Tag Archives: Four Noble Truths

Thoughts of Compassion

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April 8, 2013. 116-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Mahachulalungkornrajavidyalaya University in Bangkok, Thailand. The sangha is in the 5-Day Applied Ethics Retreat as part of the spring Asian Tour. The talk is given in English with simultaneous translation into Thai. This is the final talk of the retreat.

How do we apply the dharma into our daily lives? What is Applied Buddhism? In the last five years we have been trying to offer the teachings in non-Buddhist circles through classes in Europe and Hong Kong. We have now started to use the term Applied Ethics. This means translating Buddhism into a secular language. Today we will spend time on the teachings of Applied Ethics.

Thay reads a question from one of the attendees about deep listening. The story of family in deep sadness and exists in silence but lives in the same house. Teaching on the Four Noble Truths. What is suffering? How can we live simply and build brotherhood and sisterhood? Practicing with Right View can relieve the suffering. What do we mean by right view?

Birth and death. What are our ideas about birth and death? What is being and non-being? Illustrations of a cloud and a flower. Interbeing allows us to transcend these notions. Applied ethics is to apply more beauty, more solidity.

Nirvana. Karma. Sangha.

Every time you have a thought of compassion or understanding, you should write it down.

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Nirvana Walking

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January 27, 2013. 76-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from New Hamlet at Plum Village. The sangha is in the 90-day Rains Retreat (Winter Retreat). This is the twenty-fourth dharma talk of the retreat with the theme Are You The Soulmate of the Buddha? The talk is given in Vietnamese and this is a translation provided by Sr. Chan Không.

In first 17-minutes, we arr reminded how to be in touch with yourself. Through walking meditation and no thinking. When we walk, we walk relaxingly and solidly. Every step is solid and every step is freedom. And with Freedom you can arrive in Nirvana. Nirvana is extinction of all the affliction. Walking meditation can be very profound.

Three Dharma Seals. Impermanence. No self. Nirvana.

The island of self. There is no way to Nirvana,  nirvana is the way.

At 45-minutes, we look at the Four Noble truths and noble eight fold path. The five mindfulness trainings are a concrete manifestation of this path to Nirvana. What are the five mindfulness Trainings? Includes a discussion of the four Kinds of nutriments.

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Nirvana and Samsara

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December 27, 2012. Dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Upper Hamlet at Plum Village. The sangha is in the 90-day Rains Retreat (Winter Retreat) and this is the the fifteenth dharma talk of the retreat with the theme Are You The Soulmate of the Buddha? The talk was originally given in French and this is the English translation.

What does it mean to have a spiritual dimension in our life? Why is it important for daily life?

The Four Noble Truths and the path in the second versus the path in the fourth. Two paths to choose. To well being or to ill being. We in Plum Village look at these two paths with the eyes of Interbeing.

What creates suffering? How do we take care of our suffering? The path leading to awakening. How and how much time does it take to reach enlightenment? Enlightenment is available in every moment. There is no way to enlightenment, enlightenment is the way. This is the teaching of Interbeing.

Love and reconciliation. What is nirvana? Is nirvana possible? What is the relationship to samsara?

The Buddha taught the Three Dharma Seals.

  1. All formations are impermanent.
  2. All things are without self.
  3. Nirvana

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Daily Life in Terms of Consumption

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October 18, 2012. 84-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Upper Hamlet at Plum Village. The sangha is enjoying the Autumn Retreat and this is a Day of Mindfulness.

What is the Winter Retreat? Why do we practice together for 90-days? The theme this winter will be are we soul mates of the Buddha?  Do we understand the Buddha? There are many misunderstandings and we’ll focus on this problem. That’s why we have the Sutra on a Better Way to Catch a Snake.

We continue a teaching on relationships and working with suffering. How do we feed our relationship? The source of nutriments? This teaching is found in the first and second Noble Truths. Why do we need to start with suffering? Nothing can survive without food, including your love. In a relationship, we should know how to nourish each other.  How can we nourish our relationship? Right Speech, Right Action, and the remaining Noble Eightfold Path. In addition, we have the Five Mindfulness Trainings to help us practice.

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Buddhism is not a Philosophy

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October 11, 2012. 118-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Lower Hamlet at Plum Village. The sangha is enjoying the Autumn Retreat and this is a Day

Teaching of suffering and the transformation of suffering. We don’t speculate on philosophical questions. We don’t only use our intellect. Buddhism is practical. How to handle a painful feeling? A strong emotion?

There is an insight on Interbeing. Non-self. Emptiness. What is true happiness? What is understanding and love? Practical application of the Four Noble Truths. When we are able to see our own suffering, we are better able to see the suffering of others.

Thay shares a few more stories from the time of the Vietnam war in terms of hope and despair. Generating joy and happiness through the exercises on mindful breathing.

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Basic Teachings in Italian and English

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September 2, 2012. 84-minute dharma talk given in English, with simultaneous translation into Italian, with Thich Nhat Hanh at the Italian Retreat with the theme Peace in Action. The retreat took place at Fraterna Domus in Rome, Italy.

How do we let freshness and beauty arise? The teaching on the seed of corn.

Listening to the bell to get in touch with every cell in our body. The noble truths and noble eightfold path. Right View is the foundation of the othe seven. The topic of no-birth and no-death are examined. The wisdom of non-discrimination.

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The Body and Mind are One

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August 12, 2012. 90-minute dharma talk given in English, with simultaneous translation into Dutch, with Thich Nhat Hanh. This is the first Dharma talk offered by Thay in the Dutch Retreat on the theme Body and Mind Are One at the European Institute of Applied Buddhism in Waldbröl, Germany.

Can the body be without the mind? Can you take the body out of the mind? And the mind out of the body? If we meditate on the question, we can discover the answer. The same inquiry can be applied to father and son, mother and daughter. Are they the same? Again, with meditation we can also see continuation. Interbeing. This was a very clear and gentle teaching for the children on a very deep topic.

The country of the present moment. Those who are in the present moment have body and mind together. Mindfulness helps this to happen. We can release the past, release our projects, and discover freedom. It only takes a few seconds. The conditions for happiness are present right here. Can we see the conditions for happiness?

The first eight exercises of mindful breathing and the three kinds of energy generated by meditation: mindfulness, concentration, and insight. The last segment is a teaching on the Four Noble Truths and the noble eightfold path.

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Interbeing of Father and Son, Exploring the Fundamental Teachings of the Buddha

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July 15, 2012. 121-minute recording given at Lower Hamlet, Plum Village by Thich Nhat Hanh. This is the seventh dharma talk of the Summer Opening and the talk was originally given in French. This is an English translation.

We begin with a talk for the children. What is the Buddha? How can we make use of suffering? What can we do with anger? What is loving speech? The story of the corn plant. The method of meditation called Signlessness. Uses the birth of a child to illustrate.

Following the talk for children, the main talk begins at 53-minutes into the recording. In classical science things are all outside of each other. In modern science, quantum physics, we see that things are inside each other. In Buddhism, we try to look this way. There is no separate self. Coexistence. This is, because that is. Interbeing.

A teaching in the Four Noble Truths. Why do we have suffering? Hiw do we get understanding and love? How can we see the all in the one?

The noble eightfold path beginning with Right View (the fruit of our meditation). The notions of being and non-being. Right Thinking. Right Speech. Right Action.

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The Ground of Right View

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June 12, 2012. 111-minute dharma talk by Thich Nhat Hanh from Upper Hamlet in Plum Village during the 21-Day Retreat with the theme The Science of the Buddha. The talk is given in English and this is the eighth dharma talk (of 15).

Seven Factors of Enlightenment (relaxation, joy, investigation, etc)
Separate investigation of phenomena and noumenal

We should not mixup the two dimensions of conventional and ultimate. When considering the Four Noble Truths, the first two must be investigated in the realm of conventional truth. Conditional Dharma. The same cloud can be both investigated from conventional truth and ultimate truth.

The Second Noble Truth and the Fifth Mindfulness Training can be described in terms of food. Nutriments. The Sutra of the Son’s Flesh gives this teaching on nutriments. Thay explains the Four Kinds of Nutriments: edible foods, sensory impressions, volition, and consciousness. Discusses Mencius’ Mother (China); also known as Meng Ze.Thay would like to see the Sutra on Four Kinds of Nutriments in the next edition of chanting book.

Mindfulness in schools.

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The Science of Happiness

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June 3, 2012. 103-minute dharma talk by Thich Nhat Hanh from Lower Hamlet in Plum Village during the 21-Day Retreat with the theme The Science of the Buddha. The talk is given in English and this is the second dharma talk (of 15).

Topics

  • Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing – exercises 5-8
  • Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path
  • Three Concentrations

 

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