Using our Breath brings Mindfulness

June 9, 2013. 100-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from the European Institute of Applied Buddhism in Waldbrol, Germany. The talk is given in English with consecutive translation into Dutch. This is the fifth dharma talk of the Dutch Retreat on the theme Understanding Our Emotions.

We do not need to call ourselves a Buddhist to practice Buddhism. We can use practice verses, little poems, to help us with our practice. Thay shares a number of these verses for us to memorize.

Mindfulness is an energy that lets us do at least two things. The first is to be there – to be truly here in the present moment. The second is to be aware of what is going on – such as your in breath. We can use mindfulness to take care of the body. In the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing, the Buddha gave a set of exercises on mindfulness of the body.

• Aware of my breath
• Follow your in breath all the way to the end
• To beware of your body
• Release the tension in the body

These are simple exercises and anyone can practice. After we take care of our body, we can move on to our feelings.

• Generate a feeling of joy
• Generate a feeling of happiness
• Awareness of the painful feeling
• Calm the painful emotions

After the body and the feelings, we move to taking care of the mind. In particular, working with mental formations. What is a mental formation? Thay also shares a little about the Shining Light Ceremony and how we can use this with our practice.

• gladdening the mind
• aware of mental formations
• concentrating the mind
• liberating your mind

The last four exercises of the sutra have to do with the objects of mind. We conclude with teachings on birth and death, being and non-being.

http://youtu.be/vo7tI2LN0TU