January 29, 2012. 101-minute dharma talk from Lower Hamlet of Plum Village, France. The sangha is in the 2011-2012 Winter Retreat. The talk is given in Vietnamese with English translation by Sister Chan Khong. French and Vietnamese versions are also available.
Practicing mindfulness the whole day long. We are kind of like a big power plant producing mindfulness all day. There are five kinds of power. The first one is faith. The opposite of faith is doubt. The faith comes from your living experience. This year our parallel sentence includes “Removing the Net of Doubt” with the other side being “Lighting the Torch of Wisdom.” this comes from your deep vision. Insight. But remember, no suffering, no enlightenment. The second power is vision. The flash of vision must be continuous so it can transform into action. Keep steady throughout the day. The architecture of suchness. We can use the three doors of liberation. With diligence we can maintain the third power: concentration. We practice appropriate attention.
In this talk we also return to the Paramartha Gathas we’ve been studying most of the winter retreat. Thay discusses different types of science as It relates to the teachings of the patriarchs. We can use out knowledge to compare and understand better. If you have been listening this winter, and you have some insight, please write to us so we can prepare for the 21-Day Retreat on the topic of science of the Buddha.