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Let Understanding Be Your Only Career | Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

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    [ Sound of the bell ]
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    Today is November 22, 2012,
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    and we are at the
    Assembly of Stars meditation hall,
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    Dharma Nectar Temple, Lower Hamlet
    during the Winter Retreat 2012-2013.
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    Thầy would like to remind everyone that
    during walking meditation this morning,
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    the monks, nuns, and lay friends should
    remember to bring their sitting mats.
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    Anyone who does not have a sitting mat
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    can bring something else to sit on.
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    There are also sitting mats available
    in the bookshop if you need.
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    This morning Thầy reminded Upper Hamlet,
    so Upper Hamlet will surely bring theirs.
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    In the past few weeks, we have been learning about Right View.
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    "Chánh kiến."
    [ 正 見 ]
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    We will always be learning about Right View.
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    Right View is a correct understanding, an exact understanding.
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    In English, we usually translate it as Right View.
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    The French scholar, Louis de la Vallée-Poussin,
    translated it as la bonne vue.
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    Good view.
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    But now it is translated as
    "La vue juste" (Right View).
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    We know that Right View is an insight into truth.
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    We know that there are two levels of truths,
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    two realms of truth.
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    The first level is conventional truth,
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    and the second is ultimate truth.
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    One side is conventional truth,
    and the other is ultimate truth.
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    So when the Buddha said that right view is
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    the view that transcends
    the notions of being and non-being,
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    he was speaking about right view in
    accordance with the ultimate truth.
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    This doesn't mean that when we say there is
    birth and death, being and non-being,
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    cause and effect, me and you
    that we are not speaking the truth.
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    That is also the truth, but it is the
    relative truth, the conventional truth,
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    where there is you and me,
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    where brother Minh Niệm and brother
    Pháp Niệm are two different people.
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    Right view,
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    is insight (tuệ 慧),
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    "Tuệ" is a kind of insight.
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    This insight is a direct insight.
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    A direct insight, an intuition that does not
    need to go through reasoning or thinking.
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    We experience it directly. A direct insight
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    We know that this direct insight is a
    kind of enlightenment, an awakening.
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    This enlightenment happens when we have
    enough concentration and mindfulness.
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    Mindfulness and concentration leads to insight.
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    "Tuệ" is translated as insight.
    So, insight is also called right view.
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    Although it's a different word, it has the same meaning.
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    For a practitioner, insight is the most important,
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    it is what we seek day and night.
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    The career of a practitioner is insight.
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    "Sự nghiệp" means career.
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    So, in the sutras, it is often said that
    insight is the career of a practitioner.
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    First is the Sutra of the
    Eight Realizations of the Great Beings,
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    which includes the phrase "Duy tuệ thị nghiệp".
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    Duy tuệ thị nghiệp
    [ 惟 慧 是 業 ]
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    "Nghiệp" means our career,
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    our life's work.
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    We pursue it, we build a career out of it.
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    In English it's "career."
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    And this career only involves insight,
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    To take awakening to be our only career,
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    and not other projects or goals.
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    In the world, they may chase after fame:
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    "Having built a reputation in the world,
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    One must have a name among the
    mountains and rivers"
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    Fame is a kind of career.
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    Wealth is a kind of career.
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    The career of businessmen or businesswomen
    is to have a vast fortune.
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    And for generals, their career
    is a glorious victory.
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    But the career of a practitioner is insight.
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    "Duy tuệ thị nghiệp" means only
    understanding—insight—is my career,
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    Other than that, we do not look for anything else.
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    Because insight brings true
    freedom, liberation, and happiness.
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    "Duy tuệ thị nghiệp."
    Insight as my only career.
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    In the past, the Van Hanh University in Vietnam,
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    which Thầy initially helped to establish,
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    used these four words as its motto:
    "Duy tuệ thị nghiệp."
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    "Tuệ 慧" is insight, is right view.
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    We know that when we have right view,
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    all our thinking
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    becomes right thinking.
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    "Chánh tư duy 正 思 惟,"
    Right thinking.
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    Right thinking is the kind of thinking
    that leads to insight,
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    to understanding and love,
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    helping us to let go of discrimination,
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    complexes, worries, and fears.
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    That's right thinking.
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    Thinking has two parts:
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    the first is tầm [ 尋 ]
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    and the second is từ [ 伺 ].
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    Tầm is vitarka,
    and từ is vicāra.
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    In our mind,
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    there are notions.
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    When we come into contact with something,
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    seeds arise.
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    When our eyes are in contact with forms,
    our ears are in contact with sounds,
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    our mind is in contact with the
    objects of the mind, or phenomena,
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    and our nose is in contact with scents,
    this contact gives rise to a notion.
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    Notions. Ideas.
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    This is called perception,
    "tưởng 想 ,"
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    in Sanskrit samjñā.
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    Perceptions are like tiny particles,
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    there are many of them, like dust particles,
    and together they make up our thinking.
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    When there is contact,
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    when the eyes come in contact with forms, it gives rise to a perception.
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    When the ears come in contact with sounds, it gives rise to a perception.
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    When our body comes in contact with tactile
    stimulations, it gives rise to a perception.
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    These are notions.
    Perceptions.
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    They are like the atoms that combine
    to form different substances.
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    Our thinking is the same.
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    Our thinking, our initial and discursive thinking.
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    "Tầm," or initial thought,
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    is when we begin to gather the notions, the perceptions,
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    much like atoms coming together to form matter.
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    This is a way to make it easier to understand.
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    In terms of matter, it begins with
    the smallest units like atoms.
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    In terms of mind, it begins with
    the smallest units like notions.
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    These notions, these perceptions,
    arise from contact.
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    Contact between the six sense organs
    and the six sense objects create notions,
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    just like atoms coming together
    to form matter.
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    When atoms combine, they form different types of matter,
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    like coal, water, oil, or food.
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    So atoms combine to form matter.
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    And here, notions combine to form thoughts.
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    These thoughts are initial and discursive thought.
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    Initial thought is similar to atoms bonding to form molecules.
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    Molecules are
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    combinations of atoms.
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    As the combination of notions progresses,
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    it becomes discursive thinking.
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    Discursive thinking is a bit more discriminating, investigating.
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    An example of initial and discursive thinking
    is of a flower being visited by a bee.
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    When the bee visits the flower, landing on the flower,
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    that is initial thought.
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    The thinking starts.
    In English it is called initial thought.
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    Initial thought.
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    When notions come together, like molecules forming.
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    Over here is a molecule,
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    atoms coming together to form a molecule.
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    Over here, perceptions combine,
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    notions combine to form initial thought.
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    Initial thinking.
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    These notions combine to form initial thinking,
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    and when it goes deeper,
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    there is differentiating, comparing, predicting,
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    so this is called prolonged thinking, discursive thinking.
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    Many molecules coming together form matter,
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    like cells, tissues.
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    Here too.
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    At first, when the butterfly lands on the flower,
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    that is just initial thought.
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    The thinking is still in its initial stage,
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    without differentiation, comparison,
    cross-examination, reflection.
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    When the bee goes in and out,
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    examining the flower to see how to extract pollen,
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    that is discursive thinking, prolonged thinking.
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    So thinking has two parts:
    initial thinking and discursive thinking.
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    Here, we have samjñā, notions.
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    These notions arise from the contact between
    the six sense organs and the six sense objects.
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    So, in our mind, there are always atoms—
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    Imagine our mind is also made of tiny particles.
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    These particles are notions.
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    When these notions come together,
    they become initial thinking,
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    and when it goes deeper into comparing,
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    estimating, imagining,
    it is called discursive thinking.
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    On one side is matter, on the other side is mind.
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    Matter is also made of tiny atoms, tiny particles.
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    And mind is also made of tiny particles,
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    but these particles are notions (samjñā).
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    Imagine in each moment,
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    the countless notions that mind produces.
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    These notions often arise from
    contact and feeling.
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    Contact (sparśa)
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    is the interaction between the six
    sense organs and the six sense objects.
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    That is contact (sparśa).
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    And that contact gives rise to notions.
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    This contact gives rise to other things, like feelings.
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    When contact happens,
    it leads to feelings (vedanā).
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    And contact and feeling
    give rise to notions (samjñā).
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    Contact can also draw our attention.
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    Normally, we wouldn't pay attention to it,
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    because there's nothing attractive about it.
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    But suddenly contact happens.
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    There's something a bit strange or special,
    so we pay attention to it,
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    this attention is called "tác ý" (manaskāra),
    meaning you pay attention to it.
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    This attention is called manaskāra.
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    For example, we are lost in thought
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    and suddenly we hear the sound of a bell.
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    Contact happens between our ear and the bell sound,
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    and suddenly, we stop thinking,
    we pay attention to the sound of the bell.
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    Having paid attention to the sound of
    the bell, we let go of all our thinking.
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    We begin to focus on our
    in-breath and out-breath,
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    and re-establish our body and mind
    in the present moment.
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    This kind of attention is called "như lý tác ý"
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    It's "yoniso manaskāra,"
    appropriate attention.
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    It's a very good kind of attention.
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    So whenever we hear birds singing,
    pines rustling, flowers blooming,
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    or see a friend doing walking meditation,
    we pay attention to these things,
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    it is very good.
    That's appropriate attention.
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    But when we pay attention to things that
    disturb our mind, that pull us away,
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    like when we chase after a particular image or sound
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    that makes us lose our self-control,
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    makes us angry, sad, burdened or fearful,
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    that attention is called inappropriate attention (ayoniso manaskāra).
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    Yoniso manaskāra is
    appropriate attention,
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    and ayoniso manaskāra is
    inappropriate attention.
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    "Như lý tác ý"
    Appropriate attention.
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    "Phi như lý tác ý"
    Inappropriate attention.
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    So as practitioners we must practice appropriate attention,
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    so as not to be swept away by things
    that are not beneficial for our practice,
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    or to be pulled away by inappropriate attention.
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    Initially, we have notions that arise from contact,
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    from attention, and from feelings.
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    These notions come together to form
    initial thinking and discursive thinking.
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    And we may arrive at a decision,
    which is volition, "tư" 思.
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    We decide to follow it,
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    to take hold of it,
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    or to let go of it.
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    So that is cetanā, or volition, the desire.
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    If the attention, perception, and feeling
    should lead to thinking,
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    then depending on whether that thinking
    is right thinking or wrong thinking
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    that will define the kind of reaction we have.
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    For example,
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    when we hear, see, or touch something
    that is not to our liking,
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    we get very upset or angry.
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    First, we want to ignore it,
    second, we want to run away from it
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    or we may want to punish.
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    Ignoring, running away, punishing,
    getting mad, that is volition.
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    "Volition" means our desire to do
    something in retaliation,
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    whether by chasing after it or
    punishing, clinging to it.
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    With mindfulness, concentration, and
    insight intervening,
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    we will have a different attitude.
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    That person may say something
    unkind or do something unkind,
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    but if we can see and understand,
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    we will not have the intention to punish,
    to leave, or to seek revenge;
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    instead, we would want to say or do something
    to help the other person suffer less.
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    That is also volition.
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    "Tư".
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    This is also volition.
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    This is contact, this is feeling, this is notion,
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    perception, this is attention, this is volition.
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    These are mental seeds, the initial mental seeds.
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    These mental seeds are always
    present at any moment of daily life.
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    [The sound of the bell ]
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    In Plum Village, we are taught that
    in sitting or walking meditation,
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    we should stop our thinking.
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    Because our usual thinking
    tends to be wrong thinking,
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    meaning the thinking happens
    in a state of dispersion.
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    This kind of thinking pulls us
    away from the present moment,
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    dragging us into the past, into the future,
    and creating anxiety and fear.
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    As a result, we are unable to live the wonderful
    moments and touch the wonders of life.
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    So, while doing sitting or
    walking meditation,
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    a practitioner should learn to stop the thinking.
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    Right thinking or wrong thinking,
    we just stop the thinking.
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    From time to time, we need to think,
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    but often our thinking is wrong thinking.
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    We think about this, we think about that,
    we think until our head spins,
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    and that is wrong thinking.
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    Stopping the wrong thinking so that we
    can learn how to engage in right thinking.
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    So, when we practice walking meditation,
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    whether alone or with the community,
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    we must practice not only stop the talking,
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    but also to stop thinking.
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    After every morning practice session, we read the phrase:
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    "The Earth is holding us up with each step,
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    let us stop the thinking so we can
    touch the wonders of life."
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    Now we should add: "Let us stop the thinking
    so we can touch life more deeply."
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    Even if we don't talk but we are thinking non-stop
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    we are not truly present to touch life.
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    So, not only do we stop talking,
    but we must also stop the thinking,
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    which means neither initial
    nor discursive thinking.
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    No initial and discursive thinking is already
    the second stage of meditation (the second dhyāna).
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    The first dhyāna still has thinking, but in the
    second dhyāna, there is no more thinking.
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    So you should enter the second dhyāna
    and stop the thinking.
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    In France, there was a philosopher
    named René Descartes.
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    He discovered a truth
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    which he was very excited about and
    considered it a mathematical formula.
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    He said: I think, therefore I am.
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    I think, therefore I am.
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    Je pense, donc je suis.
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    I think, therefore I am.
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    If we examine it closely,
    we see it is not quite true.
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    Because when we think,
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    our thoughts pull us into the past,
    into the future, into worries,
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    we are not truly there to live our life
    in the present moment.
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    Descartes wanted to prove that if
    there is thinking, there must be a thinker.
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    So, if thinking is happening,
    there must be a thinker.
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    If there is the act of thinking,
    there must be "I" that thinks.
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    Because there is thinking happening,
    it must prove that there is a self, an "I".
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    This is very contrary to the
    teachings of Buddhism.
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    In Buddhism, we learn that there are only thoughts,
    but no thinker.
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    Il n'y a que la pensée, il n’y a pas de penseur.
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    Thought without thinker.
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    There are thoughts, but there is no thinker.
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    This is the Buddha's teaching, and it is
    something that is very difficult to accept.
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    In the past, Thầy saw a cartoon depicting
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    Descartes in his philosopher's robe.
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    He was raising his finger, reciting his famous saying.
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    Je pense, donc je suis.
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    I think, therefore I am.
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    Behind him was a horse,
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    raising its head and asking,
    "You are what?"
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    I think, therefore I am.
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    You are what?
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    The horse said, "You are what?"
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    The answer is very clear:
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    I think, therefore I am only in my thinking.
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    When we think, we are those thoughts.
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    If those thoughts have nothing to do
    with reality, if they go in circles,
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    then we are also going in circles.
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    So in sitting meditation,
    we go in circles,
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    and when we go to work,
    we go in circles.
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    So, if we truly want to be present,
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    first we must practice to stop our thinking.
  • 34:38 - 34:44
    Si vous voulez être là,
    il faut arrêter votre pensée.
  • 34:44 - 34:47
    This is the opposite of Descartes' idea.
  • 34:47 - 34:50
    Soto Zen is like that.
  • 34:50 - 34:52
    In Soto-Zen, no thinking.
  • 34:53 - 34:57
    No thinking is the essence of Zen.
  • 34:58 - 35:03
    Phi tư duy thị thiền chỉ yếu giả.
    No thinking is the essence of Zen.
  • 35:03 - 35:26
    Phi tư lương thị thiền chỉ yếu giả.
    [ 非 思 量 是 禪 之 要 也 ]
  • 35:33 - 35:37
    This saying is from Soto Zen.
  • 35:37 - 35:40
    "Phi tư duy," no thinking.
  • 35:40 - 35:47
    That is the essential of Zen.
  • 35:48 - 35:52
    If we can stop the thinking, we enter the second dhyāna.
  • 35:52 - 35:55
    In the first dhyāna, there is still thinking,
  • 35:55 - 35:59
    but in the second dhyāna, there is no more thinking,
  • 35:59 - 36:03
    there is only the breath and the steps.
  • 36:03 - 36:06
    In walking meditation, there is only
    the breath and the steps,
  • 36:06 - 36:10
    and in sitting meditation, there is only
    the breath and our sitting posture.
  • 36:10 - 36:15
    We are in the second dhyāna.
  • 36:17 - 36:23
    If our mind is continuously thinking,
  • 36:23 - 36:26
    we can't get much done.
    We can't practice.
  • 36:26 - 36:34
    It's like having a radio station
    that's always broadcasting,
  • 36:34 - 36:38
    commentating on this and that,
    never stopping.
  • 36:38 - 36:47
    It's like a beehive with bees
    buzzing all day and night.
  • 36:47 - 36:51
    How can we turn it off?
  • 36:51 - 36:54
    Is there a button to press to stop the thinking?
  • 36:54 - 37:00
    It's like a swarm of frogs jumping around wildly.
  • 37:00 - 37:02
    Our mind is always like that.
  • 37:02 - 37:05
    That is wrong thinking.
  • 37:05 - 37:09
    So we must find a button
    that we can press to stop.
  • 37:09 - 37:12
    And there is such a button,
  • 37:12 - 37:15
    it is the breath and the steps.
  • 37:15 - 37:19
    We focus on the breath and the steps,
  • 37:19 - 37:21
    only focus on the breath and the steps,
  • 37:21 - 37:23
    and the thinking stops.
  • 37:23 - 37:25
    Put all our attention on the breath,
  • 37:25 - 37:30
    put all our attention on the steps,
    and naturally the thinking stops.
  • 37:30 - 37:33
    That is what we must do in sitting meditation.
  • 37:33 - 37:35
    This is the first thing we must do.
  • 37:35 - 37:41
    We can go much further in sitting meditation,
    but first, we make use of the breath,
  • 37:41 - 37:44
    the steps, our posture,
  • 37:44 - 37:49
    focus only on these things,
    and the thinking naturally stops.
  • 37:51 - 37:56
    So we should remember that when
    we practice walking meditation,
  • 37:56 - 38:05
    we not only stop the talking,
    but also the internal discourse.
  • 38:05 - 38:07
    We may stop the verbal discourse,
  • 38:07 - 38:11
    but we allow the internal discourse to continue.
  • 38:11 - 38:14
    Mental discourse.
  • 38:14 - 38:18
    We must stop the mental discourse.
  • 38:18 - 38:25
    Stop the two discourses, the external discourse and
    the constant internal discourse,
  • 38:25 - 38:31
    and start living,
    touching the wonders of the universe.
  • 38:31 - 38:35
    So, when you come to Plum Village for a week,
  • 38:35 - 38:39
    you must make good use of your time.
  • 38:40 - 38:44
    Each step should allow you to
    touch the wonders of life,
  • 38:45 - 38:48
    so that you can nourish and heal yourself,
  • 38:48 - 38:52
    and to get insight.
  • 38:53 - 38:56
    Getting insight does not come from thinking.
  • 38:56 - 38:59
    We tend to believe that thinking leads to insight,
  • 38:59 - 39:02
    but most of our thinking is wrong thinking.
  • 39:02 - 39:08
    So not only do we not have insight, we have more confusion,
  • 39:08 - 39:11
    confusion in our minds.
  • 39:12 - 39:15
    We have to use our intelligence to practice.
  • 39:15 - 39:18
    We have two feet.
  • 39:19 - 39:23
    Two feet that can take wonderful steps.
  • 39:23 - 39:28
    As for Thầy, Thầy has created
    some practices for himself.
  • 39:28 - 39:33
    For example, when Thầy breathes in,
    Thầy takes three steps,
  • 39:33 - 39:41
    and Thầy says “Every step.”
    "Mỗi bước chân."
  • 39:42 - 39:44
    That is when breathing in.
  • 39:44 - 39:49
    And when breathing out, Thầy says “is a miracle.”
  • 39:49 - 40:02
    "Mỗi bước chân là phép lạ."
    Every step is a miracle.
  • 40:02 - 40:06
    So the in-breath goes with three steps
    and the words "every step,"
  • 40:06 - 40:10
    and the out-breath,
    three steps and "is a miracle."
  • 40:12 - 40:14
    This is not thinking.
  • 40:14 - 40:22
    These are meditation phrases to remind us,
  • 40:22 - 40:24
    like the sound of a bell,
  • 40:24 - 40:28
    or a practice gatha that reminds us
  • 40:28 - 40:32
    to come back to the present moment,
    to help us to stop the thinking.
  • 40:32 - 40:36
    These practices can help to stop the thinking;
    they are not thinking themselves.
  • 40:37 - 40:39
    So, with each step,
  • 40:40 - 40:43
    we are aware of each step, all three of them.
  • 40:43 - 40:47
    Breathing out we say, is a miracle.
  • 40:47 - 40:49
    What is the miracle?
  • 40:50 - 40:56
    We must see that each step is a miracle.
  • 40:56 - 40:59
    We are still alive,
  • 40:59 - 41:04
    with two legs to walk and two lungs to breathe;
  • 41:04 - 41:09
    that is already a miracle,
    a kind of miracle.
  • 41:09 - 41:12
    We know that the miracle is to walk on earth.
  • 41:12 - 41:17
    We don't need to walk on clouds
    for it to be a miracle.
  • 41:17 - 41:25
    Walking with awareness that we are still alive,
    walking on this beautiful planet,
  • 41:25 - 41:27
    that is already enlightenment.
  • 41:29 - 41:35
    Most people on this earth walk as if
    they are being chased by ghosts.
  • 41:35 - 41:38
    Sleepwalkers.
  • 41:39 - 41:43
    They walk as if in a dream, in forgetfulness.
  • 41:43 - 41:47
    But for us, each step is taken
    in mindfulness, in awakening,
  • 41:47 - 41:53
    and we are in touch with the wonders of life, with the miracles.
  • 41:53 - 42:01
    That is a kind of miracle that we are performing,
  • 42:01 - 42:03
    the miracle of walking on earth.
  • 42:03 - 42:08
    All it takes is mindfulness,
    remembering that we are alive,
  • 42:08 - 42:10
    that we are truly present.
  • 42:10 - 42:13
    To truly be, and not in the way
    Descartes described.
  • 42:13 - 42:17
    And we are walking very relaxingly, very peacefully.
  • 42:17 - 42:21
    That is already a kind of a miracle.
  • 42:21 - 42:26
    Anyone can do this:
    making each step a miracle.
  • 42:30 - 42:33
    We see that the sun is a wonder,
  • 42:33 - 42:35
    the sunlight is a wonder,
  • 42:35 - 42:39
    and we are in touch with that sunlight.
  • 42:39 - 42:42
    The trees, the mist are very beautiful.
  • 42:42 - 42:45
    But thinking makes us lose touch
    with everything.
  • 42:45 - 42:49
    So when we stop thinking,
    we reclaim everything again.
  • 42:49 - 42:55
    So no thinking is wonderful;
    we begin to live truly and deeply.
  • 42:55 - 42:57
    Every step is a miracle.
  • 42:57 - 43:04
    Thầy finds that when breathing out,
  • 43:04 - 43:09
    the number of steps is always
    more than when breathing in.
  • 43:09 - 43:14
    So when Thầy breathes in, Thầy takes 3 steps,
  • 43:14 - 43:18
    and when breathing out, Thầy takes 5 steps.
  • 43:18 - 43:22
    "Is a miracle,"
  • 43:22 - 43:24
    and Thầy repeats "a miracle" again to make it five words.
  • 43:24 - 43:31
    "Every step/ Is a miracle, a miracle."
  • 43:31 - 43:33
    And walking 3 or 4 times like that,
  • 43:33 - 43:37
    Thầy really sees that he is performing
    a miracle. It is truly wonderful.
  • 43:37 - 43:44
    We are practicing what Zen Master Linji said:
    "The miracle is to walk on earth."
  • 43:44 - 43:47
    So we are performing a miracle.
  • 43:47 - 43:50
    We can perform miracles.
  • 43:50 - 43:54
    If we see clearly that we have a body,
  • 43:54 - 43:57
    and we are are taking mindful steps,
  • 43:57 - 43:59
    we are touching the wonders of life.
  • 43:59 - 44:02
    That is a miracle that anyone can perform.
  • 44:02 - 44:07
    "Every step/ Is a miracle, a miracle."
  • 44:07 - 44:13
    Enjoy each step deeply.
  • 44:13 - 44:15
    And then you can move on to another line,
  • 44:15 - 44:25
    "Mỗi bước chân là nuôi dưỡng"
    Every step is nourishing,
  • 44:30 - 44:35
    Is nourishing, is nourishing.
  • 44:35 - 44:39
    All the wonders of the universe, like fresh air,
  • 44:39 - 44:46
    like sunlight, like green trees,
    all have a nourishing effect.
  • 44:46 - 44:50
    And here we are more or less sick,
  • 44:50 - 44:54
    and what we are seeking is a way to heal,
  • 44:54 - 44:58
    healing for the mind as well as the body.
  • 44:58 - 45:02
    And so, walking meditation is
    a very good way to heal.
  • 45:02 - 45:06
    Every step / is a miracle, a miracle
  • 45:06 - 45:12
    Every step/ is nourishing, nourishing.
  • 45:12 - 45:14
    If we want to heal,
    we need to be nourished,
  • 45:14 - 45:19
    and all the nourishing elements are there,
    only we are unable to touch them.
  • 45:19 - 45:25
    So, with each step we must touch the wonders
    of the universe to get the nourishment.
  • 45:25 - 45:31
    When we feel that each step has
    that quality of nourishment,
  • 45:31 - 45:36
    we are being nourished and
    healing begins to take place.
  • 45:38 - 45:42
    Where there is nourishment, there is healing.
  • 45:42 - 45:47
    "Mỗi bước chân là phép lạ, phép lạ"
    Every step / is a miracle, a miracle
  • 45:47 - 45:50
    "Mỗi bước chân là nuôi dưỡng, nuôi dưỡng"
    Every step/ is nourishing, nourishing.
  • 45:51 - 45:58
    Vietnamese, like Chinese, is a monosyllabic language,
  • 45:58 - 46:01
    so breaking it down into individual words is very easy.
  • 46:01 - 46:04
    English and French are a bit more difficult,
  • 46:04 - 46:07
    but it can still be done.
  • 46:07 - 46:20
    Every step is a miracle
  • 46:21 - 46:44
    Every step is a miracle, miracle.
  • 46:45 - 46:50
    It's works. Why not?
    It's like when we sing.
  • 46:50 - 46:57
    Every step is nourishing, nourishing.
  • 46:58 - 47:11
    Every step is healing.
  • 47:11 - 47:23
    Every step is healing, healing.
  • 47:24 - 47:26
    It's healing, healing.
  • 47:26 - 47:31
    And don't just mouth the words;
    we must have healing right at that moment.
  • 47:31 - 47:39
    During walking meditation, the healing
    and nourishment must take place.
  • 47:41 - 47:45
    So we don't want to ruin it by talking, or thinking.
  • 47:45 - 47:50
    Because talking and thinking will take away
    the chance for nourishment and healing.
  • 47:50 - 47:55
    So, from the residence to the meditation hall,
  • 47:55 - 47:59
    we walk in such a way that
    each step is a miracle,
  • 47:59 - 48:06
    is happiness, is nourishment, is healing.
  • 48:09 - 48:15
    If we want, we can practice
    each phrase many times.
  • 48:15 - 48:20
    Every step has the capacity to heal and to nourish.
  • 48:20 - 48:26
    Every step can be a miracle.
  • 48:26 - 48:34
    Every step is relaxation.
  • 48:34 - 48:40
    "Mỗi bước chân là thảnh thơi"
    Every step is freedom.
  • 48:42 - 48:44
    A practitioner must be free.
  • 48:44 - 48:47
    If we are burdened, we cannot
    be a true practitioner.
  • 48:47 - 48:49
    "Thảnh thơi" means freedom.
  • 48:49 - 48:54
    Every step is freedom, freedom.
  • 48:54 - 49:00
    While walking like that, we are truly free.
  • 49:00 - 49:08
    The newly ordained novice goes,
    “I feel so free, so free."
  • 49:09 - 49:13
    "No one can catch me anymore.”
  • 49:13 - 49:16
    Every step is freedom, freedom.
  • 49:16 - 49:19
    There's a lot of happiness while walking like that,
  • 49:19 - 49:22
    because we are truly free.
  • 49:23 - 49:27
    Only when we are free can we be in touch.
  • 49:27 - 49:33
    And only by being in touch can we
    be healed and nourished.
  • 49:33 - 49:36
    So just practice according to those four phrases.
  • 49:36 - 49:40
    And you don't need to copy Thầy,
    you can make up your own phrase.
  • 49:40 - 49:44
    In the sutras, there are so many
    beautiful phrases, for example:
  • 49:44 - 49:48
    Every step brings me to
    the Pure Land, the Pure Land.
  • 49:48 - 49:50
    The Pure Land is here and now.
  • 49:50 - 49:54
    Every look reveals
    the Dharma body, the Dharma body.
  • 49:54 - 49:57
    When the six senses touch the
    six sense objects, six sense objects
  • 49:57 - 50:01
    We are aware, diligently we guard our mind, guard our mind.
  • 50:01 - 50:04
    You can practice with any sutra.
  • 50:04 - 50:09
    Chants like "Taking refuge in Amitabha,
    In the wonderful ultimate dimension"
  • 50:09 - 50:13
    can be used for walking meditation.
  • 50:13 - 50:17
    For sitting meditation, instead of
    "Every step," we say "Every breath."
  • 50:17 - 50:22
    "Every breath is a miracle."
  • 50:22 - 50:26
    Because we are still alive, still
    breathing in and out, which is a rare thing.
  • 50:26 - 50:31
    There will come a time when we
    take our last breath,
  • 50:31 - 50:35
    and even if we wanted to take one more
    breath, we wouldn't be able to.
  • 50:37 - 50:42
    Every breath / is a miracle, a miracle
  • 50:42 - 50:46
    Every breath / is nourishment, nourishment.
  • 50:46 - 50:49
    Every breath / is healing, healing.
  • 50:49 - 50:53
    Every breath / is freedom, freedom.
  • 50:53 - 50:57
    Entering sitting meditation, once we
    calm the body, the breath, the mind,
  • 50:57 - 51:01
    we begin to experience the
    joy of meditation, or Dharma joy.
  • 51:02 - 51:09
    "Pháp lạc" is the joy of meditation,
    it's a kind of nourishment
  • 51:09 - 51:13
    The joy of meditation is the food for meditators.
  • 51:13 - 51:17
    "Thiền duyệt" is the joy of meditation.
  • 51:17 - 51:23
    "Thiền duyệt vi thực" is the happiness we
    produce as we practice meditation,
  • 51:23 - 51:26
    and it's our daily food.
  • 51:26 - 51:47
    "Thiền duyệt vi thực."
    The joy of meditation is daily food.
  • 51:48 - 51:50
    The joy of meditation as daily food,
  • 51:50 - 51:56
    means taking the joy of meditation
    practice to be our daily food.
  • 51:56 - 52:01
    This food nourishes us and heals us.
  • 52:01 - 52:05
    If Thầy, the nuns, monks, or lay friends
  • 52:05 - 52:09
    come up with such phrases to practice,
  • 52:09 - 52:13
    and if you find them effective, then
    please share them with the community,
  • 52:13 - 52:19
    and we can include them in the Chanting Book
  • 52:19 - 52:24
    so that our treasury of practice
    grows and deepens.
  • 52:24 - 52:29
    Everyone has the right to
    come up with new gathas,
  • 52:29 - 52:35
    new meditation phrases to practice.
    You don't have to copy Thầy or anyone else.
  • 52:35 - 52:39
    At first, you can use Thầy's
    for the time being,
  • 52:39 - 52:44
    and later, as you progress in the practice,
    you can create your own practice gathas.
  • 52:44 - 52:49
    If you find happiness and success in
    doing so, share it with others.
  • 52:49 - 52:55
    Add them to the Chanting Book
    for future generations.
  • 52:56 - 53:02
    So how can we ensure that our walking
    meditation sessions are not wasted.
  • 53:03 - 53:11
    Each walking session brings us relaxation,
    nourishment, and healing, so why aren't we going?
  • 53:11 - 53:13
    The same applies to sitting meditation;
  • 53:13 - 53:21
    if we know how, and if we really want
    freedom, healing, and nourishment,
  • 53:21 - 53:24
    we wouldn't feel sleepy.
  • 53:25 - 53:29
    We would feel that we really need the sitting,
  • 53:29 - 53:34
    we really need the walking.
  • 54:17 - 54:26
    Today, we continue the story of Chanda.
  • 54:26 - 54:31
    The Chanda Sutra.
  • 54:35 - 54:44
    The monk Chanda sought out Ānanda.
  • 54:45 - 54:49
    The venerable Ānanda was in the country of Kosambi.
  • 54:49 - 54:52
    Chanda traveled for many days to get there.
  • 54:52 - 54:56
    Upon arrival, he complained to Ānanda:
  • 54:57 - 54:59
    Now that the Buddha has passed away,
  • 54:59 - 55:02
    I have no refuge.
  • 55:02 - 55:05
    I've sought out the senior monks
  • 55:05 - 55:08
    and I've been to the Deer Park.
  • 55:08 - 55:12
    The teachers taught me the three Dharma seals:
  • 55:12 - 55:15
    "all formations are impermanent, all dharmas are without self,
  • 55:15 - 55:19
    nirvāṇa is peace."
  • 55:20 - 55:25
    The teachers repeated these over and over,
    and I've memorized them, but I am not satisfied.
  • 55:25 - 55:29
    I do not know
  • 55:30 - 55:33
    how can I truly see and understand the Dharma,
  • 55:33 - 55:43
    rather than just hearing these Dharma seals and thinking that is enough.
  • 55:44 - 55:46
    Now, please teach me.
  • 55:46 - 55:51
    I thought that if the teachers at
    Deer Park could not teach me,
  • 55:51 - 55:54
    then I must go find the venerable Ānanda.
  • 55:54 - 55:59
    Ānanda said: I am very happy,
  • 55:59 - 56:03
    because you are a very sincere person.
  • 56:03 - 56:06
    If you do not understand,
    you say you do not understand.
  • 56:07 - 56:11
    There are people who do not understand
    but do not admit that they do not understand.
  • 56:11 - 56:16
    This means you have the capacity to
    understand, so I will teach you.
  • 56:17 - 56:21
    When Chanda heard that he was very pleased.
  • 56:21 - 56:24
    It was the first time a great elder,
  • 56:24 - 56:28
    a close disciple of the Buddha,
  • 56:28 - 56:30
    praised him for having the
    capacity to understand
  • 56:30 - 56:33
    the profound teachings of the Buddha,
  • 56:33 - 56:42
    so it instilled great faith and enthusiasm in him.
  • 56:51 - 56:57
    This has been translated into Vietnamese, French, and English,
  • 56:57 - 57:02
    so if you have it, please bring it out to read.
  • 57:05 - 57:12
    Then Ananda said to Chanda:
  • 57:12 - 57:15
    “Good, Chanda! I am glad.
  • 57:15 - 57:18
    I am happy for you that you are able
  • 57:18 - 57:22
    to stand before a practitioner of the holy life
    and not hide what is in your heart,
  • 57:22 - 57:27
    with the desire of putting an end to
    the obstacles of doubt in your mind."
  • 57:27 - 57:29
    Meaning, if you have doubts,
  • 57:29 - 57:31
    things you do not understand,
  • 57:31 - 57:35
    and you dare to express your doubts
    and lack of understanding.
  • 57:36 - 57:44
    "Chanda! Ordinary people (people in the world who do not practice)
  • 57:44 - 57:49
    ignorant worldly people are not able to
    understand that form is impermanent,
  • 57:49 - 57:52
    and feelings, perceptions, mental formations,
    and consciousness are also impermanent.
  • 57:52 - 57:55
    They do not know that
    all formations are impermanent,
  • 57:55 - 57:57
    all objects of mind are
    without a separate self,
  • 57:57 - 57:59
    and Nirvāṇa is peace, security
    and the silence of concepts.
  • 57:59 - 58:03
    Now that you have the capacity to receive
    the deep and wonderful teachings,
  • 58:03 - 58:06
    listen carefully and I shall instruct you.”
  • 58:08 - 58:12
    Then Chanda thought: “I am happy.
  • 58:12 - 58:14
    I feel a wonderful state of mind,
  • 58:14 - 58:20
    because I know that now I am able to receive
    the Dharma that is deep and lovely.”
  • 58:20 - 58:24
    Then Ananda said to Chanda:
  • 58:24 - 58:30
    “I myself heard the Buddha give the following
    teaching to the Venerable Mahakātyāyana:
  • 58:30 - 58:33
    People in the world are normally
    caught in one of two extremes
  • 58:33 - 58:39
    the view of being and the view of non-being.
  • 58:39 - 58:42
    Right view.
  • 58:47 - 58:56
    Since worldly people are caught in these two objects of perception,
  • 59:06 - 59:12
    People in the world are caught in the realms of perception,
  • 59:20 - 59:25
    their minds are bound.
  • 59:31 - 59:37
    [In this sutra, we should cross out the word "một người," it shouldn't be here]
  • 59:38 - 59:44
    Since worldly people are caught in these two objects of perception,
  • 59:45 - 59:53
    [cross out the word ... you don't have the sutra? Ah, that's good.
  • 59:55 - 59:58
    Give Thầy a pen so Thầy can cross it out.
  • 59:59 - 60:01
    We haven't passed them out?
  • 60:01 - 60:06
    Next time we'll have the Chanda Sutra.]
  • 60:09 - 60:15
    It means when the six senses come into
    contact with the six sense objects,
  • 60:16 - 60:21
    a realm appears, which is the object of perception.
  • 60:24 - 60:30
    When the six senses contact the six sense
    objects, there are six forms of perceptions,
  • 60:30 - 60:34
    and we get caught in those perceptions.
  • 60:41 - 60:48
    Since worldly people are caught in these two
    objects of perception, their minds are bound.
  • 60:49 - 60:58
    Being bound means being attached to their likes and dislikes,
  • 60:58 - 61:02
    to craving or aversion,
  • 61:02 - 61:09
    to grasping or running away.
  • 61:10 - 61:17
    If someone does not accept, does not grasp,
  • 61:17 - 61:20
    does not stand firm in these perceptions,
  • 61:20 - 61:23
    does not compare and measure a
    separate self that they are then caught in,
  • 61:23 - 61:33
    then they will see that when the causes are
    sufficient for suffering to arise, suffering arises.
  • 61:33 - 61:44
    and when the causes are no longer
    sufficient, suffering ceases.
  • 61:49 - 61:51
    This sentence means that
  • 61:51 - 61:55
    when the six sense organs come into
    contact with the six sense objects
  • 61:55 - 61:59
    and perception arises,
  • 62:00 - 62:10
    we can get caught in that perception.
  • 62:10 - 62:19
    To be caught in a perception
  • 62:19 - 62:24
    is called grasping, thủ 取.
  • 62:25 - 62:31
    La prise.
  • 62:31 - 62:36
    Grasping.
    To be caught is grasping.
  • 62:41 - 62:50
    When we are caught and remain there,
    it is called dwelling, trú 住.
  • 62:51 - 63:03
    Initially, there is contact, xúc 觸,
  • 63:03 - 63:10
    and then we get caught in the object of that contact
  • 63:10 - 63:14
    and we get stuck there,
  • 63:14 - 63:22
    so if there is no contact, no grasping, no dwelling, and no measuring—
  • 63:24 - 63:36
    no measuring, kế 計, means
    not comparing with a self—
  • 63:40 - 63:43
    then we can see the truth.
  • 63:43 - 63:48
    What Chanda wanted to say was,
  • 63:50 - 63:55
    "I heard those three sentences and I wasn't
    happy because I couldn't understand."
  • 63:56 - 64:07
    I was told that all things are
    impermanent, empty, and without a self,
  • 64:07 - 64:10
    and when one can understand emptiness,
  • 64:10 - 64:13
    when one can let go of the self,
  • 64:13 - 64:17
    one can see and understand the Dharma.
  • 64:17 - 64:19
    But if there is no self,
  • 64:19 - 64:24
    who is the one that sees the Dharma,
    that understands the Dharma?
  • 64:24 - 64:29
    So, I still have not understood what is non-self,
  • 64:29 - 64:31
    what is emptiness, what is nirvāṇa.
  • 64:31 - 64:38
    Because nirvāṇa means emptiness,
  • 64:38 - 64:45
    the cessation of all craving and attachment.
  • 64:52 - 64:59
    The Buddha taught Venerable Kaccayana that
  • 64:59 - 65:06
    for people in the world, when the six sense organs
    come into contact with the six sense objects,
  • 65:06 - 65:10
    perceptions arise.
  • 65:10 - 65:16
    and we can be caught in these perceptions
    and remain in them, unable to get out.
  • 65:17 - 65:25
    We cling to the idea that there is a self
  • 65:26 - 65:29
    who is perceiving,
  • 65:29 - 65:32
    who has these perceptions.
  • 65:32 - 65:37
    That is why we cannot see and
    understand the Dharma.
  • 65:39 - 65:42
    But there is no need for a self.
  • 65:43 - 65:51
    In here, there is no need for a self,
  • 65:51 - 65:57
    yet there is still contact, dwelling, grasping happening.
  • 65:58 - 66:02
    It's like saying there are only thoughts, but no thinker.
  • 66:02 - 66:08
    Il n'y a que la pensée, il n’y a pas de penseur.
  • 66:09 - 66:17
    There is action, but no actor.
  • 66:25 - 66:35
    There is action, tác nghiệp 作業,
  • 66:35 - 66:43
    but there is no actor, tác giả 作者.
  • 66:45 - 66:57
    There is feeling, thọ 受,
  • 66:57 - 67:18
    but there is no feeler, thọ giả 受者.
  • 67:20 - 67:25
    There is feeling, but there is no feeler.
  • 67:27 - 67:32
    [Please give Thầy the sutra book.]
  • 67:51 - 67:57
    There is feeling, but no feeler.
  • 68:03 - 68:09
    There is thinking,
  • 68:09 - 68:18
    There is thinking,
  • 68:18 - 68:22
    but there is no thinker.
  • 68:25 - 68:36
    This is very important. There is no need
    for a self for these things to happen.
  • 68:37 - 68:47
    For example, when we speak about rain,
  • 69:01 - 69:08
    we often say "The rain falls."
  • 69:11 - 69:20
    and for wind, we say "the wind blows."
  • 69:24 - 69:28
    We imagine there is a subject,
  • 69:28 - 69:35
    an actor,
  • 69:42 - 69:50
    and actor and an action
  • 69:50 - 69:52
    that are separate entities.
  • 69:53 - 69:56
    Outside of the actor, there is action;
  • 69:56 - 70:01
    outside of action, there is an actor.
  • 70:03 - 70:08
    When we say "I think," outside of the "think" there is an "I."
  • 70:08 - 70:12
    If there is no "I," how can there be "thinking?"
  • 70:12 - 70:19
    So that was what Chanda was questioning.
  • 70:19 - 70:26
    If there is no self, how can there be thinking?
  • 70:26 - 70:31
    If there is no self, who is it that sees and understands the Dharma?
  • 70:31 - 70:34
    Who is it that enters nirvāṇa?
  • 70:34 - 70:41
    That was the question, which Ānanda understood,
    so he said there is no need for an "I."
  • 70:42 - 70:49
    Is "rain" and "fall" two different things?
  • 70:50 - 70:53
    Is it possible to have rain that does not fall?
  • 70:53 - 70:56
    If rain does not fall, it can't be rain, right?
  • 70:57 - 71:02
    So we take the fall out of the rain.
  • 71:03 - 71:08
    You cannot take the actor out of the action.
  • 71:08 - 71:11
    The rain is the falling.
  • 71:11 - 71:14
    The flower is the blooming.
  • 71:17 - 71:22
    The cloud is the floating, the rain is the falling,
    the wind is the blowing.
  • 71:23 - 71:27
    Wind, of course, must blow.
  • 71:27 - 71:32
    If the wind does not blow, it's just air,
    it's not wind. Right?
  • 71:32 - 71:35
    So, the "blowing" is inherent in the "wind."
  • 71:35 - 71:39
    The actor and the action are one.
  • 71:41 - 71:46
    Imagine the wind as this book,
  • 71:46 - 71:49
    and there's a wind god behind it blowing.
  • 71:49 - 71:51
    That can't be.
    There's no need for a wind god.
  • 71:52 - 71:55
    There is no god behind the wind.
  • 71:56 - 71:59
    Only the wind is needed, not a wind god.
  • 71:59 - 72:03
    So, only thinking is needed, not a thinker.
  • 72:04 - 72:08
    There is only action, no need for an actor.
  • 72:10 - 72:15
    This is the essence of the Buddha's teaching, non-self.
  • 72:15 - 72:20
    Insight—right view—is first the
    insight of impermanence.
  • 72:20 - 72:23
    Impermanence leads to non-self.
  • 72:23 - 72:32
    What is self?
    Self is something that lasts forever.
  • 72:32 - 72:35
    It always stays the same.
  • 72:37 - 72:40
    If a child had a self,
  • 72:40 - 72:43
    then the child would always remain a child.
  • 72:43 - 72:47
    The child could never become an adult,
    could never grow old.
  • 72:47 - 72:52
    But thanks to non-self,
    the child can become an adult.
  • 72:54 - 72:57
    Without non-self, without impermanence,
  • 72:57 - 73:02
    how could a child ever become
    a beautiful young woman?
  • 73:03 - 73:05
    The child would forever remain a child.
  • 73:05 - 73:07
    Without non-self and impermanence,
  • 73:07 - 73:10
    a seed of corn would always remain a seed of
    corn, it can never become a plant of corn.
  • 73:10 - 73:18
    So, impermanence is something wonderful,
    not something dreadful.
  • 73:18 - 73:20
    Thanks to impermanence, life is possible;
  • 73:20 - 73:23
    and if something is impermanent,
    it is also non-self.
  • 73:24 - 73:30
    The self is something that remains itself, it is self nature.
  • 73:31 - 73:45
    We learned this last time.
    Self nature (tự tánh, svabhāva).
  • 73:48 - 73:53
    A baby does not have self nature.
    And that is not bad news either.
  • 73:53 - 73:55
    If a baby had self nature,
  • 73:55 - 74:01
    how could the it possibly become
    a young woman or a young man?
  • 74:03 - 74:06
    So, non-self is something really wonderful.
  • 74:06 - 74:11
    Not having a self nature means there is
    nothing permanent and unchanging.
  • 74:11 - 74:14
    But self is something permanent and unchanging.
  • 74:14 - 74:17
    And if something is impermanent,
    it must also be non-self.
  • 74:17 - 74:20
    If you have accepted impermanence as a truth,
  • 74:20 - 74:24
    then you must also accept no-self, inevitably.
  • 74:24 - 74:30
    Because self is something permanent,
    it always remains the same.
  • 74:31 - 74:34
    Now, science has accepted impermanence,
  • 74:34 - 74:40
    and sooner or later science will
    certainly have to accept no-self.
  • 74:40 - 74:45
    Recent scientific discoveries are beginning
    to show that no-self is a truth.
  • 74:46 - 74:56
    For example, our brain consists of billions of neurons,
  • 74:57 - 75:06
    and none of them are in control, issuing commands,
  • 75:06 - 75:13
    but they relate and communicate with each other.
  • 75:14 - 75:19
    When a thought or feeling arises,
  • 75:19 - 75:24
    it is the result of all the neurons working together,
  • 75:24 - 75:29
    not because there is a boss saying
    you must generate a thought,
  • 75:29 - 75:33
    you must generate a feeling,
    you must do this or that.
  • 75:33 - 75:39
    Neuroscientists
  • 75:39 - 75:45
    say that our brain is like an orchestra.
  • 75:45 - 75:52
    All are playing an instrument,
    but there is no conductor.
  • 75:53 - 75:57
    No maestro.
    No one holding a baton
  • 75:59 - 76:03
    No need for brother Pháp Linh.
  • 76:03 - 76:09
    An orchestra without a conductor,
  • 76:09 - 76:14
    without a boss.
  • 76:15 - 76:20
    Our body is the same.
    Our body is made up of countless cells,
  • 76:21 - 76:25
    yet no cell claims to be the president,
  • 76:25 - 76:29
    the leader of all others,
    and all must follow.
  • 76:30 - 76:36
    These are clear manifestations of
    impermanence and non-self.
  • 76:37 - 76:43
    Scientific discoveries affirm the truth of
    impermanence and non-self,
  • 76:43 - 76:48
    but the question is whether we can apply
  • 76:49 - 76:53
    the insight of impermanence and non-self
    in our daily lives so we can suffer less?
  • 76:53 - 76:56
    If reality is impermanent and without a self,
  • 76:56 - 76:59
    but we keep thinking it is permanent and
    has a self, then we suffer,
  • 76:59 - 77:01
    and that is called delusion.
  • 77:01 - 77:05
    So it is not about making declarations,
  • 77:05 - 77:12
    but whether we can apply that insight.
  • 77:21 - 77:25
    We can see right away that it doesn't make sense.
  • 77:25 - 77:30
    Rain. Now that there is rain, it must fall.
  • 77:30 - 77:33
    If it doesn't fall, it cannot be called rain.
  • 77:33 - 77:36
    Wind. Now the wind must blow.
  • 77:36 - 77:41
    Wind is already blowing;
    if it doesn't blow, there's no wind.
  • 77:41 - 77:45
    So, the presence of rain is the action of falling.
  • 77:45 - 77:49
    The presence of wind is the action of blowing.
  • 77:49 - 77:57
    The presence of the table is the
    function of the table.
  • 77:57 - 78:03
    We have learned in the 44 Paramārtha Gāthās of Asanga:
  • 78:03 - 78:08
    Things have no function,
  • 78:08 - 78:14
    Their existence is their function.
  • 78:14 - 78:19
    Things have no function.
    Their existence is their function.
  • 78:20 - 78:25
    Just like in Chinese philosophy, they say,
  • 78:25 - 78:33
    “The king kings, the subject subjects,
    the father fathers, and the son sons."
  • 78:33 - 78:38
    The father,
  • 78:38 - 78:41
    fathers.
  • 78:41 - 78:46
    Here is a verb (fathers),
    here is a noun, the subject (father).
  • 78:47 - 78:51
    The subject and the verb are one.
  • 78:51 - 78:54
    The actor and the action are one.
  • 78:55 - 78:59
    If a father does not father,
    he cannot be a father.
  • 79:00 - 79:03
    Being a father is already an action.
  • 79:03 - 79:06
    "Quân quân thần thần phụ phụ tử tử"
  • 79:06 - 79:08
    means the king must truly be a king.
  • 79:08 - 79:11
    There is no need to do anything else, just be a king.
  • 79:11 - 79:14
    A subject must truly be a subject,
  • 79:14 - 79:18
    a father must truly be a father,
  • 79:18 - 79:19
    and a child must truly be a child.
  • 79:19 - 79:24
    They don't need to be anything else and
    there will be peace in the world.
  • 79:25 - 79:29
    "Quân quân" means the king kings,
  • 79:29 - 79:32
    "thần thần" means the subject subjects,
  • 79:32 - 79:36
    the father fathers, and child childs.
  • 79:36 - 79:40
    Our presence is our action.
  • 79:41 - 79:47
    So, every noun is a also verb.
  • 79:49 - 79:55
    So there is no need for a subject that
    lies outside of the verb.
  • 79:56 - 80:01
    There is no need for an actor that
    lies outside of the action.
  • 80:02 - 80:06
    This is what Ānanda wanted to teach Chanda.
  • 80:06 - 80:11
    Chanda thought that a self is needed in order
  • 80:11 - 80:14
    to be free from rebirth and enter nirvāṇa.
  • 80:14 - 80:18
    If there is no self, then who is free
    from rebirth, who enters nirvāṇa?
  • 80:18 - 80:23
    If there is no self, then who sees,
    who hears, who practices,
  • 80:23 - 80:27
    who is the actor and who receives
    the fruit of action?
  • 80:27 - 80:30
    If there is no self, who sees and
    understands the Dharma?
  • 80:30 - 80:35
    So, he couldn't understand what the teachers at Deer Park said,
  • 80:35 - 80:40
    that all formations are impermanent, all phenomena
    are non-self, and nirvāṇa is peace.
  • 80:40 - 80:42
    This is what Ānanda taught:
  • 80:42 - 80:49
    If a person, while in contact, does not get caught in the contact,
  • 80:49 - 80:52
    does not not remain caught in the contact,
  • 80:52 - 80:55
    and does not see the need for a self in the contact,
  • 80:55 - 80:59
    then that person begins to see the truth,
    begins to see and understand the Dharma.
  • 80:59 - 81:10
    That person sees that when conditions
    are sufficient, things manifest.
  • 81:10 - 81:19
    And when conditions are no longer
    sufficient, those things cease to exist.
  • 81:19 - 81:24
    There is no need for a self to play any role in this.
  • 81:24 - 81:28
    In this sutra the example is,
  • 81:28 - 81:34
    when the conditions are sufficient for
    suffering to arise, suffering arises,
  • 81:34 - 81:39
    and when the conditions are sufficient for
    suffering to cease, suffering ceases.
  • 81:39 - 81:42
    There is no need for a self to initiate
  • 81:42 - 81:48
    the arising or ending of suffering.
  • 81:48 - 81:55
    This is the most difficult passage in
    the Discourse on the Middle Way.
  • 81:59 - 82:02
    Now, let's read it again.
  • 82:03 - 82:07
    Since worldly people are caught in the objects of perception,
  • 82:07 - 82:10
    their minds are bound.
  • 82:11 - 82:16
    If someone does not accept, does not grasp,
  • 82:16 - 82:18
    does not stand firm in these perceptions,
  • 82:18 - 82:21
    does not compare and measure a separate
    self that they are then caught in,
  • 82:21 - 82:25
    then they will see that when the conditions are
    sufficient for suffering to arise, suffering arises,
  • 82:25 - 82:34
    and when the causes are no longer
    sufficient, suffering ceases.
  • 82:34 - 82:36
    (Thầy added a sentence to
    make it easier to understand)
  • 82:36 - 82:39
    And in that, there is no need for a self,
  • 82:39 - 82:44
    and notions of being and non-being cannot be applied.
  • 82:44 - 82:49
    Kātyāyana, when someone is able to see that,
  • 82:49 - 82:55
    they have no more doubts,
    they are no longer subject to the afflictions.
  • 82:55 - 83:00
    This insight is not transmitted to them by
    someone else but is their own insight.
  • 83:00 - 83:05
    This is what the Tathagata means by right view.
  • 83:06 - 83:11
    This is a passage from the sutra,
  • 83:11 - 83:15
    There does not need to be a subject.
  • 83:17 - 83:22
    When conditions are sufficient, it manifests,
  • 83:22 - 83:26
    and when conditions are no longer sufficient, it ceases.
  • 83:26 - 83:29
    Liberation is the same.
  • 83:29 - 83:34
    We always think there is self
    that undergoes rebirth,
  • 83:34 - 83:38
    entering this body, leaving that body,
  • 83:38 - 83:42
    entering another body, then leaving it,
    going in circles—
  • 83:42 - 83:47
    that is the notion of rebirth of Brahmanism,
  • 83:47 - 83:50
    of the Upanishads, and not the rebirth of Buddhism.
  • 83:50 - 83:52
    Buddhism does not acknowledge
    that kind of rebirth.
  • 83:53 - 84:00
    So, we must understand that there are
    those who have not understood non-self.
  • 84:01 - 84:07
    In Buddhism, there are those who haven't
    understood non-self and so they believe in rebirth.
  • 84:07 - 84:12
    But that kind of rebirth is more
    Brahmanic than Buddhist.
  • 84:12 - 84:16
    But what can be done? Because they haven't
    studied enough, haven't understood enough,
  • 84:16 - 84:19
    haven't been taught by Ānanda,
  • 84:19 - 84:25
    so their notions of rebirth, karma, and retribution
  • 84:25 - 84:32
    are still heavily influenced by Brahmanism.
  • 84:32 - 84:37
    Brahmanism believes in a self.
  • 84:39 - 84:49
    Although Buddhism has adopted the
    teachings on karma, rebirth, and retribution,
  • 84:49 - 85:00
    the teachings and practices of Buddhism
    regarding these concepts are different
  • 85:00 - 85:05
    because they must be understood
    in the light of non-self.
  • 85:05 - 85:10
    There is continuity, there is action,
    there is retribution, there is rebirth,
  • 85:10 - 85:15
    but there is no need for a self.
  • 85:16 - 85:22
    Just as water can be reborn as ice,
  • 85:22 - 85:25
    ice can be reborn as clouds,
  • 85:25 - 85:27
    clouds can be reborn as a river.
  • 85:27 - 85:31
    There is continuation, but there is no need
    for a self to be reborn.
  • 85:31 - 85:37
    no need for an unchanging,
    undying self to be reborn.
  • 85:37 - 85:40
    If you plant corn, you get corn;
    if you plant beans, you get beans.
  • 85:40 - 85:44
    That is true, but no self is needed.
  • 85:44 - 85:46
    That is what this sutra proposes.
  • 85:46 - 85:51
    When all the conditions are sufficient,
    the seed of corn becomes a plant of corn,
  • 85:51 - 85:56
    and there will be corn, but it doesn't
    require a self for that to happen.
  • 85:58 - 86:06
    Of the 44 Paramārtha Gāthās of Asanga that we learned last year,
  • 86:06 - 86:11
    the first gatha is:
    There is absolutely no subject,
  • 86:11 - 86:15
    no actor and no one who receives the fruit of action,
  • 86:15 - 86:20
    Dharmas (phenomenon, object of mind) have no function.
  • 86:20 - 86:22
    It is very wonderful.
  • 86:22 - 86:23
    There are only four sentences.
  • 86:23 - 86:27
    The first sentence is that there is absolutely no subject.
  • 86:27 - 86:32
    No boss, il n'y a pas de chef.
  • 86:33 - 86:40
    There is no actor, there is no receiver,
  • 86:40 - 86:45
    there is no performer of action,
  • 86:45 - 86:48
    there is no receiver of the fruit of action.
  • 86:49 - 86:53
    There is no need for an actor
  • 86:53 - 86:58
    and no receiver of action,
    nonetheless there is action.
  • 86:58 - 87:02
    When conditions are sufficient, there is action
  • 87:02 - 87:05
    and when those conditions cease, action ceases.
  • 87:05 - 87:07
    There is no self involved.
  • 87:07 - 87:13
    This is the cream, the essence of
    the Buddha's teaching: non-self.
  • 87:13 - 87:17
    So, in the Buddhist community,
    there are millions of Buddhists,
  • 87:17 - 87:22
    but those who can see and understand the Dharma,
  • 87:22 - 87:25
    the enlightened ones, are very few.
  • 87:25 - 87:29
    Most of them are devotees
  • 87:29 - 87:33
    and their understanding is still caught i
    n the notion of a separate self,
  • 87:33 - 87:38
    but we must allow them
    to make gentle progress.
  • 87:46 - 87:49
    To understand the Buddha, we must understand no-self .
  • 87:50 - 87:52
    Some people claim to be Buddhists,
  • 87:52 - 87:57
    but their Buddhism is much less
    than their Brahmanism.
  • 87:58 - 88:02
    Gradually, with practice, the more
    the understanding of Buddhism deepens,
  • 88:02 - 88:06
    gradually they will be able to let go
    of the idea of a self, a soul
  • 88:06 - 88:09
    and the superstitions that go along
    with these concepts.
  • 88:09 - 88:14
    We will continue to learn about this.
  • 88:20 - 88:22
    Do you know?
  • 88:22 - 88:26
    After Chanda heard Ānanda speak,
  • 88:26 - 88:31
    he had a clear insight into the truth,
    an enlightenment, and he understood.
  • 88:31 - 88:36
    Thầy hopes that after hearing this sutra,
    you will have the same experience as Chanda.
  • 88:36 - 88:40
    It's recorded in the sutras that many people
  • 88:40 - 88:45
    upon hearing the Buddha speak,
    they became enlightened then and there.
  • 88:45 - 88:47
    So Chanda was like that.
  • 88:47 - 88:53
    In a Dharma talk, if we put our whole heart and mind into it,
  • 88:53 - 88:58
    and if we have faith, we can
  • 88:58 - 89:02
    make a breakthrough and get the insight.
  • 89:02 - 89:06
    This is called "seeing the Dharma."
  • 89:07 - 89:15
    Since worldly people are caught in the
    objects of perception, their minds bound.
  • 89:16 - 89:23
    If someone does not accept, does not grasp,
    does not stand firm in these perceptions,
  • 89:23 - 89:26
    does not compare and measure a
    separate self that they are then caught in,
  • 89:26 - 89:28
    then they will see that
  • 89:28 - 89:32
    when the conditions are sufficient for
    suffering to arise, suffering arises.
  • 89:32 - 89:37
    When the conditions are no longer
    sufficient, suffering ceases.
  • 89:37 - 89:39
    In that, there is no need for a self,
  • 89:39 - 89:46
    and the notions of being and non-being cannot be applied.
  • 89:46 - 89:50
    Kātyāyana, such a person no longer has any doubts,
  • 89:50 - 89:53
    they are no longer subject to the afflictions.
  • 89:53 - 89:58
    This insight is not transmitted to them
    by someone else but is their own insight.
  • 89:58 - 90:06
    This is what the Tathāgata means by right view.
  • 90:16 - 90:21
    For the Dharma talk to continue,
    conditions must be sufficient.
  • 90:23 - 90:32
    No need for a self,
    only conditions are needed.
  • 90:45 - 90:49
    “Kātyāyana, why is this so?
  • 90:49 - 90:54
    When someone looks correctly at the
    coming to be of the world,
  • 90:54 - 90:58
    they do not give rise to the idea of nonbeing,
  • 90:59 - 91:03
    and when they correctly observe the
    destruction of the world,
  • 91:03 - 91:06
    they do not give rise to the idea of being.
  • 91:06 - 91:08
    Kātyāyana,
  • 91:08 - 91:13
    the Tathāgata has abandoned these two extremes
  • 91:13 - 91:16
    and teaches the Dharma dwelling in
    the middle way.
  • 91:16 - 91:23
    The middle way.
  • 91:23 - 91:29
    This means: This is because that is and
    this arises because that arises.
  • 91:29 - 91:33
    Because of ignorance, there are formations
  • 91:33 - 91:36
    because of formations, there is consciousness, and so on
  • 91:37 - 91:47
    until the mass of suffering arises.
  • 91:48 - 91:53
    It also means that this is not because that is not,
  • 91:53 - 91:56
    this ceases because that ceases.
  • 91:56 - 91:59
    With the ending of ignorance formations cease,
  • 91:59 - 92:06
    with the ending of formations, consciousness
    ceases, until this mass of suffering is no more.
  • 92:06 - 92:09
    While Ānanda was giving this teaching
  • 92:09 - 92:14
    Chanda arrived at the state of freedom
    from the dust of the world
  • 92:14 - 92:17
    and received the spotless eye of the Dharma.
  • 92:17 - 92:22
    Meaning he had clear eyes to see the truth.
  • 92:46 - 92:49
    Last time, we drew this Z shape,
  • 92:49 - 92:57
    and on this dimension,
    there is the conventional truth,
  • 93:00 - 93:05
    where there is birth and death, being and non-being
  • 93:05 - 93:09
    above and below, self and others.
  • 93:09 - 93:13
    Where things are outside of each other.
  • 93:14 - 93:17
    And these truths have their applications.
  • 93:17 - 93:21
    For example, building a house, we must
    have the concept of above and below,
  • 93:21 - 93:27
    we have to build the ground floor first,
    we can't just start with the fourth floor.
  • 93:27 - 93:32
    So, the conventional truth has its value.
  • 93:32 - 93:37
    But behind the conventional truth, there is another truth,
  • 93:39 - 93:51
    which is the absolute or ultimate truth (paramartha-satya).
  • 93:53 - 93:56
    In the ultimate truth,
  • 93:56 - 94:01
    there is no birth and no death,
    no being and no non-being.
  • 94:05 - 94:09
    no subject and no object;
    these pairs of opposites no longer apply.
  • 94:10 - 94:17
    When we touch the ultimate truth, our worries,
    fears, and pain and grief dissipate.
  • 94:18 - 94:24
    To move from conventional truth to
    ultimate truth, we need a path.
  • 94:24 - 94:28
    This path is called the middle way,
  • 94:28 - 94:35
    a path that leads us from outer appearance to true nature,
  • 94:35 - 94:44
    from the explicate order to the implicate order.
  • 94:46 - 94:51
    Yesterday,
    we had an exercise with the phrase:
  • 94:51 - 94:58
    This is because that is.
  • 94:59 - 95:14
    This is also called conditioned genesis,
  • 95:14 - 95:20
    pratῑtyasamutpāda,
  • 95:20 - 95:26
    which means things rely on
    each other to manifest.
  • 95:26 - 95:30
    The left has to lean on the right in order to be,
  • 95:30 - 95:32
    the right has to lean on the left in order to be.
  • 95:32 - 95:37
    Being relies on non-being in order to manifest,
    non-being relies on being in order to manifest.
  • 95:38 - 95:40
    Conditioned genesis is also interbeing,
  • 95:40 - 95:47
    this is that, this is in that,
    not outside of that.
  • 95:47 - 95:55
    "Duyên khởi" can be translated as
    conditioned genesis.
  • 96:06 - 96:13
    In the Holy Bible, la genèse,
    genesis in Vietnamese is "sáng thế."
  • 96:13 - 96:16
    Genesis means the origin of the universe.
  • 96:16 - 96:19
    God created the universe.
  • 96:19 - 96:22
    That is called genesis.
  • 96:22 - 96:26
    Where does the world come from?
  • 96:26 - 96:29
    According to the Judeo-Christian tradition,
    the world was created by God.
  • 96:29 - 96:35
    This is Christian genesis. It's in the bible.
  • 96:35 - 96:39
    God is the actor, the creator,
  • 96:39 - 96:43
    and the action is creating the world.
  • 96:43 - 96:46
    There is God (the creator),
    there is God's action (creating),
  • 96:46 - 96:51
    and there is the world (the created).
  • 96:54 - 97:01
    But in Buddhism, the world is a formation.
  • 97:02 - 97:09
    The word “the making of,” samudaya, is the second
  • 97:09 - 97:12
    of the Four Noble Truths: Ill-being,
    the causes of ill-being, the end of ill-being, the path.
  • 97:12 - 97:17
    "Tập" means the making of suffering.
  • 97:17 - 97:21
    This is the making of the world.
  • 97:21 - 97:31
    This world is made, is manifested
    through conditioned genesis,
  • 97:31 - 97:34
    not by a god,
  • 97:34 - 97:39
    but by this relying on that in order to be.
  • 97:41 - 97:44
    This is called inter-arising, inter-causation.
  • 97:48 - 97:53
    In Christianity, for the question,
    how did the world come to be?
  • 97:53 - 97:56
    The answer is God created the world.
  • 97:56 - 97:59
    Whereas in Buddhism, for the question
    how did the world come to be?
  • 97:59 - 98:03
    The world came to be due to
    causes and conditions.
  • 98:04 - 98:08
    This is because that is.
  • 98:08 - 98:11
    This is "duyên khởi,"
    or conditioned genesis.
  • 98:11 - 98:17
    The answer is very clear and very simple.
  • 98:18 - 98:21
    The answer is:
    This is because that is.
  • 98:23 - 98:28
    This is because that is.
  • 98:30 - 98:35
    This is Buddhist genesis.
  • 98:37 - 98:39
    Think of left and right.
  • 98:40 - 98:45
    The left is because the right is,
    they rely on each other in order to be.
  • 98:47 - 98:52
    They wait for each other to
    manifest at the same time.
  • 98:53 - 98:58
    Left and right, above and below,
    subject and object, you and me,
  • 98:58 - 99:02
    father and son, they must wait for
    each other to manifest simultaneously.
  • 99:03 - 99:07
    This is the Buddhist teaching on the
    creation of the universe,
  • 99:07 - 99:11
    not by a God, but by this relying on that.
  • 99:11 - 99:15
    That's conditioned genesis.
  • 99:15 - 99:23
    So, the teaching of conditioned genesis
    still uses the language of conventional truth
  • 99:23 - 99:27
    but it slowly leads us transcend
  • 99:27 - 99:34
    the words and notions of conventional truth
  • 99:34 - 99:39
    in order to enter the ultimate truth.
  • 99:40 - 99:47
    "Thắng nghĩa đế" is
  • 99:47 - 99:52
    the ultimate reality.
  • 99:53 - 100:00
    In Christianity, the ultimate reality may be God.
  • 100:05 - 100:11
    The ultimate reality is the reality of
    no birth and no death,
  • 100:13 - 100:15
    no being and no non-being.
  • 100:15 - 100:22
    All notions of birth and death, being and non-being
    belong to the dimension of conventional truth.
  • 100:23 - 100:31
    The ultimate reality is also called suchness,
    nirvāṇa, space outside of space
  • 100:32 - 100:35
    Enjoying space outside of space.
  • 100:35 - 100:40
    When we enter the space outside of space
  • 100:40 - 100:45
    we have immense freedom.
  • 100:50 - 100:55
    In Vietnam during the Tran dynasty,
    there was a very talented general
  • 100:56 - 101:03
    who defeated the Mongol army.
  • 101:05 - 101:08
    and that was General Trần Hưng Đạo.
  • 101:08 - 101:13
    General Trần Hưng Đạo had an elder brother
    who was a lay Zen master.
  • 101:13 - 101:19
    He practiced very well, even more so than the monks.
  • 101:20 - 101:29
    His name was Tuệ Trung Thuợng Sĩ.
  • 101:32 - 101:42
    His birth name was Trần Tung.
  • 101:57 - 102:01
    He practiced meditation very well and left behind a work
  • 102:01 - 102:05
    in the treasure of Vietnamese literature.
  • 102:05 - 102:11
    He composed a song called "Phóng Cuồng Ca,"
    the song of a madman.
  • 102:11 - 102:13
    which includes the line:
  • 102:13 - 102:28
    "With staff in hand, he enjoys walking
    in the space outside of space."
  • 102:28 - 102:46
    "Chống gậy rong chơi chừ trời phương ngoại."
  • 102:53 - 102:56
    Trần Quốc Tung,
  • 102:56 - 103:01
    the elder brother of Trần Quốc Tuấn,
  • 103:02 - 103:08
    the elder brother of Trần Quốc Tuấn (King Hưng Đạo).
  • 103:15 - 103:25
    Space outside of space refers to a world that
    transcends both space and time.
  • 103:26 - 103:31
    There's a lot of freedom.
  • 103:32 - 103:36
    In Sino Vietnamese it's "phương ngoại phương 方 外 方,"
  • 103:36 - 103:43
    "Phương ngoại phương" is
    space outside of space, time outside of time
  • 103:43 - 103:46
    Transcending space, transcending time.
  • 103:46 - 103:50
    Because our idea of space and time are still very limited.
  • 103:50 - 103:54
    It contains birth and death,
    being and non-being,
  • 103:54 - 104:02
    and we are living in this very limited space.
  • 104:02 - 104:07
    It is a world of being and non-being, birth and death,
  • 104:07 - 104:11
    and so we are not so free.
  • 104:13 - 104:19
    "Phương ngoại phương" means
    space outside of space, time outside of time
  • 104:19 - 104:25
    and it's available in the here and in the now.
  • 104:25 - 104:31
    It's called nirvāṇa, suchness.
  • 104:32 - 104:39
    When we have insight, or right view, we
    transcend being and non-being, birth and death,
  • 104:39 - 104:43
    then we can grab our walking stick and
    take a stroll in the space outside of space.
  • 104:43 - 104:48
    The aim of a practitioner
    is to attain great freedom.
  • 104:48 - 104:53
    To go beyond birth,
  • 104:53 - 104:56
    to go beyond death,
  • 104:56 - 105:00
    and to touch nirvāṇa in the here and in the now.
  • 105:00 - 105:05
    Le nirvāṇa visible, ici et maintenant.
  • 105:06 - 105:08
    The visible nirvāṇa in the here and the now.
  • 105:08 - 105:12
    That is strolling in the space outside of space.
  • 105:12 - 105:19
    "With staff in hand, strolling in the space outside of space."
  • 105:20 - 105:23
    So, from the dimension of conventional truth,
  • 105:23 - 105:26
    where there is birth and death,
    being and non-being.
  • 105:26 - 105:31
    thanks to the insight of conditioned genesis,
    this is because that is,
  • 105:31 - 105:36
    gradually we arrive at no birth and no death,
    no being and no non-being.
  • 105:36 - 105:41
    So, from conventional truth,
    we move into ultimate truth.
  • 105:41 - 105:45
    This is thanks to the practice of deep looking.
  • 105:46 - 105:51
    Conventional truth and ultimate truth are not
    truths that are outside of each other.
  • 105:52 - 106:00
    To look for ultimate truth outside of
    conventional truth is not possible.
  • 106:00 - 106:04
    That is why we have the example of
    Zen Master Vân Phong.
  • 106:04 - 106:10
    One day, a disciple named Thiện Hội
    came and said: "Dear Teacher!
  • 106:10 - 106:14
    You teach us how to break free
  • 106:14 - 106:18
    from the world of birth and death to
    touch the world of no birth and no death.
  • 106:18 - 106:22
    Where is that world of no birth and no death?"
  • 106:22 - 106:27
    Master Vân Phong said it is right
    within the world of birth and death.
  • 106:27 - 106:30
    If you abandon the world of birth and death,
  • 106:30 - 106:33
    there is no way you can find
    the world of no birth and no death.
  • 106:34 - 106:40
    And that is why this drawing is just a representation.
  • 106:40 - 106:43
    To draw it correctly, it should be drawn like this
  • 106:43 - 106:47
    [ Thầy draws a horizontal line on the board—the collapsed Z ]
  • 106:48 - 106:50
    Looking at it, you can see.
  • 106:50 - 106:56
    Perhaps brother Phap Ao can make
    something out of wood for Thầy,
  • 106:56 - 106:59
    which can be extended to have two levels,
  • 106:59 - 107:02
    and when collapsed, it becomes one level.
  • 107:02 - 107:05
    Next time, we will bring it out
    for the community to contemplate.
  • 107:05 - 107:07
    Although there are two levels, in reality,
    there is only one level.
  • 107:07 - 107:12
    No birth and no death can be found
    within birth and death.
  • 107:12 - 107:19
    Space outside of space lies within space itself.
  • 107:19 - 107:21
    This is great freedom.
  • 107:21 - 107:25
    Once you reach this freedom,
    all that remains is to enjoy,
  • 107:25 - 107:28
    No need to look for anything else.
  • 107:29 - 107:33
    And this isn't something that comes from hard labor,
  • 107:33 - 107:39
    but from insight, from our practice of deep looking.
  • 108:13 - 108:20
    The wisdom that guides us from the dimension of conventional truth
  • 108:20 - 108:28
    into the dimension of ultimate truth, is known as
  • 108:28 - 108:36
    the wisdom of adaptation
  • 108:36 - 108:53
    Tuỳ thuận trí 隨 順 智,
    anulomajñānā.
  • 109:06 - 109:14
    This wisdom of adaptation connects the two truths together.
  • 109:14 - 109:20
    "Tuỳ thuận" means going in the right direction.
  • 109:22 - 109:26
    Being conducive to.
  • 109:27 - 109:29
    For example, when handling a bundle of rice plants,
  • 109:30 - 109:33
    if we stroke it in the right direction,
  • 109:33 - 109:37
    our hands won't get scraped,
    the wheat will yield,
  • 109:37 - 109:41
    and that is adaptation.
  • 109:41 - 109:50
    We are using the words and notions of conventional truth
  • 109:50 - 109:53
    but have already begun to be free from them.
  • 109:53 - 109:58
    When we say:
    This is because that is.
  • 109:58 - 110:03
    We still use the words this and that,
    being and non-being,
  • 110:03 - 110:08
    but we have already started to get out of the
    notions of this and that, being and non-being.
  • 110:09 - 110:14
    We on this path of adaptation so we can be connected,
  • 110:14 - 110:21
    Tương ưng means to be connected with.
  • 110:21 - 110:35
    Tương ưng or tương ứng,
    sampri-samprayukta.
  • 110:35 - 110:39
    To be connected with the ultimate truth.
  • 110:40 - 110:43
    Although we are still
  • 110:43 - 110:49
    using the concepts and terms of
    conventional truth,
  • 110:49 - 110:55
    but we go on the path of adaptation
  • 110:57 - 111:16
    to be able to connect with ultimate truth.
  • 111:21 - 111:29
    The wisdom of conformity
  • 111:29 - 111:34
    that allows us to be connected with—
  • 111:34 - 111:39
    "tương ứng với" means connected with.
  • 111:41 - 111:53
    The wisdom of adaptation that allows us to be connected with
  • 111:53 - 112:01
    is called
  • 112:01 - 112:07
    the wisdom of adaptation,
  • 112:07 - 112:12
    conditioned genesis,
  • 112:12 - 112:16
    and connected to emptiness.
  • 112:17 - 112:20
    Emptiness is the world of nirvāṇa,
  • 112:20 - 112:23
    of space outside of space,
  • 112:23 - 112:26
    of suchness.
  • 112:26 - 112:32
    Thanks to the teachings of conditioned genesis,
  • 112:32 - 112:46
    we gradually begin to conform (connect)
    to the ultimate truth.
  • 112:48 - 112:55
    There is a sutra called the Udāna Sutra.
  • 112:55 - 113:01
    The Udāna is the Self-Spoken Sutras.
  • 113:01 - 113:07
    There's a line in that sutra...
  • 113:24 - 113:28
    Self-spoken means that no one asked,
    but the Buddha spoke on his own.
  • 113:31 - 113:34
    There is a line that we have learned from
  • 113:34 - 113:39
    the Chinese Dhammapada.
  • 113:51 - 114:03
    In chapter 8, Battali villagers,
    there are three passages about Nirvāṇa.
  • 114:09 - 114:13
    The third passage states:
  • 114:13 - 114:21
    There exists, monks, that which is unborn,
  • 114:21 - 114:25
    that which is unbecome,
  • 114:25 - 114:28
    that which is uncreated,
  • 114:28 - 114:35
    that which is unconditioned.
  • 114:40 - 114:47
    There exists
  • 114:47 - 114:53
    monks,
  • 114:53 - 115:05
    that which is unborn
  • 115:05 - 115:15
    that which is non-created,
  • 115:15 - 115:31
    that which is unbecome,
  • 115:31 - 115:36
    that which is created,
  • 115:36 - 115:51
    that which is unconditioned.
  • 115:51 - 115:54
    It is much longer, but we only need this part.
  • 115:54 - 116:12
    It contains four very important words:
    unborn, unbecome, uncreated, and unconditioned.
  • 116:14 - 116:22
    Unborn,
    vô sinh 無 生,
  • 116:22 - 116:28
    unbecome,
    vô hữu 無 有,
  • 116:28 - 116:33
    uncreated,
    vô tác 無 作,
  • 116:33 - 116:40
    unconditioned,
    vô hành 無 行.
  • 116:49 - 116:52
    The Buddha said that there exists
  • 116:52 - 116:56
    that which is
    unborn, unbecome, uncreated, unconditioned.
  • 116:56 - 116:59
    If there were not the
    unborn, unbecome, uncreated, unconditioned,
  • 116:59 - 117:04
    then all that is born, become, created,
    and conditioned would have no escape.
  • 117:08 - 117:43
    There is a dimension called the ultimate dimension (bản môn),
  • 117:43 - 117:48
    which is unborn, unbecome,
    uncreated, unconditioned.
  • 117:48 - 117:51
    If there were not the ultimate dimension
  • 117:51 - 117:53
    of the unborn, unbecome,
    uncreated, unconditioned,
  • 117:53 - 117:57
    then those belonging to the historical dimension,
    which are born, become, created, and conditioned,
  • 117:57 - 117:59
    would have no way out.
  • 117:59 - 118:02
    So, besides the dimension of conventional truth,
  • 118:02 - 118:07
    there is the dimension of ultimate truth,
  • 118:07 - 118:11
    and here the Buddha is talking about ultimate truth.
  • 118:12 - 118:17
    There is an
    unborn, unbecome, uncreated, unconditioned;
  • 118:17 - 118:25
    if there is no such an
    unborn, unbecome, uncreated, unconditioned,
  • 118:25 - 118:30
    then there will be no escape for what is born,
  • 118:30 - 118:38
    become, created, and conditioned.
  • 118:40 - 118:45
    Bhikkhus! There exists that which is unborn,
    that which is unbecome,
  • 118:45 - 118:49
    that which is uncreated,
    that which is unconditioned.
  • 118:49 - 118:54
    For if there were not, Monks, that which is unborn,
  • 118:54 - 118:59
    that which is unbecome, that which is uncreated,
    that which is unconditioned,
  • 118:59 - 119:06
    they would be made known here the escape from which is born,
  • 119:06 - 119:08
    from which is,
  • 119:08 - 119:11
    from that which is become, from that which is created,
  • 119:11 - 119:14
    from that which is conditioned.
  • 119:14 - 119:17
    The ultimate dimension is very necessary
  • 119:17 - 119:20
    because without it, the historical dimension has no way out.
  • 119:21 - 119:24
    There is an unborn, unbecome,
    uncreated, and unconditioned.
  • 119:24 - 119:26
    If there were not the
    unborn, unbecome, uncreated, and unconditioned,
  • 119:26 - 119:30
    then those things that are born, become,
    created and conditioned would have no way out.
  • 119:31 - 119:36
    This is a line from the Udāna.
  • 119:40 - 120:13
    “Atthi, bhikkhāve, ajātam, abhātam , akatam, asankhatam.”
  • 120:13 - 120:16
    Ajātam means the unborn.
  • 120:17 - 120:26
    Monks, there is that which is
    unborn, unbecome, uncreated, and unconditioned.
  • 120:27 - 120:34
    Last year, when we studied the sutra "Enjoying
    the Ultimate," we already learned this line.
  • 120:43 - 120:50
    So, it can be said that Nāgārjuna’s Mādhyamika Shastra,
  • 120:50 - 120:54
    is to provide proof for the Buddha's statement:
  • 120:54 - 121:01
    There is that which is
    unborn, unbecome, uncreated, unconditioned.
  • 121:03 - 121:10
    The unborn is not death,
  • 121:10 - 121:25
    but that which helps us
    transcend birth and death.
  • 121:28 - 121:32
    Unborn means unborn and undying, not just unborn.
  • 121:33 - 121:37
    When we transcend the notion of birth we
    transcend the notion of death at the same time,
  • 121:37 - 121:41
    because the two notions of birth and death
    go together like left and right.
  • 121:41 - 121:44
    To transcend one is to transcend both.
  • 121:45 - 121:50
    To realize the fruit of no-birth does not
    mean that we will not be born again,
  • 121:50 - 121:53
    that we die an eternal death.
  • 121:54 - 121:59
    To realize the fruit of no-birth means
    to transcend the cycle of birth and death.
  • 122:00 - 122:08
    When we say, "The karma is finished,
  • 122:08 - 122:19
    the birth is finished,
    what needed to be done has been done,
  • 122:20 - 122:24
    the holy life has been accomplished,
  • 122:24 - 122:27
    now I don't have to be born again."
  • 122:27 - 122:31
    This way of speaking makes people misunderstand.
  • 122:32 - 122:37
    They might think that one will die forever.
  • 122:38 - 122:46
    So, we ourselves have made people
    misunderstand the teachings of the Buddha.
  • 122:48 - 122:52
    “Birth is finished, the holy life has been lived,
  • 122:52 - 122:55
    what had to be done has been done,
  • 122:55 - 122:57
    there is no need to be reborn again."
  • 122:57 - 123:03
    This line describes someone who has realized
    the path, but it can also lead to misunderstanding.
  • 123:04 - 123:08
    Realizing the fruit of no birth
    does not mean to die forever,
  • 123:08 - 123:11
    to die for good,
  • 123:11 - 123:15
    but rather to transcend
    the notions of birth and death.
  • 123:18 - 123:23
    Science has also discovered the
    concept of no birth.
  • 123:23 - 123:26
    Science, when looking at matter and energy,
  • 123:26 - 123:30
    sees that the nature of matter and energy is
    no-birth and no-death.
  • 123:33 - 123:40
    The first law of thermodynamics
    states that matter and energy
  • 123:40 - 123:44
    cannot be created nor destroyed.
  • 123:44 - 123:48
    "Rien ne se crée, rien ne se perd
  • 123:48 - 123:51
    This is a truth.
  • 123:52 - 123:55
    This is truth that can be seen and proved,
  • 123:56 - 123:58
    but the key is whether we have
  • 123:58 - 124:02
    insight into this and can apply it in daily life.
  • 124:02 - 124:05
    Because if we truly touch the
    nature of no birth and no death,
  • 124:05 - 124:10
    we will no longer fear birth and fear death.
  • 124:10 - 124:13
    Those who commit suicide fear birth,
  • 124:13 - 124:18
    and those who fear death fear annihilation.
  • 124:19 - 124:25
    The nature of ultimate truth is no-birth and no-death.
  • 124:26 - 124:33
    Humans, the Buddha, sentient beings, clouds
    are of the nature of no-birth and no-death.
  • 124:33 - 124:37
    Nothing is destroyed, nothing is created.
  • 124:37 - 124:42
    From something you cannot become nothing,
    from nothing you cannot become something.
  • 124:42 - 124:45
    If we can transcend the notions of birth and death,
    we transcend the notions of being and non-being,
  • 124:45 - 124:47
    which is very liberating.
  • 124:47 - 124:51
    To say this is eternal death is not correct.
  • 124:54 - 124:58
    To say that Nirvāṇa is eternal death is not correct.
  • 124:58 - 125:04
    Nirvāṇa transcends the notions of birth and death,
    being and non-being.
  • 125:15 - 125:32
    The word "hữu" is translated as being.
  • 125:33 - 125:35
    In English, people want to translate it
    as becoming.
  • 125:35 - 125:43
    "Hữu" is bhāva, translated as becoming.
  • 125:45 - 125:52
    Because the word being can lead to misunderstanding.
  • 125:52 - 126:02
    as it gives the impression of something static,
    not capturing the impermanent nature of reality.
  • 126:02 - 126:05
    So, the word becoming is better than
    the word being.
  • 126:05 - 126:09
    Becoming implies that something is always changing.
  • 126:09 - 126:13
    So "vô hữu" is translated as no-becoming.
  • 126:13 - 126:19
    No-becoming does not mean non-being,
    but rather neither being nor non-being,
  • 126:19 - 126:25
    which means transcending both
    being and non-being.
  • 126:26 - 126:31
    So, unborn means transcending both
    birth and death.
  • 126:31 - 126:35
    No-becoming means transcending
    both being and non-being.
  • 126:35 - 126:37
    We must understand it like that.
  • 126:37 - 126:39
    "The door of no birth is opened,"
  • 126:39 - 126:44
    also means the door of no death is opened.
  • 126:44 - 126:50
    "The door of no-birth is opened" also means
    the door of no-death is opened.
  • 126:52 - 126:58
    To say no birth means no longer being born,
    or no longer going through samsāra,
  • 126:58 - 127:04
    means to be deeply influenced by the
    teachings of transmigration in Brahmanism.
  • 127:04 - 127:11
    In Brahmanism, it is said that transmigration is suffering.
  • 127:11 - 127:15
    So, no birth means no more transmigration,
  • 127:15 - 127:18
    which is to die forever.
  • 127:18 - 127:23
    This is the greatest misunderstanding of
    Western scholars regarding Buddhism.
  • 127:28 - 127:43
    There was an Englishwoman named Childers
    who made the first Pali-English dictionary,
  • 127:44 - 127:52
    and when she came across the word Nirvāṇa,
    she said Nirvāṇa, to me, is eternal death.
  • 127:54 - 127:58
    Other scholars like Barthélémy-Saint-Hilaire
    also said the same:
  • 127:58 - 128:05
    There's clear evidence in the scriptures,
    I read clearly that Nirvāṇa is only eternal death.
  • 128:07 - 128:09
    So, many Western scholars have
    misunderstood the Buddha's teachings
  • 128:09 - 128:19
    and thought that Nirvāṇa is extinction,
    is the eternal death.
  • 128:20 - 128:24
    They do not know that no-birth here
    does not mean not being reborn,
  • 128:24 - 128:28
    but transcending the notions of birth and death.
  • 128:28 - 128:31
    Scientists, when looking deeply,
  • 128:31 - 128:35
    can see the no-birth nature of matter and energy.
  • 128:35 - 128:39
    The challenge for scientists is to apply
    this understanding to themselves
  • 128:39 - 128:44
    so they are not afraid or anxious,
    so they have freedom.
  • 128:44 - 128:47
    That is the difference between
    a Buddhist practitioner and a scientist.
  • 128:47 - 128:52
    So, scientists must join hands with Buddhist
    practitioners to share their discoveries,
  • 128:52 - 128:56
    and Buddhist practitioners must join hands with
    scientists to share their practice experiences.
  • 128:56 - 128:58
    Both sides benefit.
  • 128:59 - 129:01
    That's how politicians speak.
  • 129:01 - 129:04
    Both sides benefit.
  • 129:05 - 129:10
    In Christianity, it is said that this world was created,
  • 129:10 - 129:14
    there must be a creator, a creation,
    and an act of creation.
  • 129:14 - 129:21
    But looking deeply, nothing is created,
    nothing is destroyed.
  • 129:24 - 129:29
    We will continue to learn this,
  • 129:29 - 129:36
    Next time we have one more session
    to talk about Chanda.
  • 129:36 - 129:43
    Chanda is remarkable, having ordained at an old age
    after the Buddha had passed away.
  • 129:43 - 129:46
    Yet he was able to meet Ānanda,
  • 129:46 - 129:50
    and upon hearing Ānanda's teachings,
    he made a breakthrough
  • 129:50 - 129:54
    and attained the pure eye of the Dharma.
  • 129:57 - 130:04
    This was possible because Ānanda helped
    Chanda overcome the complex
  • 130:04 - 130:08
    of thinking he couldn't understand.
  • 130:09 - 130:15
    Ānanda simply praised him with one sentence: "My brother,
  • 130:15 - 130:17
    you are very talented.
  • 130:17 - 130:21
    I am very happy to see that when you don't
    understand, you say you don't understand,
  • 130:21 - 130:27
    and you have the desire to understand,
    which means you have the ability to listen.
  • 130:27 - 130:31
    Now, listen to me. I will tell you how
  • 130:31 - 130:35
    the Buddha instructed Kātyāyana."
  • 130:35 - 130:38
    Chanda was overjoyed,
  • 130:38 - 130:41
    saying that standing before a virtuous and
    noble teacher like the venerable Ānanda,
  • 130:41 - 130:44
    who said he had the ability to
    understand and see the Dharma,
  • 130:44 - 130:46
    he was overjoyed.
  • 130:47 - 130:52
    In that state of mind, he opened his
    heart to listen and became enlightened.
  • 130:53 - 130:58
    Today, Thầy has also followed the
    venerable Ānanda's example
  • 130:58 - 131:01
    to recount the story of Kātyāyana.
  • 131:01 - 131:06
    If you do not have any complexes and
    can stay in the present moment,
  • 131:06 - 131:11
    you too have the capacity to make a breakthrough
  • 131:11 - 131:15
    to see that the world of no birth and no death,
  • 131:15 - 131:18
    no being and no non-being,
    no self—is a world that is real
  • 131:18 - 131:24
    that you can touch right here today.
  • 131:47 - 133:08
    [ Three sounds of the bell ]
Title:
Let Understanding Be Your Only Career | Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
Description:

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Duration:
02:13:13

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