Buddhism Responding to the Needs of the 21^st Century

Helping the Buddha to turn the Dharma Wheel in the West

Paper presented by Ven. Thich Chan Phap An - representing Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village International Monastic Sangha - at The World Buddhist Forum April 13-16, 2006 in Hangzhou, China.

BuddhismRespondingtotheNeedsofthe21stCentury.pdf

1. Methods of Practice Taught by Ven Thich Nhat Hanh
2. The Sutras on the Full Awareness of Breathing, on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness, and on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone.
3. Mahayana principles
4. Zen Roots, and the Plum Village Dharma Seal
5. Building Monastic Community
6. Social Service: Rural Development, Care for the Dying.
7. Bringing the Practice and the Pure Land to People in All Walks of Life.
8. Summer and other regular retreats.
9. USA and other tours.
10. Special retreats. 
11. Appendix 1: Excerpt from the Discourse on the Full Awareness of Breathing.
12. Appendix 2: Excerpt from the Discourse on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness. 
13. Appendix 3: Discourse on K nowing the Better Way to Live Alone.
14. Appendix 4: The Fourteen Mindfulness T rainings of the O rder of Interbeing. 
15. Appendix 5: The Five Mindfulness Trainings.
16. Appendix 6: The UN ESC O Manifesto 2000.
17. Appendix 7: Excerpt from the orientation booklet “How to Enjoy Your Stay in Plum Village”.
    Bells of Mindfulness
    Beginning Anew..
    Touching the Earth.
    Hugging Meditation.
    
    
18.  Appendix 9: Seven – Point Suggestion of Zen Master Nhat Hanh About the Policy of the Government of Vietnam toward Buddhism.

Introduction

In this new century and new millennium, we have a great opportunity for Buddhism. During the last 100-200 years, the seeds of Buddhism have been sown in the West, and we have seen them begin to blossom. Buddhism initially was introduced to the West more on the intellectual level of ideas and concepts. Now we can see it beginning to take root in our practice.  

One of the things that Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh and his community of monks and nuns in Plum Village have contributed in the last 30 years, is to bring the teachings from the theoretical to the applied level. We have experienced this movement in many areas. The techniques we use are based on the sutras on the Full Awareness of Breathing, the Four Establishments of Mindfulness and Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone, and on key principles of Mahayana, implemented through the Zen tradition. So our core teachings and practice include the three traditions: original Buddhism as expressed in the sutras just mentioned; the interpretations of the Mahayana tradition; and the Zen tradition as expressed in the way we actually apply the teachings to our daily life.

We have offered these teachings and practices at all different levels of society, from the individual and the family to various larger segments. Our efforts have found success, and we are happy to share this experience with our sisters and brothers of other traditions. We hope that those of other traditions will help us by shining the light of their experience and insight on us and how we can do better. If other traditions think our way is beneficial, we welcome them to take these methods into new and different areas.

Methods of Practice Taught by Ven Thich Nhat Hanh:

The Sutras on the Full Awareness of Breathing, on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness, and on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone

The Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing (Anapanasati Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya 118; see Appendix 1) is the foundation of Ven.  Thich  Nhat  Hanh’s  (“Thay’s”) teaching in the West. A few years into his monastic life and studies, Thay was very happy to find the teachings of the Buddha recorded in the sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing. The sutra shows us how to be aware of what is happening in the four main areas of our life (our body, our feelings, our mental formations, and our perceptions), so that we can live our life deeply. The insight we get from doing this liberates us from many afflictions such as fear, anger, and craving. When Thay discovered this sutra, he felt he was the happiest man in the world, as if he had found a goldmine. He has continued to practice the teachings of this sutra for the sixty or so years that have gone by since then.  According to Thay’s understanding and insight, the sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing is a very essential practice for any Buddhist. It is a very safe and very easy way for anyone, even a child, to enter into Buddhist meditation.

The sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing has four sets of exercises concerning the spiritual development of our body, our feelings, our mental formations, and our perceptions. Each of the four sets contains four main exercises. The structure of these exercises is similar from one set to the other, and traces the development of our awareness of each object of meditation. The structure begins with the awareness of the object; then that awareness develops into concentration; and concentration gives rise to liberation.  

For example, for the first set of exercises, which concerns the body, the Buddha begins with awareness of the breath. The breath is a bridge between our body and mind. When we become aware of our breath, we begin to harmonize the mind and the body. After a few minutes of practice, the mind and body become unified. As we continue to maintain our awareness, we can learn to relax our body, allowing our body to rest and recover from stress and tension, and this makes healing possible. Based on this understanding, Plum Village has developed the practice of deep relaxation, and the technique of scanning the body to bring awareness to each part. As we scan through, we learn to embrace each part of the body with the energy of mindfulness and help it to release tension and to heal.

The same technique applies to the transformation of our mental formations. We begin to be aware of our mental formations, and whatever mental formation arises in our mind will be embraced, calmed, and ultimately transformed, thanks to the energy of mindfulness. Slowly, slowly, when our mind is calm enough, it reaches concentration. The mind is focused, not wandering around, and eventually that mental formation is liberated. Our mind is free, not dominated or controlled or burdened by that mental formation.

The exercises given by the Buddha in the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing are brief -- for each set there are only four exercises -- but with this understanding and insight, we are able to develop many exercises. The exercises do not stay stuck in formality; they enter into our daily life in a very natural way. Thay and our earlier spiritual ancestors have devised gathas (practice verses) to support mindfulness in daily life that not only are very useful and easy to apply, but in fact are rooted deeply in the sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing.  

Let us take, for example, the gatha “in/out, deep/slow, calm/ease, smile/release, present  moment/wonderful  moment.”  In this exercise, we begin to shine our awareness on the in-breath and thus giving rise to the energy of mindfulness, and we say to ourselves “breathing in, I know I’m breathing in;” then, “breathing out, I know I’m breathing out.” The exercise is then shortened to two key words, “in/out,” and from there our body and mind naturally move into the state of deeper and slower breathing. This is a reflection of our mind being able to settle, calm, and relax. The practice bears further fruit with feeling calm and at ease. We are able to recognize that fruit so  that  another  fruit  comes  to  us,  “breathing  in, I smile; breathing out, I release.” Because we have been able to stop, our mind becomes very clear and we get in touch with the positive elements of life. With the practice of “breathing in, I am in the present moment; breathing out I see this moment is a wonderful moment,” we see life in its true essence in the here and now. In Plum Village, we use mindfulness practice songs to help us remember the gathas and use them in our daily life.

Please stop reading now for a moment; sit up straight, but comfortably; relax; and practice with us.

The Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness (Satipatthana sutta, Majjhima Nikaya 10; see Appendix 2) goes together with the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing, helping us to live deeply the present moment and to understand life in that moment. The Four Establishments of Mindfulness help us to deepen our meditation on the four aspects of our being (body, feelings, mental formations and perceptions). They lead us to discover the oneness of the subject of perception and the object of perception, so that we can come to a true understanding of the teaching of the Manifestation Only school of Buddhism. It helps us deepen our insight into the three Dharma seals of non-self, impermanence and nirvana. When we are able to understand these features of the Dharma and apply them continuously in our daily life, we have a chance to attain full liberation.

The exercises prescribed by the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing and the Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness can be used when offering guided meditation for beginners who  don’t  know  what  to  do  during  sitting  or  walking  meditation. We have developed a manual for guided meditation, called The Blooming of a Lotus, which includes thirty-four guided meditation exercises on various subjects, with commentaries explaining their sources.

Another key sutra in our tradition is the Discourse on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone (Bhaddekaratta Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya 131; see Appendix 3), in which the Buddha taught us to live fully in the present moment -- the only moment in which life is available. The past has gone, and the future has not yet come. This sutra is a direct link between original Buddhism and the Zen tradition of Master Lin Chi (see Zen Roots section below). To miss the present moment is to miss life. This teaching also was well developed by the Buddha in other sutras, such as the Discourse on Teachings Given to the White-Clad Disciple (Upasaka Sutra, Madhyama Agama 128), in which the  Buddha pronounced the phrase “dwelling happily  in the present moment”      (drstadharmasukhavihari, 现法乐住) at least five times. This teaching plays a very important role in our tradition and has developed into the Seal of PlumVillage (discussed in more detail below).