Florida Community of Mindfulness

Pith Teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh: Smile

The much loved and respected Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh (called Thay by his students) has led a remarkable life, from his work for peace and relief for the suffering during the Vietnam war, to his worldwide teaching today on the art of mindful living. His key teaching is mindfulness, learning to live in the present moment instead of in the past or future.

Thay teaches that if we can learn to smile, we can experience joy; life's worries will naturally diminish. If we value ourselves highly we can learn how to value society. If we find peace in our own hearts, the world will become a peaceful place.

Many, Many of Thay's pith teachings and his calligraphy were compiled by the European Institute of Applied Buddhism and the University of Hong Kong in the book Calligraphic Meditation - The Mindful Art of Thich Nhat Hanh, in 2010. Dharma Teacher Fred Eppsteiner presented a number of these teachings to the Florida Community of Mindfulness Sanghas in the spring and summer of 2012.

 

Pith Teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh: Be Free Where You Are

The much loved and respected Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh (called Thay by his students) has led a remarkable life, from his work for peace and relief for the suffering during the Vietnam war, to his worldwide teaching today on the art of mindful living. His key teaching is mindfulness, learning to live in the present moment instead of in the past or future.

Thay teaches that if we can learn to smile, we can experience joy; life's worries will naturally diminish. If we value ourselves highly we can learn how to value society. If we find peace in our own hearts, the world will become a peaceful place.

Many, Many of Thay's pith teachings and his calligraphy were compiled by the European Institute of Applied Buddhism and the University of Hong Kong in the book Calligraphic Meditation - The Mindful Art of Thich Nhat Hanh, in 2010. Dharma Teacher Fred Eppsteiner presented a number of these teachings to the Florida Community of Mindfulness Sanghas in the spring and summer of 2012.

 

Walking the Walk: Treading the Bodhisattva Way (4 of 4)

Using two traditional texts, The Four Point Mind Training to Generate Bodhicitta and Eight Verses for Training the Mind, the actual practices of the Bodhisattva Way are presented. How to balance compassion with insightful intelligence, helping oneself with helping others, inner meditative work with acts of service, actively helping with letting go, and "just when is one ready to undertake Bodhisattva activity?" are among the teachings and practices presented with clarity and concreteness by Dharma Teacher Fred Eppsteiner, so that they can become a daily practice easily embraceable.

 

 

Walking the Walk: Treading the Bodhisattva Way (3 of 4)

Using two traditional texts, The Four Point Mind Training to Generate Bodhicitta and Eight Verses for Training the Mind, the actual practices of the Bodhisattva Way are presented. How to balance compassion with insightful intelligence, helping oneself with helping others, inner meditative work with acts of service, actively helping with letting go, and "just when is one ready to undertake Bodhisattva activity?" are among the teachings and practices presented with clarity and concreteness by Dharma Teacher Fred Eppsteiner, so that they can become a daily practice easily embraceable.

 

 

Walking the Walk: Treading the Bodhisattva Way (2 of 4)

Using two traditional texts, The Four Point Mind Training to Generate Bodhicitta and Eight Verses for Training the Mind, the actual practices of the Bodhisattva Way are presented. How to balance compassion with insightful intelligence, helping oneself with helping others, inner meditative work with acts of service, actively helping with letting go, and "just when is one ready to undertake Bodhisattva activity?" are among the teachings and practices presented with clarity and concreteness by Dharma Teacher Fred Eppsteiner, so that they can become a daily practice easily embraceable.

 

 

Walking the Walk: Treading the Bodhisattva Way (1 of 4)

Using two traditional texts, The Four Point Mind Training to Generate Bodhicitta and Eight Verses for Training the Mind, the actual practices of the Bodhisattva Way are presented. How to balance compassion with insightful intelligence, helping oneself with helping others, inner meditative work with acts of service, actively helping with letting go, and "just when is one ready to undertake Bodhisattva activity?" are among the teachings and practices presented with clarity and concreteness by Dharma Teacher Fred Eppsteiner, so that they can become a daily practice easily embraceable.

 

 

Zen Master Bankei: Accessing the Unborn Buddha Mind (Oct 2011) (3 of 3)

My message to everyone is that the Buddha Mind is innate in them. From their parents, nothing else is innate. The Buddha Mind is Unborn because it is always here, innate, and it enlightens the mind…The One Mind, Unborn, undefined, this is “the one” that, in everybody, sees images via the eyes, hears sounds via the ears and, generally, when it encounters the objects of the six senses, reveals whatever is seen or heard, felt or thought, with nothing left conceal.

-Japanese Zen Master Bankei, (1622-93)

Bankei was a meditation teacher who presented the path of awakening as something simple, practical, readily apparent and available to anyone who would follow his directions. Although his early meditation practice was quite arduous and strident, after his enlightenment, he realized that accessing the Unborn Born Buddha Mind was a much easier and relaxed process than he had imagined. In this retreat, Dharma teacher Fred Eppsteiner used the teachings and, most importantly, the practices taught by this illustrious master to help students understand and experience this Unborn Buddha Mind that each of us possesses.

 

Zen Master Bankei: Accessing the Unborn Buddha Mind (Oct 2011) (2 of 3)

My message to everyone is that the Buddha Mind is innate in them. From their parents, nothing else is innate. The Buddha Mind is Unborn because it is always here, innate, and it enlightens the mind…The One Mind, Unborn, undefined, this is “the one” that, in everybody, sees images via the eyes, hears sounds via the ears and, generally, when it encounters the objects of the six senses, reveals whatever is seen or heard, felt or thought, with nothing left conceal.

-Japanese Zen Master Bankei, (1622-93)

Bankei was a meditation teacher who presented the path of awakening as something simple, practical, readily apparent and available to anyone who would follow his directions. Although his early meditation practice was quite arduous and strident, after his enlightenment, he realized that accessing the Unborn Born Buddha Mind was a much easier and relaxed process than he had imagined. In this retreat, Dharma teacher Fred Eppsteiner used the teachings and, most importantly, the practices taught by this illustrious master to help students understand and experience this Unborn Buddha Mind that each of us possesses.

 

Zen Master Bankei: Accessing the Unborn Buddha Mind (Oct 2011) (1 of 3)

My message to everyone is that the Buddha Mind is innate in them. From their parents, nothing else is innate. The Buddha Mind is Unborn because it is always here, innate, and it enlightens the mind…The One Mind, Unborn, undefined, this is “the one” that, in everybody, sees images via the eyes, hears sounds via the ears and, generally, when it encounters the objects of the six senses, reveals whatever is seen or heard, felt or thought, with nothing left conceal.

-Japanese Zen Master Bankei, (1622-93)

Bankei was a meditation teacher who presented the path of awakening as something simple, practical, readily apparent and available to anyone who would follow his directions. Although his early meditation practice was quite arduous and strident, after his enlightenment, he realized that accessing the Unborn Born Buddha Mind was a much easier and relaxed process than he had imagined. In this retreat, Dharma teacher Fred Eppsteiner used the teachings and, most importantly, the practices taught by this illustrious master to help students understand and experience this Unborn Buddha Mind that each of us possesses.

 

Padma Karpo's Precious Sun (2 of 2)

Dharma teacher Fred Eppsteiner teaches this two-part series on "Precious Sun," 16th century Padma Karpo's (White Lotus) poetic, insightful, and profound spiritual advice, as found in the appendix of Mind at Ease: Self-Liberation through Mahamudra Meditation.  (Please note: a significant portion of the Part 1 includes Fred's answers to students' questions, whereas the beginning of Part 2 includes a discussion of the spirit and practice of loving kindness meditation as well as a guided meditation.)