This is an excerpt from the full dharma talk "The Main Takeaways of 16 Mindful Breathing Exercises (Jul 21, 2009)" given on the 5th and 6th mindful breathing exercises by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh at Son Ha Temple in the Upper Hamlet of Plum Village France on July 21, 2009.

🔔 Video transcript

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In this short teaching, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh shares about the four methods that allow us to touch joy and happiness immediately:

1. letting go (or releasing),

2. right mindfulness,

3. right concentration, and

4. right understanding/insights

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Original Vietnamese title: "01 2009 07 21 XT VN Tinh Yếu Kinh Quán Niệm Hơi Thở" Originally posted by: Plum Village (YouTube channel)

Talk given: July 21, 2009, Upper Hamlet, Plum Village France

Length: 18 minutes 41 seconds

To watch the full Dharma talk with English subtitles and transcript, please visit this page.

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REFERENCES (Resources used to translate this Dharma talk)

1. The list of 51 mental formations by Plum Village

2. The list of 51 mental formations from Plum Village website

3. Discourse on the Full Awareness of Breathing

4. Discourse on Youth and Happiness

5. Thich Nhat Hanh, 1992, "Breathe, You Are Alive!," Parallax Press.

6. Thich Nhat Hanh, 2013, "Exploring the Joy of Practice" dharma talk transcript, Magnolia Grove Monastery, retrieved from Plum Village's website.

7. The "Chant on the Three Jewels for children" used in the translation is excerpted from "Chanting from the Heart" e-books series, Book #3, page 31, by Thich Nhat Hanh and the Monks and Nuns of Plum Village, PDF file retrieved from the Blue Cliff Monastery's website. You can click the link and download the three e-books. Please note that the translator has edited the translation to allow it to stay as close as possible to the original meanings presented in the Vietnamese audio.

8. Thich Nhat Hanh, 2009, "The Blooming of the Lotus," Parallax Press.

9. Br Phap Dung, 2020, "On "Ingagement"," retrieved from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation's website

10. Tịnh Thủy, n.d., Từng bước chân thảnh thơi, retrieved from langmai.org

11. Facebook page

12. Wikipedia, n.d., "Magnifying Glass"

13. Thich Nhat Hanh, "Liberating Our Mind: Untying Knots, the Ten Fetters | Thich Nhat Hanh (short teaching video)," Excerpt from 'Path of the Buddha' (June 18th, 2009), retrieved Sep 17, 2022 from Plum Village YouTube channel

14. EarthSky, 2019, "Why are moths attracted to flame?"

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Republished on the Plum Village App with kind permission of Thich Nhat Hanh's Talks channel 🙏