This is a full Dharma talk given on November 09, 2006 in the Winter Rains Retreat 2006-2007, in Loving-Kindness (Từ Nghiêm) Temple, New Hamlet, Plum Village France.
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🔔 Video transcript
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"In the Chinese Buddhist Canon (Đại tạng kinh, 大藏經), there is a sutra called Nhất Nhập Đạo in Sino-Vietnamese (一入道 in Chinese), or Ekāyano Maggo (sometimes Ekāyana Magga) in Pali.
"Nhất Nhập Đạo literally means 'the only way to go in.' We can translate it into English as 'The Only Way In.' And that's the title of a sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness (Kinh Bốn Lĩnh Vực Quán Niệm, Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, 四念處經).
"Of course, that 'Only Way In' is the path of mindfulness. Because we know that, mindfulness brings concentration. Concentration leads to insight. And insight leads to liberation. So besides the path of mindfulness—right mindfulness, there's no other way.[...]
"[I]n the Buddhist tradition, we can see clearly that mindfulness is the heart of the practice—the heart of the meditation practice. At Plum Village, we know that mindfulness is also the heart of our practice.
"The moment we give rise to the aspiration to practice—to go into the path of practice, we immediately apply mindfulness in all aspects of our daily life.
"The purpose of all that we've learned or discussed in Dharma discussions is to make sure that our practice is successful. But what is our practice exactly?
"Our practice is to make sure that we are mindfully aware in every moment of our daily life. [...]
"The practice in a Zen monastery or practice center is called 'công phu,' or 'daily mindfulness practice'.
"Công phu in a Zen monastery or practice center, first of all, means the daily mindfulness practice of walking, standing, lying down, sitting, and breathing.
"Each step is a daily mindfulness practice. Each breath is a daily mindfulness practice. Each smile is a daily mindfulness practice. So are doing the dishes and cooking.
"Everything is a daily mindfulness practice. There's nothing that isn't a daily mindfulness practice.
"Urinating and defecating are also daily mindfulness practices. Because while urinating, one can still practice mindfulness. Practicing mindfulness, when one is urinating, one can also have peace, happiness, leisureliness, and freedom.
"And while urinating, the passing of urine matters the most. We don't consider the passing of urine to be any less significant than any other thing. While doing dishes, the washing of dishes matters the most. While walking in meditation, walking matters the most.
"Whatever that happens to be happening in the present moment has its own significance. Don't consider one thing to be more important than the other."
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✩ Original Vietnamese title: "Chánh Niệm - Con Đường Vào Cõi Giải Thoát [Thực Tập Căn Bản Làng Mai] TS Nhất Hạnh"
✩ Originally posted by Lang Mai (Plum Village's Vietnamese YouTube channel) on Aug 25, 2021 (Link on thuvien-thichnhathanh.org)
✩ Talk given: on November 09, 2006, in Loving-Kindness (Từ Nghiêm) Temple, New Hamlet, Plum Village France.
✩ Length: 50 minutes 14 seconds
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REFERENCES (Resources used to translate this Dharma talk): Please kindly visit the video transcript link for the full list.
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Republished on the Plum Village App with kind permission of Thich Nhat Hanh's Talks channel 🙏