Leisureliness is the Fruit of the Practice (November 27, 1997) — Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
Please play video to see English subtitles
Original Vietnamese title: “Thong Dong Là Thành Quả Của Sự Tu Học [CPNĐSNC1] | TS Thích Nhất Hạnh(27-11-1997, Làng Mai)”
Originally posted: by Làng Mai (Plum Village’s Vietnamese YouTube channel), https://youtu.be/a6qUhZTFoK8 on Oct 16, 2022
Talk given: November 27, 1997, Plum Village France (hamlet unnoted)
Length: 1 hour 13 minutes 56 seconds
Video’s note: “Bộ pháp thoại này được thiền sư giảng vào các năm 1997-1999 do hạn chế về công nghệ thời điểm đó nên chất lượng âm thanh và hình ảnh không được rõ nét lắm mong đại chúng thông cảm.”
This Dharma talk series were given by the Zen master during the 1997-1999 period. Due to technological limitations at that point, audiovisual quality is not very good. The Plum Village Editorial Team hopes for your kind understanding.
This is a full Dharma talk given by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh on November 27, 1997 in Plum Village France.
Transcript
[Thay bowing in]
Today is November 27, 1997. We’re currently on the first day of the Winter Retreat.
Later, after this Dharma talk, we’re going to put on our sanghati robes, and invoke the Buddhas’ names to pray for their protection, for this retreat to go well, with a lot of peace and happiness.
The theme running through this year’s Winter Retreat centers on “công phu” or “daily training.” It’s called “Daily training gets the thousand-petalled lotus to burst open.”
The two meanings of công phu
Công phu means our daily training in the morning, afternoon, and evening. For Western friends, the term công phu makes them think of kung fu, the martial art. But fact is, the term công phu originates from Zen Buddhist tradition. Well, from the Tang era — even before the Tang era, the term công phu was already in use.
In this retreat, we’re going to use the book “Daily Chants of Zen Buddhist Tradition,” the 2000 edition. And each of us needs to have a copy of it. Most of the texts and sutras in this book have already been translated into English. Only a few haven’t been done with the English translation. And Elder Sister Chân Đức will for sure help us translate these remaining few texts into English.
“Daily Chants of Zen Buddhist Tradition,” the 2000 edition
People usually think the daily training in a Zen Buddhist monastery is only limited to two liturgies. The morning liturgy. And the evening liturgy. But understanding công phu in this way is a little bit narrow. Because our daily training is not only the liturgies. Our daily training also includes sitting, which means sitting meditation; walking, which means walking meditation; eating, which means mindful eating in silence; and sangha service, which means working in mindfulness.
Besides that, there are other daily practices, such as mindful breathing, such as lying down / deep relaxation, such as earth touchings, such as beginning anew. That’s why daily training is not only limited to the two liturgies, or two công phu sessions like people usually say. But công phu, or daily training, means practicing at dawn, in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon, in the evening, and at dusk. Công phu means the training that takes place all day every day.
The term công phu means our training, our daily training. And the term công phu is also used to refer to the level of mastery that we’ve already attained in the practice.
For example, if someone praises, “Amazing công phu,” it means we’ve already reached a certain level in our practice. When people mock a person, if they can still smile and their face doesn’t turn red, we can bow respectfully before that person, saying, “Amazing công phu.” Or when bad news hits, if we can still keep our cool, if we can still follow our breathing in silence, the other person then can join their palms and bow respectfully before us, saying, “Amazing công phu.”
For that reason, “công phu,” first of all, means the level of mastery, or the result, of our practice. And its second meaning is the time that we’ve spent training ourselves to come to that level of mastery.
For example, someone asked Zen Master Joshu (Triệu Châu), “What is the true appearance of a great being?” It means a great being, a Mahāsattva — what is their true appearance? Are there any signs that prove that, that person is a Mahāsattva, a great being? Master Joshu said, “This Elderly Monk doesn’t go through much công phu but is already at the level of a free hero.”
It means, “I don’t practice at all. I don’t need to go through a diligent period of training whatsoever, but am already at the level of a free hero. “A free hero,” in Sino-Vietnamese, is “nhàn hán.” “Hán” means a hero. “A free hero” here means someone who’s free and at leisure, someone who’s not busy, and not being entangled or caught in anything. And in Master Joshu’s statement, “This Elderly Monk doesn’t have to go through any công phu, any diligent period of training whatsoever, but has become a free hero.”
Regarding “the level of mastery” meaning (of công phu), as written in the Record of Sayings of Zen Master Dogen (Dogen Zenji Goroku) (Zen Master Dogen is the founder of Japanese Sōtō Zen) who says, “This mind, though never for once having thought of running away, knows its level of mastery is indeed not consistent yet, not homogenous yet.”
It means, “Deep down, I have never thought of withdrawal,” — “This mind, though never for once having thought of running away,” i.e. never for once accepting being defeated, never for once wanting to give up, when looking carefully, its công phu, its ‘level of mastery’ is actually not yet consistent, not yet homogenous.” It means, the mind is still polluted with distracting, messy thoughts, not completely consistently one-pointed.
So, in that statement, the Zen Master spoke of công phu as ‘the level of mastery,’ not as ‘the time spent on the training’. That’s what công phu means.
Lamp Transmission Gatha given to Sister Chân Đoan Nghiêm by Thay:
“Chân giác vun trồng miền tuệ uyển
Đoan Nghiêm thuyền cập bến thong dong
Công phu nở đóa sen ngàn cánh
Quê cũ vui chơi thỏa nguyện lòng.”
English translation
The seed of true awakening is sown in the garden of insights.
With respectability, the boat docks at a pier of leisureliness and freedom.
Daily training gets the thousand-petalled lotus to burst open.
Home sweet home, one plays to one’s heart’s content.
In the lamp transmission gatha that Thay gave Elder Sister Chân Đoan Nghiêm, there’s also the term công phu. And that line goes, “Daily training gets the thousand-petalled lotus to burst open.” A superb line. And we use that line as the theme for this year’s Winter Retreat.
“Công phu nở đóa sen ngàn cánh.” “Daily training gets the thousand-petalled lotus to burst open.”
Công phu, as we already know, means our daily practice, our daily training. We should know that, as long as there’s practicing, there’s awakening. As long as there’s training, there’s attainment. For that reason, through the way we walk, stand, lie down, sit, eat, drink, breathe, and work, we can raise our công phu to a certain level that can allow us to become a lotus.
Looking at this lotus, we see that not only one petal bursts open, but two, three, four, and a thousand petals burst open. When that lotus comes into bloom continuously, we realize that, the lotus not only has a thousand petals, it also has tens of thousands, and millions, of petals in a very miraculous way. Even when we want it to stop, it’ll get more petals to burst open anyways. Very wonderful.
It means, one person… We only need one person who commits to their daily training diligently and consistently. That person can get millions of lotus petals to burst open. Not just here. But all around. Not in different times. But all at once.
We can clearly see that this lotus bursts open in every moment, every day. If we look again, we can see that our công phu has gotten a few lotus petals to burst open. A couple or a few petals. Say, five or ten petals. Looking more carefully, we can also see a few other petals are already open. Not that none has opened yet.
Until one day, when our công phu matures, the lotus petals will burst open so incessantly that even if we want them to stop, it cannot be stopped. And that’s the meaning of the third line of the lamp transmission gatha given to Elder Sister Chân Đoan Nghiêm, i.e. “Daily training gets the thousand-petalled lotus to burst open.”
The first line of this gatha goes,
“Chân giác vun trồng miền tuệ uyển.” “The seed of true awakening is sown in the garden of insights.”
“Chân giác” means the seed… the seed of awakening. The seed of true awakening. True awakening as a seed. This seed of true awakening is sown… is sown in the garden of insights. “Tuệ” means insights or understanding. “Uyển” means a garden. “Tuệ uyển” means the garden of insights. This is a term used by King Trần Thái Tông. Each of us has the seed of true awakening.
If we know how to sow and plant this seed of true awakening in the soil of this garden of insights, it will bloom one day. It means, we shouldn’t practice only through doing good deeds (“tu phước” in Vietnamese; punya in Sanskrit) in order to accumulate merits. We should at the same time practice through insight (“tu huệ” in Vietnamese).
It means in our daily life, in each footstep, in each breath, in each movement, we should practice deep looking to come to clear-seeing — which is called “practice through insight.” Instead, if we toil night and day to make merits, that’s not “sown in the garden of insights” yet. It’s actually “sown in the garden of good deeds.”
In our practice, doing good deeds and developing insights go in parallel. It means we practice both doing good deeds and developing insights at the same time. Good deeds and deep insights go in parallel.
We have a gatha to practice biking meditation.
THI KỆ ĐI XE ĐẠP Ngồi thẳng trên xe đạp Vững chãi giữ thăng bằng Phúc xin tu cùng Tuệ Hành và Giải song song
BIKING MEDITATION GATHA “Sitting up straight on the bike, I stay stably balanced. May my Good Deeds be accompanied with Insights, as Practicing and Studying always go in tandem.”
It means, good deeds/merits on the one hand, and insights on the other. We must strike a balance between these two. Just like sitting on the bike. If we don’t sit in balance, the bike will fall over. “The seed of true awakening is sown in the garden of insights.” The seed of true awakening gets to be sown and planted in the soil of the garden of insights. It means, in our daily life, we should also practice looking deeply, instead of just laboring all day.
“With respectability, the boat docks at the pier of leisureliness and freedom.”
This line is also superb. The pier and shore we’re heading to is the pier and shore of unbusyness, of leisureliness, of freedom. Being at one’s leisure and being free from entanglements, from pain and suffering, from anger, hatred, and resentment. A person who’s not busy and at their leisure is a happy person. Even Zen Master Joshu said, “This Elderly Monk doesn’t go through much công phu but has already become a hero at leisure.”
Leisureliness is the most beautiful result of a life spent practicing. And each of us has our own level of mastery in terms of leisureliness. Our level of mastery in leisureliness means the space in which we’re living.
When people look at us, naturally they can tell how much leisureliness we actually have. Just by looking at us, they can already tell. They don’t need to be very insightful people. Just ordinary people. Just by looking at us, they can already tell our level of mastery in leisureliness and freedom. The level of leisureliness and freedom that we have in life circumstances. The level of leisureliness and freedom that we have in pain and in suffering.
And leisureliness and freedom is the most beautiful blossom and fruit of the practice. Leisureliness and freedom is the most beautiful blossom and fruit of công phu, our daily training.
“With respectability, the boat docks at a pier of leisureliness and freedom” is a very beautiful image.
“Respectability” means being beautiful and, at the same time, being upright. And the boat has docked at the pier. This pier is not the pier of victory. But the pier of leisureliness and freedom. The pier of leisureliness and freedom is the place where we can meet the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas because every one of those who is on that pier is exuding leisureliness and freedom.
Our true home is the pier and shore of leisureliness and freedom
“Daily training gets the thousand-petalled lotus to burst open. Home sweet home, one plays to one’s heart’s content.”
Deep down inside, we all have a wish. The deepest wish of our heart is to be able to return home. And our true home is the pier and shore of liberation. It’s where we no longer feel like we’re being separated. Being separated from our ancestors. Being separated from our loved ones. Being separated from the cosmos. Or being separated from the universe.
Zen Master Trần Thái Tông also used to talk about home. Home means the place that we long to return to. It means, it’s a place where we feel at home. We no longer have this urge to run, or to go into hiding. That’s where home is. Home is where we feel free and at leisure, where we feel fulfilled and satisfied. We no longer want to go up and fall down, or run after an object whatsoever. That’s “home.” Home is the pier and shore of leisureliness, of liberation.
And once one gets there, there’s nothing else to do. One just strolls along. And all that we do on a daily basis, like sweeping the floor, cooking, helping relieve the suffering of people, teaching the Dharma, helping hungry kids, etc…, Those works, we also do them like play. We do them in a very leisurely way. Without a single worry. Without a single affliction. Without competition. That’s leisureliness.
Leisureliness doesn’t mean “doing nothing at all.” Leisureliness means doing everything we can but in a very easy, leisurely, relaxed manner.
[Bell]
Our daily training predicts & decides everything in the future
If a practitioner can live their life like these four poem lines, it’s already considered a great achievement. And with just four poem lines, we can already see the right direction in life. That is, every day, let us sow and bury the seed of true awakening in the soil of the garden of insights. It means, in the practice of deep-looking, well, soon enough, our boat will dock at the pier and shore of leisureliness and freedom in a very majestic and beautiful way. Công phu can get the lotus of our life to burst open thousands of petals.
At that moment, we find ourselves in our true home, sweet home, having attained great liberation. No matter what we do, it can always bring us happiness. No matter what we do, it can’t make us busy. On the contrary, it amplifies our joy and happiness day by day. The word công phu here means our daily training, our daily practice.
And every one of us should comprehend and master our own công phu. Every one of us should be well aware, in our daily life, of the way we train ourselves, the way we practice. Because it’s our daily training that predicts and decides everything in the future.
The second body Dharma door
In this three-month Winter Retreat, let us lean on one another to train ourselves and let us take care of one another. Because our tradition isn’t about personal achievement. Our tradition is about studying and training together, and taking care of each other. For that reason, we will follow this model of training that we followed in the recent tour to North America. That is, “the second body” model.
So, within today or tomorrow, we should know who our second body is. According to this principle, we train not as a separate self. We train as a community. That community is also our own body. That body is called “the sangha body.”
Our sangha body also has eyes, nose, and ears. And the sangha body can also see, listen, and has its own judgment. That’s why besides our own physical body, we also have the sangha body. And those who are practicing with us, our elder brothers, our elder sisters, our younger siblings are all part of the body that we call our “sangha body.”
According to this practice, each of us in the community must have a second body to take care of. “Đệ nhị thân” in Vietnamese means “the second body.” And for the whole period of our retreat, we have to take care of our second body. Our second body isn’t necessarily younger than us — in age or in the practice. Our second body can be more senior than us in age and/or in the practice. But each of us must take care of our second body.
Let’s say, in a community of one hundred people, the first person takes care of the second person. And the first person calls the second person their second body.
For example, when it’s time for sitting meditation, we should come to our second body and invite them to sit in meditation with the sangha. Or when our second body has a fever, we have to know our second body has a fever. We have to go look for the healthcare coordinator of the community or find a way to help our second body.
And if Thay ask, “My dear, where’s your second body this morning? I didn’t see him/her/them in the Dharma talk session today,” then we should be able to answer that question. You don’t say, “Dear Thay, I haven’t a clue” because it’s our body — our second body, we just can’t say, “I haven’t a clue.”
In the recent tour to North America, this model was applied. For that reason, if our second body hasn’t climbed into the van yet, we will decidedly not climb into the van. Because if we climb into the van, and on arriving at the destination, if we get asked, “Dear Novice Brother, where’s your second body?” we won’t be able to answer that question.
And each of us only needs to take care of our second body for the whole sangha to be taken care of. When our second body has joys, we have to be able to tell what their joys are. We can share these joys with the sangha. If it happens that our second body has difficulties, we have to be able to tell what those difficulties are in order to help him/her/them.
And if we’re not yet strong enough to help our second body, we have to humbly ask an elder sibling, or a younger sibling, for help. We don’t have to be better than our second body to be able to have a second body.
That’s why in the four hamlets, be it Dharma Cloud (Pháp Vân) Hamlet, Nectar of Compassion (Cam Lộ) Hamlet, Loving-Kindness (Từ Nghiêm) Hamlet, or Maple Forest (Rừng Phong) Hamlet, all hamlets must organize according to this model. I.e. each person must have a second body, and is responsible for taking care of that second body.
And this second person is the second body of the first person. But this second person, at the same time, also has their second body, that is the third person. And the second person has to take care of the third person, and is responsible for the third person.
How can we choose our second body?
It’s very easy. Everybody in a hamlet will gather together. When the Eldest calls out one person’s name, — i.e. the first person, that first person must immediately call out the name of their second body. And when the second person’s name is called out, the second person must immediately call out the name of their second body. Until the first person is someone’s second body. And that’s what we can do today or tomorrow.
When it’s mealtime, find a way to make sure that the person who’s our second body is present, and make sure they’re there early. When it’s time to sit or walk in meditation, we should be able to tell whether our second body is present. Because we’re the one who’s responsible for our second body. If we can help our second body, we can help everyone. And this training takes time.
Not only those who participated in the three-month Retreat Opening Ceremony, committing to stay here for three months, need a second body. But those who didn’t get to participate in this ceremony, only staying here only for a few weeks, a month, or a week, should also find a way to have a second body in order to train themselves. And those people also need to be the second body of someone else.
You will come to see the miraculous results this Dharma door brings about. We’re responsible for all that happens to our second body. While taking care of our second body, fact is our third body, our fourth body, and our fifth body,… are also being taken care of by other people. Doing this, we can take care of each other. This is a very miraculous Dharma door.
Take care of each other: The story of the monk who suffered dysentery
One day, the Buddha and Brother Ananda visited a local practice center. When they arrived, there was no one in that practice center — everybody had already gone for almsround. But there was one monk who hadn’t gone for almsround. And that Brother was staying in his own hut. He was seriously ill. He suffered from dysentery.
When the Buddha and Brother Ananda went into his hut, they noticed a very foul smell. Because he defecated and the feces were leaking all over. And his bed was also dirty. And his outfit was also dirty, all covered with feces.
The Buddha then told Brother Ananda to fetch a basin of water and a towel. And then the Buddha took it upon himself to wipe that sick monk and give him a bath. Brother Ananda, meanwhile, was cleaning the feces stains that were everywhere in the room. It took the pair of teacher and student three hours to spring-clean the whole place.
Then, Brother Ananda replaced the dirty top and the dirty bottom of that sick monk with his own. And Brother Ananda brought this monk’s clothes outside to wash. After he finished washing, he hung them up to dry.
After that, the Buddha and Brother Ananda sat and enjoyed themselves in the front yard. At that moment, the monks started to come back, one after another. Upon seeing the Buddha, they were very happy.
Once all the monks gathered together, the Buddha said, “Dear monks, we’ve already left home. It means, we have to live far away from our parents, we have to live far away from our own siblings. We can no longer receive the love and care of our parents and our siblings. If we can’t take care of one another, who will? That’s why, from now on, anyone who wants to take care of the Buddha, who wants to attend the Buddha, should keep in mind that taking care of their fellow practitioners means taking care of the Buddha.”
“Whoever wants to be my attendant,” said the Buddha, “and have happiness being my attendant, please keep in mind that when we take care of our fellow practitioners, we’re taking care of the Buddha. No difference.” That’s what the Buddha taught.
The Buddha actually asked after the sick brother’s health before that. The Buddha asked, “Is there no one taking care of you?”
That monk replied, “Dear Buddha, there is. At first, many brothers took turns to take care of me. But then I realize I’m sick all the time. I haven’t been able to do anything good for anyone. If I let them take care of me all the time like this, I’m afraid I’ll fritter my merits away. So I said, ‘Please, don’t come and take care of me anymore. Let me take care of myself.’ “
Then the Buddha said, “You shouldn’t think that way. When we get sick, we have to allow our elder brothers, our younger siblings, our elder sisters, to take care of us. Because if we don’t take care of one another, who will?”
For that reason, in the sutras, the Buddha made it very clear. “When we leave home to become a monastic, we have to live far away from our father, mother, older and younger siblings, we can no longer receive their love and care. If we don’t take care of one another, then who will?” The Buddha’s teachings were very clear.
For that reason, a convent, a monastery, should be organized like a family where brothers and sisters take care of one another. When we take care of each other this way, know that we, at the same time, take care of Thay. Because that’s what the Buddha said.
The seven points of practice for the sangha going to North America (August 22, 1997)
The delegation who went on the recent North America tour departed on the 22nd of August, 1997. When they arrived at the airport, each novice monk and nun received a letter detailing instructions as to how to conduct themselves during the whole trip. “Instructions to Members of the Sangha Going to North America.” The list has seven points.
The first point is, No matter where you happen to be — at the airport, on the stairs, in the toilet, etc…, when you walk, always walk in mindfulness, stability, and freedom. Never hurry. For the whole three-month trip, no matter where we are, — at the airport, on the stairs i.e. climbing up or down the stairs, or in the toilet, whenever you need to walk, always walk in mindfulness, following your breath. Emanate stability, leisureliness, and freedom. Never hurry. That’s the first instruction.
The second instruction is, Do not talk while walking, while taking steps. If you need to answer a question, or if you need to ask someone a question, stop walking. Because when you walk, you only walk. While walking, combine our footsteps with the breaths. If we speak, how can we combine the footsteps and the breaths? Doing this, the practice of walking meditation doesn’t bring about stability. It’s not being done well.
For that reason, when you walk, just walk. Walk deeply. Walk in stability. Walk as a free person. If you want to say something, stop walking first. And when the other person also stops, we can then talk. If the other person doesn’t know, and happens to ask us a question, if we want to answer that question, we should stop walking first, then we respond. After that, we can resume walking.
And if necessary, we can tell the other person that we’ve received the instruction. When we walk, only walk in meditation. While walking, we don’t talk. During the whole tour, all members of the sangha practiced like that. And in this retreat, we’re going to do the same.
The third instruction is, At Hải Biên (Ocean’s Side) monastery, at Kim Sơn monastery, and at retreat sites, practice mindful manners especially when coming into contact with people of the opposite sex, just like in Plum Village.
In case a lay practitioner doesn’t understand, explain it to them, and invite them to practice with us. Because monastic practitioners have their own precepts and mindful manners training. Meanwhile, lay practitioners may not have learned mindful manners yet. So lay practitioners can be unskillful at times. That’s why the monastic practitioners are to inform the lay practitioners that we’re practicing like this and this, that we cannot do something against our mindful manners training.
For example, a male person, a novice monk, who sits alone in a hidden or solitary place with a laywoman or a nun — practices against their mindful manners training. Not only do we never do that, but we can also explain to the other person the reasons why we cannot do that. Because we’re practicing mindful manners, and mindful manners are vehicles that help protect our life of practice.
So in this retreat, we should also practice like that. Monastic practitioners should train themselves to do that, and lay practitioners should also be aware of that training so they can support the practice of monastic practitioners.
The fourth instruction is, Wherever you go, and in whatever activities you participate — be it sitting meditation, eating meditation, walking meditation, etc., always be sure the second body — our second body, is there, too. Don’t lose this body.
In this retreat, we’re also doing that. In all daily activities of the sangha, such as working meditation, sitting meditation, eating meditation, walking meditation, etc…, we should always be mindful of the second body of ours. Never lose that second body. Because that body is our own body. All hamlets, during the whole time of this retreat, must follow this fourth instruction to the letter.
The fifth one is, You’re totally responsible for the quality of the mindful manners and mindfulness practices of your second body. And you are to remind that body in case the quality of mindful manners and mindfulness practices of that body lowers.
If we’re not able to help them, ask Thay, our Dharma brothers and our Dharma sisters for help. It means if the other person practices poorly, if the quality of their mindful manners and mindfulness practices is poor, we are to be held responsible. We should go to that person and remind them using loving speech.
And if we feel we’re incapable of doing that, or if we’re not good at it yet, we have to ask for our teacher’s help, or we ask a brother, or a sister, or a younger sibling in the sangha for help. This is also what we’re going to practice during this winter retreat.
Please be reminded that not only those who commit to practice for the whole three-month winter retreat should practice this way, but those who stay for a shorter time should also find a way to have the chance to practice the same. It means, everybody must have a second body the same.
The sixth instruction. Keep in mind that the happiness of the sangha during the whole trip is valued above all else. Never let work ruin the harmony and happiness of the sangha. This instruction can also be practiced here, in this retreat. We have many things to do. Never think that work is the most important thing. We have to value the harmony and happiness of the whole sangha above all else. Don’t ruin that harmony and that happiness of the sangha because of work.
The seventh instruction. Know that being able to join the sangha for the trip and to practice making tens of thousands of people happy is a great opportunity. Let us enjoy and be nourished by each moment of the trip. Every footstep you take should be a footstep taken in the Pure Land. Every footstep you take should be a footstep taken in the Avataṃsaka realm.
That’s the last instruction. Because, to be on a trip to spread the Dharma like this is a very rare chance. But if we don’t have happiness, we’re foolish, missing a great opportunity. Because that trip can be a historic trip that will never repeat the second time. For that reason, each footstep must be taken in leisureliness, stability, peace and happiness. There must be happiness.
So, this seventh instruction we should also practice in this three-month retreat. Because, gathering here in a facility called Plum Village, we have the opportunity to practice with one another in three months. There’s Thay, fellow practitioners, elder brothers, elder sisters, younger siblings, our sangha, and the Dharma doors. That’s such a great happiness. We can’t really tell if, in the future, we can do this again and again.
For that reason, dwelling peacefully in the present moment, we should know that, in three months, getting to live with one another is such a great fortune. We shouldn’t miss this opportunity. That’s why, each of the ninety days is an opportunity to live in peace, groundedness, happiness, leisureliness, and freedom. That’s why, there’s no reason we cannot walk in leisureliness and freedom with each footstep, there’s no reason we cannot go into the Pure Land with each footstep.
These seven instructions Thay already translated into English for members of the delegation who were not good at Vietnamese yet. So now, if you want to hear the English version, please take off your headphones. Thay will read them out in English so it can be clearer and so it can be… shorter to understand.
“Instructions to Members of The Sangha Going To North America.
First. No matter where you happen to be — airport, stairs, toilet, etc…, always walk in mindfulness, solidity, and freedom. Enjoy every step. Never hurry. And this must be applied during three-month retreat here.
Second. Do not talk while walking. If you need to answer a question, stop walking. Tell the other person you must practice mindfulness while walking, and invite him or her to practice the same. Walking is just for walking, coordinating your breath with your steps. If you talk, the walking will be gone. That is why every time you need to answer a question or to ask a question, stop. And you invite the other person to practice if the other person does not know the practice.
Third. At the Ocean’s Side monastery, the Kim Son monastery, and at retreat sites, practice mindful manners just like in Plum Village, especially manners relating to people of the opposite sex. If the lay person does not understand, then explain to him or to her, and invite him or her to practice.
Fourth. Wherever you go, and in whatever activities you participate — sitting meditation, lunch, walking meditation, etc…, be sure that your second body is there. Do not lose that body.
Fifth. Take responsibility about the quality of mindfulness and the mindful manners of your second body. And help that body to restore it. If you are not able to help him or her, please ask Thay, and brothers and sisters in the sangha to help you.
Sixth. Be aware of the happiness of the sangha, (it) is our priority. Do not let the work shatter our harmony and happiness.
Seventh. Be aware that it is a great opportunity to be with the sangha on this trip, learning to bring relief to tens of thousands of people. Enjoy every minute of your trip. Each step you take should be a step taken in the Pure Land, in the Avataṃsaka realm.”
Dear Sangha, in the recent North America tour, the sangha has succeeded quite well. Because, in many retreats, when the monastics come into direct contact with the retreatants, well, many people express their happiness seeing the monastics walk, stand, lie down, sit, and conduct themselves in mindfulness.
Of course, no one among the monastic members of the delegation is perfect. Sometimes, there are a few difficulties. However, those difficulties are not enough to make the harmony and the happiness of the sangha drop. That’s why retreatants in North America are very happy seeing the sangha be in harmony, walk, stand, conduct themselves, speak, and smile in mindfulness.
In the last trip, at least 25,000 people came straight to retreat sites to listen and practiced with the sangha in the retreats as well as in the Days of Mindfulness, and in Dharma talks. At least 25,000 people. The quality of the retreats is elevated thanks to the presence of many monastics. Because monastics can be seen at the front, to the left, or from behind. Seeing them walk and stand stably, leisurely, gently, and mindfully, their faith is increased significantly.
Many people write letters and express their happiness upon seeing the sangha there in the retreats. Not just the Vietnamese compatriots who cannot hide their happiness and faith. In the retreats and Dharma talk sessions organized for Americans, many retreatants also express the same faith and happiness. Many people say, upon seeing the sangha, they are very happy. They see there’s a future.
In their previous visits, although, when coming into contact with Thay, they were already happy, they thought about the future when Thay already pass away, when there will be no one continuing Thay. However, this time, whenever they see the sangha practice with a lot of stability and freedom, you know, that worry and fear vanishes. They know that there’ll be a continuation. And that makes a lot of people happy.
The nature of a community: Is there harmony in the sangha?
One time, at Omega Institute, when the sangha visited the Omega Institute located north of New York State, well, it was Fall. We saw yellow foliage. Very beautiful. Everyone felt happy walking in meditation next to the trees with yellow leaves and red leaves. Very remarkable.
Well, Thay came to a tree and observed a branch of a maple tree. It dawned on Thay that, when looking very carefully, each maple leaf had its own imperfections. Each leaf had holes like all other leaves because they were eaten by worms or because of something else. No leaf was impeccable. But, as a whole, the maple branch looked picturesque.
It looked so beautiful because all the leaves on that maple branch had certain positions. And this brought out a sight of utmost harmony. No leaf pushed any other leaf. Every leaf had its own special place. The leaves at the tip of the branch, the leaves at the branch collar, bigger leaves, and smaller leaves. All leaves were beautiful the same. It was beautiful because of the harmony of all the leaves.
The leaves that came out first did not feel proud that they were at the tip of the branch. And the leaves at the branch collar didn’t feel sorry for themselves, asking why they were at the branch collar. Every leaf seemed to be happy, like all other leaves, because each leaf dwelled peacefully in its own unique place. That’s why the entire maple branch emanated something very miraculous. That something is called ‘harmony.’
For that reason, Thay gathered the sangha together, and Thay said, “We don’t have to be perfect. Each and every one of us doesn’t have to be perfect. If we can truly live with one another like brothers and sisters, having harmony with one another, it means our sangha is already beautiful, it’s already the most beautiful it can be. And we don’t need to have any complex in front of anyone.”
So, harmony, which means the state of being at peace and in concord, is the practice of a sangha.
In any three-month retreat, the most important practice of ours is the practice of being in harmony. Because wherever there’s harmony, there’s certainly happiness. And when we have harmony and happiness, we can certainly build trust in many of those who come to us. We don’t have to be perfect. We definitely don’t need to be perfect.
Thay, as well as you, don’t need to be perfect. We just need to stay in our own position, and we can emanate our harmony. That’s already good enough. That’s why the sangha of the Buddha is called the sangha of Six Harmonies. The sangha of Six Harmonies. Whenever we need to come to any decision in the sangha, we ask ourselves that question, “Is there harmony in the sangha?”
“Has the entire community assembled?” “The entire community has assembled.” “Is there harmony in the community?” “Yes, there is harmony.”
If the second answer is negative, i.e. “No, there is no harmony,” no decision can be of use. The community cannot come to any good decision if there’s no harmony. That’s why harmony is the nature of a community. Those who want to build a sangha should keep in mind that harmony is the basic substance of sangha building.
[Bell]
So, in this winter retreat, we should train ourselves in such a way that there’s harmony in the sangha. Each of us should be a brother of a younger sibling, or a younger sibling of a sister, for example. We have our own unique position. And we feel happy being in that position. Just like each leaf on the maple branch has its own position.
While standing in stability and freedom in that very position, it, at the same time, contributes its part to the collective harmony of the whole maple branch. When someone looks at the maple branch, they see beauty. Utmost beauty. And the maple branch itself also has happiness.
So, in this retreat, we’re practicing the seven points that we practiced on the recent trip to North America. And we train ourselves according to the Dharma door called “the second body”.
Harmony in the sangha makes Thay happy
Elder Sister Diệu Nghiêm (Sister Jina) reported to Thay that when half of the community left the Plum Village monastery for America, at home, there’s not many left. When Thay left for the tour, and a number of elder brothers and elder sisters also left, in the first two days, it felt a little bit uncared for, neglected, and empty among the remaining half of the community who stayed.
But it only took everybody in the community until the third day to come together. They came together. They worked together. And the Elder Sister said there was a heart that started to… beat again. Very cozy. And the 21-day retreat which was organized at Plum Village brought about a lot of happiness because everyone came to one another. And the cordiality blossomed as a flower in that practice of coming together. It was like there was a new heart beating in the sangha. And the sangha at home had happiness practicing together.
When Thay hear Elder Sister report this, Thay feel very happy. Very happy. Very, very happy. Not just a little. Because Thay know that although sometimes we have issues with one another, when the need arises, we can work together, we can come together we can accept one another, we can stick together for the noble path to last, for happiness to be possible. And this is what makes Thay very happy. And it gives Thay a lot of trust.
The habit of getting things done quickly
In this retreat, let us focus our attention on working meditation. Working meditation means sangha service. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done around the community, not just a few. Tidying things up. Sweeping and cleaning. Cooking and baking. Cleaning and mopping. Lots of work. There’s also typing, putting together The Plum Village Newsletter, using the computer, etc… Lots of work, actually.
But we should do all these things as a way of practice. Make sure we can always find joy and happiness, solidity and stability, and leisureliness and freedom doing them. Please pay special attention to this matter, dear sangha. We should make a great stride in this respect in order for the practice to work.
When we do something — be it doing dishes, cooking, or cleaning a toilet, or arranging the mats and cushions, we have to really get down to the practice. We resolve to never let the unwholesome habitual energy of getting things done quickly carry us away.
Thay know that this unwholesome habitual energy is in everyone. It’s also in Thay. Whatever we do, we just want to get it over with. And that habitual energy is extremely unwholesome. When we want to get things over with, you know, we are not happy at all doing them.
For that reason, we can work a bit more slowly than usual but in each moment, while doing our work, we really feel happy. While walking to the place where we’re going to work, how should we walk?
We shouldn’t let that work haul us forth. Because contained in each footstep of ours is our practice. A footstep that doesn’t have stability, freedom, and happiness in it is a footstep that doesn’t count. That’s why each footstep of yours, dear friends, each and every footstep should be consistently imbued with stability, with leisureliness and freedom, with happiness — for this practice to work.
But if there’s a footstep that doesn’t have these three things, it’s considered a footstep gone to waste. You waste your time. You waste your life. The same with each breath. While sitting in meditation, if, in each breath, there’s no happiness, stability, and leisureliness, it’s a breath gone to waste.
Just yesterday or the day before yesterday, Thay weeded the garden along the path that leads to Sơn Cốc. Well, Thay held a hoe and started hoeing the weeds the Vietnamese style. Every hoe-slicing into the earth like that consistently had solidity, leisureliness, and joy. Thay didn’t allow any slicing to happen without being mindfully aware of whether or not in each slicing there’s stability, leisureliness, and joy.
So, during the whole time Thay was hoeing the weeds along that path, each moment was imbued with happiness like any other moment.
The same with each dish that we wash. Let’s say there are sixty dishes to wash. While washing a dish, first, ask our self, “Is there any happiness, leisureliness, and stability in me doing this first dish?” If there is, that dish isn’t gone to waste. If there isn’t, that dish is considered not washed.
For that reason, if you need to wash sixty dishes, you have to truly wash all sixty dishes. Don’t wash sixty dishes but it turns out, only three or four dishes are washed in stability and leisureliness, and the rest of the dishes are not. You’re just wasting your life practicing this way.
That’s how Thay practice. And Thay hope that you will also practice the same. Thay never teach anything that Thay don’t practice.
We have this habitual energy of getting things done very well, very fast, very effectively. But that’s also a bad thing. We have to train ourselves again. If we can make it, whatever we happen to do, even if that’s scrubbing the toilet bowl, it’ll always bring us very great happiness.
Each footstep that doesn’t have stability, leisureliness, peace, and happiness in it is a footstep thrown away. A bowl that’s not washed in stability, leisureliness, peace, and happiness is a bowl thrown away. Such a huge waste. Many people out there do that. It doesn’t make any sense if we’re in a monastery, doing exactly the same, wasting and throwing a lifetime away.
So if you can do working meditation like this, working meditation becomes as important as — no less important than, walking meditation or sitting meditation, or studying the sutras. You’ll come to see that, within two or three days practicing, you’ll have already made great strides on the path of practice.
That’s why working meditation is something you should train yourself again. Those whose habit of working fast is still deeply ingrained should be more aware of this and should learn and train yourself again.
Make sure that we sweat every day
Above all else, it’s the movements of the body. Every day, make sure that we sweat. Not a day goes by that we should not sweat. Be it jogging, hoeing, or carrying things from one place to another. Every day, we have to sweat at least once. Make sure we break into a light sweat.
Otherwise, we lack exercises. Our novice nuns and monks will become ‘viscously’ weak — bit by bit, little by little. And Thay will carry bad reputation. Jog. Jog until the whole body feels a burning heat. And only stop when we’ve broken into a light sweat.
Thay also do that. Thay is over 70 now, and Thay also do that. Well, this is Thay’s instruction for all novice monks and nuns — everyone must follow this. If you’re not following Thay’s instruction, you’re not Thay’s disciples. [Thay smiling]
While you’re out in the garden working, if sweat breaks out, that’s good. If not, you have to run. Running in place is acceptable. Find a way to break into a sweat — a light sweat, for this to work. That’s Thay’s instruction. The same with the Sisters.
Out there, many people don’t have space to run. They have to run on the spot. They run in place. But we have so many beautiful paths here, why don’t we run?
Thay’s final words before ending the talk
From the next Dharma talk on, each person has to have a copy of this book. It’s for those who can read Vietnamese. For those who can’t read Vietnamese, well… you’ll have the sutras in both English and French. Regarding French sutras, those who speak French like Brother Doji, Sister Định Nghiêm, or those like Sister Chân Không, and those like Elizabeth, will take care of providing the materials in French.
In this retreat, we’re teaching monastics living across the country to study at the same time with us — all the novice nuns and monks in Vietnam will study at the same time with us. That’s why audiovisual recording must be done decently. Because every time the audiovisual recording fails, those at home will have to suffer the consequences.
When we record the words written on the board, make sure those who watch the videos can read the words on the board.
Because yesterday Thay listened again to the recorded Dharma talks in the last Winter Retreat, Thay realize the words that Thay wrote on the board… [Thay shaking his head repeatedly] won’t be able to be read by those who’ll watch it. That’s very bad. In this retreat, we’re going to have at least two English Dharma talks during the Christmas holidays, and a Dharma talk in French. Meanwhile, all other Dharma talks will be in Vietnamese.
Just recently, Kim Sơn monastery held a monastic retreat for young monastics. Although the retreat only lasted for five days, that retreat was very compact. For that reason, if in the sangha there’s somebody who feels inspired to make its content available in print, in order to send it to the monks and nuns back home, it’ll be great. Boundless beneficence.
Besides that, we will also do the Plum Village Newsletter for the Tet holidays. And if possible, we will also make the book “Vietnamese Buddhism” from the time of Master Tăng Hội to that of the Bamboo Forest Zen Masters because now the international market demands materials on Vietnamese Buddhism. Now, after this Dharma talk, we’re putting on our sanghati robes and we’re invoking the Buddhas’ names to pray for their protection and for the retreat to go well.
At the Maple Forest monastery, Chân Đức is going to support us in terms of the materials that are not yet available in English. Every week, the nuns and monks at the Maple Forest Monastery also listen to the Dharma talks that we’re listening to now, despite the fact that it’ll be three days later than we do.
These seven instructions, perhaps we’re going to type them down in the computer, and we’ll pin them up so that everyone can read it.
[Touching the bell once]
[Bell]
🍃🍂🍁
SPECIAL THANKS The translation of this Dharma talk will never be possible without the help of Sister Xướng Nghiêm for the ancient Sino-Vietnamese terms that Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh used throughout this talk.
References
The cover of The Admonitions and Encouraging Words of Master Guishan. Image reproduced from KINOKUNIYA BOOK STORES OF AMERICA CO., LTD
The cover of The Revised Pratimoksha for Male Mendicants (available in both English and Vietnamese) as published in Vietnam. Image reproduced from Netabooks.
Thich Nhat Hanh, 2022, The Admonitions and Encouraging Words of Master Guishan: Text and Commentary, California: Parallax Press.
Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Dharma Teachers Council, 2013, The Revised Pratimoksha for Male Mendicants (Giới Bản Khất Sĩ Tân Tu), Expression of Regret Offences (Payantika), p.123.
Dogen Zenji, n.d., “Dogen Zenji Goroku: Record of Sayings of Zen Master Dogen” retrieved from Terebess, https://terebess.hu/zen/dogen/goroku.pdf (downloadable link)
Isabel Mayfield and Rosmy Barrios, MD, 2022, “Running in Place: Benefits, Burned Calories, and More,” retrieved from HealthReporter, https://healthreporter.com/running-in-place/
Thich Nhat Hanh's Talks 
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