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Notes from Dharma Talk by Thich Nhat Hanh on Sept 6th
Dear friends - We thought we might share some notes from Thay's talk yesterday.
Peace be with you -
- Ron
Thich Nhat Hanh - who we call Thay (meaning "our teacher" ) led the walking meditation and gave a the dharma talk today at the Deer Park Monastery. It was his first dharma talk in 21 days - after having recovered from a lung infection. He said he asked his lungs this morning if they were ready to give a dharma talk and they said "we can try". Thay noted that he had to miss the retreat in the Rocky Mountains in order to recover but the Sangha (the practicing community) carried on in his absence and it was reported to be the best retreat yet. He said that this shows that there is a continuation of Thay even without his physical presence and that the practice is assured to continue.
The retreat in Plum Village this past summer focused on Buddhism ' s role in developing a "New Global Ethic". He noted that "One Buddha is not enough" - the world is looking for ethical direction and Buddhism can and needs to play a key role. The new Five Mindfulness Trainings were developed in the retreat and are offered as Buddhism ' s contribution to this new global ethic.
Thay announced that the theme for the Winter Retreat this year will be "The Art of Happiness" and the theme for the 21 day retreat will be "The Happiness of the Buddha".
Thich Nhat Hanh ' s September 6 Dharma Talk at Deer Park
We all have good seeds in us. Seeds of joy, happiness, love. We also have negative seeds of jealousy, fear, anger. What we want to practice is 'selective seed watering' and water our good seeds and good seeds in others.
A good practitioner should be able to recognize a moment of happiness and cherish it while it is happening.
As Buddhist practitioners we should be able to bring in a moment of happiness when we want---a moment of relief when we need it. You can recognize moments of happiness every day, every hour. Sometimes the moment of happiness is there but we don’t’ recognize it. With mindfulness you can notice that this is a moment of happiness.
With each step we take, each breath we can recognize a moment of happiness.
A moment of happiness is always possible with mindfulness.
Mindfulness can help us get in touch with the source of well being in our body or mind. You can for example - enjoy your breathing without a lung infection. Even when one part of your body is suffering there are many parts of you that feel good. Recognize the conditions of happiness that are already present.
In order to be happy you need to be mindful. We can practice mindfulness and moments of happiness in our everyday activities - while we brush our teeth we can feel the joy of being truly present for the experience of brushing our teeth.
After you have had infected lungs, your really enjoy breathing without infected lungs. That is why happiness has something to do with unhappiness. If you never breathed with infected lungs, you don’t enjoy breathing without them as much. Because of the nature of inter-being there can be no happiness without knowing unhappiness. It is our relative experience that creates happiness and unhappiness.
We have the seeds of happiness within us that we can touch. Example - being able to experience the happiness of the blue sky that he saw in his dream.
You can have happiness every when you brush your teeth. Massage them gently like they are your children and do not be in a rush. It is wonderful to have time to brush your teeth. Bring mindfulness into every act of your daily life and you will find happiness there.
There are many kinds of Dharma (teaching/practice) - written Dharma, spoken Dharma - but the best kind of Dharma is the Living Dharma. Living Dharma is when we are practicing mindfulness in our walking, sitting, breathing, smiling, working. We radiate the dharma to others. Our practice is the best thing we can offer our Sangha (practicing community).
The Dharma is the soul of the Sangha. We cannot have one without the other.
The Buddha is a human being - who has suffered and who has practiced. We are all Buddha ' s - at least part-time Buddha ' s. It is possible to feel the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha within us.
Peace be with you -
- Ron
Thich Nhat Hanh - who we call Thay (meaning "our teacher" ) led the walking meditation and gave a the dharma talk today at the Deer Park Monastery. It was his first dharma talk in 21 days - after having recovered from a lung infection. He said he asked his lungs this morning if they were ready to give a dharma talk and they said "we can try". Thay noted that he had to miss the retreat in the Rocky Mountains in order to recover but the Sangha (the practicing community) carried on in his absence and it was reported to be the best retreat yet. He said that this shows that there is a continuation of Thay even without his physical presence and that the practice is assured to continue.
The retreat in Plum Village this past summer focused on Buddhism ' s role in developing a "New Global Ethic". He noted that "One Buddha is not enough" - the world is looking for ethical direction and Buddhism can and needs to play a key role. The new Five Mindfulness Trainings were developed in the retreat and are offered as Buddhism ' s contribution to this new global ethic.
Thay announced that the theme for the Winter Retreat this year will be "The Art of Happiness" and the theme for the 21 day retreat will be "The Happiness of the Buddha".
Thich Nhat Hanh ' s September 6 Dharma Talk at Deer Park
We all have good seeds in us. Seeds of joy, happiness, love. We also have negative seeds of jealousy, fear, anger. What we want to practice is 'selective seed watering' and water our good seeds and good seeds in others.
A good practitioner should be able to recognize a moment of happiness and cherish it while it is happening.
As Buddhist practitioners we should be able to bring in a moment of happiness when we want---a moment of relief when we need it. You can recognize moments of happiness every day, every hour. Sometimes the moment of happiness is there but we don’t’ recognize it. With mindfulness you can notice that this is a moment of happiness.
With each step we take, each breath we can recognize a moment of happiness.
A moment of happiness is always possible with mindfulness.
Mindfulness can help us get in touch with the source of well being in our body or mind. You can for example - enjoy your breathing without a lung infection. Even when one part of your body is suffering there are many parts of you that feel good. Recognize the conditions of happiness that are already present.
In order to be happy you need to be mindful. We can practice mindfulness and moments of happiness in our everyday activities - while we brush our teeth we can feel the joy of being truly present for the experience of brushing our teeth.
After you have had infected lungs, your really enjoy breathing without infected lungs. That is why happiness has something to do with unhappiness. If you never breathed with infected lungs, you don’t enjoy breathing without them as much. Because of the nature of inter-being there can be no happiness without knowing unhappiness. It is our relative experience that creates happiness and unhappiness.
We have the seeds of happiness within us that we can touch. Example - being able to experience the happiness of the blue sky that he saw in his dream.
You can have happiness every when you brush your teeth. Massage them gently like they are your children and do not be in a rush. It is wonderful to have time to brush your teeth. Bring mindfulness into every act of your daily life and you will find happiness there.
There are many kinds of Dharma (teaching/practice) - written Dharma, spoken Dharma - but the best kind of Dharma is the Living Dharma. Living Dharma is when we are practicing mindfulness in our walking, sitting, breathing, smiling, working. We radiate the dharma to others. Our practice is the best thing we can offer our Sangha (practicing community).
The Dharma is the soul of the Sangha. We cannot have one without the other.
The Buddha is a human being - who has suffered and who has practiced. We are all Buddha ' s - at least part-time Buddha ' s. It is possible to feel the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha within us.
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