The Way Out Is In
The Heart of Meditation – Part Two (Episode #62)
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Recognizing and acknowledging mental formations with curiosity and non-judgment is crucial for cultivating a compassionate attitude towards oneself.
- Concentration on emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness can lead to liberation by overcoming separation, understanding impermanence, and dissolving attachments.
- Liberation involves embracing authenticity, letting go of attachments and false identities, and showing up authentically in the present moment.
Deep dives
Overview of the podcast episode
In this podcast episode, the hosts, Joe Confino, Brother Fabu, and Sister True Dedication, continue their exploration of the Plum Village art of meditation. They discuss the ninth and tenth breathing exercises of full awareness, which focus on becoming aware of and cultivating the mind. They emphasize the importance of recognizing and acknowledging mental formations and exploring their various elements. They encourage curiosity, openness, and non-judgment as essential qualities for this investigation. They also introduce the concepts of emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness as concentrations that can be applied to liberate the mind from unhelpful mental formations. The hosts emphasize the power of emotions, such as anger and craving, and the need to master them through mindfulness and concentration. They highlight the significance of liberation as letting go of attachments and embracing authenticity and self-acceptance.
The Role of Recognizing Mental Formations in Meditation
In the ninth and tenth breathing exercises, the hosts discuss the importance of becoming aware of mental formations and cultivating a compassionate and non-judgmental attitude towards them. They explain that mental formations are composite and made up of various elements, similar to how happiness and sorrow are composed of multiple threads. They emphasize the power of naming and recognizing mental formations as a means to gain clarity and kindness towards oneself. They share personal experiences and examples to illustrate the role of investigation and curiosity in understanding the mind. They also discuss the significance of concentration and explore how applying concentration on emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness can lead to liberation.
Exploring Concentration and Liberation of the Mind
The hosts delve into the eleventh and twelfth breathing exercises, which focus on concentration and liberation of the mind. They emphasize the importance of stability and concentration in bringing awareness to one's mental state. They highlight the need to concentrate on specific mental formations, such as loneliness, anger, or craving, in order to liberate oneself from their grasp. They introduce the three doors of liberation: emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness, as concentrations that can offer insights and freedom. The hosts discuss how concentration on emptiness helps overcome the sense of separation and self-identity. They also explore the power of concentration on signlessness in understanding the impermanent nature of things. Additionally, they highlight the role of concentration on aimlessness in dissolving attachments and cravings. They emphasize the importance of authenticity and self-acceptance in experiencing liberation.
Embracing Authenticity and Freedom
The hosts discuss the concept of liberation as the freedom to be oneself and to let go of attachments and false identities. They share personal insights and experiences related to liberation and authenticity. They emphasize the courage and awareness required to recognize one's limitations and needs. They emphasize the importance of self-care and the ability to set boundaries and ask for support. They explore the idea of liberation in relation to being present in the moment and cultivating a genuine sense of self. They discuss the significance of being open and vulnerable, as well as embracing one's wounds and joys. The hosts highlight the importance of showing up authentically and being true to oneself and others, while letting go of the need to conform or pretend to be someone else.
Practical Application of the 16 Exercises
The 16 exercises of mindful breathing can be integrated into daily life by starting with a few minutes of focused practice. One can choose a stretch of walking meditation or sit on the cushion and apply the first four exercises: identifying the breath, following the breath, being aware of the body, and calming the body. These can be done in one breath or expanded over a few minutes. The next four exercises can be explored: generating joy, generating happiness, recognizing a painful feeling, and embracing and calming that feeling with kindness. These initial eight exercises can be practiced daily and gradually expanded over time. The remaining exercises can be studied and applied individually according to one's needs and interests. The book "The Art of Living" is a helpful companion to deepen understanding and guide the practice. It is important to listen to one's inner guidance and respond according to one's own body and mind. Integrating the practice into daily life helps cultivate stillness, presence, and the ability to handle chaotic or challenging moments with stability and awareness. The breath becomes an anchor to the present moment, allowing one to return to the body and maintain mindfulness in various situations, such as meetings, gatherings, large crowds, or even moments of loneliness. The 16 exercises serve as a lifelong companion, supporting the cultivation of presence and experiencing the beauty of the present moment.
Welcome to episode 62 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.
In this episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino continue their discussion with Sister True Dedication (Sister Hien Nghiem) about the 16 exercises of mindful breathing which are at the heart of the teachings offered by Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village community.
This episode, the second of a two-part special, explains and breaks down the practice of breathing exercises nine to 16. It includes the exercises’ traditional texts, revised versions, and variations and adaptations, with extensive explanations given by the two monastics about how to apply each to our daily lives. The first eight exercises are also briefly recapped, along with a description of the Three Doors of Liberation.
Also, where do the 16 exercises come from? How do we gladden the mind? What is true strength? What about authenticity? Why is it important to name the mental formations? What does liberation feel like? And how do we integrate the 16 exercises into a busy life? These and many other questions are answered in this installment of the podcast.
Enjoy.
Co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/
And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/
With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/
List of resources
Sister True Dedication
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem/
Songs: ‘The 16 Exercises of Mindful Breathing’
https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/the-16-exercises-of-mindful-breathing
Thay’s Poetry: ‘Please Call Me by My True Names (Song & Poem)’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/please-call-me-by-my-true-names-song-poem
Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing
Sister Jina
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-dieu-nghiem
‘51 Mental Formations’
https://plumvillage.org/transcriptions/51-mental-formation
Dharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-noble-eightfold-path
The Way Out Is In: ‘The Three Doors of Liberation (Episode #18)’ https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-three-doors-of-liberation-episode-18
The Art of Living
https://plumvillage.org/books/the-art-of-living
Chinese Buddhist canon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Buddhist_canon
Dharma Talks: ‘The Five Remembrances’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-five-remembrances-sr-thuan-nghiem-spring-retreat-2018-05-17
‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village
Master Tang Hoi
https://plumvillage.org/books/master-tang-hoi
Nagarjuna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagarjuna
Yogachara
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogachara
Quotes
“‘What is going on in my mind?’ This phrase is a mental formation. And, especially in our tradition of Buddhism, we love this term ‘formation’; it means that everything is made of everything, is composite. Even our happiness, our sorrow, or our depression is made of lots and lots of different elements. There are many threads to them, and that insight, simply the word ‘formation’, can help us to not be so scared or overwhelmed by our feelings. There’s an inquiry here, an investigation: ‘What is going on in my mind? What has come to be, what has formed in my mind at this moment?’”
“In terms of Buddhist psychology, because our mind has different layers and different depths, we can be carrying a feeling in it without knowing that we’re carrying it. And I would say my loneliness is a feeling. It’s partly in the body, but largely in the mind, because of the way my mind processes my daily life. So, unconsciously, I’m processing my daily life, and perhaps even without words, non-verbally, I’m experiencing all sorts of moments as lonely moments. So I’m feeding the seed of loneliness in myself, without even knowing it.”
“A lot of people feel power in their negative mental formations. If we’re angry or jealous, or whatever the feeling is, sometimes we feel that gives us power. And gladdening the mind at that point feels like disloyalty to our negative feelings. So it feels like a rebellious act to have a strong negative feeling and then to gladden one’s mind, or bring happiness at that moment when, actually, we often want to feel righteous; we want to believe that that negative feeling is who we are and is justified.”
“How we cultivate our mind shapes how we interact with the world. So if we have an evil thought, that evil thought can become our speech, can become our action. But if we have a kind thought, that would then become our kind action, our kind speech, our kind attitude.”
“Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible.”
“You are much more than your emotions. Never die because of one emotion.”
“We may feel completely stuck in the depths of the ocean of our despair and depression, but thanks to impermanence a day will come when that depression will no longer be there. That depression is surviving because it has sources of food. That depression is a mental formation. It is composed of different threads and by identifying the threads that are feeding it, one by one, we can dissolve it. We can find a way through.”
“The future is not known to us, because of impermanence. And that’s good news.”
“One of Thay’s simple teachings is to contemplate the friend or loved one that we are angry with. And in that moment of anger, ask yourself, ‘Where will they and I be 200 years from now?’ Apply this very simple lens of impermanence, this concentration of impermanence, even in the moment of great fury – because we’re often angry at the people that we love the most because we think, ‘How dare they be the ones that hurt us?’ And then Thay would say, ‘You realize right away that they will be dust. I will be dust. But in this moment, we’re both alive.’ And if we really touch the fruit of that insight, then all we want to do is hug that person and cherish the fact that, ‘Wow, in this moment we are both still alive in this human form. How wonderful that we can hug.’”
“Going through these exercises, if we found that we were sitting with a specific anger towards a specific person, applying the practice of impermanence can really help us to hold that anger. Throw it away, choose to free yourself from it, and just get on with your life. That’s a wonderful aspect of our teaching, and of Zen: to sometimes just cross to the other side of the road and keep going. We don’t need to penetrate every aspect of why we were angry or, ‘Does the other person need to do this or that?’ Choose a different channel and just proceed; let it go, leave it behind. Set yourself free. Don’t make too much fuss. Move on. Life is new in this moment. Celebrate it. Embrace it. Go forward.”
“A little bit of growth can seem like a good idea. But now it’s become this terrible systemic mechanism that’s destroying our planet. And that’s the absolute hook. So you have to reel back. But in these [16 breathing] exercises we’re starting with ourselves, our own bodies, and our own wrong perceptions about what we think we need to be happy.”
“Monastics of 15 or 20 years of meditation might spend 30 minutes only on those first four exercises. So, listen to yourself. And one reason it’s lovely to master these 16 exercises of mindful breathing is that we then have our own internal guided meditation to follow. Because when we listen to a recorded guided meditation, we’re following the pace of the person giving the guidance. The idea with these 16 is that they’re yours; they’re yours to keep and take to heart. They’re yours to play with, to experiment with, and to take as long as you need for each step, and to feel listened to and really respond to your own body and mind.”
“Gladdening our mind is exactly that: a declaration of freedom around the mental formation, around our feelings. It’s like, ‘I have the freedom to choose, here. My anger is a seed that has manifested as a formation in my mind consciousness. But I am more than that.’ So we trust in something, we have faith. We are claiming freedom by gladdening our mind, like, ‘I am angry and I have the right to take five breaths in peace and freedom because my anger isn’t all I am in this moment.’ So I think that’s a great affirmation and freedom. And it’s not bypassing, it’s not escaping.”
“The breath is the rope that brings our mind and our concentration back to the present.”
“Especially when we look at suffering, it can be very tempting to go down a dark hole and get lost in it. So sometimes we have to remember that we are alive right now; we’re present, breathing. And then, when you have this wonderful habit of knowing how to come back to the body and come back to the present, you can apply this in meetings, gatherings, and big crowds, or when you’re very lonely. So it becomes your friend; it’s a companion for life.”
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