In this recording, Brother Phap Man reads the introduction to Chapter 1, Exercise 6, of The Blooming of a Lotus (2009). In this exercise, we are invited to contemplate the six elements: earth, water, fire, air, space and consciousness. Looking deeply, we can recognise the existence of these elements both within the human body and the universe itself, and come to understand the interconnectedness of all things.
As Thay writes in this exercise: "If we continue to meditate like this, we shall see that we can let go of the boundaries between "I" and "not I," and thus we can overcome the distinction between birth and death, being and non-being, and finally we can overcome fear".