Br. Minh Hy invites us to connect to great ancestral teachers who played a very important role in Thầy’s journey of renewing Buddhism. Inspired by their example, we can improve and refine our own practice, with faith and perseverance. We can make their practice come to life as we apply it to our current times, as Thầy has done throughout his life.
Indeed, the ancient Buddhist wisdom on the mind and the way out of suffering is timeless: the challenges of our society have their roots in afflictions that lie within our own mind. Learning to understand it, and to find appropriate practices for ourselves, is the way out of suffering.
This Dharma Talk was offered on the Memorial day of our Ancestral Teacher, Master Nhật Định, founder of our teacher Thầy’s root temple in Huê, Vietnam.
Reflection Questions & Home Practices
1. Note down the occurrences during the day when you are able to hold back words that may hurt others. How does it feel immediately and afterwards? How does it affect the people around you?
2. “Mindfulness of love and gratitude help us untie the internal knots” (Br. Minh Hy). Looking deeply into a situation in your life, are you able to see the myriad causes and conditions that have brought it about? Can you feel gratitude for some of those causes and conditions?