and I am sure that if you drink this way for a few weeks you will stop drinking alcohol Drinking Your Whiskey mindfully you will recognize what is taking place in you in your body in your liver in your relationships in the world and so on when your mindfulness becomes strong you will just stop you do not have to struggle against a desire there is no need for a battle within you mindfulness is something that Embraces and includes things

like desire that recognizes them with great tenderness meditation is not about turning yourself into a battlefield where one side fights the other because the basis of Buddhist Meditation is non-duality the habit of drinking alcohol or getting angry are also you and therefore you must treat them with great tenderness and nonviolence the essential point is not to create conflict a fight within yourself so we begin with simple recognition then when the energy of mindfulness is strong and you have concentration you can practice looking deeply into the nature of whatever is arising and from that comes Insight

Insight liberates you from all negative Tendencies breathing in I know that I am breathing in breathing out I know that I am breathing out this is very very simple yet it can give you a lot of pleasure you cultivate concentration and with that concentration you touch life deeply you are free at that moment let me say a few words about adding the words deep slow to this practice of breath awareness deep in this case does not mean we are trying to make our inhalation deeper it simply means that after a few minutes of practicing breathing

in breathing out you will notice that your breathing has become deeper and slower as you breathe in you notice that your in breath has become longer as you breathe out you notice that your out breath has become gentler as a result your practice becomes pleasurable and this pleasure nourishes and transforms you this practice should be enjoyable and pleasant the elements called joy and pleasure mudita and pretty in Sanskrit are a very important part of meditation if you are suffering during meditation your practice is not correct practice should be enjoyable and pleasant it should be full

of joy so whether your practice is walking or sitting meditation do it in such a way that joy and pleasure are possible it is not supposed to be hard labor and in your everyday life just as you do not do violence to your breathing do not do violence to your body nor to your anger or depression we need to treat them with a great deal of tenderness because the essential thing in Buddhist Meditation is not to create tension conflict or Rift within yourself the positive elements within you are you and the negative elements within you

are you also it is necessary for the positive elements to acknowledge and cradle the negative elements and if you do that a transformation will take place there is no need need for the two too battle weathering emotional storms calm ease if you find that there is not enough peace in your emotions your perceptions or your feelings you should practice calming them breathing in I calm my feelings breathing out I smile at my feelings when you are feeling yanked by strong emotions you can practice like this assume a seated posture in which you can be solid

or you can lie down as you breathe bring your attention to your navl and to the movement of your abdomen your abdomen Rises and Falls follow that movement do not think about anything the object of your attention is solely the movement of your abdomen I breathe in I breathe out I breathe in I breathe out out a strong emotion is like a storm if you look at a tree in a storm the top of the tree seems fragile like it might break at any moment you are afraid the storm might uproot the tree but if

you turn your attention to the trunk of the tree you realize its roots are deeply anchored in the ground and you see that the tree will be able to hold you too are a tree during a storm of emotion you should not stay at the level of the head or the heart which are like the top of the tree you have to leave the heart the eye of the storm and come back to the trunk of the tree your trunk is 1 cm below your navl focus there paying attention only to the movement of your

abdomen and continue to breathe then you will survive the storm of strong emotion it is essential to understand understand that an emotion is merely something that arises remains and then goes away a storm comes it stays a while and then it moves away at the critical moment remember that you are much more than your emotions this is a simple thing that everybody knows but you may need to be reminded of it you are much more than your emotions many people have no idea how to face their emotions and they suffer because of it a lot

of young people are like that and they think the only way to put an end to their suffering is to kill themselves why do we have to die because of an emotion we must practice this ourselves and we must help young people to practice it you should not wait for emotion to appear before you begin practicing otherwise you will be carried away by the storm you should train now while the emotion is not there so sit or lie down and practice mindfulness of the breath using the movement of your abdomen as the object of your

attention I am positive that if you do this exercise for 20 days 10 minutes per day then you will know how to practice whenever a strong emotion comes up after 10 or 20 minutes the emotion will go away and you will be saved from the storm the practice of letting go if there are things that are causing you to suffer you have to know how to let go of them happiness can be attained by letting Go including letting go of your ideas about happiness you imagine that certain conditions are necessary to your happiness but deep

looking will reveal to you that those Notions are the very things standing in the way of happiness and are making you suffer one day the Buddha would was sitting in the forest with some monks they had just finished their lunch and were about to begin a Dharma discussion when a farmer approached them the farmer said venerable monks did you see my cows come by I have a dozen cows and they all ran away on top of that I have five acres of Sesame plants and this year the insects ate them all up I think I'm

going to kill myself I can't go on living like this the Buddha felt strong compassion toward the farmer he said my friend I'm sorry we didn't see your cows come this way when the farmer had gone the Buddha turned to his monks and said my friends do you know why you are happy because you have no cows to lose I would like to say the same thing to you my friends if you have some cows you have to identify them you think they are essential to your happiness but if you prac practice looking deeply you

will understand that it is these very cows that have brought about your unhappiness The Secret Of Happiness is being able to let go of your cows you should call your cows by their true names I assure you that when you have let your cows go you will experience happiness because the more freedom you have the more happiness you have the Buddha taught us that joy and pleasure are based on surrender On Letting Go I am letting go is a powerful practice are you able to let go of things if not your suffering will continue you

must have the courage to practice Letting Go you must develop a new habit the habit of realizing Freedom you must identify your cows you must regard them as bonds of slavery you must learn as the Buddha and his monks did to set your cows free it is the energy of mindfulness that helps you to identify your cows and call them by their true names smile release when you have an idea that is making you suffer you should let go of it even or perhaps especially if it is an idea about your own happiness every person

at every nation has an idea of happiness in some countries people think that a particular ideology must be followed to bring happiness to the country and its people they want everybody to approve of their idea of happiness and they believe that those who are not in favor of it should be imprisoned or put in concentration camps it is possible to maintain such thinking for 50 or 60 years and in that time to create enormous tragedy just because of this idea of Happiness perhaps you too are a prisoner of your own notion of happiness there are

thousands of paths that lead to happiness but you have accepted only one you have not considered other paths because you think that yours is the only one that leads to happiness you have followed this path with all your might and so the other paths the thousands of others have remained close to you we should be free to experience the happiness that just comes to us without our having to seek it if you are a free person happiness can come over you just like that look at the Moon it travels in the sky completely free and

this Freedom produces Beauty and happiness I am convinced that happiness is not possible unless it is based on freedom if you are a free woman if you are a free man you will enjoy happiness but if you are a slave even if only the slave of an idea happiness will be very difficult for you to achieve that is why you should cultivate Freedom including freedom from your own Concepts and ideas let go of your ideas even if abandoning them is not easy conflict and suffering are often caused by a person not wanting to surrender his

Concepts and ideas of things in the relationship between a father and a son for example or between partners this happens all the time it is important to train yourself to let go of your ideas about things freedom is cultivated by this practice of letting go if you look deeply you may find that you are holding onto a concept that is causing you to suffer a great deal are you intelligent enough are you free enough to give up this idea I am becoming calm I am letting go having let go victory is mine I smile I

am free the Dharma that the Buddha presented is radical it contains radical measures for healing for transforming the present situation people become monks and nuns because they understand that freedom is very precious the Buddha did not need a bank account or a house in the time of the Buddha the possessions of a monk or a nun were limited to the robes they wore and a bowl in which to collect alms freedom is very important you should not sacrifice it for anything because without Freedom there is no happiness how to experience the Miracle of Life joy

and happiness are born of concentration when you are having a cup of tea the value of that experience depends on your concentration you have to drink the tea with 100% of your being the true pleasure is experienced in the concentration when when you walk and you are 100% concentrated the joy you get from the steps you are taking is much greater than the joy you would get without concentration you have to invest 100% of your body and mind in the act of walking then you will experience that being alive and taking steps on this planet

are miraculous things the Zen master lyy also known as renai said the miracle is walking on the earth not walking on water or fire the real Miracle is walking on this Earth why should you not perform a miracle just by walking a step taken with mindfulness can lead you to the kingdom of God this is possible you can do it today life is too precious for us to lose ourselves in our ideas and Concepts in our anger and despair we must wake up to The Marvelous reality of life we must begin to live fully and

truly every moment of our daily lives when you are holding a cup of tea in your hand do it while being 100% there you know how to do this one deep in breath one gentle out breath and the body and mind come together you are truly there absolutely alive fully present this only takes 10 or 15 seconds and suddenly the tea reveals itself to you in all its Splendor and wonder when I pick up a book or open a door I want to invest myself in this act 100% this is what I learned during my

monastic training when my teacher taught me how to offer a stick of incense a stick of incense is very small and very light yet the right way to hold it is with two hands when offering the incense you have to invest 100% of your being in your hand and in two of your fingers the energy of mindfulness must be concentrated there this may look like a ritual but it is really an act of concentrated awareness I put my left hand on my right hand and during this time I concentrate 100% the incense is an offering

to the Buddha but does the Buddha really need incense this is actually an offering of Peace of joy and of concentration during my first year of training at the temple My teacher asked me to do something for him I loved him so much that I became quite excited and I rushed out to do it I was in such a hurry that I did not leave the room as I should have I did not close the door properly with 100% of my being he called me back novice he said come here I knew right away that

something was wrong he said only my son you can do better he did not have to teach me this a second time the next time I did walking meditation to the door I opened the door mindfully and I closed the door behind me perfectly since that day I have known how to close a door behind me it must always be done with mindfulness not for the sake of the Buddha not for the teacher but for myself this is the way you create peace this is the way you bring about Freedom you do it for your

own happiness and when you are happy the people you relate with benefit from your presence and are happy too a happy person is an important thing because their happiness spreads all around them you can be a happy person too and become a refuge for all the beings around you concentration is the practice of happiness there is no happiness without concentration when you eat an orange try to practice concentration eat it in such a way that pleasure joy and happiness are possible at the whole time you could call this orange meditation you take an orange in

the palm of your hand you look at it and breathe in such a way that it reveals itself as the miracle it is an orange is nothing less than a miracle it is just like you you are also a miracle of life you are a manifest miracle if I am 100% there the orange reveals itself to me 100% as I concentrate on the orange I get deep Insight from it I can see the sun and the rain that are in it I can see the flowers of the orange tree I can see the little sapling

sprouting and then the fruit growing then I begin mindfully to peel the fruit its presence its color its texture its smell and taste is a real miracle and the happiness that comes to me from getting deeply in touch with it can become very very great a single orange is enough to give you a great deal of Happiness when you are truly there entirely alive fully present getting deeply in touch with one of the Miracles of life that surrounds you little by little you must train yourself for life for happiness you probably received a college degree

that you spent years working for and you thought that happiness would be possible after you got it but that was not true because after getting the degree and finding a job you continue to suffer you have to realize that happiness is not something you find at the end of the road you you have to understand that it is here now mindfulness practice is not an evasion or an escape it means entering vigorously into life with the strength generated by the energy of mindfulness without this freedom and concentration there is no happiness engaged Buddhism means engagement

not only in social action but in daily life the object of this practice is joy in everyday life which is freedom we should use our time with a great deal of intelligence because time is not only money it is much more precious than that it is life a day is 24 hours long do you know how to manage it you intelligent and have lots of different talents but do you know how to manage your days you must invest yourself 100% in organizing the days that are given to you to live you can do it with

mindfulness practice transforming your pain will become much easier joy and happiness will help you regain your balance and heal your pain you know that good blood circulation is necessary for the well-being of your body the same is true for your psyche you must live and practice in such a way that your Consciousness benefits from good circulation bad circulation of psychological elements creates problems blocks of suffering fear jealousy and distress are stuck in the depths of your Consciousness they cannot circulate and they make you feel fear that's why you have closed the door to your store

Consciousness because you do not want these things to come to the surface you are afraid of the pain in you so whenever there is a gap in your day you fill it up with books or television so these blocks of suffering do not come up to the surface that is what most of us do it's a policy of embargo you do your best to forget what is inside you and consume whatever is available to help you do that in this way you create bad psychological circulation and mental problems will soon appear while you are sleeping

accumulations of suffering will reveal themselves to you in your dreams they cry out for help but you continue to practice suppression and repression depression fear and confusion may also manifest in the realm of the Soma in the body you will have headaches and all kinds of other aches and pains but your doctor will not be able to identify the source of the pain because it is psychological in nature Buddhism teaches that the body and mind are two aspects of the same thing there is no Duality between the physical and the mental aspects there is a

Sanskrit expression Namar Rupa Nama is our mental aspect and Rupa means form we cannot make a distinction between the physical and the mental your hand is not just a physical formation it is a mental formation at the same time the cells of your body are not only physical they are also mental they are both at the same time Buddhism has found that reality sometimes manifests as psyche and sometimes as Soma psychosomatic is the Western term now marupa is the equivalent in Sanskrit we should train ourselves to see physical things as not solely physical in fact

physical and mental are no more than Expressions the human Manifesto which was written in 1933 says that the mindbody Duality should be rejected including the idea of a soul that survives after death because it also represents a duality what do Buddhists say about this Buddhism agrees that the Mind Body Duality should be rejected but it does not say that the disintegration of the body represents a total negation Buddhism helps us to see that neither the concept of permanence nor the concept of annihilation are applicable to reality Beyond birth and death if we look deeply into

the nature of reality we will see that nothing is created or lost as the Buddhist text called the pr paramita says there is neither birth nor death birth is a concept death is two and neither of these Concepts is applicable to reality we must make the effort to look into this truth deeply to confirm it for ourselves in our minds we think that birth means we start from nothing and become something that from nobody we become somebody that is our definition of birth from nothing comes existence from nothing comes being but that is absurd because

it is impossible for anything to come from nothing this piece of paper I'm holding in my hand is something that exists right now can we establish a time and place of birth for this paper that is very difficult to establish impossible actually because before it manifested as a piece of paper it was already here in the form of a tree of the sun of a cloud without the sun without the rain the trees would not have lived and there would have been no piece of paper when I touch this piece of paper I touch the

sun when I touch this piece of paper I also touch the clouds there is a cloud floating in this piece of paper you do not have to be a poet to see it if I were able to separate the cloud from the piece of paper the paper would not exist anymore the true nature of this piece of paper is interbeing before taking the form of paper it already existed in the form of Sun Cloud rain and trees in the same way a human is not born from nothing birth is only a moment of continuation it

is a concept not a reality and if there is no birth There Is No Death either the tradition of Zen Buddhism invites us to look deeply at reality with the help of Cohen such as what was your face before the birth of your grandmother where were you at that moment you were invited to discover that you embark on a journey in which you look deeply and see yourself back before your birth even before the birth of your grandmother you did not come from nothing that is impossible just as it is impossible that the piece of

paper came from nothing it manifests in the present moment as as a piece of paper but in the past it manifested in other forms you are asked to seek and discover your own face your original face before the birth of your grandmother this is a wonderful practice if you follow this Quest you will have the opportunity to touch the nature of no birth and no death and fear will disappear this is the language of Zen when the French scientist anwan lavasier said nothing is created and nothing is lost he was saying exactly the same thing

the concept of death is that being turns into non-being that is impossible can somebody become nobody no if we burn the piece of paper we cannot reduce it to nothing the paper will turn into heat which will go out into the cosmos and turn into smoke which will join the clouds in the sky tomorrow a drop of of rain will fall on your forehead and you will make a new contact with the piece of paper the ashes produced by the burning will rejoin the Earth and one day they will manifest as daisies do you have

enough mindfulness to recognize the Peace of paper in those daisies it is our idea of birth and death that takes away our peace and happiness in everyday life and it is meditation that will rid us of the fear that is born from the idea of birth and death this is the virtue of deep looking in meditation it helps you to see the heart of reality very deeply to touch the nature of inner being is to touch the very nature of no death and no birth the notion of death of nothingness is very dangerous it makes

people suffer a lot in Buddhist teaching nothingness is only a concept and it is never applicable to reality the Buddha said when conditions are sufficient the thing manifests and when they are not sufficient The Thing Remains hidden there is neither birth nor death there is only manifestation appearance Concepts like birth and death being and non-being are not applicable to reality the wave on the water is free from birth and death it is free from being and non-being the wave is the wave the word suchness describes reality as it is Concepts and ideas are incapable of

expressing reality as it is nirvana the Ultimate Reality cannot be described because it is free of all Concepts and ideas Nirvana is the extinction of all Concepts it is total freedom most of our suffering arises from our ideas and Concepts if you are able to free yourself from these Concepts anxiety and fear will disappear Nirvana the Ultimate Reality or God is the nature of no birth and no death it is total freedom we need to touch this reality to leave behind our fear connected with the idea of birth and death we are afraid of non-being

I am somebody I am something we feel today I am and I am afraid that one day I will no longer be but it is impossible for being to become non-being the Buddha said it in absolutely simple terms this is because that is this refers to the manifestation of phenomena on the basis of the law of independent origination when conditions are sufficient there is a manifestation you could call that being but that would be inaccurate in the same way you could call the situation before manifestation arises not non-being but that is equally incorrect the situation

is simply one of manifestation or non- manifestation think for a moment about the space around you it is filled with signals broadcast by radio and television stations if you turn on a radio or a TV set they will manifest in the form of images and sounds just because something is not visibly manifest you cannot say that it is non-existent just so much nothing in April at Plum Village you do not see sunflowers the hills are not covered with their blossoms but you cannot say that there are no sunflowers the sunflowers are hidden in the earth

they are just lacking one of the conditions for their manifestation Sunshine it is false to say that the sunflowers do not exist so what is death it is simply the cessation of manifestation followed by other forms of manifestation in winter time we do not see dragonflies or butterflies so we think that everything is dead but suddenly spring comes and the dragonflies and butterflies manifest again that which is currently not perceivable is not non-existent but we cannot say that it is existent either existence and non-existence are just Concepts there is only manifestation and non manifestation which

depend on our perception if you have perception that is deep enough a deep insight into life then you are free from all these Concepts such as being and non-being birth and death this is the highest level of Buddhist teaching you are looking for relief for your pain but the greatest relief that you can ever obtain comes from touching the nature of no birth and no death in Buddhism we go beyond the concepts of creation and destruction of birth and death we also go beyond the concepts of self and non-self we have seen for example that

a flower cannot be by itself alone the flower cannot be it can only inter be we must go back to what the Buddha said this is because that is and train ourselves to look at things in the light of interdependence we can see the entire universe in a flower we can see not only the entire universe but also all our ancestors and our children in every cell of our own body through Buddhist Meditation you will experience the happiness of seeing and discovering wonderful things that will liberate you we live in a time when everyone is

too caught up in the preoccupations of everyday life and we do not have enough time to live in suchness with mindfulness we do not take the time to touch things in depth to discover the true nature of life you are invited to use your intelligence your time and your resources to taste this Timeless meditation that was handed down to us by our original teacher the Buddha five cultivating true love four mantras in the springtime thousands of different kinds of flowers bloom your heart can also Bloom you can let your heart open up to the world

love is possible do not be afraid of it love is indispensable to life and if in the past you have suffered because of love you can learn how to love again the practice of mindfulness will help you to love properly in such a a way that Harmony freedom and Joy are possible the true Declaration of Love is dear one I am here for you because the most precious gift you can give to your loved one is your true presence with body and mind United in solidity and freedom you also have to learn how to speak

all over again when you speak with 100% of your being your speech becomes mantra in Buddhism a mantra is a sacred formula that has the power to transform reality you don't need to practice mantras in some foreign language like Sanskrit or Tibetan you can practice in your own beautiful language for if your body and mind are unified in mindfulness then whatever you say becomes a mantra after you have practiced walking meditation or mindfulness of the breath for 2 or 3 minutes you are here really alive truly present you look at the person you loved with

a smile and you say the first Mantra dear one I am here for you you know that if you are here then your beloved is here also life with all its Miracles is here and among those Miracles is the person before you the one you love you can say this mantra a few times a day dear one I am here for you and now that you have the ability to recognize the presence of this other person you can practice a second Mantra dear one I know that you are here alive and that makes me very

happy this Mantra enables you to recognize the presence of the other person as something very precious a miracle it is the Mantra of deep appreciation for his or her presence when people feel appreciated in this way when they feel embraced by the mindful attention of another then they will open and Blossom like a flower there is no doubt that you can make this happen through the energy of mindfulness you can do it right away even today and you will see the transformation it brings about is instantaneous in order to love we must be here and

then our presence will embrace the presence of the other person only then will they have the feeling of being loved so you must recognize the presence of the other person with the energy of mindfulness with the genuine presence of your body and mind in Oneness if the person you love is suffering you can say a third Mantra dear one I know that you are suffering that's why I am here for you you are here and you recognize the fact that your loved one is suffering you don't need to make a big deal about it you

just generate your own presence and say this Mantra that's all dear one I know that you are suffering that's why I am here for you this is the essence of love to be there for the one you love when she is suffering a mantra can be expressed not only through speech but by the mind and body as a whole the fact that you are there with the energy of your presence and understanding and the fact that you recognize the presence of the other person and their suffering will give them a great deal of relief some

people suffer deeply but are completely ignored by others they are alone and isolated so cut off from the rest of the world that their suffering becomes overwhelming you must go to them and open the door to their heart so they can see the love that is there our bodies and minds are sustained by the cosmos the clouds and the sky nourish us the light of the sun nourishes us the cosmos offer us vitality and love in every moment despite this fact some people feel isolated and alienated from the world as a bodh SATA you can

approach such a person person and with the miracle of the Mantra you can open the door of his or her heart to the world and to the love that is always happening dear one I know that you are suffering a lot I know this and I am here for you just as the trees are here for you and the flowers are here for you the suffering is there but something else is also there the Miracle of Life with this mantra you will help them to realize this and open the door of their closed heart the

fourth Mantra is a bit more difficult to practice but I will transmit it to you because one day you will need it it is dear one I am suffering I need your help this fourth Mantra is more difficult to practice because of the negative habit energy we call Pride when your suffering has been caused by the person you love the most in the world the pain is very great if someone else had said or done the same thing to you you would suffer much less but if the person who did it is the one who

is dearest to you in the world the suffering is really Dreadful you want to lock yourself away in a room and cry alone now when this person notices that something is wrong and tries to approach you about it you might rebuff him or her leave me alone you say I don't don't need you the other might say dear one it seems to me that you are suffering but you do everything possible to prove you don't need them this is exactly the opposite of what you should do you should practice mindfulness of the breath with your

body and mind in Union and with this total presence go to the other person and say the Mantra dear one I am suffering I need your help I I need you to explain to me why you did this thing to me if you are a real practitioner please use this fourth Mantra when you are in such a situation you must not let Pride come between you and your loved one many people suffer because of this obstacle called Pride you love someone you need them and so in these difficult moments you should go and ask them

for help in true love there is no place for Pride I beg you to remember this you share happiness and adversity with this person so you must go to him or her and share the truth about your suffering dear one I am suffering too much I want you to help me explain to me why you said that to me when you do that the Buddha does it at the same time with you because the Buddha is in you all of us practice ice this Mantra along with you you have the support of the Buddha the

Dharma and the s in uttering those words these words will quickly transform the situation so do not let things drag on for months or years you should act decisively the magic formulas have been transmitted to you for this purpose inscribe these four mantras in your heart and use them this is the practice of love and its foundation is the energy of mindfulness false Perceptions in my country Vietnam there is a famous story about a young couple who lived in the 17th century the name of the young man was Truong and his young wife came from

a village called namang war broke out and the young man was called up to serve in the Army his wife was pregnant but he had to leave for the front all the same they cried a great deal the young man stayed in the Army for three years before he was allowed to come home on the day of his return his wife was very happy to see him she went and stood at the entrance to the village with her little son and when they met they cried for Joy then the young woman went to the market

to get what she needed to make an offering to the family ancestor Shrine in in our tradition in Vietnam we make important events known to our ancestors and in every household even the humblest ones the shrine to the ancestors occupies a place of honor we clean the shrine every day change the water in the flower vas and offer a stick of incense this is a daily practice to put us in touch with our roots in the West too we should live in such a way that we are connected to our ancestors this is very important

feelings of isolation and alienation come from a way of life that is too individualistic we lose sight of the connection between others and ourselves and between our ancestors and ourselves that is why we must practice to keep in touch with those connections while the young woman in our story was at the market the father tried to persuade his little boy to call him daddy but the child refused saying no you are not my daddy my daddy is another man who comes every evening my mommy talks to him for a long time and she cries with

him every time my mommy sits down he sits down also and every time she lies down he lies down too all of chuang's Happiness evaporated on the spot he became like a block of ice perhaps your loved one sometimes becomes like a block of ice too when the wife came back from the market she sensed that something had happened happened her husband did not look at her or talk to her so she prepared the offering silently in the kitchen when she had finished the husband placed the offering on the shrine unrolled a mat lit some

incense and touched the Earth in front of his ancestors in order to announce to them his return then he rolled the mat back up without allowing his wife her turn to touch the Earth he thought she was unworthy to present herself at The Shrine because she had cheated on him instead of staying at home with his family to celebrate their reunion he went to a bar and spent the whole day there trying to drown his Sorrows that is something many of us do because we do not know how to deal with our suffering we resort

to the use of drugs and alcohol for 3 days in a row the young man did not come home until late at night his suffering was too great he never said a word to his wife or looked at her and her suffering was all Al very great by the fourth day the pain was too much for her and she threw herself into the river and drowned the young man on hearing the news went back to his house that night he stayed with the child and when it was dark he lit the gas lamp suddenly the

little boy began to shout there there is my father and he pointed to truong's shadow on the wall every night my daddy comes and Mom mommy talks to him for hours and hours and she cries a lot every time my mommy sits down he sits down too the truth was suddenly all too clear the man who had come every evening was actually the mother's Shadow the truth was that the young woman had waited Faithfully for her husband but one day the little boy came home and said Mommy every other boy and girl has a father

where is my father so she pointed to her shadow on the wall and said that's your father you can say good morning Daddy and good night Daddy to him and she had talked to the shadow to convince the boy now the truth was out but it was too late wrong perceptions all of us are only human and we have wrong perceptions every day our spouse or partner is also subject to wrong perceptions so we must help each other to see more clearly and more deeply we should not trust our perceptions too much that is something

the Buddha taught are you sure of your perceptions he asked us I urge you to write this phrase down on the card and put it up in the wall of your room are you sure of your perceptions there is a river of Perceptions in you you should sit down on the bank of this River and contemplate your perceptions most of our perceptions the Buddha said are false are you sure of your perceptions this question is addressed to you it is a bell of mindfulness you have made mistakes the other person has also made mistakes and

you need each other to let go of your false perceptions suffering and pain are born from wrong perceptions some people carry wrong perceptions with them to their debts and that causes a lot of suffering and Misfortune when the people of the village heard about the mother's suicide they organized her funeral and built a temple to her which is still standing on the bank of the river where she died it is called the Temple of the namuang lady everybody in Vietnam knows her story but I do not know how many have learned the lesson of this

tragedy if that couple had been familiar with the fourth Mantra they could have avoided it the young husband could simply have said to his wife I am suffering deeply and I need you to help me I need you to tell me who that person was who used to come here every evening with whom you had long talks and who sat down every time you sat down it would have been a very simple thing quickly done and yet he behaved otherwise in the eight-fold path of right practice that was presented by the Buddha we find both

right action and right speech saying this Mantra is both right action and right speech if the husband had said the the Mantra his wife would have had a chance to express herself and they would have avoided the tragedy the young woman also should have come to him and said the Mantra my good husband I am suffering deeply and I need you to help me why since I came home from the market have you not spoken to me or looked at me it only would have taken half a minute to perform the right action and the

tragedy would have been avoided my friends I wish with all my heart that you do not make the same mistake the next time you are suffering if this suffering was caused by the person you love most in the world have recourse to write action and say the fourth Mantra dear one I am suffering deeply I need you to help me get out of this suffering I need you to explain this to me this is the language of true love six the essence of the Buddha's teaching there are three marks that prove whether something is an

authentic Buddhist teaching if you are not sure that a teaching you have received is authentic you should refer to these marks they are called the three Dharma seals one impermanence first of all every authentic Dharma teaching Bears The Mark of impermanence any teaching that does not convey the truth of impermanence is not authentically Buddhist when you are looking at the nature of things with concentration you discover that they are all impermanent everything is constantly changing nothing has a permanent identity this impermanence is not a negative thing if things were not impermanent growth would be impossible

and manifestation would be impossible if things were not impermanent you could not have children and your children would never grow up when you sew corn seeds they would never be able to grow they would remain corn seeds forever impermanence is the very heart of life it makes life possible reject impermanence and you reject life you should not complain about impermanence instead you should shout long live impermanence if it is because of impermanence that everything is possible our hope lies in impermanence take the example of a dictatorship how would it be if that were permanent impermanence

is what puts an end to dictatorship it's what put an ends to hatred and suffering as well we need impermanence to transform them so do not be afraid of impermanence we must train ourselves to see things as they are take a RIS River there is no permanent identity in a river we call it the Mississippi the rine or the sen and we think it is a single permanent entity but everybody knows you cannot step into the same river twice a river is in a constant process of transformation and so are we we are made of

elements called form feelings perceptions mental formations and Consciousness these things are aspects of manifestation and you should look deeply into their nature a feeling or a perception is very real but you cannot find anything permanent in it you cannot detect a permanent presence in anything whatsoever you will never find anywhere a self or a soul that lasts in popular Buddhism mention is sometimes made of a soul that outlasts physical death and lives another life but that is not really what the Buddha taught does the soul exist according to Buddhism if you believe that the soul

consists of feelings perceptions mental formations and Consciousness then yes it exists but impermanent all these things are impermanent just like the body the continuation of life after death is possible yet nothing is permanent there is only continuation only manifestation because birth and death are just ideas being and non-being are just Concepts reality is free from all these ideas and Concepts if nothing is permanent someone once asked me what is the karma that we experience in future lives based on but is it necessary to have a permanent entity for life to continue look at the example

of a corn seed sewn in moist ground as a result of the right conditions water Earth warmth the seed sprouts and produces little leaves that corn seed is a very beautiful thing thanks to impermanence if only that seed Wouldn't Die you might feel but if the seed did not die the plant could not grow we have to see what is happening is not the death of the seed but the transformation of the seed into a plant can we detect a permanent entity in either the seed or the plant no a permanent entity is not necessary

to make life possible with time the little plant will become a big plant which will produce flowers and then ears of corn is a self needed to make it possible for the corn plant to grow and then produce flowers and fruit no and the same is true for us we have no need of a separate self or a separate existence in fact nothing can exist by itself we must inter be with all things look at a flower it cannot exist by itself it can only enter be with the whole Cosmos and that is true for

you too getting rid of the concept of self is the work of all meditators because suffering is born from this concept if you detect in any teaching any illusion to the presence of a permanent entity or self then you will know that this teaching is not authentically Buddhist even if it makes use of Buddhist terminology an authentic Buddhist teaching must bear the mark of impermanence two non-self deep insight into the truth of impermanence leads to the Insight of non-self non-self a notman is the second Mark of an authentic Buddhist teaching non-self is something miraculous when

we look deeply at a flower we see all the non-flower elements there such as Earth Sun minerals The Gardener and so on if we look deeply enough we will see that the whole Cosmos has come together to manifest as this miracle the flower is full of all the elements of the cosmos time space the sun rain even your Consciousness everything but the flower is empty of one thing it is full of all things but it is empty of one thing a separate existence it is empty of any separate identity called self we are like the

flower every one of us is a miraculous flower in the garden of humanity if you look deeply into yourself you will see that you possess everything as the poet Walt Whitman said I I am large I contain multitudes the one contains all that is the Insight of Buddhism if you practice deep looking you will discover this Truth The Mystery of inner being the one contains all what you are looking for is already in you you might have an inferiority complex and think that all you have in you is suffering that is not true you must

get beyond the thought I am nothing I am made up only of suffering I should go look for a teacher who can save me you must definitely get Beyond this thought you already are everything you are seeking do not try to become something else the flower does not try to become the sun it already is the sun it does not try to become a tulip it already contains the qualities of a tulip within it when you achieve this Insight you stop suffering we suffer because we want to deny ourselves we want to become something else

and so we never stop running there is a Buddhist teaching that might seem strange to you this is the teaching of aimlessness opa nahita in Sanskrit aimlessness is a form of concentration one of three practices of deep looking recommended by the Buddha the the other two are concentration on the absence of distinguishing signs alak Shana and concentration on emptiness sunata so emptiness sinlessness and aimlessness sunata alexana and opa nahita are known as the three concentrations the three meditations they are the basis of Buddhist Meditation and all Buddhist schools transmit this teaching on the three concentrations

the three Dharma seals aimlessness means not setting an object or goal in front of you and running after it that is exactly what everybody does we want this we want that and as long as we haven't got it we think happiness will be impossible we must bring about a revolution in our thinking we must stop we must do as the flower does the flower is aware of the fact that it contains everything within it the the whole Cosmos and it does not try to become something else the wave is already water does the wave have

to go looking for water no it is the same for you you have God within you so you do not have to look for God Andre gu said something like the following happiness is God and God is accessible 24 hours a day water is accessible to the wave 24 hours a day peace solidity and the light of God inhabit you and are accessible at any time and yet you keep running year after year lifetime after lifetime you keep looking you must come back to yourself to touch the ground of your being the ultimate destination of

reality Nirvana Nirvana has the nature of no birth and no death and so there is no need at all for you to be afraid have you ever played with a kaleidoscope just a small movement is enough to make something miraculous appear a tableau of colors and forms is presented to you a manifestation you keep this view for a few seconds then you turn the kaleidoscope and another manifestation appears should we cry every time one of these manifestations comes to an end a flower manifests then disappears then manifests then disappears thousands upon thousands of times if

you look deeply at things you will see this reality we manifest then disappear it is a game of hideand-seek the person you have lost is still here if you have the Buddha eye you will see him he is in the dimension known as the ultimate he is smiling at you and you should return his smile birth and death are only ideas and reality is free from all Concepts ideas have caused you to suffer so be suspicious of your ideas you are a manifestation you are impermanent yet you are full of all the elements of the

cosmos you are a miracle you are already what you are seeking to become when you have this Insight you can stop stopping is peace stopping is happiness Buddhist Meditation consists of stopping and looking deeply samtha and vasana deep looking helps you to stop and stopping helps you to look deeply those two help each other in order to look you have to stop and when you are looking deeply you are stopping three Nirvana the third Mark of an authentic Buddhist teaching is Nirvana Nirvana is the basis of everything as water is the basis of any wave

if the wave meditates if it takes a moment to look at its own nature it recognizes that it contains all the other waves it is like the flower it contains the whole Cosmos look into yourself and you will see the that you are not a separate entity your ancestors are present in you as well as your children and grandchildren not only is the past here in the form of the present the future is here too when you look at orange blossoms you do not see oranges but if you are a meditator you will see the

oranges right away you do not have to wait for them to manifest because you see that the orange blossoms contain the oranges the same goes for you if you are not yet old enough to be a mother you nevertheless have your children and grandchildren in you these children and grandchildren are just waiting for their moment to manifest you contain them all your father your mother and your children you carry in you the whole of the cosmos modern scientists are also beginning to speak this language they say that one electron is made up of all other

electrons and that an electron may be both here and there at the same time the language of science is starting to resemble the language of Buddhism there is a specific term for the nature that is the true basis of everything that term is nirvana which means Extinction Nirvana is the extinction of all Concepts and the extinction of the pain that Concepts cause the idea of birth and the idea of death can make you suffer a lot we find the idea of non-being terrifying so please just get rid of this concept you aren't afraid of the

Kaleidoscope you don't cry every time an appearance in the Kaleidoscope disappears the same thing is true of life you don't need to be afraid because there is neither birth nor death only successive manifestations the Earth our mother has given birth to us thousands and thousands of times we manifest and then we return to the elements that compose us only to manifest once again nothing is lost this insight has the ability to get us out of our prison let us come back to the flower the flower is full of all the elements of the cosmos it

has everything in it and is devoid of only one thing separate existence actually separate existence is something we should not wish for isolation is suffering like being the object of discrimination a separate existence is something I would never want interbeing is a much better verb to you than being because I am in you and you are in me this is the teaching of the Christian Gospel as well the father is in the son the son is in you and you are in the son you are in the father I am in you and you are

in me that is inner beinging we can attain this Insight through the practice of deep looking using the keys of impermanence and non-self we open the door of reality this is the work of the meditator opening the door of reality and looking at it brings us a great joy because our fear and suffering evaporate that is worth the effort isn't it how do you use your time you have to make a living certainly and you have to support your loved ones but do you make the effort to arrange your life so you can do some

deep looking that will bring you Joy Freedom From Fear and great well-being you must not let yourself drown in an ocean of fear and suffering there are among us people who have practiced deep looking and shared their Insight with us take advantage of that walk on the spiritual path that lets you touch the depths of your being so that you can free yourself from Fear worries and despair I have my own version of a famous phrase of Shakespeare's to be or not to be that is not the question the real question is whether you can

touch the nature of no birth and no death there exist many pairs of conceptual opposites such as being and non-being birth and death arriving and departing one and all we should get rid of these pairs of opposites doing that is realizing the middle way which is what Buddhism teaches the middle way means going beyond all these pairs of opposites it's important to understand though that after using the keys of impermanence and nonself to open the door of reality we don't need the keys anymore if you have used the key of permanence intelligently to open the

door of reality you do not need that key anymore the key is not your goal nor is it an idol to be worshiped the Dharma gives you tools but please do not cling to the Dharma liberate yourself from it you are provided with a raft to cross the river of suffering but you should not worship it it is necessary to use the raft with a great deal of intelligence to get to the other side but but once you've arrived there you don't need it anymore you shouldn't put the raft on your back and carry it

around with you on land the teachings of impermanence and non-self are tools you need to work with but you should not get caught in them if you do impermanence becomes just another concept and so does non-self these kinds of concepts are exactly what the Buddha said we should get rid of he said that Nirvana is the complete Extinction of Concepts including the concepts of impermanence and non-self when you want to start a fire you light a match and then the fire consumes the match the teachings of impermanence and non-self are like the match if you

practice with intelligence and succeed in your practice the match will be consumed and you will be completely free you will not have to defend Buddhism you will not have to die for Buddhism Buddhism has no need for Martyrs the Dharma is offered to you as a tool not as an object of worship cutting the roots of evil hate confusion and discrimination is the work of all those who meditate and the Dharma is the sickle we used to do that if somebody gives you a sickle to cut the grass with you use it you don't put

it on a shrine or in a special box we must also go beyond the concept of Nirvana though the word Nirvana is like the word god it can become a concept for you to get caught in we should touch God as an Ultimate Reality and not as a concept the same thing is true of Nirvana we should touch it as an Ultimate Reality in the here and now if Nirvana is a concept to you then you are a prisoner burn Nirvana burn impermanence and burn the nonself if they ever become Concepts seven becoming truly alive

what would you do if your doctor told you that you only had 3 months to live would you waste this time bemoaning your fate would you give yourself over to pain and despair or would you resolve to live each moment of those three months in a deep way if you do that three months of life is a lot some 20 years ago a young man came to me and told me exactly this that he had only 3 months to live I asked him to sit down with me and have a cup of tea my friend

I said to him you must drink this tea in such a way that life is possible we must live this moment we have together in a deep way one day is a lot a picnic lasts only half a day but you can live it fully with a lot of happiness so why not 3 months your life is a kind of picnic and you should arrange it intelligently someone I knew once said to his Buddhist teacher master I would like to go on a picnic with you the teacher was very busy so he replied sure sure

we'll go on a picnic one of these days time went by and 5 years later they still hadn't had the picnic one day the master in the disciple were on some business together and they found themselves caught in a traffic jam there were so many people in the street that the master asked the disciple what are all these people doing the disciple saw that it was a funeral procession he turned to the master and said they're having a picnic don't wait to start living live now your life should be real in this very moment if

you live like that 3 months is a you can live every moment of every day deeply in touch with the wonders of life then you will want to live and at the same time learn to die a person who does not know how to die does not know how to live and vice versa you should learn to die and die immediately this is a practice are you ready to die now are you ready to arrange your schedule in such a way that you could die in peace tonight night that may be a challenge but that's

the practice if you don't do this you will always be tormented by regret if you don't want to suffer if you don't want to be tormented by regret the only solution is to live every minute you are given in a deep way that's all there is to it the only way to deal with insecurity fear and suffering is to live the present moment in a profound way if you do that you will have no regrets that's what the young man who was told he had three months to live chose to do he decided to live

every moment of his life in a very deep way when he started doing that he felt the sources of his despair leaving him and he got himself back on his feet it was a miracle though his doctor had pronounced a kind of death sentence on him he lived another 15 years I gave him the Dharma name Chen which means true life before he was told he was going to die he didn't know what real life was but after that happened he learned what real life was because he was there for every moment of every day

Albert Camu in his novel The Stranger used the term the moment of awareness when the protagonist of the novel Mir salt learns he is going to be executed for the murder he has committed anxiety fear and anger are born in him in his despair he is lying on his prison bed looking at the ceiling when for the first time he sees the square of Blue Sky through the Skylight the sky is so blue it's the first time in his life that he has gotten deeply in touch with the blue sky he has already lived for

decades without ever really seeing the Blue Sky perhaps he has looked at the sky from time to time but he has not seen it in a deep deep way now 3 days before his death he is able to touch the Blue Sky in a very deep way the moment of awareness has manifested Mir Sal decides to live every minute he has left fully and deeply here is a prisoner who is practicing deep meditation he lives his last three days in his cell within that square of blue sky that is his freedom on the afternoon of

the last day a Catholic priest comes to mural's prison cell to give him the last rights but meral refuses he doesn't want to waste the few hours left to him talking to the priest and he doesn't let him come in he says the priest is living like a dead man he is not living like me I am truly alive maybe we too are living like dead people we move about life in our own corpse because we are not not touching life in depth we live a kind of artificial life with lots of plans lots of

worries and anger never are we able to establish ourselves in the here and now and live our lives deeply we have to wake up we have to make it possible for the moment of awareness to Manifest this is the practice that will save us this is the revolution has the most wonderful moment of your life already happened ask yourself that question most of us will answer that it hasn't happened yet but that it could happen at any time no matter how old we are we tend to feel that the most wonderful moment of our life

has not happened yet we fear maybe it's too late but we're still hoping but the truth is if we continue to live in forgetfulness that is without the presence of mindfulness that moment is never going to happen the teaching of the Buddha tells you clearly and plainly to make this the most magnificent and wonderful moment of your life this present moment must become the most wonderful moment in your life all you need to transform this present moment into a wonderful one is freedom all you need to do is free yourself from your worries and preoccupations

about the past the future and so on the Deep Insight of impermanence is what helps us do this it is very useful to keep our concentration on impermanence alive you think the other person in your life is going to be there forever but that is not true that person is impermanent just like you so if you can do something to make that person happy you should do it right away anything you can do or say to make him or her happy say it or do it now it's now or never in the practice of Buddhism

dying is very important it's as important as living death is as important as being born because birth and death interr without birth there could be no death without death there is no birth birth and death are very close friends and collaboration between the two of them is necessary for life to be possible so do not be afraid of death death is just a continuation and so is birth at every moment death is happening in your body some cells are dying so other cells can come to life death is indispensable to life if there is no

death there is no birth just as there can be no left if there is no right don't hold out hope that life will be possible without death you must accept both of them birth and death if you practice well you can gain deep insight into the ultimate Dimension while remaining in touch with the historical or Relative Dimension and when you are deeply in touch with the historical Dimension you also touch the ultimate Dimension and you see that your true nature is no birth and no death living is a joy dying in order to Begin Again

is also a joy starting over is a wonderful thing and we are starting over constantly beginning a new is one of our main practices at Plum Village and we must die every day in order to renew ourselves in order to make a fresh start learning to die is a very profound practice sharra's guidance sudat was a very wealthy businessman in the ancient Indian city of shasti and a famous lay disciple of the Buddhas he had used a great part of his wealth to help the poor helpless and orphaned and so the people of shasti gave

him the name anathapindika meaning supporter of Orphans and the helpless and that is the name we know him by today anapenda was very devoted to the Buddha he spent a lot of money buying a park in shasti called The jeda Grove to turn into a monastery for the Buddha and a headquarters for the work of the Dharma in his life he got a great deal of pleasure out of supporting the Buddha the Dharma and the S it was always his joy to support the three jewels when anathapindika was nearing death the Buddha paid him a

visit it had been about 30 years since their first meeting over this period the Buddha had assigned his great disciple shaputra to take care of anathapindika and travel with him so anathapindika and shaputra had become very close friends now the Buddha assigned shaputra to help anathapindika die in a happy and peaceful way learning that anathapindika was very close to death shaputra asked his young brother in the Dharma Ananda a cousin of the Buddha to accompany him on his alms round and they stopped by anathapindika's house seeing the two venerable monks anop Anda tried to get

out of bed but he was unable to do so shaputra said to him my friend lie down we will get some chairs and come sit with you after they sat down shaputra asked my friend anathapindika how do you feel in your body are your physical pains decreasing or increasing when you are about to die you have pain in your body and perhaps in your mind as well feelings of anxiety isolation and confusion Fusion at this moment which is a very important one in your life you need help you need someone with you at this difficult

time anathapindika answered shaputra venerable one the pains in my body do not seem to be subsiding they keep increasing I am suffering more and more then venerable shaputra told anathapindika that the time had come for him to meditate on the three jewels he asked Ananda and anathapindika to breathe deeply and concentrate on the Buddha the Dharma and the Sanaa then shaputra conducted a guided meditation the Buddha has attained reality just as it is shaputra said the Buddha is completely and truly awakened he has brought understanding and action to the level of perfection he has attained

genuine happiness he understands the nature of the world and of men he is unequaled in wisdom he is a great man he is the teacher of both men and gods shaputra said these words to help anatha Anda See Clearly who the Buddha really was a person with a lot of tenderness compassion and happiness someone who was an enormous help to other beings shaputra was one of the Buddha's most intelligent disciples and he knew precisely what state anathapindika was in shaputra recognized the seeds of happiness in anathapindika's Consciousness and he knew that anathapindika took great pleasure

in serving the three jewels so to help restore anathapindika's equinity he watered the positive seats of Happiness by inviting him to concentrate on the Buddha the Dharma and the Sanka the practice was very effective in a few minutes anathapindika's pain was considerably reduced and he was able to smile again this is a wonderful practice and we can all learn to do it a person who is about to die has seeds of suffering in her but she also has seeds of happiness you who love this person should recognize the seeds of happiness and suffering in her

and speak to her about the things that evoke happiness in her it is very important to do this even if the person is in a coma you should speak to her like this communication is possible she will hear you I remember going with sister Chan Kong to visit my friend Alfred hesler who was dying in a Catholic Hospital at New York State Alfred was a peace activist who had been a tremendous help to US during the Vietnam war in our efforts to stop the bombing we worked shoulder-to-shoulder with him and we became very close friends

that day sister Chan Kong and I were on our way to a retreat in Upstate New York at which 600 people were expected and by Chance the clinic was on our way when we entered his room his daughter Laura tried to get Alfred to come out of the coma Alfred Alfred she cried out they is here they is here sister Chan Kong is here come back but Alfred remained in the coma sister Chan Kong then begin to sing a verse that is drawn directly from a Sutra written by the Buddha the words go like this

this body is not me I am not caught in this body I am life without boundaries I have never been born and I shall never die look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars manifestations of my wondrous true mind since before time I have been free birth and death are only doors through which we pass sacred thresholds on our journey birth and death are just a game of hide and seek so laugh with Me Hold My Hand let us say goodbye say goodbye to meet again soon we meet today we will meet again

tomorrow we will meet at The Source at every moment we meet each other in all forms of life the third time sister Chan Kong repeated this chant Alfred came to and opened his eyes we were very happy Laura asked him do you know that the and sister Chan Kong are here Alfred was unable to speak but he answered with his eyes that he knew his friends were there then sister chanon began the practice of watering the seeds of happiness in him she spoke about our work for peace peace in Vietnam and like anathapindika how much

Alfred had found happiness in this work do you remember the time we were in Rome she asked him there were 300 Catholic priests and each of them carried the name of a Buddhist monk who was imprisoned in Vietnam because he had refused to join the Army Alfred do you remember the time you were in Saigon with the venerable Tri kuang the head of the pacifist movement in Vietnam the night before the United States had decided to bomb the country venerable TR kuang was Furious and refused to see anybody who was American but you sat down

at his door and said that you were a friend and not an enemy you said I am here to help you and I am going to stay on a hunger strike until you open the door the venerable monk invited you in do you remember that sister Chan Kong practiced watering the positive seeds in him because she knew that Alfred had a great deal of suffering in him suddenly he opened his mouth and said wonderful wonderful he repeated it twice what was wonderful too was at that moment he had friends to help and support him when

it was time for us to go I said to his family continue the practice you should talk to him about these things that have brought him happiness another time sister Chan Kong's older sister was in a coma and nearing death she had suffered a great deal she lay in bed writhing and moaning and crying out in pain the doctors did all they could to alleviate her pain including giving her painkillers but they were unable to help sister Chan Kong arrived with a tape player containing a Vietnamese chant to the bod SATA of great compassion chanted

by the monks and nuns in Plum Village she put the headphones over her big sister's ears and turned up the volume so the sound could reach through the coma within 2 minutes her sister stopped writhing and crying out she became completely peaceful why because she had in her the seeds of that chant when she was a little girl she had gone to the monastery and heard the Monks chanting the seeds of Peace faith and compassion were in her already during her life of hard work she never had taken the time to water these seeds but

as she was dying sister Chan Kong was able to help her water them she became very calm and remained peaceful until her death the doctors there including her own daughter who is a doctor were astonished none of the drugs had worked only that tape was able to break through and allow the seeds of spirituality in this person to be touched we all have the these seeds in us and it's never too late to touch them you are more than this body and mind after shaputra watered the seeds of happiness and anathapindika by talking about the

three jewels he did a guided meditation for him on the six senses listen my friend shaputra said let us practice together breathing in I know that my body is not me breathing out I know I am not caught in this body these eyes are not me I am not caught in these eyes these ears are not me I am not caught in these ears this nose is not me I am not caught in this nose this tongue is not me I am not caught in this tongue this body is not me I am not caught

in this body this mind is not me I am not caught in this mind we are in the habit of identifying ourselves with our bodies the idea that we are this body is deeply entrenched in us but we are not just this body we are much more than that the idea that this body is me and I am this body is an idea we must get rid of if we do not we will suffer a great deal we are life and life is far vaster than this body this concept this mind these mental formations are

me this is another idea we have to get rid of therefore when someone is dying above all we have to help them stop identifying with their body and mind we are not prisoners of our senses we are not prisoners of our bodies or our minds we must become free of our body and free of our mind mind we must be free of the idea that I am this body I am this mind when we get rid of these ideas we become greater deeper and Freer than our mind the disintegration of the body is not the

end it is only the cessation of a manifestation when conditions are no longer sufficient the manifestation ceases to light a fire you need fuel and is as soon as there is no more fuel the fire goes out the same is true of the body and mind conditions must be sufficient for the manifestation to continue if not it will cease and then manifest again sometime in the future these forms are not me and I am not caught in these forms shaputra continued these forms are merely objects of sight when light strikes the eyes sight manifests as

the conscious ious of perceiving shapes and colors I am not those forms when the tongue comes in contact with things that have taste the consciousness of taste manifests and we perceive flavors tastes are not me I am not caught in tastes smells are not me I am not caught in smells tangible objects are not me I am not caught in these thoughts and ideas are not me I am not caught in thoughts and ideas this practice is indispensable for Liberation we must not identify with the sense organs or the sense objects we must not identify

with the SI sense Consciousness sight sound smell taste touch and mind Consciousness these consciousnesses manifest when the necessary conditions come together and they cease to manifest when the necessary conditions cease to be present this is something that can be tested and confirmed it is altogether scientific here is a meditation on the six elements breathing in I am aware of the element of Earth in me breathing out I recognize it outside and around me I smile at the Earth element in and around me everywhere I re recognize the element of fire in my body and I

recognize the element of fire in the world around me I recognize the elements of water air space and Consciousness these elements enter R each element contains the five other elements one thing contains all things look deeply into the water element the Earth element PE air space and Consciousness you will find that each one contains the five others that is the interbeing nature of the elements shaputra said to anathapindika my friend things appear and disappear according to causes and conditions the true nature of things is not being born and not dying birth and death are nothing

more than Concepts our true nature is the nature of no birth and no death and we must touch our true nature in order to be free shaputra continued when the body or the Mind manifests we say that it exists but that is not correct when a thing has not yet manifested we say that it does not exist but that is not correct either the ideas of being and non-being have to be rejected these Notions do not apply to reality when the conditions come together your body or your mind manifests let us look deeply into the

five scas forms feelings perceptions mental formations Consciousness there is nothing there that could be called a self as a result of ignorance we are caught up in ideas and Concepts but in truth we are free from these ideas and Concepts the true nature of reality is interbeing the reality of interbeing has the nature of emptiness and of nonself we are free in the past and we are free in the present at this point in the meditation anathapindika began to cry it was the first time he had touched the profound teachings on emptiness nonself interbeing and

so on he needed this teaching on the nature of no no birth and no death in order not to suffer but he had never had the opportunity to practice or study it surprised by anathapindika's Tears venerable Ananda asked him my friend why are you crying is there something that you regret anathapindika smiled and replied no venerable Ananda I have no regrets I am crying because I have served the Buddha and the s for so many years and I have never heard a teaching as profound as the one I have heard today it is wonderful I

am free venerable Ananda said my friend you don't know it but this kind of teaching is given every day to the monks and nuns venerable one anathapindika replied please tell the Buddha that it is true many lay people are too busy to learn this teaching in practice but tell them there are other lay people who are very capable of receiving this teaching and applying it in their lives I beg you go back to the Buddha and convey to him my request to teach this insight to lay people the venerable Ananda agreed and the two venerable

monks withdrew the Layman anathapindika died shortly thereafter in a very peaceful manner this story is told in a discourse entitled teachings to be given to the sick you should study such texts if you wish to attend dying people to help dying people you must be very solid you must have fearlessness within you you must be able to touch no birth and no death yourself in order to support a person whose manifestation is about to cease if you want to attend to the dying you must practice through practice you can develop the solidity the fearlessness and

the techniques that make it possible for you to help people die in peace we should never forget that dying is as important as living the five mindfulness trainings the five mindfulness trainings were developed during the time of Buddha to be the foundation of practice for the entire practice Community including monastic and lay members the basis for the trainings is mindfulness the five mindfulness trainings protect our freedom and and make life beautiful as guidelines for our daily lives they are the basis of happiness for individuals couples families and societies the first training aware of the suffering

caused by the destruction of life I vow to cultivate compassion and learn ways to protect the lives of people animals plants and minerals I am determined not to kill not to let others kill kill and not to condone any Act of Killing in the world in my thinking or in my way of life the second training aware of the suffering caused by exploitation social injustice stealing and depression I vow to cultivate loving kindness and learn ways to work for the well-being of people animals plants and minerals I vow to practice generosity by sharing my time

energy and material Resources with those in real need I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others I will respect the property of others but I will prevent others from profiting from Human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth the third training aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct I vow to cultivate responsibility and learn ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals couples families and Society I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without love and a long-term commitment to preserve the happiness

of myself and others I am determined to respect my commitments and the commitments of others I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct the fourth training aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others I vow to cultivate loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and to relieve others of suffering knowing that words can create happiness or suffering I vow to learn to speak truthfully with words

that Inspire self-confidence Joy joy and hope I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or Discord or words that can cause the family or the community to break I will make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts however small the fifth training aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption I vow to cultivate good health both physical and mental for myself my family and my Society

by practicing mindful eating drinking and consuming I vow to ingest only items that preserve peace well-being and joy in my body in my Consciousness and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and Society I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest Foods or other items that contain toxins such as certain TV programs magazines books films and conversations I am aware that to damage my body and my Consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors my parents my society and future Generations I will work to transform violence

fear anger and confusion in myself and in society by practicing a diet for myself and for society I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self- transformation and the transformation of society