Using our Breath brings Mindfulness - a podcast by Kenley Neufeld

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 breathFollow your in breath all the way to the end
To beware of your bodyRelease 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 happinessAwareness of the painful feeling
Calm the painful emotionsAfter 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 mindaware of mental formations
concentrating the mindliberating 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

Further episodes of Thich Nhat Hanh Dharma Talks

Further podcasts by Kenley Neufeld

Website of Kenley Neufeld