This is a short teaching video excerpted from the Dharma talk given by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh on August 14, 1997 in New Hamlet, Plum Village France

🔔 Video transcript

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"We know that when listening to Thay talk, we can understand. And we can suffer less immediately as we listen to the talk. That can possibly happen because we begin to have insights, we begin to see clearly. But that clear-seeing alone is not enough. That clear-seeing must be applied to our daily life. That clear-seeing must be lived while we're doing dishes, while we're cooking, while we're gardening, while we're driving.[...]

"We resolve to live today exactly according to the insights we have when we read the sutras or sit in meditation earlier. Because, although we have it in us, we don't live it. Although we awaken, we don't embody that awakening in our daily life."

After that, Thay shared about how he reminded himself to live his insights when strong emotions emerge thanks to the help of the drawing which we may call for now, "Don't blame the lettuce!".

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✩ Original video's Vietnamese title: "Mình Có Đang Làm Khổ Người Thương ? | TS Thích Nhất Hạnh (14-08-1997, Xóm Mới, Làng Mai)"

✩ Full Dharma talk originally posted by: Lang Mai (Plum Village's Vietnamese YouTube Channel) on October 18, 2022

✩ Talk given: August 14, 1997, New Hamlet, Plum Village France

✩ Length: 16 minutes 34 seconds

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

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TRANSLATOR'S NOTE:

At 4:54, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh used the term "ba la mật" in Vietnamese, which literally means "paramitas" or "types of perfection in Dharma training".

Because "paramitas" has a broad meaning and means slightly differently in different Buddhist traditions (i.e. 10 perfections in Theravāda Buddhism, 4 perfections in Sarvāstivāda, and basically 6 perfections in Mahāyāna Buddhism - according to Wikipedia), the translator must consider the context in which this word sits (i.e. at 4:54, Thay spoke about coming back to the breath and only focusing on the breath when strong emotions come) and decide to use "samadhi," or "meditative concentration," the fifth type of perfection in Mahāyāna Buddhism, in place of "paramitas" to represent this big word in order to clear up any confusion on the viewers' part at this point of the talk.

In the Plum Village tradition, mindfulness of the breath is one of the methods that give birth to concentration, which in turn leads to insights, or right understanding of the reality of life, which can break us free from the wrong views we usually attach to amidst the manifestation of inner storms (such as anger, hatred, or resentment) and attain liberation from these afflictive states of mind.

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REFERENCES (Resources used to translate this Dharma talk): Please kindly go to the Video Transcript link above to see the list.

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